The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-11-01

THE COMING STRUGGLE

Labor u Missing III HeFess fer Cen<
bined Onslaught Upon the Citsdsls -
Capitalism.
We have received copies Of the North
ern Wing, large and influential daily
paper published at Belfast, Ireland.
containing an exhaustive report Of tho
proceedings of tho British trades union
congress, which met in the aforemen-
toned city during the first week in
September, and which was considered
unworthy of notice by American press
associations The British federation il
undou btedly, in point of numbers and
financial condition. the most powerful
organization in the world to-day, and,
judging from the detailed reports in
the Wing, which devoted from ten to
twenty-five columns q day. such as are
contained in the average American
daily to record the proceedings. the
union is recognized as no small
factor in Great Britain There
were present as delegates many men
whose names are well-known in the
United States as being ever in the fore
front bearing aloft the banner Of or
ganized labor, including John Burns,
J. Keir Hardie. John Wilson and
Charles Fenwick, members Of parlia-
ment; Ben Tillett, Henry Broadhurst,
Will Thorne. Ben Turner and others
There was also quite q number of
women delegates present, who took an
active part in thework of the congress-
1t is impossible to give even . con-
densed report of the proceedings of the
congress- except to mention that action
was taken to more thoroughly unite
the organizations of Europe, to spread
education among the workers. to push
the demands for a shorter work-day and
higher wages, to build up defense
funds, to abolish woman and child la
Dor and inaugurate many other local
reforms.
There was one noticeable feature
about the British trades congress that
may be a source of considerable sur
prise to those who have heretofore
firmly believed in the traditional con-
servatism of Britons, and that was the
socialistic tendencies that cropped out
throughout the session. The report Of
the delegates to the Zurich socialistio
labor congress was listened 10 with
marked attention and warmly ap-
plauded. and committee was appoint
ed to prepare for the congress Of 1896,
which will be held in London, and
which it is proposed TO make truly
worlds congress, as a preliminary con-
vention of trades unions and other
bona fde labor organizations will be
ho1 in <o 1yo
A labor programme, demanding among
other things the naturalization of all
lands and minerals, railways and other
means OF transit the abolition of the
house of lords, state control of the
liquor traffic and free compulsory
education. was referred to the par
liamentary committee. of which John
Burns is chairman, and will be in
friendly hands Hardie's resolution
declaring that ten per cent of the
workers of Great Britain were unem-
ployed, and demanding that the gov
eminent take action at once to provide
employment, was unanimously agreed
to and the parliamentary committee
received instructions to bring the mat
ter before the attention of the govern
ment Immediately.
Judging the labor movement IN
Europe from the work accomplished 80
far this year, one cannot help but be
impressed with the fact that the Amer
lean movement is far behind. Take
the Zurich congress, for example:
There we found representatives from
every civilized country in Europe and
from far-a-way Australia testifying to
the internationally of labor's cause
expounding the great truth that all
men are equal, and emphasizing as an
established principle what has hereto
fore been considered as merely an
idealism, namely, that there is
universal brotherhood of man Ell
cepting a few delegates from
eastern socialistic organizations
American labor, with all its boosted
intelligence, its freedom and independ-
ence, was not represented at Zurich to
take part in teaching the world that
there's is labor problem and how to
ultimately arrive at it's solution. Con-
servative England was there; exploited
Germany was there; and radical France,
e'AN oPtSAA, AO0Ays A)OA6 AuAA AuSGA dAldS
Austria, Poland, Roumania and many
other countries, but none of the large
American organizations thought it
worth while sending delegates Per
haps the unions of this country imag-
inc they are too wise to waste time and
money in acquiring knowledge of the
European movement, or too exclusive
to count the friendship Of the workers
over the ocean as worth anything II
SO, they had better come down from
their high horse, for European labor
has learned one thing that American
labor has not yet learned, and that is,
to put only workingmen on guard po-
litically as we'll as industrially-that
labor must be emancipated by law and
must have men in legislative halls to
enact such 1aw.-Cleveland Citizen
THE PHILOSOPHY OF CREDIT.
The Nature and Function Of Money Logic
ally Set 10rth-Givo % Government
Banks.
Neither gold, nor anything else We