The Utopian Communist: A Biography of Wilhelm Weitling

THE WORKINGMEN'S LEAGUE 201
of arduous committee work and lively plenary sessions, the con­
gress hammered out a set of resolutions covering a wide range of
subjects. Indicative of Weitling's dominant role, first place in the
platform was given to his views about banks of exchange, and co­
operative associations. The special committee which reaffirmed
his familiar theories on these matters consisted of Weitling, Franz
Arnold, at that time still his ardent disciple, and C. Jüngrig of
Buffalo. Resolutions were adopted which called on local organiza­
tions to deposit their funds with a central bank of exchange and
to accept paper money in return; raw and finished products
deposited in central storehouses were to serve as security. To im­
plement such a fundamental revolution in the economic system,
labor groups were urged to form local co-operatives, to acquire
warehouses for purposes of storage and display, and to create
central organizations in the larger cities which might eventually
co-ordinate their activities into a single unified system. It was pro­
posed also to have the Arbeiterbund act as an employment bureau
to which all vacancies would be reported.
Only after banks of exchange, currency, and co-operatives had
been thoroughly discussed did the platform deal with problems
of political organization. Among reforms in this field, the con­
gress favored the selling of public lands to actual settlers only,
protection of homesteads against forced sale, limitation of the
amount of land held by any individual, high taxes on land privately
owned and withheld from use, better protection for immigrants
and the granting of citizenship on grounds other than mere resi­
dence, direct election and recall of all officeholders, the adminis­
tration of public works by the banks of exchange (Tauschasso¬
ziation), and the repeal of all restrictive legislation dealing with
Sabbath observance.
Indicative of the genuine interest in education and learning
which Weitling and many of his fellow Germans had, the congress
advocated a system of free public schools from kindergarten
through the university, for the "harmonious education of the
whole man according to all his powers and capacities"; better pay