Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-11-10
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
or Interest to all Labor Organiza.
ti0nssin the World.


tions..in the World.
The following communication has
just been received for publication;
AS you are probably aware the
Party Congress of the German Social
Democracy which convened at st.
Gallen, Switzerland, in October last
year, unanimously resolved,
"To request the party representatives,
in connection with the workingmen S
affiliations of other countries, to call an
international Labor Congress in the
autumn of 1888 FOR the purpose of taking
concerted action towards a realization
of international protection laws"
In carrying out this resolution the
Social Democratic faction of the Ger
man Reichstag considered the ques-
ton more closely late in the fall of
last year, and believed. in the view
of the arrangements made by the
English trades-unions for an inter-
national labor congress, that they
ought to forego the calling of a
special congress if the invitation of
the English unions were SO shaped
that:
First, All shades of opinions within
the working class could be represented
at the congress, and that
Second, In view of the situation in
which the German and Austrian work
men are placed through special legisla-
ton, as well as through the limiting
provisions of the society and meeting
laws of these countries, participation in
| the congress should not made dependent
upon this, that the delegates be sent by
and at the expense of trades union,
and that
Third, The parliamentary representa-
tives of the working class of any country
be entitled to participate in the congress
on the strength of their credentials.
The transaction with the parlia-
mentary committee who, as repre-
sentatives of the English trades
unions, issued the call for the
international labor congress be held
in London this year, led to no result
as they curtly denied the above de-
mands, and thereby, made it impos-
sible for the German and the Aus
trian workingmen to be represented
at the congress.
That a convention IN which the
working classes of such industrially
developed countries as Germany and
Austria are hindered in securing
representation has no right to de-
nominate itself "International Labor
Congress" is obvious, and so we are
compelled to make arrangements for
the labor congress resolved upon at
St. Gallen.
We are persuaded that the pro-
posed congress can only exert the
intended influence upon the legisla-
ton of industrially developed coun-
tries if all shades Of opinions within
the working classes, regardless of
party opinion have the right to
representation in the congress; and
We are further convinced that not
only representatives of existing
societies and unions should be ad-
mitted, but also that those who are
elected by open meetings of working
men called for the purpose should
be admitted. The more completely
the workers of all countries are
represented and the numerous the
delegates the more effective will be
| its deliberations and resolutions, and
for the sake of the purely practical
questions upon which the congress
will deliberate, it is best to extend
the right to representation as far as
possible.
| We now intend to issue call for