Page:William Z. Foster - The Revolutionary Crisis of 1918-1921 (1921).djvu/39

 The former of these resolutions was to allow capitalism to continue, in return for a few reforms, and the latter was to at once declare a state of revolution. The first one was carried by a vote of 591,245 against 409,569, and the labor movement was thereby put squarely on record to eliminate the political aspirations of the workers in the situation, and to confine the struggle to purely economic grounds by directing the movement solely towards the winning of the workers' control of industry.

Following out this plan, a meeting was arranged on September 15th, with Prime Minister Giolitti and the employers. Giolitti expressed himself in favor of the workers' control and the employers were also compelled to agree to it in principle. Negotiations were then continued with the employers alone, which resulted a few days later in an agreement covering the whole industry and carrying with it increases in wages and a few other reforms. A mixed commission was appointed to study and prepare a proposition for the enactment of a law embodying the workers' control of industry. On September 21st–22nd, the metal workers held a congress to consider the contract and other results of their struggle. Considerable discontent was expressed by the radicals that the movement had been stopped short of revolution. But the die was east and the action of the reformist leaders was finally endorsed. On September 24th, the rank and file, by a referendum vote backed up the congress' action, and the historic battle, which had lasted three and a half weeks, was called off. The factories were turned back to the capitalists.

So died, ingloriously, the magnificent revolutionary effort of the Italian workers. It was the German revolution all over again, with but minor variations. A great anti-capitalist movement was peddled for a song by timid reformist leaders. The principal difference between the two was that in Germany, the situation being extremely acute, the workers actually got the reforms promised them, whereas in Italy, where matters were not quite so