The great body of our people are made up of wage earners. Several hundred
thousands of them are on the pay rolls of the United States Government.
Their condition very largely is fixed by legislation. We have recently
provided increases in compensation under a method of reclassification and
given them the advantage of a liberal retirement system as a support for
their declining years. Most of them are under the merit system, which is a
guaranty of their intelligence, and the efficiency of their service is a
demonstration of their loyalty. The Federal Government should continue to
set a good example for all other employers.
In the industries the condition of the wage earner has steadily improved.
The 12-hour day is almost entirely unknown. Skilled labor is well
compensated. But there are unfortunately a multitude of workers who have
not yet come to share in the general prosperity of the Nation. Both the
public authorities and private enterprise should be solicitous to advance
the welfare of this class. The Federal Government has been seeking to
secure this end through a protective tariff, through restrictive
immigration, through requiring safety devices for the prevention of
accidents, through the granting of workman's compensation, through civilian
vocational rehabilitation and education, through employment information
bureaus, and through such humanitarian relief as was provided in the
maternity and infancy legislation. It is a satisfaction to report that a
more general condition of contentment exists among wage earners and the
country is more free from labor disputes than it has been for years. While
restrictive immigration has been adopted in part for the benefit of the
wage earner, and in its entirety for the benefit of the country, it ought
not to cause a needless separation of families and dependents from their
natural source of support contrary to the dictates of humanity.