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substituting the bargaining table for the
streets. And, we are not in a vacuum. As
we sit here today we live in a highly in-
dustrial society.
THE PRESIDENT: Your time has ex-
pired.
DELEGATE MITCHELL: I am through.
Any individual who goes to his em-
ployee by himself, even if it is the State,
who in many instances is one of the big-
gest exploiters of human labor, he is not
in a position of equality because the em-
ployer is at the highest point of power, but
when he gathers together his co-workers
and selects a representative and sits down
at the bargaining table, we get justice.
We find the money to build our roads. We
can find the money to pay people who work
for the State and government a decent
wage. Why exploit them and their children
because they work for the State. This does
not insure the right to strike as some peo-
ple have said. It simply gives the right to
the people who are exploited to sit down
and bargain, and if with our friend, Mr.
Wilson, and all of those in the Chamber
of Commerce, the shoe were on the other
foot, they would be the first to support the
principle which finally evolved and which
was accepted by this Convention before the
pressures began.
I simply say today to remember those
four young men, one of whom comes out of
our own State, and who are lost to us be-
cause they cannot understand how we can
continue to compromise. The issue, the sole
issue, here is the exploitation of a man's
labor, and the issue is: how shall we deal
with it in the next fifty years ? Do you
want us to go back into the streets or do
you say as a civilized Convention, let us
sit down together at the bargaining table
which is what we must do in this nation if
we are to stop sacrificing all of our young
men, and as mothers and grandmothers
and as wives of working men, let us give
all of our people a right to a decent living.
I ask you to vote against this amend-
ment, and let us stop this ambivalence and
let us close the gap between the preaching
and the practice and let us have justice in
our economic dealings in Maryland as well
as elsewhere.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment ?
Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: I move the previous
question.
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THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Fox, the
motion has precedence, but I call your at-
tention to the fact that I deprived Delegate
Maurer of the floor a little while ago on
the ground that I would have to do so as
long as anyone desired to debate.
Would you withdraw your motion and
give her an opportunity to ask a question ?
DELEGATE FOX: I will withdraw it.
THE PRESIDENT: To whom do you
want to direct your question ?
DELEGATE MAURER: Delegate Kiefer.
I should like to thank Delegate Fox first.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Very well.
DELEGATE MAURER: You said no
state by statute permits employees to bar-
gain. There are eleven states which regu-
late the bargaining of teachers in terms of
their salaries, and in particular New York
State's Taylor Law includes the recognition
of the right of all employees to organize
and bargain collectively.
I wonder if you would comment.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: I am not familiar
with this. It is my understanding, as Presi-
dent Roosevelt said, this is taking away
the concept of government in the State of
Missouri. Their statutes are set out there,
and the Attorney General ruled that this
permits people to sit down, but it does not
mean collective bargaining. I still say that
is right. Delegate Mitchell makes a great
speech and I am tremendously impressed
with her speech, but not with her logic and
arguments.
We have to keep this within the frame-
work of the government. If you look at the
case that I cite there, the court points out
that people are voting on the constitution
as we provide it and not on the speeches of
delegates. I hope you will adopt my amend-
ment. I offer it in the spirit of trying to
get everybody together with me. I thought
Delegate Sickles was with me. I hope that
he is. We are not changing the public em-
ployment in accordance with the present
practice.
I hope everyone will support the amend-
ment.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: I move the previous
question.
(Whereupon, the motion was duly sec-
onded.)
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