At the Plenary ke ;Rion of the Peace Conference on
April 11th, 11. Clemenceau presiding, Mr. Barnes gave a lucid and detailed account of the international Labour Charter. Before the war, he said, age and want haunted the mind of the average working man. The Charter aimed at security of employment under improved conditions. The regulation of industrial conditions was an integral part of the work of the Peace Con- ference. They must seek international co-operation in raising the standard of life everywhere. They had to recognize and reconcile the differences of industrial development in different lands, and the limitation of different Stake in accepting inter- national decrees. In essence the Charter sought the creation and mobilization of humane public opinion. Its boundaries would be those of the League of Nations, which would thus operate in the realm of industries. An annual Conference would be held, and a permanent office established in the capital of the League of Nations. Mr. Wilson, at the end of Mr. Barnes's speech, declared that when the Labour Conference came to Washington it would receive a cordial welcome.
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