Statement of Ex-President

STATEMENT OF EX-PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT, REPRESENTING THE PUBLIC.

I am profoundly gratified that the conference appointed under the direction of Secretary Wilson has reached an agreement upon the plan for a National Labor Board to maintain maximum production by settling obstructive controversies between employers and workers. It certainly is not too much to say that it was due to the self-restraint, tact and earnest patriotic desire of the representatives of the employers and the workers to reach a conclusion. I can say this with due modesty, because I was not one of such representatives. Mr. Walsh and I were selected as representatives of the public. Personally it was one of the pleasant experiences of my life. It brought me into contact with leaders of industry and leaders of Labor, and my experience gives me a very high respect for both. I am personally indebted to all of the Board, but especially to Mr. Walsh, with whom as the only other lawyer on the Board, it was necessary for me to confer frequently in the framing of the points which step by step the conference agreed to. Of course the next question is "Will our plan work?" I hope and think it will if administered in the spirit in which it was formulated and agreed upon.