THE RAILWAY STRIKE.
Latest Melbourne files are, of course, full of the strike. The sensation caused in Victoria was tremendous. But order was remarkably well preserved, and there was little turbulence, no acts of violence being committed. While both sides received encouraging messages of support, it was plain -from the first that the weight of public opinion was massed solidly and immovably behind the Government. As the engine-drivers and firemen "went out" the scene was one of great excitement. The spirits of the men grew livelier as the ! our approached, and at the appointed time voice cried " It's five o'clock, boys I" 'nmediately there was a tumult of cheering. ■nil then the lines of "The Sleeping Camp' :c sung with gusto: Rouse ye, my comrades, rouse ye, Proudly our flag waves o'er ye ; Strong in your might, . Dash thro' the fight, Conquer or die for liberty. Mr Scorer, the secretary of the Enginedrivers and Firemen's Association, was the outstanding figure among the strikers. He is an able man, but for once undoubtedly misjudged the temper of a democratic people. To a reporter he said: " I had a newspaper clipping handed me which, I think, Dears very closely on the present struggle: It is an extract from the remarks of Dr Clifford, chief of the Baptist denomination, on the English Education Act, and reads as follows:—'Our heritage is one_ secured by disobedience. We are the children of disobedience. We all owe war freedom to the active and passive resistance of our ancestors.' I think that hits the situation now." What stoppage meant to the employees may be judged from the following figures:— The total salaries and wages paid to railway employees for the year i9Ol-02 was £1,462,594, or a monthy disbursement of £121,882. Even from this standpoint it will be seen how serious even the partial stoppage of the railway system would le. Of the total amount of the wages bill, no less than £980,435 is divided amongst 9,090 employees, who receive less than £l5O a year each. Some extract i from the drivers' manifesto show the (misguided) motives of the men: —"Wc voteless men of Victoria, whose cry for justice the members of the present Parliament think they can safely neglect, appeal to you for fair play. . . . We are not law-breakers. We want to obey the law, and to submit to lawful authority, everyone recognises. We are, as a class, sober, steady, and law-abiding. We live in your midst; you know us and our homes. A strike is no pleasure to us. . . . We need not state at length how we have been retrenched in wages, compelled to do higher work without higher pay, deprived of many privileges which are conceded by all traffic companies to their servants. We need not detail how Government after Government have trifled with us, and made us the scapegoat for the sins of those who have built non-pay-ing lines and misspent borrowed money. We need only allude to the bullying, haggling, and insolence of the present Minister of Railways in his undignified „ discourses to newspaper reporters. We~have submitted to all these things, and more, in the interests of the country; but there are some things dearer to us than wages, dearer even than life itself—' Liberty of action under the law.' . . . We are fighting for freedom after working hours, for freedom for our children and yours. . . . Desperate diseases require desperate remedies. That is why we have refused further to work. We are too painfully aware of the great loss, the great trouble, and misery which the stoppage of the railways inflict on you as well as ourselves. We know that the poor suffer more than the rich. We know the undeserving as well as those responsible suffer. But what could we do? What other course was open to usY The whole blame rests with an unwise Government, who have converted one of the most lawabiding bodies of men in the State into (seeming) revolt" On the night of the strike (Friday, May 3) the old Trades Hall was being used for the continuous entertainment of the Loco. Drivers' and Firemen's Association, somewhat on the vaudeville principle. The members of the Association rallied in large numbers, and passed several hours in singing and listening to stirring addresses by Labor leaders, amongst whom were Senators M'Gregor, Dawson, and De Largie, Messrs O'Mafley. M.H.R., Prendergast, and Maloney, M.L.A.s, and the executive officers of the Trades Hall Council. The members remained until shortly before daylight, and again assembled to the number of about 600 early on Saturday afternoon. Through the half-open doors the exhortations of loud-voiced orators could be heard almost with plainness in the streets. Bursts of cheers interrupted the speeches, and the entire company at intervals joined in singing 'True till death.' The cable about the greasing of the raits to stop the passage of the Sydney-Mel-bourne express will be remembered. The scene when that part of the line was reached is thus described:—The scene on the Sydney express to Melbourne on Saturday morning is described by the passengers as a remarkable one. When it was discovered that the rails had been greased, the passengers, acting under the direction of the driver, broke off sticks to dig earth, so that the wheels might grip the rails. When a subscription for the driver, fireman, and guard was mooted only four of the eighty passengers—two in the first class and two in the second—refused to contribute. The feeling amongst the passengers was very strong, and several o! them declared that had they caught the offender red-handed (or black-handed) there was not a shadow of doubt that he would have been lynched. It was a novel and remarkable sight to see each passenger earthing over his own little section of rail —and all had made up their minds to do it for ten miles, if necessary, rather than acknowledge defeat. Mr Hart/, president of the Drivers' and Firemen's Association, stood to lose a pension of £73, or compensation of £365; Mr Scorer a pension of £B4, or compensation of £42 C Mr Scorer said these things had been weighed, and they were prepared to make any sacrifice. : In view of the sudden collapse of the strike after it lasting exactly a week, it is rather amusing and pathetic to read such opinions as these:—" We win, hands down We are going on to a finish, no matter how long it lakes to get there." This was the reply of Mr Scorer, when interviewed. Give us freedom," be remarked later on- " that n all we are fighting for. We want to be slaves no longer." Asked when the authority of the members to declare a strike was obtained, Mr Hart jestinelv replied: "Probably we will write out a statement on that point, and have it published, to show other societies how to work a similar affair in the future." The requirements of Melbourne in meat butter, potatoes, milk, etc., were all carefully calculated, and plans made for keeping the ciiy supplied. There was no panic! :md had Ihe strike continued, it is claimed that no great inconvenience would have been caused.
STATE EMPLOYEES AND POLITICS. MP J. WARD ON M'CURDY'S CASE. [Special to the Stax.] CHRISTCHURCH, May 21. At the social gathering to Mr Ell M.H.R., last night the Victorian strike was mentioned. The president of the Canterbury Trades and Labor Council brought up the question of a New Zealand telegraphist who. had been given the alternative of resigning or abandoning his position on the Farmers' Union. Sir Joseph Ward replied that the position of the telegraphist was quite different from the position in Victoria. On the other side the union had been affiliated to the Trades Hal] for fifteen vears before action was taken by the Government. In New Zealand there had been a rule laid down by Parliament itself, and not by the Government, that State employees were not to take an active part in politics. The question was whether a telegraphist, who had become secretary to an organisation that admitted it was as-ijoci-'iil with rinlit.ka. °i»miiA }num a, jmuu.
lege denied to all other persons employed by the Government. Parliament had made tie rule, and it was Parliament that should abolish it. Personally, his sympathies were with tho telegraphist, who had been fiven ample time to consider his position, ir Joseph added that the people had the power in their own hands to alter any grievance instead of trying to create a position which would drive the railways back under the control of three Commissioners. Was it not better to remove grievances, and keep the control of the railways in their own hands.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Star, Issue 11892, 21 May 1903, Page 8
Word Count
1,445THE RAILWAY STRIKE. Evening Star, Issue 11892, 21 May 1903, Page 8
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