The Wilmington morning star., 1940-09-12

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11.-RE
The text of President Roosevelt
address tonight to the Teamsters'
Union convention follows:
Mr.. Tobin, members OF the con-
vention:
During the past weeks. in sew
eral sections Of the East, / have
been inspecting the progress OF our
national defense. I have gone
through navy yards ant private
wards to watch the building OF de-
strovers. submarines and aircraft
carriers: I have visite aviation
units to see vi modern fighting
nlanes: I have been in u great
gun factories where ! have seen
the most modern guns of all types,
swiftly being nodded into shape; l
have visited camps where young
Americans are receiving training
and instruction in the tactics OF
the warfare of today. Through 1t
all there was the impressive con-
viction that America is rising to
meet the ever-growing need for an
adequate physical armed defense
of the country.
Tonight in a very 1ea sense. l
feel as l stand here that l am Wis
ting another type Of national de-
tense, equally important in its. own
way in meeting the needs Of the
times. Enlu. ing strength to a ma
ton and staying power in an
emergency definitely call for an
efficient and determined labor
force carrying on the processes 81
industry and trade. And when
spea' OF a labor force" I very
definitely include those who toll in
their fields as well as those who
toll in industry. Transfers will be
the first tv assert that farmers
labor too.
It is one of the characteristics of
a free and democratic modern ma
ton that it have free and i%ndepend-
ent labor unions. In : try after
country in other lands, labor I'M
ions have disappeared as the iron
hand of the dictator hive taken
command. Only in free lands have
free labor unions survived. When
union workers al assemble with
freedom and independence in con.
ventions like this, it is proof that
American democracy has re-
manned unimpaired-and it is SYM
bolic of our determination to keep
it free.
Yours is now one Of the great in
ternational labor unions Of Ameri-
ca. You a remember, however,
other days-days when labor TN.
ions were considered almost I'm.
American by some individuals in
our land. You can remember when
it was rare irded for an employer
even to consider collective bargain
ing with his workers; when it was
the CONNIE. practice to discharge
any worker who joined a union.
Y ! can remember whe,l employ
ers sought to meet threatened
strikes by demanding that their
gcvernment-fedcral or state-can
out armed troops. You a re-
member when many large employ
ers resorted to the unAmerican
practice - still unfortunately fol-
lowed in some sections the coun-
try-of hiring labor spies and set
ting up private arsenals to ferret
our members Of a union.
The cause of labor le- Travelled
forward since those days, over a
road beset with difficulties, both
from within its membership and
from without. Your own organi.
cation is an outstanding example
of the progress which has been
made. By 1888 lit seems almost like
ancient history to mel your mem
bership had dropped to 10000.
Within the last seven years you
have grown to a membership Of
500, 600.
Labor Advances
In those same seven years or
ganized labor as a whole has be.
come stronger in membership, in
influence, and in its capacity to
serve the interests of the laboring
man and woman and Of society in
general, than at any othsr time in
our history. Much of this prog.
ress has been due to the one thing
which this administration, from the
very beginning, las insisted upon
the assurance to labor Of the un.
tramnleled light to organize and to
bargain collectively with their EN-.
ployers. That principle has now
become firmly imbedded in the
la of the land; it must remain as
the foundation of industrial rela'
tons for all times.
The principle has the support to-
day not only of organized labor
as a whole, but also Of hundreds of
thousands Of decent, practical, for
ward-looking employers. A decade
ago a minority Of employers were
willing to accept the principle Of
collective bargaining; today the
majority of employers gladly adopt
it.
And with that foundation, the last
seven years have seen a series of
laws enacted to give to labor a
fair share of the good life to which
free men and women in a free ma
ton are entitled as a matter of
right. Fair maximum hours and