The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-09-28

taken; the necessary unity in ,ah
ranks being a preliminary condiTfts
The French delegates, after den1arr}oHh.
that Mr.. Hueber's figure of .fha +l""s
arms Of the movement really dia sN'
express his views. but he ona Io.
have said he believed the big SS 6cio1,to
ship was tugging behind it the Ij++|l
trade union roWboat, Withdrew -.
motion.
While it is not an easy task to COW
dense into a few paragraphs a descrin
ton of the spirit and attitude of tn,
men assuming to dominate the Con-
ference, it can be said, without nos
sibility of contradiction. that the taa
divergent tendencies of the }ahor
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS parliamentary So-
cialism and toward Independent trada
uniOnisIn-Was not out of the minds
Of the delegates at any time durin~
the Conference when the probahle IN,
terests of either side We're even re-
motely at stake. The Paris reporters
present in general took it for granted
that whatever was said by Huebar
Oudegeest, or Huysmans, as the lead
ers on one side, was one word for
trade unionism and two for Socialism.
After mentioning 1.-The a~ntagonism be
tween the two tendencies in the
unions La Petite Republique" thus
introduced it's description Of the Incl
lent relative to International Congress
Between the c. G.. T., representing
the purely trade %unionist tendency. ex-
empt Of all political action. and the
foreign organizations. equally attached
to political action and union action. a
decisive shock was inevitable, attend
ed on boil sides with equal impa-
tience." Mr.. Hueber, as the spokes-
man for the Socialist tendency, was
not fortunate enough in his bearing
and oratOry to secure the good will
even OF some Of the Socialist report
ers. 'L'Humanite," Of which Jean
Jaures, the Socialist leader in the
Chamber Of Deputies, is editor. spoke
Of Mr.. Hueber responding. not with
discourse Of Gompers. In another
instance. "La Petite Republique" re
ferred to Mr.. Hueber protesting with
violence" and the journal spoke of
his "usual heat" La Guerre Social"
Gustave Nerves paper, described the
voice Of MIR. Hueber as 'trumpet-iike
and brutal"
I do not pronounce against the
American Federation of Labor send
ing a delegate to the International
Conference of Secretaries; on the con-
trary it should be done. But it is we'll
to let Americans. and particularly
American trade ~unionists, nave a view
Of the salient traits Of the meeting of
the Secretaries just held. Nothing is
more important to know beforehand
than who and what are the usual Gle
ments Of a convention. or conference.
AS the Secretaries above mentioned
are the permanent representatives so
long as they hold their positions
what is to be expected from them may
be seen. In a deliberate body, these
are important questions: Are the
members open to reason, without pre-
JUDGE, and willing to change their
opinions and course Of action accord
ing to new evidence and thought? Are
they subject to outside Influence? Are
they accustomed to restrict themselves
to the business in hand, and not to
mpoSe their views as to foreign mat
tiers upon their Acknowledgements? Are
they moderate in speech and in the
habit Of observing the courtesies of de-
bate? Or. are they simply using one
organization for the upbuilding of
another? The question for the Anleri-
can Federation Of Labor to decide,
relative to joining the Conference is:
Even suppoSing that with respect tn
several Of the International Secre-
taries the foregoing queries bring Il
dlsa ppointing answer will it not still
be hopeful to international trade
nionism to send a delegate to the
Conference two years hence?
The proceedings of the Conference
continually reminded the American
that he vas far from his own country
and it's institutions. Every speech had
70 De repeated on the spot IN at ledSt
three languages. At the opening Of
the session., an hour or more was
taken UP with the question whether
n press representatives and the pub
lie should be admitted. Some of the
delegates wanted a continuous execu-
tive session. No tables or seats had
been provided for the reporters. 1T is
to be hoped hat the decision to give
the press men the best seats next the
delegates and to admit everybody until
the hall should be full came about
partly through the American guests
UNFOLDING. without taking the floor.
h custom Of his oHn land OF free
speech n entire publicity. An Ameri-
can. claiming to represent the unem-
pioyed Of the United States asked for