LABOR, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WORLD AFFAIRS
The Papers of David A Morse (1907-1990), Director-General of the International Labour Organisation, 1948-1970, from the Seeley G Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University

Part 1: International Labour Organisation Files

The David A. Morse Papers document the life and times of David Abner Morse (1907-1990), American lawyer, soldier, and public official. While he distinguished himself in legal, military, and governmental circles, the most fruitful years of his life were spent at the helm of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the oldest member of the United Nations family of specialised agencies. As Director-General of the International Labour Office in Geneva from 1948 to 1970, Morse guided the increasingly complex activities of this tripartite organisation, which unites in one body the representatives of workers, governments, and employers. No one has had a longer tenure as its head, and no one has presided over such far-reaching changes in its composition and orientation. Drawing on a variety of experiences in the field of domestic and international labor, including appointments as Assistant, Under, and Acting Secretary of Labor in the Truman administration, Morse gave practical meaning in a post-war context to the ILOs underlying philosophy, namely, that "universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice." The pursuit of this object won for the ILO the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969. The David Morse Papers contain correspondence, reports, memoranda, subject files, speeches, articles, and interviews that document this long, productive career.

Part 1 of this microfilm project covers the Papers of David A Morse as Director-General of the ILO (Boxes 1-14). There are letters, memoranda, articles, booklets, reports and other material relating to the ILO for the period 1934 to 1991. The bulk of the material relates to the period of Morses tenure as Director-General, 1948-1970. The material in these 14 boxes represents only a fraction of the documentation which passed through Morses hands in the course of his long sojourn in Geneva, but the concentration of important documents and material of special interest to Morse imbues it with a distinctly personal quality.

Pope Paul VIs visit to the headquarters of the ILO and the conferral on the ILO of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 are both well documented. Both were of great symbolic significance to Morse.

The material is organised by folders in a single alphabetical sequence. The following gives a flavour of some of the file headings:

"Action of the ILO: Problems and Prospects", 1974
"The Amazing ILO", 1948
Andean Indian Project, 1954
Bevin, Ernest, 1948
China, 1948
Colombia, 1970
Cox, Robert W, 1956-1957, 1961, 1963-1966, 1969
"David Morse and His Global Skill-Building Program", 1960
European Economic Community, 1962
International Centre for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training, 1963-1985
International Institute for Labour Studies, 1962, 1965-1966
International Labour Conferences, 1946-1970 (Morses own files on these meetings)
Marshall, George C, 1948
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 1952
Rusk, Dean, 1948
South Africa, 1963-1964
Soviet Union, 1954-1970
"United States Participation in the ILO: Redefining the Role", 1989
Vietnam, 1966-1967
World Employment, 1970-1973

Preserved in these files are a number of revealing memoranda of meetings between Morse and prominent figures of his day. These include a discussion with Vincent Auriol in 1948 in which the President of France took exception to the American media's calls for "a strong man" in the Elysee Palace, a heated discussion with George Meany in 1963 in which the head of the AFL-CIO accused Morse of being soft on communism, and a discussion with Adlai Stevenson within a week of his death in 1965 in which the two-time Democratic presidential candidate voiced his dissatisfaction with the Johnson administrations policies in Vietnam and the Dominican Republic. There is also a summary of Morse's meeting at the Chinese Embassy in Paris with Dr Wang Shih Chieh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, in October 1948, which looked forward to the inauguration of the new ILO policy in Asia.

Of particular interest, too, are a pair of memoranda recording Morse's discussions with representatives of the Soviet Union and the United States in 1970 on the contentious matter of the appointment of a Soviet Assistant Director-General. Morses diplomatic skills are evident and, in particular, his ability to prolong a process whose resolution could (and ultimately did) have negative consequences for the ILO. Other insights offered by these documents relate to the international "jockeying and politicking" (to use Morse's words) which can precede the election of the head of an organization such as the ILO; the implications of domestic politics and, specifically, McCarthyism, for international civil servants of American nationality; and Morses relationship with his staff as manifested in his correspondence with two pivotal subordinates: Jef Rens, his second in command in Geneva, and Thacher Winslow, head of the ILOs office in Washington, D.C.

A typical letter from Thacher Winslow (Box 1, Folder 7) and marked "Strictly Personal and Confidential" reports on the latest developments in Bolivia on the Andean Indian Project:

"The other day Bill Dillingham, who, as you know, has been in Bolivia on the Andean Indian mission, came in to see me and gave me his side of the mess into which the project seems to have gotten. I took all he said with a grain of salt, and would not have written to you at all about it, but today I was in the Department of Labor and saw a dispatch from Bolivia which confirmed some of Dillinghams story from a completely different source.

I appreciate that this is only part of the story, but again I wouldnt even call it to your attention except that here is a top US official in Bolivia writing that the Foreign minister is complaining about the interference of Alvarado and other ILO officials. "

William K Opdyke's piece on "The Amazing ILO" (Box 1, Folder 5) praises the activities and achievements of the ILO:

"Twenty-nine years ago, an international organisation was born ! And for twenty-nine years it has lived through wars and all the man-made strife of that period. As its motto, the International Labour Organisation sticks doggedly to this challenge: "If you wish for peace, work for justice." An inter-governmental agency with a membership of 55 countries, including the USA, it seeks by inter-nation action to improve labor conditions, raise living standards and promote economic and social stability. And in this, its twenty-ninth year, it is stronger than ever. Chief "secret" of its strength all over the world is its tripartite makeup. By that is meant the active participation of accredited delegates from 55 nations representing directly the interests, policies and programs of employers, workers and governments. No other such international organisation exists today. Nothing like it ever existed before, and yet it works quietly, effectively, and with undisturbed dignity to improve working conditions all over the globe"

There is an interesting 37-page document on "Decision-Making in the ILO" which looks at the evolution of policy making and the various factors influencing policy decisions in the years after the Second World War through to the Cold War era of the 1950s and 1960s. Why was the ILO in such a weak position at the San Francisco Conference? Was the US position "friendly" to the ILO at this crucial post-war conference? What was the significance of the Soviet Unions absence from ILO membership and how did this change over time? How did cold war bi-polarity, with the western alignment of the ILO, provide conditions favourable to the development of two of the ILOs major post-war programmes: a normative programme in the human rights field and an operational programme in the manpower field?
(see Box 1, Folder 25).

Boxes 15 and 16 contain microfilm of International Labour Office records. The material in Boxes 17 to 45 of the David A Morse Papers, comprising reports of the Director-General, missions of the Director-General, and proceedings of ILO Conferences, 1946-1970, is not covered by this microfilm project.

The legacy of David Abner Morse, who died on December 1, 1990 at the age of 83, was global. As Director-General of the ILO, a specialised agency of the United Nations, for an unprecedented 22 years, he dedicated himself to improving the lot of workers throughout the world. A man of high ideals and exceptional acumen, he upheld the universality of workers' socio-economic rights amid the conflicting claims of communist and non-communist systems and have and have-not nations. In 1969 he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the ILO, a recognition of the organisations contribution to international harmony and prosperity under his leadership.

For Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991, "Flair for leadership and diplomacy, dynamism, charm, dignity - these were among his many radiant qualities. But above them all was the compassion and the care for the vulnerable of the earth, and the love of social justice which inspired all his endeavours."

For George Shultz, Secretary of Labor in the Nixon administration and Secretary of State in the Reagan administration, Morse possessed an innate, instinctive understanding of the need for standards of behaviour. "He saw the human side of enterprise. . . . He stood, it seemed to me, always for a blend of power and principle, not simply interest and power, but principle and power."

Morse, the son of immigrants Morris Moscovitz and Sara Werblin, was born in New York on May 31, 1907. He grew up in Somerville, New Jersey and attended Rutgers University, graduating in 1929. Deciding on a legal career, he studied law at Harvard University and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1933. In 1937 he married Mildred E. Hockstader, daughter of Leonard Hockstader and Aline Straus and granddaughter of Oscar S. Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor in the cabinet of President Theodore Roosevelt. The union, which spanned 53 years, could not have been happier.

Morses interest in and commitment to the public welfare in general and labor concerns in particular were evidenced by his involvement in the New Deal of the Roosevelt administration. Between 1933 and 1939 he held a number of governmental posts, including Chief Counsel for the Petroleum Labor Policy Board of the Department of Interior, Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, and Regional Attorney for the Second Region of the National Labor Relations Board. The objectivity he would be called on to exhibit as head of the ILO was apparent in his appointment in 1941 as Impartial Chairman of the milk industry of metropolitan New York. On leaving the public service, Morse became a named partner in the law firm of Coult, Satz, Tomlinson, and Morse. He also found time to lecture on labor relations, labor law, and administrative law at various educational institutions.

Shortly after the United States entered the Second World War, Morse joined the Army. From 1943 to 1944 he served as head of the Labor Division of the Allied Military Government in Sicily and Italy, where he formulated and implemented labor policies and programs for the American and British liberators. He filled a similar role from 1944 to 1945 as head of the Manpower Division of the United States Group Control Council for Germany. One of his tasks was to work with representatives of Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States to harmonise their approach to labor matters in occupied Germany, an involvement which undoubtedly helped to prepare him for his work at the ILO. At the wars end, he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel and, in 1946, was awarded the Legion of Merit.

On his return to the United States, Morse re-entered civilian life as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, a post he held from 1945 to 1946 when President Harry Truman named him Assistant Secretary of Labor. In this capacity, he focused his attention on the creation of the Department's Program of International Affairs. Named Under Secretary of Labor in 1947, he briefly filled the position of Acting Secretary on the death of Lewis Schwellenbach in 1948.

It was in this year, too, that Morse embarked on the most significant phase of his career, that of Director-General of the ILO. He was no stranger to this organisation, having represented the government of the United States as a member of its Governing Body and as a delegate to its annual International Labor Conference. His election to the post of Director-General, which entailed a move to Geneva, brought with it many challenges. It is a measure of his success in facing them that the ILO changed the regulations which would have limited his tenure to a single ten-year term, renewable for three years, to allow for his re- election, which occurred in 1957, 1962, and 1967. (In 1961, he resigned but was persuaded to reconsider.)

Morse brought to his new position a broad and vigorous vision of the potentiality of his office and the ILO as a whole. He exercised a leadership which was at once impartial and engaged and which incorporated three fundamental principles: the need for socio-economic reform, the importance of the rule of law, and integrity. Integrity was a quality he demanded of everyone who worked with him, and he was equally protective of the integrity of the ILO, deftly resisting political pressure, whether it stemmed from the rivalries of the superpowers or the process of decolonisation. As an American, he was particularly vulnerable to the animus of McCarthyism, but he weathered this storm with firmness and dignity.

According to Gullmar Bergenstrom, Vice Chairman of the Governing Body from 1969 to 1979, "Morse was both Director and General. As Director [he was] a most skilful administrator. He appointed the right people to the various top posts in the Office, which was, of course, a policy decision of highest importance. As General he aggressively defended the ILO's sphere of competence against various young mushrooming and sometimes self-propelling agencies with ambitions to encroach on the ILO field." There was a manifest need for each of these functions. The organisation Morse inherited was a product of the Treaty of Versailles, and, amid the burgeoning international bodies of the time, its relevance was under threat. He immediately set out to revitalise the ILO along three lines.

First, Morse believed that the ILO could not be a static entity but, rather, would have to adapt to new circumstances if it was to be an effective force for good in the world. He therefore expanded its sights and its reach beyond its traditional role as a setter of international labor standards. Under his leadership, sweeping organisational changes took place. The membership of the ILO grew from 52 to 121 nations, giving it a universal character. Its staff increased fivefold, from some 600 to some 3000 men and women of diverse nationality. Its annual budget rose from about $4,000,000 to about $60,000,000. Morse laid the foundation for a new headquarters and established an extensive network of field offices. The educational activities of the ILO were given a new impetus with the establishment of the International Institute for Labour Studies in Geneva and the International Centre for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training in Turin.

Second, Morse believed that the ILO had a global commitment to build peace, and that orderly socio-economic change within countries was a prerequisite for peace between countries. Whether the issue was a labor dispute in the ILO itself, the credibility of the labor movement in the Soviet Union, or apartheid in South Africa, Morse maintained that the best way to achieve change was to effect it through existing socio-economic institutions within the rule of law. He insisted, too, that the ILOs contribution to peace building be truly tripartite, involving workers, governments, and employers in a common quest for a more just world. Morse's commitment to this principle was nowhere more evident than in his position on the 1969 Nobel Peace Prize, a personal tribute as much as an organisational one. Francis Wolf, Legal Advisor of the ILO from 1963 to 1987, was instructed to contact the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament to request that the award be given solely to the ILO lest individual accomplishments overshadow tripartite ones. Accordingly, on December 10, 1969, Morse accepted the Nobel Peace Prize "On behalf of all our constituents, governments as well as employers and workers of our 121 member States, on behalf of all my staff, and in tribute to all those who in the past have faithfully served our Organisation."

Third, Morse believed that symbolism, however potent, was no substitute for action. He won a reputation as a "practical idealist" as he initiated new forms of technical assistance to enable countries to meet the standards and abide by the principles espoused by the ILO. Underdevelopment and the poverty which betokened it became a major preoccupation for him, though in focusing on the myriad needs of the developing world, he did not neglect the problems confronting industrialised societies. Among the issues Morse addressed through new programs and emphases were labor-management relations, workers education, management development, supervisory training, manpower planning and employment creation, rural development, and promotion of small-scale industries. The World Employment Programme, launched in 1969, was one of Morses principal legacies. It sought to raise the employment level and, thus, the quality of life of millions of marginalised men and women through such measures as stemming the migration of populations from rural to urban areas. When Morse relinquished his post as Director-General in 1970, the ILO, once a frail survivor of the discredited League of Nations, could take satisfaction in a new vitality and a new prominence.

Morse did not rest on his laurels upon his return to the United States. He took up the practice of international law in New York and Washington, D. C., assuming a leading role in his firm, which grew considerably in the years which followed. His concern for the welfare of the global community did not abate. He served as an advisor to the United Nations Development Programme, chairing its Advisory Panel on Programme Policy, and was active in such organisations as the World Rehabilitation Fund, the United Nations Association of the United States of America, and the Council on Foreign Relations. His contribution to these and other bodies was highly valued. As David Rockefeller, Honorary Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, noted in 1994, "He was a man of extraordinary quality and distinction who devoted the major part of his life to public service. . . . David was an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations for some 30 years, and to many here and around the world, he was a staunch and trusted friend."

Morses life was crowned with many achievements, and the list of honours he acquired is long. In addition to holding a number of honorary doctorates, he was decorated by countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. France made him a Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honor, the highest decoration a foreign national can receive. He also received the Meritorious Public Service Award of the Sidney Hillman Foundation and the Human Rights Award of the International League for the Rights of Man.

What Morse did in life was very much a reflection of whom he was, and it is perhaps in the realm of intangibles that he left his most enduring mark. According to Francis Blanchard, Director- General of the ILO from 1974 to 1989, "David Morse was such a remarkably successful leader because he was such a remarkable human being. His warm personality and great personal charm had an almost magic effect on all with whom he came into contact. . . . Those of us who worked with him in the International Labour Office remember with admiration, respect and affection how deeply he influenced our work and our lives."

The Morse Papers shed ample light on his activities, the concerns which animated them, and the relationships in which they were centered. There is material on both the public and private aspects of his life and career. Researchers can expect to encounter both the large and the small in Morses life - from his views on internationalism to his views on small-town New Jersey - and in the process, construct a rounded picture of an influential public figure in the last half of the twentieth century.

Throughout his life, Morse met and corresponded with many individuals of national and international significance concerning labor issues. This collection contains correspondence or records of discussion with Dean Acheson, Leonid Brezhnev, Dwight D Eisenhower, Dag Hammarskjold, Averell Harriman, Paul G Hoffman, C Wifred Jenks, David Lilienthal, George Marshall, Leopold Senghor and U Thant.