The Potters Herald

Are You Trustworthy?

By RUTH TAYLOR

The treacherous attack of Japan awakened the entire nation to the calibre of our enemies. But we must not allow this consciousness of their untrustworthiness to destroy our faith in all mankind.

Trust in each other is an essential in community life. Our every act each day is an expression of faith. I wonder if you realize how absolutely dependent we are, in our daily contacts, upon the good faith of others, sometimes unseen. We trust another person every time we take a train or a subway, or a bus, step in an elevator, drive our car, or even walk across the street. We trust another almost every time we transact any of the commonplace acts of business. All day long, in every act, we unconsciously put our trust in those with whom we come in contact without thinking or caring what their class, race, creed, or color.

Man is civilized, when he trusts his fellow man to have a sense of ethics and responsibility like unto his own-to do his share, to keep his word. There can be harmonious relations among men only as these relations are based on sound and just foundations. When we cannot trust, we cannot work together. Only as we ourselves keep our word and personal integrity, can we depend on the same attitude and action by others.

This is particularly true of labor relations. Labor cannot expect fair play unless it plays fair. Labor must prove that it can keep its pledged word-then it can demand and confidently expect that those with whom it deals will keep theirs.

Labor is and will be under attack for some time to come. Self-seeking individuals have used the labor movement as a cloak to cover the furtherance of their own ambitions. Organized labor must constantly resell itself to the public, and it must do so by being absolutely trustworthy. If the public can be sold on the fact that the word of Organized Labor is as good as its bond, then public opinion will back Organized Labor when the need arises!