, 1872-10-14
A FRENCH VIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS-.

Translated ron,the Reu,.s des Dsuz ao'des of Sept 15
The grand international conclave has been
failure. II. Karl Marx, the members Of the
Paris Commune, representatives. from all coun-
tries, were there. There was even an American
delegate, who came to plead the cause Of " free
love-" All this did no good. The grand, solemn
revolutionary manifestation has lost its effect.
This one did not even excite the curiosity that
commonly makes such IN important demonstra-
tion a success:
This was not because the Congress OF The
Hague differed materially from those that pre-
ceded it, moi because it lacked q certain sort of
interest. On the contrary, it fulfilled every con-
dition of Euch q reunion. From the hr5t, no
occasion for indulging in all manner OF radical
eccentricities was let slip. For the hundredth
time, war was declared against all Governments,
and the destruction Of the bourgeois OF
every country and every sort Was vowed.
The delegates made no exception even for the
''radical bourgeoisie. solemn1y procai1ning that
s'the supporters Of The Left we're as dstestable
as the supporters of the Right" and that s. the
Gambettas are as odous as the Thiers." The
Commune was glorifel and, at the same time,
q secret revenle1 we'll calculated to make u. Bis
marck review the past. It was: thct, if the Com
mune had been established in Paris on Sept. s,
1870, the war would haye been ended. How do
they know? Because the Commune would have
been, the day after, a!so proclaimed at Berlin,
and the two wings would at once have clasped
hands across the ruins Of all Governments and
oil aristocratic burgesses! II. Bismarck has had
a lucky escape, and France has lost q happy
chance Of salvation, that she would not
lave been hurled in an instant into deeper
abyss.
1t bottom, aside from its speech-making and
its laundering, the Congress Of The Hague has,
perhaps, from certain points Of view a more
i1feraEf nff n7arn1v q ravof1finr
once more Of the moral or mental state Of this
strange world; it is the visible sign Of al i'm
portant crisis, near at hand, in the Irternation-
ale; There were at The Hague two parties, the
came with the intention Of abolishing the Lon
don CouncilGeneral which they accused Of des-
potiEm, Of tyranny, and, perhaps, OF some
other peecadilloes Of financial nature. II.
his retinue, made up Of the debris of the Paris
ian Commune, was there to direct the defence
Of the Council General This Was not all. The
Federa1ists, perhaps only for the sake Of ap-
pearance, refused to meddle in politics. The
Centralizers, under the inspiration Of II Ka7l
utes Of the 1nternationale that they
could have absolute control Of the political
action of tho Sections. They wished to put the
Society on purely military basis.
The strife has been bitter bstEeen the two
parties. How has it ended2 It would be Diff
cult to tell which remains master Of the field.
The Council General survives, but it is tranH-
ported clear away to New York. On the other
hand, the proposition to make the 1nternation-
ale d political force was lost in the confusion,
amid the violent recrin1inations of the chief
orators, as they accused each other Of an in
ability to comprehend the situation. When the
Hollandera. who had the pleasure OF attending
the sessions IS they would q show, said this,
they also formed themselves into party, re-
solved to give pleasure 10 the spectators, and
answered the harangues Of the 1nternationaliBts
by singing their patriotic song: 1.-THE man who
has Netherland blood in his veins loves
from the bottom Of his heart his God
and his King" Suddenly, Congress and
orators disappeared Some returned to London,
whence they had come; others betook them
selves to Amsterdam, where they were comforted
by . banquet. The schiBm is complete. The
delegates left without knowing what had been
done, after contradictory and confusing votes.
The only clear thing is the attempt Of the Jacob
inc party to appropriate to themselves this ter
rible machine-the 1nternationa1e. Nevertheless,
the society will ever be Of some interest, since
it has to do with woringmen. But what role
did laborers play in the Congress Of The Hague?
How did it concern itself with their interests
OF veritable laborers, there was scarcely one
there. There were journalistic, physicians,
at Clubs,-these were the men who strutted
across the stage. AS for the interests of work.
ingren, no one spoke Of them. except to say
that the proletariat must first conquer The bour-
geoisie in order to make law for it. This is the
eternal history: The psrty-cry is the interests
Of the workingman; social and political deBtruc-
ton is the party-aiu,. The workmon are the first
dupes OF the agitators, who use them to rob
them of their victory, if they succeed, TO leave
them to the tender mercies Of warfare, if they
fail Thus progresses the ennoblement of work
ers and work.