Evening star., 1945-09-30

ference to be held in Washington, be-
ginning october 20 or November S, is to
be found in the industrial conference
which opened in the Capital City on
October 6, 1919, pursuant to call by
President Woodrow Wilson. 1t Is bad
precedent, however, if the result of that
first conference Is to be taken as fore
shadowing the outcome Of the one
shortly to be assembled, because, II
history repeats itself, 1t must be admit
ted that there is little prospect of peace
in industry.
For the Woodrow Wilson conference
was disintegrated and blown sky-high
by two bombs hurled by Samuel Comp
ers, president of the American Feder-
alton of Labor, and-again it Is to be
admitted, prevailing conditions at the
time of that conference were almost
identical with those of today.
Then as now, World War was end
ing and a world peace was in the max
ing.
There was great unrest, just as now
in the economic and industrial world
featured by strikes, actual and prospec-
tive, with threatened imitation and un-
employment incident to the transition
from war to peacetime production.
High Hopes and Great Plans.
There were high hopes at that time
and brave plans for q new world order,
with much pep talk about what was to
be accomplished through getting to-
gether of men Of good viii.
Armed forces greater than In 1919 are
being disbanded and millions Of men
are returning to civilian life.
No one knows exactly what those
men have in their minds and hearts.
Unemployment looms In millions, ex-
ceeding those of 1919.
Race problems hold graver poten-
tialities.
Both labor and industry have made
gains during the war years, greater than
in World Var lin membership and
overflowing Golfers for the one, and in
distributed and undistributed profits,
and improved productive facilities and
processes for the other
Both sides respond increasingly to
leadership hell-bent on consolidating
their war gains and moving on to great
er heights.
These parallels between conditions ex-
isting today and those of the long ago
yesterday may easily be amplif1ed. In
l945, great war President, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, had tentatively planned
postwar industrial conference, but
death called him In the closing days of
the world conflict and his leadership
is missing as the conference Is coming
on.
Planned Parley at White House.
In 1919, another great war President,
Woodrow Wilson, was so impressed with
what he termed the incompatible i'm
portance" OF the tasks devolving upon
his industrial conference that he
planned that it be held in the White
House. so that he might. be in con-
stant touch with it. Events changed
that. He issued his call on september
;, but within the month he was stricken
nigh unto his death and the conference
was held in the Pan American Building
Close contact with him and his leader
ship were missing in the momentous
two weeks following October 6. From
his sick bed he did his utmost to hold
the conference together, but to no avail.
His voice fell on ears we'll stuffed with
cotton. He had called the conference
ito consider fundamental means of bet
tering the whole relationship of labor
and capital and putting the whole ques-
ton OF wages upon another footing"
but no one seemed to grasp just what he
meant by that.
AS that conference opened and
throughout the fortnight of its delib-
erations-which were anything but de-
iberate-the country was in the throes
of a great steel strike with all the con-
comitants of rioting, bloodshed and the
calling out of Federal troops under Gen.
Leonard Wood to stay disorder and vio-
lence At the same time there was a
big strike of longshoremen at the port
Of New York; small strikes were numer-
Gus; bituminous coal miners were de-