Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1889-09-21
THE PARIS CONGRESS

THE PARIS CONGRESS.
To the WOrkmen'S AdrOcdte:
In the ssue of London Justice of
August on page B appears IA paragraph
purporting to be correction of an er-
ror in the report of the International
Workers Congress held last July at
Paris
As one who was present as delegate
to that congress ! beg to be allowed to
make the following statement in this
connection.
The paragraph allude to says that
"the Congress really voted for the flu
sion of the Congresses Uhe so-called
"Possibilist' and "Marxist' Congresses
and that the credentials of both parties
should be certified IN ,ulited or single
congress-"
Inasmuch as took especial interest in
this question of fusion, believe | am in
a position to say precisely what took
place, and emphatically state that no
resolution or measure was adopted at
Vie osSlDllSl lbohluB W Il
veritication of the credentials by a
"united congress" The resolution
adopted in fact was just as stated in the
first report of Justice /. e., THAT the
union should be subject to the strict
veritication of the credentials from the
Marrist Congress"
This humiliating condition the Marx
lists, of course, could not and did not
accept
| would. moreover, submit that the
Possibilists were by no means "ready
and eager to submit their credentials to
the Marxlsts,' as the paragraph in ques-
ton has it. Nor We're they eager to do
anything looking toward fusion,
On the contrary, they (Or at least their
''leaders) took advantage of every pre-
text 10 undermine every effort looking
in that direction and am sorry to say
that they were abetted by some hot
spurs from the Social Democratic Fed
Grafton of England | would remark
here that the French and English alone
stood in this antagonism to harmony.
All the other nationaIities represented
made most gallant efforts towards
union; the Italian. Belgian and Danish
delegations deserve especial mention in
this connection.
SO eager were the Possiblist "lead-
ers' to get their resolution with the
above condition passed, that the re-
porter of the meeting who happened to
be Possibilist, counted two delegations
for the condition who in the following
session declared that they had voted
against it. The minutes will support
me in this statement
So eager were they to prevent a flu
sion that after an adverse answer had
been sent from the MarXist Congress,
the Posslbilists, and, am sorry to say.
a member of the English delegation had
the bad taste to interrupt the Italian
delegate, Costa, in his further attempts
at Cancellation. but allowed Jotfrin. who
seemed to be the bell-wether of the Pos
sibilists, to make some more capital out
of the alleged fact that the other con
gress had admitted the delegates from
Alsace-Lorraine as a separate delega-
ton. criticism coming with very bad
grace from a congress which had add
mitted number of men as an Austrian
delegation who had not seen Austria for
years, and knew nothing whatever
about the movement there. and mem
Der of the French Possibilist Party AS a
Swiss delegate.
In short, the non admission of the
Marxist delegates was cut-and-dried
affair, as far as the Possibliists and a
number of the English delegates were
concerned.
The fact that the French PoSslbilist
Hleaders" do not want any Cancellation
with the Marxists, and desire to perpe-