First International Syndicalist Congress - Preparations

Preparations

The discussion also turned to the question of what the exact goal of the meeting should be. The Dutch NAS, the British ISEL, and the German FVdG felt that, as Einigkeit, the organ of the Germans, put it, that "he creation of an autonomous Syndicalist International is a necessity for the self-preservation and onward development of syndicalism." Opposition to this view came from two different directions. Cornelissen felt it would easier to attract French unions to a congress meant to establish international relations than to the foundation of an international organization. Alceste De Ambris, a leader in the Italian USI, on the other hand argued that international secretariats such as the ISNTUC were, quite simply, useless, unlike international congresses which could help the national federations break out of their isolation.

Among the organizations endorsing the congress, most wished it take place in the Netherlands. In April, however, the ISEL unilaterally announced the congress would take place in late September in London. Not wanting to start a dispute, the Dutch NAS gave in and agreed the meeting would take place in the UK. Soon thereafter, however, problems with the organization of the congress turned up. The ISEL was in a process of dissolution and shaken by internal disputes, especially between the leaders Tom Mann and Guy Bowman. Financial troubles further aggravated these problems. After Cornelissen and Albert Jensen of the Swedish SAC voiced their concerns about how the preparations were going in June and July respectively, Bowman, at the time the sole leader of the ISEL as Mann was in the United States on a speaking tour, announced the congress would take place from September 27 to October 2 at Holborn Hall in London. He also announced an agenda for the meeting would be appearing soon, but he was not heard from for another while.

In August, the debate with the CGT flared up again. Writing in La Bataille Syndicaliste, Léon Jouhaux declared the solidarity of CGT militants with the syndicalist congress, yet made it very clear that his organization would not participate. Cornilessen used these remarks to point out to local leaders that it was up to them whether they would come to London or not. De Ambris's response was more aggressive; he accused the CGT of desertion and reiterated his rejection of international secretariats particularly of the ISNTUC, which the CGT was affiliated to. In a response drafted by many leading French syndicalists, including Monatte, Jouhaux, Alphonse Merrheim, Alfred Rosmer, and Georges Dumoulin, La Vie Ouvrière, the CGT's official organ, attacked both Cornelissen and De Ambris. It claimed the uses of the congress, the exchange of information and mutual aid between national federations, were not as great as the risk of deepening schisms within the European labor movement, especially if a formal international organization was to be founded. In the course of debate the tone became rougher. In his response, Cornelissen claimed the CGT's were neither "corresponding to the current development of our international syndicalist movement nor particularly revolutionary." The IWW accused the CGT of being financed by the French government. The CGT fired back by claiiming that Cornelissen had no understanding of syndicalism.

Meanwhile, the preparations in London were scarcely coming along. It became necessary for Christiaan Cornelissen to travel to England to salvage the project. At the time the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, which had syndicalist elements, was involved in the Dublin Lockout and the British were focused on supporting that union. Bowman even suggested postponing the congress or holding it in secret, but Cornelissen would have none of it. Cornelissen along with some supporters of his who lived in London finished the preparations.