Saturday, January 4, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE The Reconstruction Program of the French Syndicalists 1 Translated by Andre Courland the threshold of Peace, the in the name economic conditions. That funds for idle periods and But it is highly essential that at first strict measures of organized labor, renews its adherence to the unemployment should be created under the care of regarding education, prevention of disease and insur14 points of President Wilson, proclaiming that Labor organizations. For the reconstruction of the ance should be provided.
the basis of a People Peace depends on the fol invaded regions the French labor movement energetilowing principles. cally opposes the accumulation of new fortunes made The security of the individual is of more importance out of public misery and demands that these works than the security of property.
Ist. Constitution of a League of Nations should, to the largest possible extent be effected by agh the free co operati of all the people, havIn consequence nothing should be neglected to see the organized collective bodies, including in their ing for its principle aim the disappearance of all causthat society allows to everyone the full development es of future wars and the establishment of internaadministration and technical staffs qualified repre of his intellectual faculties, that it prevents the spread sentatives of the producers and consumers.
tional justice.
of alcoholism, that by social insurance it sets a guar.
The principal of employment being assured, it is antee against unemployment, sickness and old age for 2nd. No economic war, which starting in one coun advisable that the cities, consumers, and plants re all members of the producing class so that it should try will inevitably compel the nation in question to re arrange themselves to suit the latest formulas of prog constantly maintain an equilibrium between their rely on reciprocal measures in the desperation of selfress, applying also the highest principles of hygiene, sources and their means, particularly so when they defense. The principle mercantile waterways should sanitation and asthetics, including workmen habita assume a larger charge by an extension of their fambe free to the merchantmen of all countries under tions and open spaces for public health and the physi ilies to the social profit.
the protection of the League of Nations. No ecocal development of children.
nomic protectionism, which finally leads to the spoliaForeign Help tion of the working class.
Future National Efforts For all the above reasons, the proclaims 3rd. Every section applying a specialization of its As for the future, the claims for organized that every worker, no matter what his nationality may forces of production through wise selection, conformlabor its due place in the direction and control of na be, has the right to work where he can best occupy his ing to its material and physical resources. The retional production.
activities. That every worker shall enjoy the privillease of its products throughout the world should be made eges and guarantees of syndicats. and also have the a scale of free and rapid exchanges without The economic reorganization must be based on the interference to others. For this right to participate personally in an official capacity in International Buever increasing development of national industrial reau of Transportation and Repartition of Raw Matools and machinery, the unlimited spreading of genthe country where he exercises his activities.
terial should bt created, and the internationalization eral and technical free education, and to that end the No worker shall be expelled for his syndical or coof the Colonial Domain should be affected, with a employment of old talents, the utilization of material operative activities.
view to the best utilization of all the resources of the resources, and the application of the best and latest No foreign worker shall receive lower wages or be soil and under soil for the general welfare of huinventions and improvements. The stimulus of pri submitted to inferior working conditions than the manity at large, and for the purpose of relieving the vate initiative must not be made an excuse for the current and normal conditions preva. ling in the same moral and material needs of nations.
voluntary restriction of production, and the over town or region and in the same occupation or spework of the producers, the consequences of which cialty.
4th. No repressions, based on revengeful inten arc harmful to production itself.
That these conditions and wages should be specitions but material reparation of the damages done to the invaded regions. No territorial annexations and The working class, therefore, shall direct the nafied in contracts between workers syndicats and emthe acceptance of the rights of all people to self detional effort towards this end.
ployers associations, that the immigration of workers termination.
The ration cannot, without compromising the col shall be organized and placed under the control of lective right of which she is the sole guardian, aban organizations compr sing representatives of national 5th. The League of Nations, bringing forth a new don her social right to the control of her economic workers organizations as well as employers associaconstitutional jurisdiction. shall begin at once a gen organizations, which were created by the labor of tions eral disarmament and bring it to a complete end. past generations, maintained and developed by the Thuis only will militarism, all shades of militarism, be The recruiting of workers in foreign lands is not common effort. In order to secure the permanent defeated and international democracy shall triumph.
to be permitted, unless submitted to commissions of exercise of this social right the nation must have the lands in question, who will have to take into concomplete control of all branches of production, which Syndical Rights sideration the real need of the industry or the region from their inception to their fullest development profit by the protection and help of the state.
and that the contracts of employment should clearly The for the above reasons and in order to define the salaries and working conditions which must defend the labor clauses that will be included in the The nation shall maintain under the strictest de be in conformity with the above prescription. The neace treaty, demands an official place at the Peace pendency all private enterprises which in addition to recruiting of immigrants is to be placed under conTable and demands that the peace covenants shall be the advantages already named profit by certain powers trol of the working organization in the emigrating open and public. It also declares the necessity of an delegated to them by the state, county or commune. countries, the contract exccution shall be under the international labor congress.
same control.
The State Rights Greeting the Russian, Austrian, Hungarian. GerIn case it will be necessary to call upon colored help man Revolutions the claims that the French If it is objectionable to have the state control apthe recruiting should fall under the same ruling as democracy must not be inferior in its social realiza plied to everything without the active and healthy asthat affeeting European workers and they shall enjoy inns. Consequently it demands the re establishment sistance of individual initiative, it is not less essential the same rights and privileges.:f constitutional freedom of speech and assemblage, to see that all the necessities of life, whether personal Furthermore, the industries employing colored help the suppression of the censor, a complete and general or national, should be handed over to private inter must organize, at their own expense and under the amnesty for all civil and military war prisoners. est without then being required to direct their efforts control of the public service, the necessary schools toward with the interest Considering that labor conformity the people.
no longer be accepted where they shall be taught to speak, read and write as a commodity to be handled at its mercy by capital, This control, exercised in the name of the state for the language of the country.
and that industrial slavery must disappear the the producers and consumers, should be exerted in demands the National recognization of syndical rights the most active and practical way and nnt in the Labor Legislation pasfor all workers and for all employees of departments, sive and retrospective form that is actually in use.
cities, communes and municipalities and for all the It must be vigorous enough to keep the mastery of That the workers, injured in their work, should receive their full salaries during their incapacity.
tate and administration employees. It insists on the production and its values of technical developments This to be also applied to foreign labor. That occuAccentance and regulation of an international Seaand conditions of labor, of wages and various insurmen Act and the freedom of seamen to leave their ances, also of the just repartition of profits above norpational sickness should be considered as accident ships at every stop. The right of the syndicats to inmal interest in limited dividends, including loss inand come under the above conditions.
tervene in all lahor questions must be recognized.
surance.
That overy worker has a right to old age and inanplication of a national industrial scale of wages shall be generalized to all forms of industry. by colThus established this control will insure the funcvalid pension enough to allow him to live normaltioning of a regime of association between the state ly. To this end pensions, having tha base on sickLective agreements under the supervision and control and industry and those instances where private ini ness, shall be instituted.
of the syndical organizations.
tiative and free competition is still Believing that the development of industrial prog.
But at any time through the concentration of capiAgainst the High Cost of Living ess will result in perfecting and modifying the tools talist agreements in the field of raw inaterials, essen To obviate the difficulties of the high cost of living und methods of production, the G proclaims organs of production, or any necessary product, that the working day in industry, commerce and agrion the working class the declares that all market values are in danger of being manipulated, tariffs and taxes on foodstuffs, on all heating and cuture shall be not more than eight hours, that night equilibrium between values and production. In this ingovernment control should be imposed as a means of lighting materials should be abolished.
work shall be forbidden to women and adolescents under 18 years of age. Compulsory education must be That a public service, national communal and coextended to 14 years of age.
should not aggravate the perils and abuses of private operative, of foodstuffs shall be organized. this office industry making these products a menace to the nawill furnish its products without profit, thus estabEconomic Reconstruction tional industries lishing a minimum price of production equivalent to The economic reorganization will not produce any the sale price, thus regulating the market price.
In application of the above principles the effect if the nation does not take over, maintain and This office will be placed under the supervision of demands, so far as the general demobilization and also establish her social right over property, over collecthe delegates of organized workers and consumers.
rapid readjustment of war productions into peace tive riches and the means to produce and exchange roduction are concerned, the institution of a NationThe declared that this is its minimun prothem and if she does not give more and more power al Economic Council, co operating with regional coungram and shall be immediately put into practice. For to the various departments, communes, co operatives this it asks the syndicalist organizations to make this cils in which the syndicalist organizations shall have and new collective organizations to conduct their busitheir direct representatives, who. in harmony with the the basis of their action until complete satisfaction is ness in co operation with the civil administration, obtained.
vorking class, shall determine the general rules gor where qualified representatives of the producers and ning the demobilization and the return to normal For the Federal consumers should sit.
Committee, Toutiaux Section, permitted.