200 THE UTOPIAN COMMUNIST
opposed the movement because it objected to any "centraliza
tion" of the labor movement under Weitling. Papers like the
Lancaster (Ohio) Volksblatt had little sympathy for the "Utopian
ideas of refugees," and the Columbus Westbote remained con
sistently hostile to Weitling.^14 On the other hand, the Beobachter
am Ohio argued that the labor movement needed unification badly
and that the founder of Die Republik der Arbeiter was the natural
leader to weld the scattered forces of the workers into one power
ful organization.
Weitling's German Labor Congress was the first ever held in
the United States, and in some respects it marked the climax of
Weitling's influence in America. The delegates, representing be
tween 4,360 and 4,400 workers, came from Arbeitervereine of
varying strength in many parts of the nation. In St. Louis, for ex
ample, a membership of 310 was represented, in Buffalo 260, in
Louisville 150, in Pittsburgh 160. The Philadelphia delegation
represented 153 tailors, another group of 60 from the same trade
who called themselves a "Social Tailors' Society," and an Arbeiterverein of 300.^10 Other sizable delegations came from Balti
more and Cincinnati. The New York group represented 946
organized carpenters, 500 tailors, 120 shoemakers, 80 sculptors,
30 printers, 25 cigar makers, 35 bakers, and other smaller con
stituencies and included, besides Weitling, such prominent lead
ers in German labor circles as H. Seeman, F. Steffen, J. Frankony,
and J. Triebswetter. The cash resources of the organizations rep
resented at Philadelphia totaled over $19,000. The expenses of
the congress were estimated at $600; contributions amounted to
$1,ooo.^16
The congress was in session from October 22 to October 28.
Most of the delegates were adherents of the Weitling program, for
it was almost wholly due to his propaganda that this novel assem
bly in German-American labor history had been called. In a week(^14) Columbus Westbote, November 29, 1850.
(^15) For the complete roster, see Rep. d. Arb., October and November, 1850.
(^18) Schlüter, Anfänge der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung, 83-84.