LABOUR UPHEAVALS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1366, 17 February 1912, Page 10

LABOUR UPHEAVALS.

WORLD'S RECORDSTORIES OF INDUSTRIAL CONFLICTS. "GENERAL STRIKES" THAT HAVE FAILED. With tho present groat industrial upheaval in our midst (says tho Sydney "Herald"), it is not uninteresting to glanco briefly at tho great strikes that havo taken place in other parts of the world, and more particularly tho "general strikes" that have occurred. "General strikes" are of very rare occurrence, and where they have occurred, as, for instance, in tho groat upheaval in Sweden, in 1909, they have utterly failed to achieve the end in view. THE UNITED KINGDOM. One of the greatest strikes in tho United Kingdom took place in ISS9. There had been temporary strikes of seamen and firemen in the steamers in tho ports of Glasgow, Leith, Aberdeen, and Dundee, for an advance of wages at the end of May, 18SSj but they gradually collapsed. The trouble extended to Liverpool, and it was not till July that a settlement was reached there. On August 15 of tho following year the dock labourers of the port of London struck work, demanding not less than four hours' engagement, pay to be raised from sd. to Gd. per hour, and tho redress of other grievances. They wore joined bv stevedores, lightermen, and every class of riverside workers, and a week after the strike commenced thero were 25,000 men out. There were negotiations on August 27 between the London and India docks'- committer and the dock labourers' strikes' committeo (tho leaders of the latter being Messrs. John' Burns, Ben Tillett, Henrv Champion, and Tom Mann), but the strikers' demands were refused. On August 30 it was said that 80,000 men were out. The close of the strike was greatly due to the intervention of the Lord Mayor and the Bishop of London, Cardinal Manning, and Sir John Lubbock (now Lord Avebury), the 'terms ultimately agreed upon being that the pay for ordinary work was' raised from -id. to Gd. an hour, with Bd. per hour overtime, contract: work to be changed to piecework, and some minor concessions. Work at the docks was resumed on September 10, the strike having lasted just a month. During the strike there were many processions of labourers and sympathisers through the streets, and great meetings were held in Hyde Park on the Sundays. The extreme distress in the:-Last End was relieved by public subscriptions, and the Australian, colonies, contributed about ,£31,000. In July, 1897, the great strike of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and allied trade unions, for an eight-hour day, took place, and in October 70,000 men were out. By December the number had increased to SO,OOO. The employers issued an ultimatum, which the men rejected on a ballot. Repeated conferences took place, but were of no avail. On January 15, 1595, tho men's demand for a •IS-hours week was withdrawn, and work was generally resumed on January 24. . In April, of IS9S, the South Wales coaldispute resulted in 50,000 men being thrown into idleness. A 10 per cent, advance in wages was sought, and refused. Great distress was experienced at Cardiff. The negotiations for a settlement failed, and on August 31 the men capitulated and the masters' terms were accepted. We havo vivid recollections of the rccent great "striko in London and the; provinces, that, began with the dockers and spread to other branches of- labour, and of tlio untold misery .and suffering it entailed—a strike that necessitated the tailing out of the military and the shedding of blood before it could bo quelled. It is true some concessions were made to the men in tho end, but the cost to the strikers .and ; their families;! and, ; - indeed, the.country at,large, was, enormous.

THE UNITED STATES. The year 1903 was notable for the number of great strikes in America. At the end of March, there wero strikes among, the emjiloyees . of the .AmericanBridge Company, and they rapidly ".'extended. .On April 1 the great cotton mills at Lowell (Mass.) wero closed. A few. days later there was trouble with tho miners' unions, who refused to work nine hours daily. A lock-out followed at most of tho collieries of tho Philadelphia and Reading Coal Company, affecting 30,000 men. On May 1 30,000 labourers employed on the Rapid Transit Railway, New York, left work, and at ,tho same timo the millwrights, ironworkers; and teamsters wero reported. Then, at the end of May, came the great strike of textile workers in Philadelphia for shorter hours and increased wages, this ono strike alone affecting 90,000 workers. Strikes were in the air, and in Juno 90 per cent, of building operations in New York were at.a standstill, 110,000 mechanics and labourers being unemployed, whilst the building capital unemployed was estimated at iM0.000.000. In July there was a builders' lock-out at Pittsburg, affecting 25,000 men. Later on, there were labour.riots and outrages in Chicago aud various parts of Colorado. A coal farnino at Denver was threatened, and martial law was proclaimed in Colorado.

In 1904 the greatest disturbance known in the textilo industry of America took place, beginning on July 25 with a strike of Massachusetts cotton operatives 'at Fall River, and causing, it was estimated, a direct loss to all interests of £1,000,000. It was ended at last by the intervention of tho Governor of tho State on January IS, 1905.

WHAT HAPPENED IN PHILADELPHIA,

, Since then there have been other great upheavals m the United States, the most liotablc being tile Philadelphia car strike in February, 1910. it did not' last verylong, but ic was remarkable for its many violent scenes. Some 5000 men were taken from their cars, a considerable area of the city was filled with violence and disorder, nearly a thousand cars wero damaged more or less seriously (some of them being burned), several persons wero killed, and hundreds injured. On tho first day of tho strike a courageous volunteer motorman, driving his r.ir full speed through tho crowd with ono hand on the controller and the other holding a revolver, was dragged from the jilatl'orm when the car had been wrecked by a spiked switcii, and killed. The police .proved hopelessly unable, or unwilling, to quell the disturbances, and tho State Constabulary arrived on the scene. Less than 200 troops did what 3000 policemen had failed to do. The union had previously struck for higher wages and easier hours, and had won, the victory being due to what was described ns "the political machine." Tho February riots, however, were brought about by the formation of a second union (engineered, it was alleged, by officials of the company), and the promotion and giving of preference generally to those who joined the new union. The crisis came when the company discharged 173 men in two days. In a moment the city was plungod into industrial chaos.

But tho union was not strong enough to make the fight with any hope of success. It was beaten as soon ns tho little troop of State mounted police began to patrol tho streets. The only thing that could have lielned tho strikers' cause was a general strike among the Philadelphia trades. It was attempted, indeed, but it failed. Tho conditions in Philadelphia, ns in all the American cities, are far different from what they are in Australia—workers in the American cities aTe made up of many different nationalities, speaking many different languages, and art) far less plastic material for the labour to work on than is tho case in this coun-

try. There is a point of similarity between the Philadelphia car striko and that in Brisbane. The Philadelphia cl-isis was precipitated by the coming into existence of a second union; the trouble in Brisbane soeins to have been due in part to the existence of two separate organisa-

tions, and to the desire of the iiuion unaffiliated with the Trades nail to brill the others into line.

TUP. STRIKE IN SWEDEN. One of the biggest general strikes recorded was that in Sweden in 1909, embracing the whole country, and lasting for practically tiro months. II begun nt Gottenburg, the porcelain and the pitprops works being tho first to fael it, Tfca joxkmaa had. na to the taa ti ths

sfiriko been .paid so imicli per ton for tho work turued out. But on account of the introduction ol' special Jabour-siiviug machines it was found that they wore now putting out many more tons than formerly, and were getting an y high wage. Tho more efficient tlie lab-our-saving machines were the more money the men made. The employers desired to alter the system of payment, but the men would not agree. It was pointed out oil the one hand that tho market prices did' not justify the high wages; on tho other hand it was stated that tho increased production justified tho wages, aud that, moreover, the machines oiillcu for a greater intensity of work, and that, whilst production hail enormously increased, the number of workmen linu not. The increased cost of living was also used as an argument by the emplojees. There was an attempt at arbitration, but it failed. Lck-outs l'ollowed-at Stockholm, Gottenburg, and other centres throughout tho country—SO,ooo workmen being affected. That was on August Two days facer the Swedish Labour federation proclaimed a general strike, it came into full operation The workmen on strike numbered 2oO,tHH) of whom 30,000 were in Stockholm. Kailway communication was cut oft; iood supplies were seriously curtailed. "What lias been done in Brisbane was done in Sweilon-«ll places where strong drink was served were ordered to bo closed wherever it was considered necessary.' Not only was railway communication blocked, the trams also stopped running. The issue, of newspapers .ceased, except in the curious form of small pamphlets. Military were held in readiness but wero not heeded. the gieat strike in Sweden was remarkable tor the orderly behaviour of the workers, lint as a general strike it was a failure. J. ho men had not the funds to stand the strain. The Masters' Federation was too powerful. Contributions wero sent to the strikers from Norway, Denmark, i inland, Germany, Australia, England, the United States, France, Belgium, and other countries, including even Rhodesia, and Panama, but they were mostly small amounts. In September'the Government stepped in, and appointed _ a .committee of arbitration, but onco again arbitration failed, aud in the end the men had to resume, work on the conditions laid down by the masters. "RED RUSSIA." Russia has had many great strikes. At the end of 1905, there were great note at Kieff and Nikolaieff. 1-wilting took place between troops and workmen, and there were liiany casualties. At the same time the postal and telegraph employees shuck work as a protest against an order forbidding them to form a union, and telegraphic communication with Russia was almost entirely closed. Tlu. Government rejected the demands of the strikers. In December of 1905 thero was a general ■ strike in Moscow, and 125 COO men went out on strike in .St. Petersburg, • whilst tho labour troubles in. Odessa- were so serious that martial law was .proclaimed in the district. Thero was an organised striko on all the railways, and it was estimated that 1,000,000 men were out. Oil wells were set on tire, trams wore wTecked, bombs were thrown, and other violent outrages took place.

Tho year was one of great unrest in Russia. From end to end of the land thero were scenes of violent disorder and bloodshed. There has been nothing like it in any other part o? the world. It gained for the country, tho name of 'Tied Russia." There was such a massacre ot people bv tho troops one Sunday in St. Petersburg that the day is known as "Bloody Sun-lay." - Father' Gapon, a priest; "prominent in organising the strike movement, marched at the head of the strikers on January 22, and sent a message to the Minister for the Interior urging that the Tsar should meet his people in front of the Winter Palace. The Tsar

did not do so. ! The strikers, unarmed, moved to the palace square to present a petition, and were' confronted ,by troops, who fired upon the people. Cossacks charged the crowd. Large numbers, including women and children wore killed and wounded. The killed and wounded aro stated to have nmiiberel 4lioo. There were fierce fights after that, in St. Petersburg, in Moscow, and Lodz, and many other centres, but nothing to equal that day, or even to approach it. • CONFLICTS IN FRANCE. It is estimated-that the great strike at Marseilles in 1901, which lasted 40 days, cost the city no less a sum than £3,200,000. No fewer Mian 17G vessels, with an aggregate; burden of '.-150,000 'tons,' 'were laid • idle. The strike spread to other ports, but it ended in a victory for tho masters. ,

In April, i 905, a conflict took place between troops and strikers at the Haviland prooelain works, Limoges. In April of the folowing year tho coal-miners on strike at Lierin besieged tho gendarmerie barracks, stoned tho police and. troops, pillaged the stalls in' the market-place, and sacked flic .liousa of' tlio'director of tho mines. This Was •followed'' by dynamite outrages. There'were'disturbances ifi Paris and other centres. '

In 1907 came the great wine-producera' agitation, and a demonstration, attended by 500,000 people, took place at Mo'ntpcllior. Thero wero widespread disturbances, resulting in frequent conflicts between the police and troops. Other big strikes thnt followed were those of. the postmen and telegraphists in Paris and the provinces (in 1909),-arid the railway men m tho district between, Nice and the Rhine (1910). '

Only a couple of . years ago there was an attempt at a "general striko" •in Paris, but it failed. The compositors on the papers left their cases and machines, and the citizen was without liis daily j'ournal. Tho compositors were not alone; a monster demonstration had been organised, an enthusiastic meeting held, and it was announced that the movement was to bo regarded as a preparatory skirmish to a general-engagement between workers and capitalists. At one centre a barricade was erected, from which and. the adjacent houses a brisk fusillade was poured upon tho troops. The casualties,, however, were small, only three being killed, and some 20 injured. On the following Monday the otlier trades were to be called out. But what happened? Monday came, tho order was given, every man was called out; but they did not: come. Most of tho trades unions failed to respond to tho appeal, and the day. passed quietly. The "general, strike" • proved a fiasco! Tho defeat was complete, demoralisation set in, and there were general denunciations of the "general strike." . .

REIGN OF TERROR IN ITALY. In September, 1904, a general strike was attempted throughout Italy, and serious riots occurred at Venice, Turin, aud Milan. Early in tho mouth the miners in Tuscany went out' to" tho number of 2500, in consequence of a disputo. respecting the hours of labour. Troops were called out and conflicts look place, resulting in a number of soldiers and miners being killed and others injured. During tho month there were general strike riots, duo chiefly to tho instigation of the Socialist party, and a general striko was attempted. Troops were called out at Genoa, and in other centres great disturbances took place. There was a reign of terror in Milan, and the Labour Exchange there prevented ■ the issue of _ all newspapers except its own. A reaction, however, quickly set in against the Socialists, and before tho end of the month work generally was resumed. The attempts to throw the whole country into a state of chaos failed. IN OTHER COUNTRIES. In 1905 there was a great strike of German coal-miners in Westphalia, and only a vear or two ago the Hamburg dockers went on strike, and the shipping trade of the port was paralysed for a time. There havo been other big strikes in Germany from timo to time, but rarely anything in the nature of a general Great railway and dock strikes took placo in Amsterdam in 1903, but they only lasted a week, and the.v resulted in the passing of anti-strike Bills, aiming at the settlement of disputes by peaceful means. „ In 190-1 70,000 men on the Hungarian State railways weut on strike for liijjhti' wages, and 'Hungary was isolated Imm railwav communication from the rest, of Europe. The striko was, however, of short duration.