The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 4, 1925, Page 11

me Oudegeest versus Swales on Unity VER since a rapprochement began to develop between the British and the Soviet trade unions, the gen- eral secretary of the Amsterdam In- ternational, Oudegeest, who lost his sleep and appetite for grief, began to deveiop stormy journalistic activities. As a result of his efforts the interna- tional social democratic press has now been flooded with articles and notes sharply opposing unity of the interna- tional trade union movement. N an editorial article in the central organ of the Dutch Social Democ- tacy, “Het Volk,” of May 8, we read that “among the followers” of. the unity slogan a distinction should be made between those misled and those who do the misleading, that the “unity effort is a result of co-operation be- tween the naivity of the ones and the dishonesty of the others/’ that “trade union unity” (a journal edited by Comrades Purcell, Hicks and Fim- men) is the camp mainly of those mis- led and that “the editors and contri- butors of this organ display more zeal than political wisdom” etc., etc., in the same spirit. E would not deal with this “dig- nified” literature had it not been for the fact that it represents a sample of the methods which the sec- ond international and the right wing of the Amsterdam International are forced to resort to in the struggle against the “danger” of the restora- tion of trade union unity. However, Oudegeest apparently was not content with the anonymous at- tack upon the Anglo-Russian rap- prochement and taking as his excuse an article in the Labor Magazine, the organ of the British Trade Union Congress and labor party, which be- littles the significance of the R. I. L. U., he took upon himself nothing less than the job of saving the Russian trade union movement from the Com- . munist Party. FTER a vituperous outpouring up- ‘on the;sHeads ef) Zimoviev, Lozov- ky, and the other leaders. standing outside the ranks of their own trade union movement” for their systematic and tireless struggle against reform- ism, Oudegeest treats his readers to the following Dutch concoction: “TT\HE position of the Communist Party in Russia, not only from a political, but from a trade unionist point of view as well, is more diffi- cult than ever! The leaders of the Russian trade union movement will no longer reconcile themselves (1!) with a position of subordination to the Communist Party leaders. The further the capitalist system is be- coming rehabilitated in Russia, the more clearly do the trade unions realize their true tasks and the im- portance of independence. E would really gladly support our friend (?) Tomsky and his comrades in their struggle (!) for freedom from the violence of the Communist Party, but owing to the position of a number of coun- tries, where the Communist trade unionists have not yet become as Independent as our Russian com- rades, we are forced to ponder over the question of whether this sort of consideration for the Russian comrades would not prove too costly In the other countries. “W* who know of the negotia- > V¥i tions between Russia and Eng- jand*someWhat more (!) than would appear’ from the general press ac- counts, have gathered the definite Impression that Tomsky and his followers are ready to tread along the true path. But the fact remains that the Russian trade unions are affiliated to the Red International of Labor Unions, which takes orders (2) fromthe Communist Party and whose constitution dictates to its lhefents in the various countries @ destruction (f) of the Amster dam ‘International as appears also from the abéVe mentioned speech by Lozovsky, and If we wanted to lend ‘assistance to our Russian com- rades in their struggle for emancl- pation, not only by the Initiative of the British labor movement, but on our own Impulse, our Instinct of self preservation dictates us the greatest caution.” : reading this sort of literary ex- ercise the only conclusion to which one is forced is that this fellow has become hopelessly confused and that what he wants is a long indefinite fur- lough. It takes some skill to put into a little article like this, such an infinite mass of crazy nonsense, Oudegeest, you see, wants to help the Russian unions to free themselves from the leadership of the Commun- ist Party. Only he forgot that international imperialism has been trying to do this for several years and got its neck broken in doing so. Was not the of- fensive upon Soviet Russia carried on under the slogan of the “liberation” of the Russian people from the Com- munist Party and the Soviets? AD Oudegeest understood the Sov- iet trade union movement just a little he would have refrained ‘from this sort of cavalry raids, as his pro- posal of assistance to “our friend” Tomsky to free himself from the influ- ence of the Communist Party can bring nothing but homeric laughter from the Russian workers. S secretary of the International, he ought to get rid of the ridicu- lous habit of the provincial solicitors to foist his friendship upon strangers, remembering the French saying that the ridiculous is killing. Is it worth while arguing with Oude- geest fundamentally? Of course not. The man builds his plans on fantastic assumptions and instead of making a clear breast of his opposition to unity, he travels 80,000 miles around himself, offers friendship, promises to free the Russian workers from the in- fluence of the Communist Party, inci- dently garnishing his deliberations by attacks upon the Comintern and the R. I. L. U. guilty of disagreeing with his, Oudegeest’s views. To argue with such a man is, of course, useless. 'E would finish right there if it were not for the fact that Oude- geest’s literary itch drove him _for- ward with an article.in, the British press against the policy of the general council of the British Trade Union Congress and in criticism of some ar- ticles by Mr. Swales, president of the general council. Oudegeest did not like Swales’ articles defending the Anglo-Russian agreement and advo- cating the erection of an all-inclusive genuine trade union International. S a man of wonderful determina- tion, OQudegeest, forgetting his age and good temper, wrote a lengthy letter to the organ of the Independent Labor Party of Great Britain (The New Leader, of May 15) in which he tells Swales the history of the organ- ization of the Red International of Labor Unions and of its wicked at- tempts to “destroy” the Amsterdam International. Oudegeest tells that in 1920, the Comintern and the R. I. L. U. issued an appeal from the Reds to the yel- lows, that this appeal was signed by Lenin, Zinoviev, Tomsky, Lozovsky and others, that the Amsterdam Inter- national, tho resenting it, nevertheless decided to seek the affiliation of the Russian unions, etc. Oudegeest also attempts to deny Swales’ statement to the effect that the Russian unions were subjected to a trade union block- ade, but since he forgets to offer any serious proof his denials sound like pure anti-Communist declarations, FTER several more threats at the Comintern and the R. I. L. U., Oudegeest, as the final stunning argu- ment, triumphantly asks Swales: “At the time when the British Trade Union Congress in 1919, affi- liated with our International, its representatives did not ask for any special pourparlers. They attended our congress, examined the rules and proceeded to affiliate. The same course has been taken by all our affiliated countries. It is so far not clear to me why Russia should have to make an e&teption.” UDEGEEST was sure that this last argument would crush, like a sledge hammer, all possible excuses and would make .it impossible for-any of the leaders: ‘of the British’ trade union movement to defend their point By A. Losousky of view as to the methods of re establishing international trade union unity. However, the president of the British Trade Union General_Council, Comrade Swales, with characteristic British coolness, replied to this sneer of Oudegeest as follows (New Leader of same date): “No one knows better than Mr. Oudegeest that there is no analogy between the British affiliation and the present position of the unions affiliated to the All-Russian Trade Union Congress. He knows that it is not the affili&tion of a country that is involved so much as the amalgamation of the two Interna- tionals,” HIS statement of the president of the Trade Union General Council, the Oudegeests of all countries will do well to remember. This must -be especially understood by those of the Amsterdam International leaders who juggle with figures. To them statistics is not a science, but an art by which they try to prove that apart from the Russian unions and some small minorities the R. I. L. U. represents no one. Recently the Chinese unions affiliated to the R. I. L. U—do you think that the right Amstredamers attach any significance to that? Not at all. When the trade unions of Palestine and of the free port of Danzig af- filiated to the Amsterdam Interna- tional, that was an event. But China, with only 420,000,000 people, can it ever compare with any European country? | E shall yet have an occasion to deal with the latest statistical researches of the Amsterdam Inter- national in that part which deals with the R. L. L, U. Just now we only want to call attention to the gulf dividing the right wing of the Amster- dam International from the left wing, and again emphasize the statement of the president of the British Trade Union General Council that now it is not the affiliation of a country that is involved so much as‘ the- an tion of the two Internationals, MOSCOW, May 26, 1925. Another Chapter Added to the Story of the Last War Big Business of the “Enemy Countries” Gets Together. —