Page:Scott Nearing - World Labor Unity (1926).pdf/15

 conference took place in Amsterdam on February 5, 1925.

At this February conference Fred Bramley, in the name of the British Delegation, moved that: "The British section propose the convening of an unconditional conference for informal discussion purposes, at which both sides would be free to express their representative opinion without being tied to any formulae or constitution, it being understood, of course, that the findings of such a conference should be considered preliminary to a mandatory conference to follow after reports of the preliminary discussions had been given to the bodies responsible for the final conclusions."

The vote on this resolution was six for, 13 against, and one not voting.

An opposition resolution, proposed by Steinhuis and Smit, was carried on a vote of 14 for and five against. This resolution declared that "the I.F.T.U. is prepared to admit the All-Russian Federation of Trade Unions, when they express their desire to this effect." The resolution also pledged the I.F.T.U. "to convene a conference in Amsterdam with the All-Russian Council of Trade Unions with a view to an exchange of opinions as soon as possible after the All-Russian Council of Trade Unions intimates its desire to be admitted to the International Federation of Trade Unions."



During the negotiations at the February 5–6 Amsterdam Conference, Bramley made a masterful appeal in favor of unity. In the course of this address he analyzed the negotiations between Amsterdam and Moscow: "Too much effort has been made to emphasize points of disagreement. That is not diplomacy. It is not sound business." He then pointed out that groups with conflicting interests could not hope for united action until they met in conference. His whole speech was a plea for such a conference. He said:

"We are not merely concerned about the position of the British section on this matter, We are internationalists, and we say this morning that a policy which may lead to the exclusion of a country as big and as important as Russia … would be disastrous and very, very unfortunate indeed."

After pointing out that he, Bramley, was "a member of the extreme Right Wing of the British Trade Union Movement," and therefore differed with the Russians both on theory and on tactics, he called attention to the remarkable constructive work