Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
Labor not only is entitled to an adequate wage, but capital should receive
a reasonable return upon its investment and is entitled to protection at
the hands of the Government in every emergency. No Government worthy of the
name can "play" these elements against each other, for there is a mutuality
of interest between them which the Government must seek to express and to
safeguard at all cost.
The right of individuals to strike is inviolate and ought not to be
interfered with by any process of Government, but there is a predominant
right and that is the right of the Government to protect all of its people
and to assert its power and majesty against the challenge of any class. The
Government, when it asserts that right, seeks not to antagonize a class but
simply to defend the right of the whole people as against the irreparable
harm and injury that might be done by the attempt by any class to usurp a
power that only Government itself has a right to exercise as a protection
to all.
In the matter of international disputes which have led to war, statesmen
have sought to set up as a remedy arbitration for war. Does this not point
the way for the settlement of industrial disputes, by the establishment of
a tribunal, fair and just alike to all, which will settle industrial
disputes which in the past have led to war and disaster? America,
witnessing the evil consequences which have followed out of such disputes
between these contending forces, must not admit itself impotent to deal
with these matters by means of peaceful processes. Surely, there must be
some method of bringing together in a council of peace and amity these two
great interests, out of which will come a happier day of peace and
cooperation, a day that will make men more hopeful and enthusiastic in
their various tasks, that will make for more comfort and happiness in
living and a more tolerable condition among all classes of men. Certainly
human intelligence can devise some acceptable tribunal for adjusting the
differences between capital and labor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account