Evening star., 1941-11-06

The tert OF President RooSe-
pelt's address at the White House
this afternoon before the Inter-
national Labor Organization fol-
lo1DS.
Taking part in conference of tn,
I. L. o. is not a new experience fol
me. 1t was exactly at this time o.
the year, in 1919. that the I. L. o
had it's first conference in Washing.
ton. Apparently some one had faller
down on the job Of making the
necessary physical arrangements fol
the conference. Finally. some on.
picked on the then Assistant Secre-
tary of the Navy to help. I had tc
find Office space in the Navy Build
ing, as we'll as supplies and type
writer's to get the machinery organ
lied.
In those days the I. L. o. was still
dream. To many it was wild
dream. Who had ever heard OF
governments getting together to
raise the standards of labor on an
international plane? Wilder still
was the idea that the people them
selves who were directly affected
the workers and the employers OF
the various countries-should have
a hand with government in deter
mining these labor standards.
Now % years have passed. The
I. L. o. has been tried and tested
Through those extravagant years OF
the '20s it kept doggedly at its task
of shortening the hours OF labor
protecting women and children in
agriculture and industry, making life
more bearable for the merchant sea-
men, and keeping the factories and
mines of the world safe and At
places for human beings to work in.
Worked Through Depression.
Then through the long years OF
depression it sought to bring about
a measure of security to all workers
by the establishment of unemploy-
ment and old-age insurance systems;
and again to set the wheels of in
dustry in action through the estab-
lishment of international public
works rational policies of migration
of workers. and the opening OF the
channels of world trade
Now for more than two years you
have weathered the vicissitudes of q
world at war. Though Hitler's
luggernaut has crowded your per-
manent staff out of its home at
Geneva, here in the New World,
thanks in large part to the efforts
of our friend, John Winant. you
have been carrying on. And when
this world struggle is over. you will
be prepared to play your own part
in formulating those social policies
upon which the permanence OF
peace will so much depend.
Today you, the representatives OF
80 nations. meet here in the White
House for the final session of your
conference 1t is appropriate that I
recall to you, who are in full sense
a parliament for mans justice, some
words written in this house by a
President who gave his life in the
cause of justice. Nearly 80 years ago,
Abraham Lincoln said: The strong
est bond of human sympathy, out
side of the family relation, should be
one uniting all working people, Of
all nations, and tongues, and
kindreds."
The essence of our struggle is that
men shall be free. There can be
no real freedom for the common
man without enlightened social
policies. In last analysis. they are
the stakes for which democracies are
today fighting.
Twill Not Be Forgotten"
Your concern is the concern of all
democratic peoples. To many of
your member States, adherence to
the I. L. o. has meant great sacrifice.
There is no greater evidence of the
vitality of the I. L. o. than the
loyal presence here today of the
representative of the nations which
suffer under the lash of the dictator.
I welcome those representatives,
especially.
I extend the hand of courage to
the delegates of those labor organi-
cations whose leaders are today
languishing in concentration camps
for having dared to stand up for the
ideals without which no civilization
can live Through you. delegates
from these despoiled lands. the
United States sends your people this
message: You have not been for
gotten; you will not be forgotten"
We in the United States have SC
far been called upon for extremely
limited sacrifices. but even in this
country we are beginning to feel the
pinch of war. The names may be
unfamiliar to you, but the workers OF
Manitowac, Wis. who used to make
aluminium utensils, have had to sac
rifice their jobs that We may send
planes to Britain and Russia and
China. Rubber workers in a hun
dred scattered plants have had tc
sacrifice their opportunities for i'm
mediate employment that there may
be ships to carry planes and tanks to
Liverpool and Archangel and Ran
COON. Tens of thousands ct automo-
bile workers will have to be shifted
to other jobs in order that the
copper which might have been used
in automobiles may carry its deadly
message from the mills of the Con-
necticut Valley to Hitler. But with
all this, we have not yet made any
substantial sacrifices in the United
States.
We have not, like the heroic peo-
pie of Britain, had to withstand a
deluge of death from the skies. Nor
can we even grasp the full extent OF
the sacrifices that the people of
China are making in their struggle
for freedom from aggression. We
have in amazement witnessed the
Russians oppose the Nazi war ma
chine for four long months-at the
price of uncounted dead and a
scorched earth.
Most Heroic Of All.
Most heroic of all, however, has
heen the str,1pp1e Of the common