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Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment.

Samuel Gompers

Our movement is of the working people, for the working people, by the working people. . . .
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Long Movement Order People Struggle Work
There are such wonderful possibilities in the life of each man and woman!
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Inspiration Life Live Man Opportunity Possible Woman Wonderful
Do I believe in arbitration? I do. But not in arbitration between the lion and the lamb, in which the lamb is in the morning found inside the lion
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Arbitration Believe Found Inside Lamb Lion Morning Umpires
To free him from the tyrannies, petty or otherwise, which served to make his existence a slavery.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Existence Free Make Otherwise Serve Slavery Tyrannies
The periods of unemployment accompanying depression in the business cycle . . . present a challenge to all our claims to progress, humanity, and civilization.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Accompanying Business Business Cycle Challenge Civilization Depression Employment Period Progress Une
You can’t weigh the soul of a man with a bar of pig-iron.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Bar Iron Man Pig Soul Weight
The trade union movement represents the organized economic power of the workers… It is in reality the most potent and the most direct social insurance the workers can establish.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Economic Movement Organization Organized Power Reality Represent Trade Worker
Where trade unions are most firmly organized, there are the rights of the people most respected.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Firmly Most Organization People Respect Right Trade Union
Show me the country that has no strikes and I’ll show you the country in which there is no liberty.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Country Liberty Show Strike
Workingmen are at the foundation of society.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Endeavor Foundation Men Share Society Working
W.Z. Foster {head of the American Communist Party}, who had no money, went to Moscow and came back and announced that he was building a great secret machine to undermine the American labor movement and turn it over to the Red International, owned by Lenin.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Announce Build Communist Community Country Foster International Money Movement Party Red Secret
The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Article Commerce Commodity Human Being Labor
The working people know no country. They are citizens of the world.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Citizen Country Know People World
All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Dayis devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.
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Amn Battle Conflict Connect Degree Holiday Less Man Other Over Power Race
There is not a right too long denied to which we do not aspire in order to achieve; there is not a wrong too long endured that we are not determined to abolish.
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Abolish Aspire Denied Determine Endure Long Order Right Wrong
So long as we have held fast to voluntary principles and have been actuated and inspired by the spirit of service.
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Actuated Decision Inspire Long Principle Service Spirit Voluntary Wise
One fact stands out in bold relief in the history of man’s attempts for betterment. That is that when compulsion is used, only resentment is aroused, and the end is not gained. Only through moral suasion and appeal to man’s reason can a movement succeed.
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Arouse Attempt Betterment Bold Compulsion Fact History Man relief Resentment Stand Use
Let social busybodies and professional “public morals experts” in their fads reflect upon the perils they rashly invite under this pretense of social welfare.
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Bodies Busy Moral Peril Pretense Public Social Under Welfare
Our mission has been the protection of the wage-worker, now; to increase his wages; to cut hours off the long workday, which was killing him; to improve the safety and the sanitary conditions of the workshop.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Cut Cutting Hour Increase Long Mission Now Protection Safety Wage Workday Kill Worker
So long as there is one [person] who seeks employment and cannot find it, the hours of work are too long.
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Employment Find Hour Long Seek Work
There may be here and there a worker who for certain reasons unexplainable to us does not join a union of labor. That is his right. It is his legal right, no matter how morally wrong he may be. It is his legal right, and no one can or dare question his exercise of that legal right.
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Certain Exercise Join Labor Reason Unexplainable Union Worker
No human being is unimportant. My inspiration comes in opening opportunities that all alike may be free to live life to the fullest.
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Alike Being Come Fullest Human Inspiration Life Open Opportunity Unimportant
No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Come Compulsion Ever Gain Lasting
Time is the most valuable thing on earth: time to think, time to act, time to extend our fraternal relations, time to become better men, time to become better women, time to become better and more independent citizens.
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Bvaluable Earth Fraternal Independent Men Out Relation Thinking Time
What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Arsenal Beautiful Book Labor Less More Nature Opportunity Revenge Schoolhouse
Show me that product of human endeavor in the making of which the workingman has had no share, and I will show you something that society can well dispense with.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Make Man Product Share Show Society Something Working
The right to say the things which convey the new and yet unexpected thoughts, the right to say things, even though they do a wrong.
SAMUEL GOMPERS

Convey Life New Right Say Thing Through Unexpected Wrong

Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment.

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Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment.

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