Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 242, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 October 1919 — ROBBINS TALKS TO THE CONFERENCE. [ARTICLE]

ROBBINS TALKS TO THE CONFERENCE.

Frankfort Crescent-News, Oct. 4. —lt was a large audience that heard the lecture of Raymond Robbins at the M. E. church last evening. The speaker was applauded with such ardorand frequency at one stage of the lecture that he asked there he no applause so that the channel of his argument might not be interrupted. It was a wonderful lecture and a fortunate thing that it was heard by so many ministers and educators, for truths of the greatest importance were spoken. It was made clear that if men fail to recognize the conditions challenging the world, dire results will follow. Mr. Robbins was a member of the Russian commission and for several months was in charge of the food administration for that country. He said the actual conditions’ underlying the Russian trouble was the fact that 93 per- cent of the people of the country had found they had been deceived by the other 7 per cent, had undertaken government for themselves in preference to again supporting a governmnt they had no confidence in. He pointed to conditions of labor in England, France and Italy. He said America is the only one of the nations that is maintaining stable government. He argued the rignteousness of the cause of labor and convincingly proclaimed conditions must be furnished them that will make their living conditions better and provide for their education and deny to capital the undemocratic advantages it has held in the past. He contended production IS mcreased by the bettering of conditions and the of the hours of labor. He cited instances to prove it. He told of the demoralizing conditions in the sweat shops and child labor factories and of the reforms that had come when these conditions were corrected. He told of the success of John M. Parker, of New Orleans, who has immense cotton farms, when he provided his negro employes with comfortable and sanitary homes and all at an increased profit over the old days and especially over the days of slave labor. While not defining a remedy, the speaker suggested the spirit of the movement was the education of all —bi —a~spirit of fairness and^the—vWpment of the free ThUreh, free school and free social .order. The speech "seemed to be endorsed by practically all of large audience and it should encau/.. 0 e ail who heard it to strive for the solution of questions affecting capital andTlabor, TorTT they”are not solved equitably* America will some day find itself engulfed in the same way that foreign countries now are.