LABOR CONGRESSES, meetings of the delegates representing organized labor. While there have been frequent congresses of labor of a single nation there have been but few international labor congresses. The first one, held at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1866, was very moderate in the tone of its demands, contenting itself with approving of the alliance arnong workers to better their condition, and recommending technical education and the establishment of mutual credit organizations. The Sec ond International Labor Congress was held at Lausanne th3 next year and opposed the co-operative societies and advocated the taking of active steps to secure for the workers full political rights. The Third International held at Basel in 1869 is the most famous of all because of the radical nature of its pro nouncements. More representative of international labor than any previous congress it was certainly more extreme than its predecessors. In addition to declaring in favor of the government ownership of all land and the application of the single tax theory it adopted this revolutionary motion demanding "the de struction of all States, national and ter ritorial, and on their ruins the founding of the International State of Laborers." The later meetings of the International are not known by their numbers. That held at The Hague in 1872 was featured by the break between Marx and Bakunin, the celebrated exponent of the anarchists. When the Socialists became more numer ous they began to dominate the labor con gTesses at the expense of the more con servative trade unionists. At one of these congresses, May lst was declared to be a holiday in honor of workers of all lands. The observance of this day
has since been very general in Europe, although in America, where the Socialist movement has not made serious head way, the first Monday in September is observed as a national Labor Day. In 1912 the International Congress, meeting at Basel, condemned the Balkan War and tried to unite the workers of all lands in a demonstration against it. The European War of 1914 cam€ too suddenly to permit of any eon. certed plan to stop it, moreover the ex cessive wave of national patriotism which swept over all nations seemed for the time to deny the international char acter of the labor movement. Attempts were made, however, during the war to hold an International Labor Congress. The most important was the one pro posed to be held at Stockholm, Sweden, in the summer of 1917. As the Ger mans were at that time anxious for peace there was little difficulty in securing passports for their delegates. But the Allied Governments looked askance at the proposal, the United States labor delegates refusing to attend if the Ger mans were present. Kerensky, the Rus sian Premier, alone of all the Allies favored the Congress. After the Armi stice was signed a Labor congress was held at Geneva where German as well as delegates front the Allied countries were present. The critical question here was the extent to which the Bolsheviki should be encouraged. Here the Con gress was so hopelessly divided that it contented itself with demanding peace with Russia and the abandonment of the blockade.