Remarks to the Management-Labor Conference.

I am sorry to be twenty minutes late, but I have the kind of a schedule these days that makes it sometimes impossible for me to be strictly on time.

In asking you to come here to this conference, I think we should all—every one of us- realize not only the serious purpose before us, but the serious problem as well.

Two weeks ago, I suppose the average American felt either that we wouldn't get into the war, or that if we did, we would mop up, if it came to war in the Pacific, in very short order. Rather derogatory remarks were leveled all through this country against any danger from Japan. Of course, as we have begun to realize now and realize more deeply as time goes on, there is very real danger to the whole world, because there is a new philosophy in the world which would end for all time—if it is swept into this country, even if it is swept over the rest of the world—it would mean an end of private industry, and it would mean the end of trade unionism equally. It is a real danger. We haven't won the war by a long shot. It is going to go on for a long time.

And so I have asked you here to help win this war, just as much as if you were in uniform. I am going to use a word which none of us like- and I don't either. The word is "must." I am applying the word "must" to you as individuals, and to myself.

A boy, the other day, was out in a plane. The Government did not tell him he had to dive on a battleship and lose his life. That was his "must"; his own personal "must." There was nothing in his orders that told him he had to dive his plane into a Japanese battleship. That was young Kelly's own personal "must."

And each one of you, and I too, we have our personal "musts."

So, when I use the word "must," I want you to appropriate it to yourselves, individually as Americans.

We are here as a group—industry and labor- with a Chairman chosen from the executive branch of the Government, and a Vice Chairman from the legislative branch of the Government, to act. I dug up the word "Moderator." It's a good word. These two gentlemen are Moderators. I don't think they will have to wield any big stick. I think rather they can truly act as exceedingly peaceful Moderators in presiding at your meetings.

I know, if I were a Moderator, I would want results- a complete agreement. I would want something else and, as Moderator, I might help get it. I want speed. Speed now is of the essence, just as much in turning out things in plants as it is among the fighting forces. It is just as necessary to turn out equipment as it is to drill an army, or build up a navy, after the equipment is turned out. Speed is very, very much of the essence.

With speed goes something we all know that we have got to have in the next few weeks. We have got greatly to increase our production program. We are still in a sense- whether you like it or not- the arsenal of the free world. Geographically we can turn out materials without anything like the same physical danger to the workers and to the plants as prevails in Britain, or in China, or Russia. We have got to do perfectly unheard of things.

I always like a little story that one of my people who came back from Russia told me the other day. When the Germans were approaching not one city, but many cities where industrial plants were turning out fighting munitions, the Russians, realizing that they probably would lose the city or cities, began to move their factories. And how did they move them? They ran a freight train- backed it into the factory, and they loaded the tools into the freight cars. And with every tool—into the same freight car -went the man who was operating that tool. Their simple objective, when they moved 600 or a thousand miles away was to reestablish the factory. They would have the people, the workers, with their tools. They did not have to put new people- untrained people- onto these tools.

And I wonder just a little bit what the average American would do if our Government backed a freight train in and said to every worker: "Five minutes notice. You can't say good-by to your family. Get into that freight car with the tools you are working with. There is your suitcase- a hamper of food, a couple bottles of water. We will let you out when you get a thousand miles or so inland."

That is what war means. I pray that we won't have anything actually happening like that over here. But speed, and more speed, is essential. And that is why any kind of a stoppage of work, anywhere- even if it seems to be something the average manager of the plant, or the average worker in the plant, does not deem to be particularly important to winning this war may be most important.

We have to feel that we, all of us, are subject to a self-imposed discipline. In other words, I think you have—and I am not telling you in the sense of an Executive Order, or as President, but as an American citizen—that you must reach an agreement.

To go back for a minute, if I were Moderator, I think I would impose a time limit on speeches. I think you know just what I mean. For example, there is one branch of the Government-the Senate. It is only in a very great emergency that the Senate imposes on itself, without any rule, a limitation on speeches. The Senators do it voluntarily, by common consent. And, in times of great emergency, oratory in the Senate is at a minimum. On the other side of the Capitol is the House of Representatives. It is a very large body and it is pretty hard to limit debate without a rule. So there is a rule. And when a bill comes out from a Committee the rule adopted allots so much time to each side. The result is that on tremendously serious measures—laws—the debate is limited to two days, or three days or less in that very, very large body.

You are a lot smaller in numbers than the Senate and, I believe, you can make even better time than the Senate of the United States under emergency conditions. The country is expecting something out of you in a hurry— I don't say by tomorrow night—but it will be a thrilling thing if we could get something out in the way of a unanimous agreement by tomorrow night, Thursday, or at the latest Friday night. I see no reason why, in this instance, you shouldn't adopt the Congressional custom and ask "leave to print." In five minutes you could say all you want to say. Ask your fellow members for "leave to print."

Actually, as we know, we are all after the same thing. I think that even if there hadn't been a war with three very large Nations—Germany, Japan, Italy—the differences on both sides, in this country of ours, are relatively small. We have been making very definite progress on the whole subject of labor and management. We are going to continue to make progress. I believe every sensible person on both sides- labor and management, and in Government—realizes that eight or nine years ago we were rather far behind in this country; that we needed a greater spread in the earnings of the country; that we needed better working conditions. England was ahead of us. The Scandinavian countries were ahead of us. We have made a lot of progress, and at the end of this very great world war, because it truly is that, we are not going to stop progress. Our kind of Nation is going to make more progress. Let us agree not to go backwards. But let us agree that, during this war, we won't hold things up.

That is the primary thing—to keep the work going. I don't believe you are going to have great difficulties, because I don't think it is a hard agreement for you to make. You are going to be faced with one fact- an enormous number of additional people are going to be at work on this war program. I can't tell you the details, but we can look for the employment during the coming year of 1942 of millions of new workers in defense. We have got to protect them. We have got to keep things going. We can't have stoppages.

And so I was just thinking of an old idea of self-discipline an old Chinese proverb—of a Chinese Christian. He prayed every day—he had been told to pray to our kind of God—and his prayer was: "Lord, reform Thy world, beginning with me." It is rather a nice line for us all to keep in the back of our heads.

There isn't much difference between labor and management actually. I suppose a very large proportion of management has come, in this country, from the ranks of labor. It's like the old Kipling saying about "Judy O'Grady an' the Colonel's Lady." They are both the same under the skin. That is true in this country, especially in this country, and we want to keep it so. And keeping it so, and improving it, is the problem at this time.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers. They have to print things, they have to keep an interest going. I was reading a paper this morning which was telling how inevitable because we are a bigger Nation and have more resources and probably better abilities- victory would be.

I want to see what we can do. We have only been in this war for a week and a half. It is serious, at the present time. We are not sitting on "Easy Street."

I hope very much, in fact I am very confident, you will realize the spiritual side of this war emergency. We want our type of civilization to go on. It is threatened. We want our freedoms. We want freedom to express our own opinions. We want freedom of religion and the others as well. They are threatened.

I think very much the country is looking to you gentlemen to give us, just as fast as you possibly can—by tomorrow or the next day—some kind of an agreement so that we all can shake hands. After this war is won, let's go back if we want to, if we have to, to old Kilkenny. And you know what a Kilkenny fight is. But that is something that we can put aside until that date comes.

The country is looking to you. I am looking at you. The Congress is looking at you. All I can say is, God speed your efforts.