social order in which he
has lost faith, even though he now obtains a considerable increase in
wages. Agreements entered into with the government by union leaders will
not hold him if at any time he fails to be satisfied that the present
world conflict will not result in a greater social justice. This fact
has been demonstrated by what is known as the "shop steward" movement in
England, where the workers repudiated the leaders' agreements and
everywhere organized local strikes. And in America, the unskilled
workers are largely outside of the unions.

The workman has a natural and laudable desire to share more fully in the
good things of life. And it is coming to be recognized that material
prosperity, up to a certain point, is the foundation of mental and
spiritual welfare: clean and comfortable surroundings, beauty, rational
amusements, opportunity for a rational satisfaction of, the human.
instincts are essential to contentment and progress. The individual, of
course, must be enlightened; and local labour unions, recognizing this,
are spending considerable sums all over the country on schools to educate
their members. If a workman is a profiteer, he is more to be excused
than the business profiteer, against whom his anger is directed; if he is
a spendthrift, prodigality is a natural consequence of rapid acquisition.
We have been a nation of spendthrifts.

A failure to grasp the psychology of the worker involves disastrous
consequences. A discussion as to whether or not his attitude is
unpatriotic and selfish is futile. No more profound mistake could be
made than to attribute to any element of the population motives wholly
base. Human nature is neither all black nor all white, yet is capable of
supreme sacrifices when adequately appealed to. What we must get into
our minds is the fact that a social order that insured a large measure of
democracy in the early days of the Republic is inadequate to meet modern
industrial conditions. Higher wages, material prosperity alone will not
suffice to satisfy aspirations for a fuller self-realization, once the
method by which these aspirations can be gained is glimpsed. For it
cannot be too often repeated that the unquenchable conflicts are those
waged for ideas and not dollars. These are tinged with religious
emotion.

IV

Mr. Wilson's messages to the American people and to the world have
proclaimed a new international order, a League of Democracies. And in