Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1913-02-27

and so they say, Paris is well worth
a General Strike Resolution Cha u
win touched on the same question
when he said: "If there were Npnly
some strong Trade Unions in Paris
that would be the end of the Gen
eral Strike agitation. ''.'It is a DREAM"
said Guesde; sit is unbelievable that
millions of workers should be ready
to die of hunger for their class, when
for their class they will not ev en-
trouble to vote"
Immediately after the Congress at
Amsterdam the Germans held their
Congress at Bremen. Under the in
fluence of Frfedeberg, few Social
lists had demanded that the question
of the General Strike be discussed at
the next National Congress- Very
little time was given to the discussion
of this resolution, but Karl Lieb-
knecht. who believes that the General
Strike may be useful at times as a
political weapon, utterly demolished
the Anarchist conception of the GEN
eral Strike
Il separate myself from the ideas
of Comrade Friedeberg with all posi-
bile energy, His ideas run foul of the
most fundamental interests of the par
ty. They are in opposition to every
thing the party has done up to this
moment. Anarchy is the logical con-
sequence of Friedeberg's ideas. The
General Strike understood in this
manner deserves the words of Auer:
General Strike; general helpless
ness"
1t is, of course, of little Importance
to most Americans what the decisions
of Europe may be on any matter And
certainly no international decision
should be the means of prejudicing
| our minds against any weapon that
may prove of value to the working
class t should, however, be made
known to Americans that nowhere
else in the world can one obtain so
accurately the opinion Of the working
class upon any subject as at the In
ternational Socialist Congress. The
National Socialist parties always re-
strain themselves from entering ubon
the field covered by the Trade Union
| organizations. But at present the
Trades Unions have no International
Congress and millions Of Trade I'm
ionists are directly represented at the
international Socialist Congresses.
The resolution above given is, there
| fore, mot only the opinion of "politi-
cal" Socialists, but also the opinion Of
! the overwhelming mass of Trade
| Unionists
1t is to be regretted that such or
gans as the International Socialist Re-
view; and such Socialists as are afr
lated with the I. w. w. constantly
misstate the position of the Interna-
tional movement. They advocate Di-
rect Action, including the General
Strike and Sabotage, claiming at all
times that they represent the opinion
OF the International Movement. AS a
matter of fact, they represent tactics
which have been condemned so many
times in Europe that it is utterly i'm
possible even to record the instances. ,
Direct Action has never appeared in
the movement as companion of Poll
teal Action. 1t has invariably pre-
scented itself as rival, fundamentally
antagonistie to Political Action.
Whether advocated by Bakunin, Me
wenhuis, Merlino and other Anarch-
lists, or by the distinguished doctors
F'riedeberg, Lagardelle and Sorel, the
theorists OF French -Syndicalism, Di-
rect Action has invariably been pre-
scented as antagonistfc to Political
Action. THE worker who turns
away from the party to become a
convert to the General Strike, thinks
that he has become more revolution
ary," says Guesde, "and they ask us
to strengthen with our own hands this
fantasy, to destroy our own work,
aud to undermine our own party.
can not conceive Of II.