UNITY OF LABOR FRONT
Maoriland Worker, Volume 12, Issue 269, 19 April 1922, Page 8
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UNITY OF LABOR FRONT
Several movements are in: progress in' Europe to unite Labor's front against world capitalism, and; from reports in the English Socialist; press it appears that the various parties and organisations are approaching common ground.-
Contemporaneously with the activities of the Vienna Union of Socialist Parties to which recent issues of The Worker have referred, the Communist International (Moscow) published an iappeal for unity couched in terms which Indicate substantial modifications in its attitude up to now. The appeal contains the usual denunciations ,of "Yellow" leaders and so on, but the following paragraph is proof that the Communists are getting down to realities:
". . . The Communist International approves the demand for «, united working class front. The Communist Party in every country will enter into negotiations with every other working class organisation (right, centre or left) to establish a common fighting programme. The Communist International is prepared to enter into negotiations with the Second International, the Two and a Half International and the Amsterdam International to establish a programme of common action."
Only a few months ago the mere suggestion that the Communist International should confer with the organisations named would have
brought upon those who made it an edict of excommunicatfon.
The latest conference to consider the unity of the various Socialist organisations was held in Paris at the beginning of February. It was convened by the French Socialist Party and attended by representatives of organisations affiliated with the Second International and the Vienna Union. Owing to the German railway strike German delegates were unable to attend, while a; political crisis in Rome detained the Italian Socialist delegation.
Speaking for the Conference in a public statement Vandervelde (Belgium), urged an early congress of the working class organisations of all countries to re-establish a single International. He said he had no objections to negotiations with the Exexutive of the Moscow International but he thought it necessary as a preliminary that imprisoned Mensheviks should be released and political liberty be restored in Russia.
The latter part of this statement was endorsed by T. Shaw (England) and in a more emphatic manner by De Brouckere (Belgium).
On the other hand Adler (Austria) declared that the necessity of organising such a conference was of such paramount importance as to make demands for conditions from either the Second or Third Internationals a mistake.
In other quarters further developments have occurred.
The Italian Socialist Party has proposed that parallel with the conference of the Powers at Genoa for the purpose of revising the Peace of Versailles and reconstructing Europe, an international conference of all Socialist Parties, without distinction of tendency, should be held. The object of this conference will be to prevent the transformation of the Powers'' Conference "into & fraudulent product of capitalist shiftiness," and to re-organise Europe! on the basis of international solidarity. The delegates representing Soviet Russia at the conference of the Powers have been instructed to attend the conference being convened by the Italian Socialist Party.
At the same time the Amsterdam Bureau of the International Federation of Trades' Unions will hold a conference in Genoa representative of the European Trade Union movement.
While these movements are going on Sylvia Pankhurst's group and the "Workers' Dreadnought," who are working (at the formation of a Fourth International, are condemning the steps towards unity taken by the Third International as desertion of Communist principles.
