New-York tribune., 1919-09-03
UnmiHtary Victory
By William English Walling

had never known how to deal with them
Gompers and Tobin showed them how.
They did not let the Germans gain a single
moral or parliamentary point unchallenged.
They asked for the floor repeatedly and
held it until they had their way. The Ger
mans whispered around that Gompers
wished to destroy the organization and
found new in Washington. Indeed.
printed report Of the temporary wartime
bureau at Amsterdam declared that Com
pcrs had stated "hi5 intention to form a
new international" Gompers challenged
this statement, but it had evidently already
had an effect on French, Bclgans and all
but the British delegates.
The British soon began to see the telling
results of the Gompers- Tobin tactics, and
, before the convention was over even the
polite, fraternal- minded French began to
understand. The Germans tried not less
than twenty times to build up ground on
which they could stand and fight The
Americans would not let them alone long
enough to get started
The difficulty for the Americans was to
propose basis of representation by which
the majority of the worlds labor unionists
Grafton, and yet by which the small ma
tions would not be too seriously outnum-
bered After three days of the hottest
fighting, led every moment by the Ameri-
cans, compromise was arrived at-one
vote for each quarter million members or
less, two votes for a half million, three for
million, four for million and half. etc.
This gave the Anglo-Sax and Latins
27 votes out Of 51-a bare majority
How crucial this struggle was became
Immediately evident in the election Of Off
GERS. Of course, several small nations now
Joined the majority. But the German bloc
remained practically intact on every vote.
The result was:
Appleton, England
Jouhoux, France-First vice president.
Martens, Belgium-Second ce-presdent
Oudegeest, Holland
Fimmcn, Holland Secretary.
AS the headquarters are in Amsterdam
and the most active two officers are al
most avowedly pro- German, the minority
has no real grievance. AS all the officers
are salaried and have active functions,
Americans, because Of distance, were not
candidates for any Office. The Germans
were offered the second vice presidency, but
refused evidently because Legien had been
beaten by Jouhoux for the first on the
Kaiser's principle of "compensations." Thev-
claimed right to a representation as near
ly equal possible with all the other great
nations combined! Indeed, they were so
tactless as to speak of themselves as "the
beliigerents" and so dishonest as to present
Oudcgeest for president as being genuine
neutral.
The Germans we're badly beaten and
detected that they made no effort to dis
Culse 1t, and even refused, for the moment
at least, to appoint their member of the
Management Committee Of Ten, which, with
The officers, is to be the governing body be-
tween the biennial congresses.
The new international, then, Will not be
pro-German. But German intrigue has
given it serious blemish which may omen
it to Bolshcvst tendencies. The small ma
tions are greatly over-represented Only
ten were present at this conference Italy,
Hungary, Russia, the Balkan states and the
other new states of Eastern Europe Tex
cept Bohemia) were rot present Neither
were the British colonies or the twenty
states of South and Central America Gall
of which have labor union fcderations).
AS the new International purposes to pay
the way of one delegate from each nation
to It's biennial congresses, most Of these
nations will be represented, and the major
ity may be revolutionary or ultra-revou-
tionary. We shall then have some 100000
labor unionists of England France, Amer
ica and Germany outvoted by some five
million workers from smaller nations Or
if any great nation deviates from the nor
NAL path Of labor union evolution she Will
have no trouble finding host of allies
among small powers with voting strength
five or ten times that to which they are
entitled
German domination has probably van
ished. But Germany has lett her evil mark
behind in this dangerous system of voting
The danger may never materialize. 1t
probably will not. But the danger is there