The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 27, 1925, Page 8

ee amon svete ec ci PTR OTTER ase Men na enn ren RCE AEA SRNL Ce AR ARP EN Ra EE TP A NSE ee oe ee eee tT ET For the Unity of the Trade Union Movement RUSSIANS URGE INTERNATIONAL UNITY Report of Comrade Tomsky on the Anglo-Russian Trade Union Conference at the Plenary Session of the All- Russian Council of Trade Unions. The Antecedents of the Conference. HE campaign for unity was begun by the-Red International of Labor Unions. After long correspondence with the Amsterdam International, the latter declared that it was prepared to enter into negotiations with the All- Russian Central Trade Union Council on condition that the R. I. L, U. should be excluded from these negotiations. This ended the first stage of the nego- tiations. We saw that the offensive of capi- tal continued and that the post-war achievements of the working class were in danger of destruction. Every- where political reaction is following close on the heels of economic reac- tion. And we believed that we had no right to seclude ourselves within our comparatively favorable position. We have never regarded our revolu- tion as, in the narrowest sense, a na- tional revolution. When, in Oct., 1917 we carried out our insurrection, we knew that our revolution was doomed to defeat unless we had the support of the workers of Western Europe And we were right. The English in- tervention in Archangel failed because the English soldiers, amongst whom were English workers, refused to fight against us any longer. The French intervention in Odessa was a failure, because on the French iron-clads, the workers, stuck into naval uniforms, mutinied, and also because the Eng- lish workers declared with sufficient emphasis: “Hands off Soviet Russia!” Since the West European proletariat has given us such support, we cannot remain passive with regard to them. HEN the black flood of reaction 1¥, will _haye inundated the ‘whole ot Western Europe, and we find our- sélves ina fascist ‘environment, that will not be a matter of indifference for the fate of the Soviet Republic. It is this circumstance which compels Us to pursue, not a national but an inter- national labor policy, under the ban- ner under which our revolution gained the victoty. On the other hand, we take into consideration and grasp the fact that the interests of the West European working class demand the utmost concentration of forces. After the well-known resolution of the Vienna Congress, our relations to the Amsterdam International entered on amew phase. I have said repeat- edly that the correspondence which took place in this period resembles a petty bourgeois penny-dreadful, the peculiarity of this story being that it does not in the usual way end with marriage and happiness; our romance could not end with such a marriage, as no Amsterdam bride consented to meet the Moscow bridegroom. The condition laid down was that we recognize the resolutions of the Vienna Congress. ‘We on our part re- plied that ‘we wished to discuss in common the questions relating to the restoration of international trade union union unity, but without any preliminary c$nditions. We cannot in advance bind ourselves to any resolu- tions, in the passing of which we in no way participated. The tactics of the Amsterdam Inter- national prove, that, at a time when the imperialist blockade already be- longs to the realm of history, the trade union blockade is obviously | national. continued by the leading circles of the Amsterdam International. The Approach Between the Eng- lish Trade Unione and Our Own. Ov trade unions and the English ones have proved to be the most consistent adherents of unity. Our greatest and most lasting achievement in the treaty made with the MacDon- ald government in London—and this is all that is left of that treaty—was our connection with the English trade unions. The conference at Hull and CONFERENCE WITHOUT PRE-CONDITIONS: Moscow, May 19, 1926. HE foreign commission of the gen- eral council of the trades unions of the Soviet Union have addressed the following letter to the general council of the Amsterdam Internation- al: Dear Comrades, The session of the plenum of the general council, for various reasons and in consequence of the London conference between the English trade unions and the trade unions of the Soviet Union, could not take place until the period from the 30th of April till the 3rd of May. The conference of the trade unions of England and of the Soviet Union have digcussed in the fullest manner the question of unity, as well as the relation of the general council of the trade unions of the Soviet. Union to the Amstredam International. The plenum of the gen- eral council of the trade unions of the Soviet Union approved or the work and the decisions of the London con- ference and instructed the -foreign commission to reply. On the basis of these Gecisions we consider it to be our duty to inform you, that the decision of the generai council of the Amsterdam Internation- al of the 7th of February has made a very profound impression upon our trade unions. We have thought that the result of our exchange of letters would have been a greater mutual understanding and a meeting of our representatives with the representa- tives of the Amsterdam International in order to examine together the ques- tion of the unity of the trade union movement, as a first attempt to ap- pryach this question in a concrete manner. In our opinion, this ques tion is the most important and essen- tial for the workers of the whole world. We only wished to-achieve joint conference between the repre sentatives of thé trade unions of the Soviet Union and of the Amsterdzm International without pre-conditions. OUR resolution rejects our propos- al and stipulates that the meet- ing can only take place after a previ- ous declaration on our side that we are prepared to affiliate to the Am- sterdam International. This means affiliation to the Amsterdam rntrerna- tional as it is, that is, upon the basis of its principles and statutes. Enor- mous importance is to be attached to the declaration of Oudegeest and Jou- haux, in which this standpoint is con- firmed. We state with the deepest regret that these interpretations and declarations will do even more than the Amsterdam resolution to sharpen the differences, but they will in na way render more easy the question of unity. We declare once again, that we arp fur the united international. Our aim, and the aim of the majority of the class conscious workers of the world, is the creation of a united interne tional of the trade union organized workers of all countries who-stand upon the basis of the class struggle for the final emancipation of the working class from the capitalist yoke, In comparison with this great aim, the question of the statutes is of subordinate importance. The trade unions of the Soviet Union are pre- pared to affiliate to a trade unton In- ternational whose statutes would not differ very widely in the main from the statutes of the Amsterdam Inter national. The enumeration of the aims of this united international could contain all the aims set forth-in the statutes of the Amsterdam Interna- tional. The trade unions of the So- viet Union, however, have had no possibility of participating in the drawing up of the statutes of the Amsterdam International, E are of the conviction that se united trade union international should embrace, not only the trade unions of the Soviet Union, but al those who are at present not aflil- ated to the Amsterdam Internationa). In order to achieve this, full regard must be had to the differences and traditions of the historicat develop ments and political peculiarities of av countries, How is this to be realized? How is the existing mistrust between the various sections of the divided trade union movement to be overcome with- out personal contact .and all-around concrete examination of these im- portant questions? The mutual acquaintance of th representatives of the trade union movements of England and of Bx Soviet Union, the mutual desire far cemmon methods, for common lang ‘wage for thé realization of the mutmal- dy sincere efforts for trade unie. unity, will doubtless bring about very good results. The recent London com ference undoubtedly promoted the strengthening of pruletarian solider ity between the workers of England and of the Union of Soviet Republicg. In the same way, a meeting of thn representatives of the trade unfons of the Soviet Union, and of the Amster- dam International, provided there ex isted mutual good will, could serve as the commencement for the realization of the unity of the whole trade union movement. _ We therefore consider it desirable if the general council would revise the decision of the executive of 5th t# 7th of February, ane wouta con- vens together with the general coun- cil of the trade unions of the Soviet Union, a conference without pre-con- dizions, to discuss the question of the unity of the trade unions. Signed: President Tomsky, Secro- tary Dogadov. the visit of the English delegation to us have further strengthened this tie. At the meeting of the general coun- cil of the Amsterdam International, the English upheld our point of view; the diplomatic resolution sropened by Stenhuis was, however, passed. This resolution states that -a con- ference will be called when in their opinion, it seems possible, and after the Russian trade unions have, with- out reservation, declared themselves prepared to join cpg Amsterdam Inter- ‘Antica represents an independ- ent International. In Buropé there are two internationals, and there is still a whole number of coun- tries and organizations which as yet belong to no international. In the meanwhile capital is operating and maneuvering ona scale which is neither European nor semi-European., In such circumstances the question of unity could naturally not be exhausted by our trade unions joining the Am- sterdam International, We know, however, that every care- less word dropped by us, will be inter- preted by the leaders of the Amster- dam International as meaning that we did not desire unity, We could not make up our minds to gotiations without an authoritative resolution of our plenum. If we re gard negotiations as entirely broken off, what is then to be done? Are we then to enter on a new attack, a new cannonade with all guns against Am- As a result, our London Conference was called on the basis of a mutual agreement, ‘rw bourgeois press understands the interests of its employers thor- oly, and of course received ns in such 4 way that if we had troubled about it at all or excited ourselves about its articles, we should have died of con sumption within three days. Fortu- nately Comrade Jarotzky, did not read these papers to us until after dinner, and apart from a hearty laugh which contributed to good digestion, the articles had no effect on us. It said, for instance, that “the red - robber chieftain Tomsky, with his band of agitators had now arrived,” and that it was incomprehensible why they had been allowed to enter the country, Naturally, neither the English con: servative government nor the German government which was. friendly dis- posed to us, wanted to admit us, tho the latter was prepared to allow us a meeting with the representatives of the English trade unions, not in Ber- lin, but very kindly in Frankfurt, not however in the well-known Frankfurt on Main but in Frankfurt on the Oder. Nevertheless the English trade unions were able to bring pressure to bear on the conservative government so that we did not have to avail ourselves of the German hospitality, We were even worthy of two interpellations in par- liament; it was asked why we had come to London and whether we had not some deep designs. The boury geois press interpreted. the matter by sayjng that malignant agitators had now entered the country, who wished to corrupt the gentle and modest trade unionists. Each of these “innocent youths” whom we were to “corrupt” ‘vas at least half as old again as the oldest of us, and had furthermore twice as long a past in the labor move- ment as we. The Course of the Conference. N spite of the custom at similar conferences of choosing a chairman from each of the parties, on our. pro- posal a single chairman was chosen: Comrade Swales, the chairman of the General Council of Trade Unions, It was proposed to us that we should read a report, in accordance with which, on the basis of our statements, the agenda should be “Settled. Our time for speaking was-not lim: ited, and therefore we had the oppor- tunity of expounding our views as to the unity of the international labor movement, At the conclusion of our report, the British representatives wished first of all to discuss the resulting conclus- ions amongst themselves. At the second meeting of the con- ference, we heard the reply of the. British delegation to Comrade Tom- sky’s statement. Our delegation thot it necessary to have a thoro discussion about this declaration of the English delegation, After a few corrections had been accepted, both declarations —otirs as well as the English—were passed by the conference, The conference then unanimously resolved to issue a common declara- tion in the name of the whole confer- ence. For the drafting of this dec- laration, a committee was elected composed as follows: | Chariman | Swales; members: of the English del- egation Bramley and Purcell; of the Russian: Tomsky and Melnitsshan- sky. Next day the commission passed the text of the declaratton unanimous- ly. The last day of the yar cme was devoted to the discussion of this declaraiton. The declaration was also unanimously passed by the plenum of the conference. The Significance of the Declara- tion. The bourgeois press understands very well the danger wnien arises from eleven million workers havin, found a common aim, the aim of a struggle for the unity of the inter- national labor movement, fication of all the proletarian forces in & world-wide measure must oppose the class of wage earners in one battle (Continued on page 7.) at “¥