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162 VIOLENCE AND THE LABOR MOVEMENT
With an olive branch such as that arrived the new
"disciple" of Marx. He then set to work without a moment's
delay to capture the International congress which
was to be held at Basel, September, 1869. And it was
there that the first battle occurred. From the very moment
that the congress opened it was clear that on every
there was to be a division. Most
important question
unexpectedly, the first struggle arose over a question
that seemed not at all fundamental at the time, but which,
as the later history of socialism shows, was really basic.
The father of direct legislation, Rittinghausen, was a
delegate to the congress from Germany. He begged the
congress for an opportunity to present his ideas, and he
won the support, quite naturally, of the Marxian elements.
In his preliminary statement to the congress he
said : "You are going to occupy yourselves at length
with the great social reforms that you think necessary in
order to put an end to the deplorable situation of the labor
world. Is it then less necessary for you to occupy
yourselves with methods of execution by which you may
accomplish these reforms I hear many among you say
that you wish to attain your end by revolution. Well,
comrades, revolution, as a matter of fact, accomplishes
nothing. If you are not able to formulate, after the
revolution, by legislation, your legitimate demands, the
revolution will perish miserably like that of 1848. You
will be the prey of the most violent reaction and you will
be forced anew to suffer years of oppression
and disgrace.
"What, then, are the means of execution that democracy
will have to employ in order to realize its ideas
Legislation by an individual functions only to the advantage
of that individual and his family. Legislation by a
group of capitalists, called representatives, serves only