Evening star., 1940-02-11
{. !. 0. Leader Offers
Merger With A. FL.
To Bring Labor Peace
Soys Roll Call at Joint
Conference Will End
Long Controversy

The ttIl tert OF John L. Letois'
address yesterday before the Amer
tcan Youth Congress tollotos::
II am happy to come here today
to address you. I don't want to
deal either in generalities or plati-
tudes or statistics. I am one Of
those who belives that Americans
cannot live on statistics. I believe
that when there are 10 or II million
Americans. including 4,000, 900 young
people without Job opportunity. that
it does no good to quote statistics.
These average incomes and these
average figures remind me Of the
track walker on the New York Cen
tral Railroad who was asked what
his annual income was. He said
that he did not like to talk in terms
Of his actual annual income, he pre-
ferred to talk In terms OF his aver
age annual income. Asked what 1t
was, he said that it was $25 $50 a
year. Asked how he reached that
conclusion, he said that the presi-
dent Of the road got $4,000 q year
and he got $500, and that the aver
age was $25,25o for both Of them.
Labor Needs Force
OF Younger Citizens.
I come here today as the repre-
sentative Of the Congress Of Indus
trial Organizations and as chair
man Of labor's Non-Partisan League
in this country to express our pride
and satisfaction that the young
people of our country are organizing
and becoming articulate and are
making themselves felt as a force
In our country. The labor move
ment In America needs the energy,
needs the force. needs the imagina-
ton Of its younger citizens. and I
do not believe that the sum total
Of all wisdom lies in those VINO
happen to be born In a generation
preceding your own. If that were
true, America today would have no
problem such as 1t now faces. We
must remember that America went
into an economic tailspin with all
OF the social and political questions
that have followed it, with all the
heart-burnings and agonies that
have come to the American people
IN the last 10 years. That came
about before most of you were old
enough to take the blame for ex-
pressing any inexpert opinion.
You stood this morning for a half
hour in the rain on the White House
lawn listening to the President Of
the United States. Your spokesman
in presenting you to the President
OF the United States said that you
would like to have some assurances
on the question of jobs, on the uues-
ton Of peace and on the question of
civil liberties. What did you get?
Holds Presidents Talk
OF Little Help to Youth.
The President said substantially
that under certain conditions and
certain forms Of government you
would not have the opportunity of
standing on the lawn, In the rain, to
ask for jobs. Well think you ought
to be glad Of that privilege. He said
also by implication that perhaps
there is too much furore being
raised about jobs for young people
because 10. 20 and 80 years ago Young
people also wanted jobs. Some an
swer!
How much did that mean to one
OF you who needs job, to one of you
who has job for which you are not
trained or when you cannot get a
job for which you are trained. How
much did that mean to those of you
who have plans to get married and
to live the normal life of American.
to know that after all there is no
great question of jobs, and that in
the fullness Of time perhaps condi-
| tions would get better.
How many years, how many years
can you stand to be without a job?
And how many years of interruption
to your normal plans will you en-
dure? How many years can you
defer your projected marriage? How
many years must you wonder and
hope that you will have an oppor-
tunity here in your native land, to
live the normal life of the normal
citizen?
Again you were told this morning