The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-08-13
The Paris Congress of the Amsterdam

EARLY in August the Fourth Congress Of the l. f.
- I. u international Federation of Trade Unions)
will take place in Paris. The publication, a few
days back, of the written report Of this session
enables to form some idea of the
significance of the coming event and of the entire
constitution of the Amsterdam International. To
put it plainly, the report is appalling document
of the hopeless situation into which the l. f. T. U.
has got, thanks to the mentality of its leaders.
Very naturally, the god-sen leaders of the West
European trade-union movement" will not concur in
our opinion, For in almost every line the report
reflects the pride and satisfaction of Oudegeest and
his clique in the wonderful achievements of the
working class under their leadership.
The membership movement both in the individual
countries and a whole, speaks in very different
accents, which, however, give food for thought to
any sober observer In the years under review the
membership reeeded from 16,530000 to 13,500000,
although the accession of four sections had
allegedly caused an increase of 10000 There
thus|a net loss of 100000 members.
Nor is the state of affairs any better in regard
to the financial resources of the /. F. T. U. The
report says nothing of the fact that there have in
this connection already been very serious differences
OF opinion within the Amsterdam management the
English in particular being dissatisfied with Dude
geests administration of the funds. But why should
this matter, which has already raised much dust in
public and does not reflect to the credit of Dude
geest and Sassenbach, be dished up again in the
report? In 1924 the business year started with a
balance of 10000 guilders on the credit side but
In 1925 this amount had shrunk to barely 900
guders while the financial report of 1926 shows
deficit of 1900 guilders. While in 1924 168 900
guilders collected in subscriptions and in 1926
$4,000, the subscription revenue in 1926 figured at
only 10000 guilders, against an expenditure of
100000. The great deficit however, is by 10 means
to be attributed to expenditure in connection with
strikes, but is merely deficit of administrative
expenditure. Added to this, the report still tells
US two remarkable facts the one being that prior
to 1924 the staff numbered 49, not including the
three secretaries, while at the close Of 1926 it only
numbered 20 and the other that certain countries
are DESTROYS of paying smaller subscriptions in
future.
Of the 10000 guilders subscribed in 1926 Ger
many alone paid 54,677, Great Britain 37,418 and
France 2028, the balance being divided among the
20 other states which affiliated to the l. F. T. u
Thus, as any one can see, the l. F. T. u. is prac--
t1cally nothing but combination of German and
British trade unions
Interest, however, also attaches to that part of
the report which speaks of the cultural propaganda
and information activity, of the l. F. T. u We here
learn that it is practically only in Germany that
the publications Of the l. F. T. u find a market
though even there not very many copies can be
disposed of. This greater German demand may be
explained by the party orders of the trade-union
leaders to account of the union funds and the sub
sequent gratuitous distribution among the subor-
dlnate organs. The English have but little interest
in the printed matter distributed by Oudegeest: and