Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1913-01-09
V. is TIA DISEASE OF INFANCY?

Courtesy of The National SOCIALISM,
William d. Haywood and other adj
Vocates Of the General Strike invari.
ably call to our attention the effective.
ness of this weapon in France, Spain,
Italy, and Russia. Some have even
mentioned China and Japan. They tell
US that. in these countries there is In.
dustrial Unionism, and that marvellous
results have come to the working class
through general strikes. OF course they
do not mean the General Strike. All
they mean is that various craft unions
or industrial unions declare sympathe-
tic strikes.
Now, it is an interesting fact that it
is in exactly these countries that labor
organization is most backward. Union
ism is there in its infancy. Even in
FTance, the most developed Industrial
ly of the countries. mentioned, the
Trade Union movement is far behind
that of Germany, Belgium, Denmark,
Austria, Britain, &c.
Legien, the leader of the great Ger
man Unions said at the International
Socialist Congress at Stuttgart: Itch
French comrades are accustomed to
say: we have no organization, but we
have a temperament 1t is not with
temperament that one fights the en-
ployers As soon as the French have
an actual Trade Union organization
they will cease discussing blindly the
General Strike, direct action, and
sabotage.
Vliegen, the Dutch leader, declared
at the previous congress, at Amster-
dam: at is not the representative of
the strong Trade Union organizatio OBS
of England, Germany and Denmark
who wish he General Strike; it is the
representatives of France. Russia and
Holland, where the Trade Union or
ganization is feeble or does notsexist. +"
Chauvin, French leader, makes the
same observation: wherever power
full Trade Unions exist, they do not
speak of the General Strike; wherever
they are unanimous for the General
Strike, the Trade Unions are feeble.
We, the advesaries Of the General
Strike. are the most active partisans
of Trade Union organization. j have
myself organized in Paris one OF the
strongest of the. Trade Unions. If
there were in Paris some strong Trade
Unions that would be the end of the
influence Of the General Strikists."
Iglesias, the best known Spanish
Socialist, declares that ? the General
Strike agitation In Spain is conducted
solely by the Anarchists. aThey carry
on" he says, "a constant agitation
against strike funds. What they want
is simply that the workers, made des-
perate by famine and by refusal of the
masters to grant they all they demand,
should be driven to violent measures.
What have been the results of the
attempts at a General Strike? Not
one success and always immense in
fury the workers. Here the dissolu-
ton of an organization; there law
suits and prosecutions, some other
Mace. many smilitants' dispatched to
the cemetery or to prison" Speaking
of the strike at Barcelona, he says:
seThere was not among these thou
sands of workers either unity OF
thought OF plan of action. After hav-
ing thoroughly plagued the population
for days and days, the workers na1
nothing left but to return 10 Work
without having obtained anything lot
the metallurgists. The only result OF
this adventure was bloodshed IN sew
eral encounters between the Workmen
and the soldiers, leaving many DEAD
and great number of prisoners.
Greulich, the wonderful veteran 4ol
the Swiss labor movement, declares
that s'all the attempts at General
Strikes have hurt the workers them.
selves. destroyed organizations FORMED
with difficulty, and consequently oDilg'
al The workers to toll again st build.
ing up their movement. Wasting 9.
power! It is easy to dempnstrate tna1
there where the General Strike Is
preached the organization OF the IN
ions is very much retarded ~ lne
fruits one recognizes the tree. IAezs
where the unions have ACQUIRED
SIRE mower. and certain vitality. the
General STRIKE IS considered BY the
workers as q Utopia ...
sThe General Strike b cnllalsn
fancy az poofIy organized WORKERS