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By ETHEL M. 8MITH
Legislative Secretary, National
/ Women’s Trade Union League
It tbe federated trade unions of
France could have had their way,
French soldiers would never have
marched Into the Ruhr, the Ger
man reparations would be reduced
do a figure that Germany could
pay, tbe Versailles treaty would
be re-wrltten on reasonable terms,
and all differences between the
nations would be submitted to the
League qf Nations for arbitration.
That is the policy of the French
Confederation of Labor, as stated
to me In Paris by Its, president
Leon Jouhaux, in September, and
It Is the statement of the con
federation as reiterated In an ap
r«»al to the recent fruitless con
ference In Paris—an appeal,
against what French working men
themselves characterised and re
pudiate as “the policy of brutality
and adventure" of the French gov-
' ernment.
Knowing this fact, It Is a' safe
guess that the labor movement of
France, ns well as the labor move
ment of Germany, which has cab
led its appeal to the American Con
gress, would welcome meditation
by the United States government
In tho present critical situation"In
the Ruhr.
TRADE UION8
AGREED
■All the trade unions of Europe.
In fact, ar« agreed on the outstand
lng International issues. French
men, Englishmen, Belgians, Dutch,
Germans, Italians, Czchoslovaks,
Austrians—despite their animousl
ties during the war, the working!
people or these countries as repre
sented by their trade unions want
to’give Germany a chance to re
gain her economic feet. They want
no reprisals—they want peace and
poaceful employment.
This unity of sentiment In the
midst of the quarrels of the gov
ernments of Europe seemed In
creditable to me when I first heard
IL But I went from one country
to another throughout the sum
mer, talking with the heads of the
national federations of trade
unions In each capital. One and
all they told me the same thing—
just as I have stated It here.'
I had a. long talk with Herr
Grassmann, acting president of the
German Federation of Trade
Unions, who Is oner of the signers
of the appeal to the American Con
gress, and with Herr Knoll, the
general secretary. Their organise
tlon Is the largest of the four that
have signed the appeal to Ameri
ca, numbering about eight million
, members organised In local and
national unions almost exactly as
the ’American .Federation of Labor
Is organized—printers, carpenters,
miners, railroad man, textile work
ers. metal workers t «nd so on.
The Federation of Clerical Em
ployes is another large organise-
-. tlon of the non-sectarian unions,
'and with the, Christian Trade
unions and the Liberals, easily
"make up In membership 12.000,-
000 men and women. There Is no
other such representative body In
Germany—probably not In the
world. Certainly no other labor
movement so large or well knit
or presesenting so large a percent
of the population of any country.,
RE8ET ON
EVERY HAND
And they are a political unit!
That is the most Important thing
about them just now—they are
the republican fore*.) of Germany,
,the bulwark of the German demo
cracy. They are the people who
overthrew the kaiser. It was their
revolution—and a bloodless one,
let Is be remembered to their
credit But ever since, they have
been beset by enmles of the repnj)
lie on either hand—the Monar
chists on their right, the Com
munists on, their left, these two
extremea 'as usual playing blindly
or unscrupulously Into each other’s
bands. Hfcd the trade unions not
buttressed the Center the German
republic would have given way to
anarchy months ago.
That Is the great reason why
the message to tha American Con
gress Is so Important It la the
voice of democratic Germany—the
Germany that should be not only
^allowed but helped to survive.
/
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i \
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iOf cupidity
t Atuuohoi
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