STRIKE OR WAR?

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 80, 6 April 1910, Page 3

STRIKE OR WAR?

PHILADELPHIA'S GREAT CONFLICT. HOW IT BEGAN. (Fiom Our Own Correspondent.) RAN FRANCISCO, 10th March. \>st«rday an appeal was iMited to every Labour union in tho United States to itrike in sympathy v.ith tho tramway worker* of Philadelphia. If the unions respond, thete will bo revolution — nothing kft, — and no bloodless i evolution either. But Mich momentous action will not be taken with h»i>to. The matter munt come before the American Federation of Labour, whoM! leader*, Samuel Uomper-, John Mitchell, and tho re*t, are muMly men of interniuinnal experience who know what a national strike nouldmeau. Vet it is poxxible that they will decide the time it ripo ; the principles of unionism have been directly attacked; the Philadelphia Streetcar Company hos reliiiffl 10 deal with the union as a union ; it in/'M.s that its employees shall conduct negotiation* simply as individuals. If the American Federation of Labour decline^ to call a general strike throughout the country, it will not be because it admits the lack of juet cause, but because it believes organised labour is not strong enough to win. Recent eventi hurt raised tho flood of unionint resentment agiiimt present condition* almost to the bursting point. The national, leaders, (jumper* and Mitchell, even now havo a sentence oi imprisonment hanging over their heads became thry ordered h boycott of non-unionist i<Un<3 works; only the possibility of their appeal being upheld by the highest court (.lands between them and jail. For boycotting a hat manufacturer, the JJanbury Hatters' Union has been ordered to pay a fine of £44,400 — more than the combined wealth of the union and all its member*. Such defeats have a tremendous significance, coming as the climax of yrars of suppression of the working man— strike inter strike crushed lergcly by troop*, reactionary measure*, pasoid by dishonest Legislature.*, hostile deri«ion's given by pohticsl judges, till in the majority of rases the working man i< not even protected against being killed for profit, and his widow has no redrcF.v If the Philadelphia ftnkc docs not become national, it i* at l«apt practically certain to spread through the State of Pennsylvania. Beginning with the walkout of six thousand tramway workers, it has become a general strike of the union men of the city. A conservative nevrepaper sonrice. estimates* that 100,000 have left their work. The immediate came of the car rtriko was tho dtFmisffal of i-orne hundreds of union men. The company claimed to have good <nu»e for their removal, but workers alleged that tho only cause was that these men had been prominent in union work. A new union had been formed, and the. old employees accused the company of organising this body with the. deliberate aim of "breaking" the old union. They had urged that none of the members of the nprtart organisation be engaged, at the same time demanding an increase in wages. Both demands had been refused. ARBITRATION REFUSED. So tho strike began. After a few days of strife and bloodshed the union asked the company to submit the dispute to arbitration. The company refused to deal nith the union, but offered to negotiate with rcpi'ecfiiitativcß of the workers, including the so-called union-break-ers. The offer. was not accepted. The gbtmral strike was called it midnight on 4th March. Strike means bloodshed in America, just no surely as it means cruel, silent suffering. Iv the first four days of the original strike, it is reported 3 persons were killed, 375 injured, and 59) arrested ; 7 cars were burned, and 841 wrecked or disabled. Tho company lost about £80,000. The Woodshed and destruction have continued on a similar scale since. Among those killed by tho peace officers' bullets is a girl. Here are a few incidents that aro fairly typical of the rioting :—: — INNOCENT FOLK SHOT. A stone thrown from a crowd injured a strike-breaking motorman. Infuriated by this, fifteen of his comrades took a car out of the barns, smashed the windows with their dubs, and then sped through the mob, firing through the windows with revolvers. Four were wounded' by their bullets — one of them a girl of fourteen. While the wounded were bting picked up the strike-breakers turned tiieir car back, and rushed to the barn at the highest speed they could make. The crowd, taken by surprise, was unable to gather for a counter-dem-onstration. But the brutal attack roused the mob's fury, and several other cars were wrecked. Five thousand school<v'rls have been given vacation till the disturbances end ; it is considered unsafe for them to pass through tho streets. Over two thousand windows were broken during one day early in the strike. A pitched battle between 500 workmen of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, armed with scraps of iron, and a large force of polico with revolvers occurred ciuring one lunch hour. The workmen Jeered when a car came along with policemen guarding the . strike-Sreakers on the front and rear platforms. The policemen tried to arrest a man ; he was rescued by his friends. Then the workmen sent a volley of bolts and nuts through the windows and doors of the car. The police whistle was blown, and twenty officers came up. They received the second voHey of bolts. Then the ■workmen retreated into the locomotive works, And continued a fusillade from the windows and roof. "Fire at tham! Uso your guns! Shoot■right at the windows whenever you sect a man," ordered the sergeant. The shooting began, but not a Dullet found it-; mark. "Try it again!" shouted the men in the-buildmg, and continued to rain down their scraps of iron — missiles that proved •more effective that the policemen's lead. Perhaps the most terrible feature of the strike is that it is largely attributable to the politicians who control tho city .government. Mayor Reyburn is ono of the city's representatives on the board that decides questions of policy in which tho city_ as well as the tramway company is interested. He has made no effort to induce the company^to submit the dispute to arbitration. It is not the duty of the city, he s*ji«, to. meddle, and lit considers it would be meddling to compel the company to agree to arbitration. It cannot be doubted that lie is acting in every way possible to assist the company ; nnd the reason is that the leading stockholders of the company are Republicans — friends of thu party that put the Mayor into office.

Appearing on icmacd on » charge of navmg unlawfully mcd un inrtcument for an illeg.il opeiation. Alice Mun Auatict* vvaK furlhet UMiiamied yuiteidayal'ternoon hv .Mr. W. 11. lla.«eldfn, S.M., till the I3in in«(. Hail was allowed as beici'r. Mr. Wilfoul appeared for uccu*e<l. It piooi' weie wanted of the popularity of the Wnnganui Boys' College throughout New Zealand (says a local paper), it i» forthcoming in lh« Utt thai altwa<iy acoAunodf-ticn b»» wen mcut<4 for eg boya tot next year— l9ll,