*This Nobel lecture was delivered in the auditorium of the Nobel Institute by David A. Morse, who spoke in behalf of the International Labor Organization. Mr. Morse (1907- ), American lawyer and former assistant secretary, undersecretary, and acting secretary of labor (successively in the period 1945-1948), had been the director general of ILO since August 24, 1948, an office which he held until 1970. The text of his lecture is taken from Les Prix Nobel en 1969.