Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1912. "WISELY AND SLOW."

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 26, 31 January 1912, Page 6

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1912. "WISELY AND SLOW."

Th© hope of an amicable settlement of th© tramway dispute 6eems to be practically at aa end. The resolution at which the Tramways Union arrived several weeks ago stilJ stands, and any disposition that there may be to revise it seems to suggest that it will rather be made worse than otherwise. "If a satisfactory settlement of the Fuller difficulty is not arrived, at, are you in favour of leaving work?" This is the question upon which a ballot of the union was taken more than a fortnight ago, when, as the form of th© question, implies, the result of th© union's controversy with the City Council was still m doubt. The result of this ballot was not known to anybody till Friday last, when th© counting of th© votes showed a majority of about four to on© in favour, of a strike an the contingency supposed. Th© taking of a conditional poll in this wayj weeks before th© case has fully developed and the final pinch has come, is obviously a highly unsatisfactory method of dealing with so important a matter. But there is nothing to suggest that a more reasonable conclusion would have been, arrived at by waiting. On the contrary, th© evidence points, as w© have suggested, in the opposite direction. At the foot of th© ballot-paper on which the vote was taken was the very proper reminder of a fact which the union seemed to hay© prevfousTy been in danger of overlooking : — "The fourteen days' notice must bo given." The notice referred to is prescribed by the amendment of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act which was passed in 1908 as necessary in the case of employees on. ferries, tramways, or railways, the sudden stoppage of which is bound to cause grave public inconvenience. When th© ballot was taken th© men were, prepared to observe this "just and salutary requirement of th© law. It is now at least doubtful whether they are still of th© name mind. The x proposed stoppage of th© trams this afternoon in order that the men may atfend a mass meeting will clearly be a breach of th© law, ' and is probably regarded by th© union as of greater value as an indication of its power and an earnest of what is to come than for its ostensible purpose. Legally the City Council would be entitled to treat this concerted stoppage of work as constituting a strike on the part of the men who deserted their posta, and as such not merely disentitling them to wages for th© current week but also subjecting them to heavy penalties. But we do not think that the council would be I w©ll advised to do co. The men will ; hay© broken the law and shown a contemptuous disregard ot tho public convenience if they take the course proposed, but a tolerant generosity will be good policy on the council's part until th© matter is carried further. That this further step will be taken, and taken very promptly, there is unfortunately only too good reason to fear. In© men have got a grievance which, though it does not affect wages or the hours of labour, or the conditions of labour in any of the ordinary senses of that term, •they are prepared to treat as of capital importance. Their only way to get past the decision of th© City Council is by lan appeal to public opinion^ and an essential condition of success in such an appeal is the observance in tho meanwhile of a respectful and considerate • attitude, and above all a strict compliance with the law. It doee not appear that the union is willing to satisfy any of these conditions. It is not by argument but by an appeal to force that it apparently hopes to compass it« ends. The display of force will doubtless be • more imposing if, in violation' of the law, the msn ara called out and bring the

makes the greatest mistake in tho world if it supposes that a frank abandonment of reasonable and lawful methods for those of coercion is going to terrorise tho citizens or their trustees, the City Council, into submission. The public sentiment, which is already running strongly against the union, will, on tho contrary, be rallied by such tactics to the support of the council in still greater force. But, whether the men come out late or soon, what ought the City Council to do? It does not seem to us that it should be in any frantic hurry to patch up a temporary, partial, unsatisfactory, and possibly risky service. As trustees for the public the council should no doubt use every reasonable effort to secur« as soon' as possible tho full reinstatement of th© service which the action of the Tramways Union, whether in violation of tho law or otherwise, will have brought to a standstill. But the case may .well be on© in which an apparently short cut will really prove to be the longest way to the destination. A partial service will b© of no great value to tho public ; and if the motormen are mot fully competent," it will be dangerous, especially in the outlying districts, where the need is sorest and grades are steepest. Another element of danger in a partial and hastily improvised service lies in th© friction, which iB bound to be severest in the first flush of militant enthusiasm always characteristic of the outset of a strike. The wild talk of "capitalism versus labour" " and "our party, right or wrong" should bo given as little chance as possible of enlarging the area of mischief either among the Corporation employees or in a still wider field. But such an opportunity might easily be afforded by an attempt on the j part of the council to fill too rapidly the | gap which tho strike will have caused. In dv© course the feelings of the men will cool, and the public resentment of their action will have so spread and intensified as to make a forward move a comparatively easy matter. In the meantime th© Fabian policy will eerve th© public interests best. "Wisely and slow" is an especially good maxim when the adversary is hot-headed and precipitate.