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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 Excerpt:...the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Law; they offered war contracts as a pretext for speeding up; they declared there was a scarcity of workers which made it necessary that those employed should work long hours. All of this agitation was carried on in the face of the experience of Great Britain and France, which showed clearly that suspension of labor standards militated against volume of output and continuous production. Exhausting high speed labor is incompatible with continued efficiency and productiveness. At the first meeting of the Committee on Labor of the Council of National Defense, a resolution was adopted protesting against this general movement to suspend labor laws and labor standards. That resolution was referred to the Advisory Commission, adopted by that body, and also by the Council of National Defense. Strangely enough when the resolution was made public, the metropolitan press, with one accord, misinterpreted the thought and purpose of the resolution by sensational headlines and editorial comment to the effect that the workers would forego all strikes during the period of the war and would agree to any conditions rather than interrupt production. This statement was in direct conflict with facts. No representative of organized labor has been authorized to make such a declaration, and no one has made such a declaration. The right to stop working--to strike--has been established by years of struggle and sacrifice. It is the inalienable right which free workers refuse to surrender to others. A strike is not resorted to lightly but as a last resort. If the workers are met with the same spirit of cooperation that they have manifested, strikes may be averted--but they can not be prohibited. The workers will continue to endeavor to prevent interr...