Woodrow Wilson Papers.
President Wilson to the Secretary of the American Federation of Labor ( Morrison )
My Dear Mr. Morrison: I have received a great many messages besides your own very interesting and persuasive message with regard to appointing a representative of labor on the Peace Commission, and have of course given the matter the most serious consideration.
I have at the same time received equally strong appeals to appoint a representative of the agricultural interests of the country, a representative of the socialistic bodies of the country, a representative of the women of the country, and many other similar suggestions. I am not putting all of these upon a par. I am merely illustrating the fact that many special bodies and interests of our complex nation have felt, and felt very naturally, a desire to have special spokesmen among the peace delegates.
I must say, however, that my own feeling is that the peace delegates should represent no portion of our people in particular, but the country as a whole, and that it was unwise to make any selection on the ground that the man selected represented a particular group or interest, for after all each interest is, or should be, related to the whole, and no proper representative of the country could fail to have in mind the great and all-pervasive interest of labor or of any other great body of humanity.
The number of delegates will be small, and I have thought that therefore special representation was out of the question.
Cordially and sincerely yours,