Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-03-22
SOCIAL|S S M.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ITS ORIGIN
AND
PROGRESS IN GERMANY.
BY HUGO VoGT.
Continued

One of the factors which aided much
in the growth of socialism was the trades
union movement that had taken firm
hold among the German workingmen
since 1868, Trades-unions had been or.
ganized before, some independently and
some in connection with the Interna.
tional Workingmen's Association. Las
salle's General Workingmcn's Society
favored political organization exclus.
lively and was at first avowedly hostile
to trades-unionism. Following strictly
the Lassallean idea that all workingmen
must be combined in one central organi-
zation, the society looked upon the for
nation of any other organization as a
breach of discipline, and when William
Fritsche, who was one of the most in.
huentlal men In the society and had been
for few months its temporary pres
ident, organized the German Tobacco
Workers Association in 1865, he was
considered as having placed himself out
side of the society. In 1868 the Progress
sists, having lost their influence with the
educational societies, conceived the plan
of regaining their prestige with the
working class by the organization of
trades unions after the English fashion.
They sent DR.. Max Hirsch to England to
study the English trades union move
ment. Mainly to thwart this scheme
Schweitzer and Fritzsche moved at the
General Assembly of the General Work
mems Society that convention be called
for the purpose of organizing trades
unions, The motion Was. rejected, but
Schweitzer was 80 thoroughly convinced
of the timeliness and necessity of this
step, that he declared he and Fritzsche
would call the convention in their ca
pacity as deputies in the Reichstag. In
this the General Assembly acquiesced
and on September 81, 1868. the trades
union convention met in Berlin and was
a most unexpected success, 142, 900 work
ingmen of various trades being repres-
ented by 26O delegates. Max Hirsch,
who had been hurriedly called back from
England, was present with number of
adherents. Their anger at seeing them
selves overrun by the Socialists led them
to noisy demonstrations, whereupon
they were expelled bodily by resolution
of the convention "as agents of the ca
pitalists, who had come for the sole pur-
pose Of creating dissensions among the
workingmen. The convention organized
a number of trades unions, which we're
amalgamated in a general federation
with Schweitzer as president. Shortly
afterwards the separate trade unions
were dissolved again and merged in one
amalgamated body. In spite of strong
sentiment against separate trade unions
on the part of the Lassallean leaders,
such were formed, among the trainers,
bricklayers, cabinet makers, tailors, me-
talworkers and others and we're affiliated
with the General Workmen's Society.
The Tobacco Workers Society was
not affiliated with it but substan-
TALLY the entire membership belonged
also to the General Workmen's Society.
Max Hirsch had in the meantime or
ganzed quite number Of trades unions
on his plan. They were mainly devoted
to the support of the members in cases
of sickness or distress, and after some
strikes, resulting in failure, which drove
all the energetic elements over to the
Socialists, they became benefit societies
exclusively. After a good start in 1869
the membership went down rapidly
owing to the constant secessions of en-
tire unions to the Socialists. In 1871 the
membership had fallen to 10, 600 through
out Germany, and that was only main
tanned because they had become the pets
of the employers, who ordered their
workingmen to Join the Hirsch- unions,
hoping thus TO keep them out of the
Socialist organizations. OF course, the
result was the same; Socialists got in
Just because of this "ordre du mufti''
procedure, and when once in, gradually
obtained control.
Both the Progressists and the Lassal-
Ian Socialists went into the organiza-
ton of trades unions for political pur-
poses and because they could not keep
out without losing all influence on a
movement which showed SO much
natural strength. The first to under
stand this were the Marxists. They
looked upon the trade unions rs the
necessary result of iabor's daily conflict