sources; and was opposed to any voluntary restriction of production.10 Similar programs were drawn up by labor or socialist organizations in other European countries." During the war even before America's entrance, the American Federation of Labor was very much interested in what might be the outcome, especially so far as labor was concerned. For this reason an American labor delegation was sent to Europe to study the problem. This delegation consisted of eighteen members appointed by the American Federation of Labor. James Wilson, American president of the Pattern-makers League of North Amer- Labor Mission ica, was the president of the American delegation. in Europe. Speeches were made in London and in Paris by the Americans during the spring of 1918 in which it was said that there would be no peace until Germany is downed; that American labor would not agree to a conference with the enemy until the defeat of German autocracy. As a result of the various conferences of labor organizations throughout European countries which requested that the Peace Conference should invite labor to participate officially in its meetings, the peace conference arranged for permanent legislation regarding labor conditions. A commission on international labor was appointed by the peace conference January 1, 1919. This commission was composed of two representatives from the five Great Powers and five representatives elected by the other powers represented in the peace conference. (3) Labor After the War. This commission arranged for the permanent organization for the promotion of international labor conditions and this organization was to be divided into two parts,—the organization of the general conference made up of representatives from each of the contracting parties in the lead, and the representatives of the government, one labor and one employer. Each delegate was to vote as an individual and the meetings were to be held at the seat of the League of Nations or any place appointed by two-thirds of the members. The first meeting was held in Washington, October 1919. The second part consists of the organization of an international labor office with a president at the head of the An 10 For full statement see Monthly Labor Review, March 1919, 75-78. interesting comparison might be made of similar ideas in the programs of British and French Labor and in President Wilson's Fourteen Points (International Conciliation_Bulletin, 123). 11 See-Demands of Labor in Scandinavian countries. Monthly Labor Review, Jan. 1919, 305, 306; Merch 1919, 57-59. Attitudes of the chief French, Italian and Belgian labor papers. International Review, June, 1919, 501-504. For American Labor Mission in Europe see N. Y. Times Current History, Vol. VIII, Part I, 424-6. league and a director to be appointed by the governing body. The purpose of the international labor office is to collect and distribute material relating to labor and the international adjustment of labor conditions with particular reference to the subjects that will be brought before the international conference and to publish a periodical in English and French and other languages as deemed advisable. The questions discussed at the meeting in October 1919 were (1) the question of the application of the eight-hour day, (2) the question of unemployment, (3) women's employment, (a) before and after child. birth including the question of maternity benefit, (b) during the night, (c) in unhealthy occupations and (4) the subject of unemployment of children. Professor James T. Shotwell of Columbia University, himself a member of the international labor commission of the Peace Conference, in discussing the international association for labor stated that he believed that such an agency would increase the power of the individual governments to regulate government conditions; that social reform is essentially a national affair, and that the main hope is to learn internationally from the experience of other countries how each country may better conditions at home. The purpose of the international labor office is to work out a program before the meeting of the International Labor Congress. The Berne The Second A conference of the Socialist International was held in February 1919 at Berne, Switzerland. It was attended by the chief socialist and labor leaders of all Europe. The International. German majority Socialists were severely condemned. The Bolsheviki of Russia were not represented although a group of anti-Bolshevik Russian socialists attended. Twenty-seven nations or nationalities were represented. Among the nationalities having delegates were the new nations of the Ukraine, Czecho-Slovakia, Poland, Esthonia, and Finland. The United States was not represented as Mr. Gompers refused to have a part and the American Socialist party members were delayed for want of passports. Five main topics were discussed: (1) Question of responsibility for the war. Imperial Germany was condemned by implication for the cause of the war. (2) League of Nations. A resolution declaring for League of Nations, disarmament, etc., was adopted. (3) The labor charter. (4) Territorial questions. The conference declared for self determination of peoples, for popular vote in important questions; opposed forced annexations; and favored protection of minorities. (5) Bolshevism. The majority favored the Swedish delegate Branting's resolution condemning the doctrine of the "dictatorship of the proletariat;" a minority said that they would not condemn soviet rule until they knew more about it. This conference differed from the International Labor conference, held at the call of the League of Nations, in that it made provisions to enforce these resolutions by establishing an international commission composed in half of representatives of labor and with power to legislate internationally in regard to labor questions. 12 Work of the Nov. 1919. Many of the proposals of the Second Socialist International are too idealistic and too radical for present acceptance. The comparison with the work done by the International Labor Conference organized under provisions of the Peace Treaty shows, however, that the major portion of the legislation proposed by the Second Socialist International is in harmony with enlightened thought and views of social reformers. The first session of the International Labor Conference was begun in Washington, October 29, 1919 and closed November 29, 1919. Although the United States Congress did not permit the appointment of delegates before the ratification of the Peace Treaty, the conference invited American associations of employers and workmen to participate. Secretary of Labor Wilson of President Wilson's cabinet opened the first session and was chosen permanent chairman of the conference presiding at a large number of the sessions. It was decided that of the twelve members of the governing board, eight should be named by the countries of chief industrial importance, Germany to be the last country on the list. Great Britain, France, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Japan and Switzerland were the other seven countries named. It was generally understood that the next meeting would probably be held at the seat of the League of Nations in 1920. During the month of its session in Washington, the International labor conference established a governing body with a permanent International Labor office, over which Albert Thomas, formerly French minister of munitions is to preside as DirectorGeneral. "No American legislative body, certainly, has ever made such effective use of scientific methods, or of expert assistance." Official delegates were present from forty-two different countries. All of the leading countries of Europe, nine South American States, Cuba and the Central American states, several Asiatic countries, including Persia and Siam, and several of the countries newly created by the League of Nations were represented at this conference. The Central powers were the only countries of Europe unrepresented. 12 For discussions of the Second International, see Survey: 41:42 (March 15, 1919). The five items proposed to the conference by the peace conference were discussed and adopted. Arrangements were made by the conference by which any country accepting the proposals of the conferences should also establish the proper machinery for inspection and enforcement of the labor acts accepted. The eight-hour day was made obligatory upon the members except in the case of certain Oriental countries. Provisions for limiting the hours of labor in these countries are to be discussed at future meetings of the General Conference. Certain industries are given to July, 1923, to put this rule into effect. Every one of the powers signing the agreement furthermore promises to make a study of unemployment and report regarding this problem within three months and also guarantee the establishent of free employment bureaus. The conference also recommended unemployment insurance to each of the contracting powers. Recommendations were made regarding reciprocity of treatment of foreign workers. The "New Labor Code of the World" was herewith established and promises much for the betterment of labor conditions. And marks a step in the onward progress toward the brotherhood of man. 13 SUGGESTED READINGS Report of the Commission on International Labor Representation at the Peace Conference, in International Conciliation Bulletin, July, 1919, No. 140; The International Labor Conference, The Survey, vol. 43, No. 4; N. Y. Times Current History, Dec. 1919 and Jan. 1920 (The International Labor Conference); *Control of Labor Conditions by International Action, Monthly Labor Review, April, 1919; *International Labor Legislation and the Society of Nations, Bulletin 254, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; *International Labor Historical Survey Bulletin, 268, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor and the League of Nations, International Conciliation Bulletin 131; British Labor's War Aims, International Conciliation Bulletin, 123; Mr. Gompers in France, Survey, 41: 125-6, Nov. 2, 1918; Mr. Gompers' Foreign Mission, The Public 21: 1102-3, Aug. 31, 1918; War Diplomacy of American Labor, New Republic 14; 126-7, March 2, 1918; The Berne Conference, The Survey; 41:24, March 15, 1919. The Bulletins of the Department of Labor may be obtained by addressing the Department of Labor, Washington, D. C. 13 The entire constitution of the International Labor Conference may be found in the Survey, vol. 43, No. 8, Section II. Mr. D. H. Miller, a legal representative of President Wilson has published a very interesting summary of the work of the International Labor Conference in his work International Labor Relations. A second conference of the International Labor Organization was held at Genoa during July 1920. Its proceedings may be found in the American Labor Legislative Review, September, 1920. CHAPTER V THE TERMS OF PEACE Contrast between Con THE Peace Congress at Paris is comparable to no other peace conference either in respect to its organization or in its achievements. It is often compared with the Congress of Vienna which closed the war against Napoleon in 1815; yet the two differed widely, though their purposes were the same. gress of Vienna and the Congress of Paris. The work of the Congress of Vienna was accomplished by the victors without the participation of other states large or small. The aim primarily was to restore the previous territorial situation, instead of remolding the map of Europe and of the world. Vienna aimed at strengthening the autocratic, monarchial powers of Europe, while the recent congress refused to make peace with an autocratic Germany. The Congress of Vienna refused to recognize the principle of nationality, while the Congress of Paris has based its work of territorial readjustment upon this principle. The Congress of Vienna attempted to base peace upon a confederation of the great Powers only, while that of Paris has created a league of nations which admits all nations, small as well as large, to take part in its work of peace when those nations have satisfied the conditions imposed. Lastly, the peace imposed at Vienna was an European peace, while the peace of Paris is a world peace in which the new world has had a most important voice and the non-European world has played a somewhat important rôle. The century since the Congress of Vienna has been full of most wonderful advances and its changes have been wrought into the fabric which the Congress of Paris created. Whether or not the peace makers have understood the meaning of the century, time alone can tell. Only as they have worked in harmony with the century's history can their work of Paris. stand. This will be the last test of comparison with the Congress of Vienna, for, as it failed to interpret the history of its times, so the Congress of Paris will succeed or fail as it has succeeded or failed in its interpretations of the world's needs. Organization and Plans of the Congress The opening session of the Peace Conference met in Paris at the Quai d'Orsay, January 18, 1919. Its membership consisted of four classes, viz.: |