It means
not only that we must do what we have declared our purpose to do, see
that the conditions of labor are not rendered more onerous by the war,
but also that we shall see to it that the instrumentalities by which the
conditions of labor are improved are not blocked or checked. That we
must do. That has been the matter about which I have taken pleasure in
conferring from time to time with your president, Mr. Gompers; and if I
may be permitted to do so, I want to express my admiration of his
patriotic courage, his large vision, and his statesmanlike sense of what
has to be done. I like to lay my mind alongside of a mind that knows how
to pull in harness. The horses that kick over the traces will have to be
put in corral.
Now, to stand together means that nobody must interrupt the processes of
our energy if the interruption can possibly be avoided without the
absolute invasion of freedom. To put it concretely, that means this:
Nobody has a right to stop the processes of labor until all the methods
of conciliation and settlement have been exhausted. And I might as well
say right here that I am not talking to you alone.
Pages:
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395