there will be internal war all along the lines. The brewery workers have issued a dignified statement in which they declare that, despite the persecution of the reactionists, they will continue to observe union principles as they understand them. On the other hand, the United States Brewers' Association, the employers' organization, is reported to have announced that they will make contracts with the various craft unions after this year and ignore the brewery workers so far as the engineers, firemen and teamsters are concerned. The bosses are also said to be accumulating a fund to enforce their decree and look to the A. F. of L. to lend support in any possible contingency. There are some interesting times ahead.

It will be recalled that mention was made in the Review some time ago of the peculiar autonomistic or anarchistic condition that prevailed in the printing industry, where the International Typographical Union was struggling to enforce the eight-hour workday, while the pressmen were bound by an open shop agreement and were virtually forced to scab against their fellow-workers, and that, despite the indignation of the membership of the I. T. U. and the pressmen, President Higgins deliberately signed a new agreement with the employers' association to continue the nine-hour day and the open shop until 1909. Certainly, under the Gompersonian interpretation of liberty and license, Higgins had a perfect right to bring incalculable injury upon the Typographical Union, of which organization, by the way, Secretary Morrison, of the A. F. of L., is a misrepresentative. But in the face of all opposition the I. T U. has practically won the eight-hour day-at a cost of over $3,000,000 actual money assessed upon the members. The pressmen have just held their annual convention in New York, and although every effort was made by Higgins and his followers to pack the assemblage, the revolt of the rank and file was so widespread that the "leaders" met their Waterloo. Higgins and his cohorts were turned down and out and their policies were reversed. The indications now are that there will be a strong printing federation consummated, which will virtually amount to an industrial body. Higgins was one of Gompers' ablest lieutentnts, and a number of times was given the distinguished honor of presiding at A. F. of L. conventions while officers were being elected. This year the erudite gentleman of Boston will be sadly missed.

If the members of some other organizations- the men who pay the freight would imitate the example of the pressmen, arise in their might and kick their "leaders" into the middle of next week there would be more progress and less reaction in the American labor movement.

The irony in this disgusting situation is that the brewery workers have never hesitated to make sacrifices for the benefit of some of the very organizations whose representatives on the executive council voted to expel them, and who would not dare to submit their acts to a referendum vote of their own unions for vindication. Moreover, some of the members of the executive council are at the head of organizations that are doing precisely what the brewers were excommunicated for. Take the miners, for example, the largest body affiliated with the A. F. of L., an organization that, during some of its fights for life, received thousands of dollars from the brewers to enable the ill-paid members to stand out and fight the operators. The miners claimed jurisdiction over the coal hoisting engineers, and

President Mitchell stated emphatically that they would not surrender them to the craft organization that made repeated fights in the Scranton, New Orleans and Boston conventions for their alleged autonomy rights. President Keefe, of the longshoremen, will battle strenuously against yielding jurisdiction over the engineers on the docks to the International Union of Steam Engineers, which body is one of the organizations that is attempting to pluck the brewers to pieces. The carpenters, whose President Huber is on the executive council, are attempting to swallow the Amalgamated Woodworkers and claim jurisdiction over all employed in woodworking, but to hear them tell it they are "straight trade autonomists." The machinists, whose President O'Connell is also on the council, absorbed the International Association of Allied Metal Mechanics, thus giving them a stronger grip upon machine shops, but O'Connell is for "trade autonomy" and ferninst the brewers. There are several others who, if they were consistent, would surrender important elements in their organizations all the way through. But the only time they are consistent is when they are inconsistent.

SOCIALISM ABROAD

FRANCE.

By far the most striking event of the month has been the vinegrowers' strike in Southern France. Although this movement has been widely heralded in this country as being a socialist uprising yet it really had no connection with Socialism, save in so far that every revolutionary movement at the present time is influenced by the dominant revolutionary note of the age,-socialism. As a matter of fact the Midi, as the section of France is called where the vine growers were in rebellion, is the most conservative, if not reactionary portion of the nation. The Socialist strength is largely in the North.

Neither was this a proletarian movement. The vine-growers have for years been confronted with falling prices. This is partly due to overproduction (in the capitalist sense) but also largely to the manufacture of "chemical" wines in the manufacturing centers and in Paris. A combination of sugar manufacturers and liquor traders who were behind this "manufacture" of "wine" were able to control the government and to prevent any legislation against adulteration.

The vine-growers, who had petitioned for such legislation over and over again, grew desperate, and finally announced that unless the government proceeded to stop this adulteration and to enact certain other legislation they would all "strike" and that all the local officials would resign thus paralyzing local government.

Under the leadership of Marcelin Albert this threat was carried into effect and for some time the Midi was in a state closely bordering on anarchy. The Clemenceau government ordered the troops sent to the locality, but those troops that were recruited in the disafected region refused to fire upon their relations and friends, and there were many signs of widespread disaffection and mutiny.

The matter came up in the Chamber of Deputies and the Socialists proposed the immediate nationalization of the vineyards of the larger employing proprietors, and of the wholesale and retail trade in wine and sugar, with associations of the wine growers to direct the management,-details of compensation and management to be settled later. This proposal received only the votes of the Socialists and one or two other Deputies.

In the midst of the excitement, Albert, who seems to have been about as simple as the average small capitalist reformer, came to

Paris to see Clemenceau. He was evidently dazzled by the splendor of official Paris and after having been arrested, was released on parole, on condition that he succeeded in stopping the strike. On leaving the ministeral headquarters, Clemenceau kindly (?) offered him his train fare to his home. He accepted this, and immediately there arose a cry that he had been bribed, although the sum received was only about twenty dollars.

His followers, accordingly, refused to, follow his instructions, but nevertheless the strike is gradually dwindling away.

In the meantime the Socialists are fighting in the chamber of deputies for the complete amnesty for all those engaged in the uprising, including the mutinous troops. This Clemenceau is resisting and the affair may yet easily precipitate a cabinet crisis.

In the meantime the general unrest among the peasants, while not now by any means a Socialist movement, may easily at any time drift into co-operation with the socialist movement. At any rate it indicates an insurrectionary spirit among the French peasantry long so famous as the backbone of conservatism.

RUSSIA.

The event of the month in Russia was, of course, the dissolution of the Duma by the Czar. This coup d'etat was determined upon as soon as it became evident that in spite of the gerrymandering and police interference with the elections that the Duma was not inclined to be completely subservient to the Czar.

The pretext upon which it was dissolved was that the Social Democratic members were plotting to establish a republic. There is something almost humorous in this charge since the Socialists have never attempted to conceal the fact that, they were seeking the overthrow of the autocracy and to speak of their "plotting" to that end is a new use of the word. 'A demand was made upon the Duma that the Socialist members be delivered up for punishment,-which meant for death. This the Duma refused to do and dissolution followed. The Socialist members nearly all seem to have escaped arrest and have taken up the secret propaganda once more.

The government has also determined upon a still further revision of the election laws so as to place power entirely in the hands of the reactionary elements'. Incidentally this is a violation of the pledge of the Czar that no changes would be made in the election law without the consent of the Duma.

The immediate result of the dissolution has been a revival of all the old tactics, including terrorism. Just what attitude will be taken by the Socialists toward the elections for the next Duma has not yet been decided.

INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST CONGRESS.

The International Socialist Congress will be held at Stuttgart August 18th to 24th. This will be the first International Congress where the proportional system of voting will be in force. Hitherto each nation has had two votes no matter what its size or strength of its socialist movement. At the coming Congress an effort has

been made to apportion voting strength to the various countries in the ratio of the importance of the Socialist movement, the size of the country the strength of the labor union movement, and the number of Socialist parliamentary representatives.

The principle questions before the Congress will deal with immigration and emigration and the relation of the Socialist Party to the labor unions.