Governor Frank Murphy said in a Labor Day speech that the workman, exploited for centuries, at last is coming into his own. “It is obvious to all thoughtful people,” he said, “that the pendulum is swinging in the right direction. All over the earth, and especially in our own country, there is a definite, positive movement toward that greater measure of democracy we call social justice.
“Here in America we are on the march. The movement will not be halted by the opposition of great wealth or by violence. It is as irresistible as the slow, sure march of the sun across the heavens. Take Hope, He Said. “Look at it, you who do the world’s work ,and take hope!” Only in recent times, the governor said, “have we begun to mend our ways and make restitution for some of our wrongs” toward labor.
“Tardily we have raised the laborer’s wages,” he continued. “shortened his working hours, and introduced light, safety and sanitation into the factories where he keep his children out of the mines and mills and in the public schools. We have passed laws giving protection to the woman who works. Only recently we in America have begun to give him security in his old age and during the periods when he is out of a job.
“We still have the spectacle of the chief executive of a great industry who receives a salary $350,000 a year and a bonus of $600,000 and who still collects dividends while his employees are still out in the streets “We still have the poor little rich girl who sets aside $30,000 a year for the care of her dogs, and the debutante who party has while a $100,000 children denied milk and old folks beg for a crust of bread.
“But the workman is steadily coming into his own. Society has begun to pay its debt. “The labor union no longer is a criminal conspiracy. Instead of condemning the worker, most of us are interested in establishing his bill of rights. “It is true that unions have made mistakes. In the course of their development they will make more mistakes even though they will try to do what is right. But only the superficially minded, the prejudiced, and those living mentally in the middle ages will be concerned about labor’s errors. “There is nothing fundamentally |wrong day with Labor today. Labor is clean and straight forward. Some of the unions are lacking in experience that comes only with the years, but they are making a good, brave fight on the side of progress. They are steadily gaining in responsibility. They will be a powerful influence for industrial peace.
The governor said criticism of the handling of Michigan’s labor disputes last year came from “little men who had nothing to offer the crisis,” and who have “talked lightly about what we did to prevent bloody, civil war.” declared they have “nothing constructive to offer.” .
The governor reviewed the attitude of mankind toward labor which, he said, was one of the most “strange and perplexing things that history has credited to the human race.” For the future, he advocated expansion of the scope of unemployment insurance; better provision for the old folks, the dependent and the afflicted, assistance to the low -income group in improving their health. Asserting that “good health is not the prerogative of the wealthy,” the governor criticized A “do-nothing attitude toward the problem. “The poor, being unable to pay the price of most medical care, have suffered from their various ailments pretty much in silence,” he said, “while doctors who have spent years in developing their valuable talents have sat idly behind office doors.”.
The address was delivered to a large crowd at Cadillac Square in Detroit and carried (mostly) by WJR – It abruptly ends about 10 minutes in when it is announced the allotted time was used up and the program cuts-off in mid sentence. But here is Governor Frank Murphy’s Labor Day Address for September 5, 1938.
Just a reminder we’re going to keep the Fundraiser going through the weekend in case you missed it and would like to pitch in:
September 5, 1938 – Michigan Governor Frank Murphy Delivers A Labor Day Address.
Governor Frank Murphy said in a Labor Day speech that the workman, exploited for centuries, at last is coming into his own. “It is obvious to all thoughtful people,” he said, “that the pendulum is swinging in the right direction. All over the earth, and especially in our own country, there is a definite, positive movement toward that greater measure of democracy we call social justice.
“Here in America we are on the march. The movement will not be halted by the opposition of great wealth or by violence. It is as irresistible as the slow, sure march of the sun across the heavens. Take Hope, He Said. “Look at it, you who do the world’s work ,and take hope!” Only in recent times, the governor said, “have we begun to mend our ways and make restitution for some of our wrongs” toward labor.
“Tardily we have raised the laborer’s wages,” he continued. “shortened his working hours, and introduced light, safety and sanitation into the factories where he keep his children out of the mines and mills and in the public schools. We have passed laws giving protection to the woman who works. Only recently we in America have begun to give him security in his old age and during the periods when he is out of a job.
“We still have the spectacle of the chief executive of a great industry who receives a salary $350,000 a year and a bonus of $600,000 and who still collects dividends while his employees are still out in the streets “We still have the poor little rich girl who sets aside $30,000 a year for the care of her dogs, and the debutante who party has while a $100,000 children denied milk and old folks beg for a crust of bread.
“But the workman is steadily coming into his own. Society has begun to pay its debt. “The labor union no longer is a criminal conspiracy. Instead of condemning the worker, most of us are interested in establishing his bill of rights. “It is true that unions have made mistakes. In the course of their development they will make more mistakes even though they will try to do what is right. But only the superficially minded, the prejudiced, and those living mentally in the middle ages will be concerned about labor’s errors. “There is nothing fundamentally |wrong day with Labor today. Labor is clean and straight forward. Some of the unions are lacking in experience that comes only with the years, but they are making a good, brave fight on the side of progress. They are steadily gaining in responsibility. They will be a powerful influence for industrial peace.
The governor said criticism of the handling of Michigan’s labor disputes last year came from “little men who had nothing to offer the crisis,” and who have “talked lightly about what we did to prevent bloody, civil war.” declared they have “nothing constructive to offer.” .
The governor reviewed the attitude of mankind toward labor which, he said, was one of the most “strange and perplexing things that history has credited to the human race.” For the future, he advocated expansion of the scope of unemployment insurance; better provision for the old folks, the dependent and the afflicted, assistance to the low -income group in improving their health. Asserting that “good health is not the prerogative of the wealthy,” the governor criticized A “do-nothing attitude toward the problem. “The poor, being unable to pay the price of most medical care, have suffered from their various ailments pretty much in silence,” he said, “while doctors who have spent years in developing their valuable talents have sat idly behind office doors.”.
The address was delivered to a large crowd at Cadillac Square in Detroit and carried (mostly) by WJR – It abruptly ends about 10 minutes in when it is announced the allotted time was used up and the program cuts-off in mid sentence. But here is Governor Frank Murphy’s Labor Day Address for September 5, 1938.
Just a reminder we’re going to keep the Fundraiser going through the weekend in case you missed it and would like to pitch in:
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