Evening star., 1941-09-01
Member of the Associated Press.
Labor Day, 1o4l

In his message to the people on the
eve of the annual observance of
Labor Day, President Roosevelt this
year chose to lift the occasion above
it's ordinary class significance. He
remarked with ample Justification
that "only in a democracy" could
free men and free women" worship
freely, read freely, speak and listen
freely. For the blessings enjoyed in
America, he declared, the Nation
should return thanks to God. But
something more than gratitude is
required in prevailing circumstances,
and he proposed a promise and
pledge in these words: Let us
make anew the high resolve that not
as workers alone. not as employers
alone, not as farmers alone, but as
a united and determined people we
shall defend our democracy to the
utmost, with no labor and no Sacri-
flee too great, so that liberty and the
heritages we hold dear shall thrive
and spread for the good of the
peoples of the earth
A quarter of century earlier,
another chosen leader of the Amer
lean community looked out upon the
world at such time under like con-
ditions and used similar language to
express his thought. 1t was on
Saturday, September 2, 1916, that
Woodrow Wilson, accepting Sec
ond nomination for the highest Of
flee in the land, announced the doc
trine: I'VE can no longer indulge
our traditional provincialism. We
are to play a leading part in the
world drama whether we wish it
or not" With characteristic pre-
vision, he had realized the solemn
fact that: mo nation can any longer
remain neutral as against any will
full disturbance of the peace of the
world"
The philosophy thus set forth by
Mr.. Wilson naturally did not meet
with unanimous acceptance. Some
of his fellow citizens believed that
he had gone too far in his sympathy
for the Allies, others that he had not
gone far enough. Soon after his
inauguration, however, it was clear
that Germany was determined to
add the United States to the list
of her foes. Then, Immediately, the
American people joined in solid ranks
to win the war. 1t was an inspir-
Ing spectacle to see the whole pop
ulation rising to the challenge Of
the hour.
Such spirit, let it be admitted
IN candor is wanted now. The dam
ger to civilization is more pressing
In l94l than it was in 1916. When
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, in
the last-named year, sat down to
write greeting to the workers
he could refrain from mentioning the
struggle raging in Europe, saying
merely: THE international issue
that now comes closest to the labor
movement is the policy of our Gov
eminent toward Mexico" The bat
tie of the Somme was in progress,
but there were many persons on the
far side of the Atlantic who did not
then appreciate its Importance.
Again, as five and twenty years ago,
1t might be convenient to forget the
threat abroad. But the people of
the United States, it may be hoped,
have grown wiser with the passing of
time. They know that Woodrow
Wilson was right and that Presi-
dent Roosevelt is right in their I'M
derstanding of the danger of an
outlaw power on the rampage. To
meet that peril, whenever and wher-
ever 1t may appear in the world,
unity and sacrifice are needed. The
alternative is the surrender of the
freedoms without which few Amer
leans would care to try to live.