The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-29
The Labor Crisis.

settled to degree never before known: and
not in this country only, but in France and
England. The English artisans have not only
brought their own organizations to great per-
feotion, but they have succeeded in efFecting
a union with those of France and Belgium,
so as to prevent the masters resorting, as
they frequently have done to either of those
countries for labor during strikes at home.
The bronze-worzers and tailors, who are now
on a strike in Paris, are actually assisted in
holding out by contributions from the English
trades unions; and the control of these trades
unions over their own members offers one of the
best illustrations yet witnessed of the force of
democratic government of the completeness
of the obedience which men will render to
authority of their own creation, even when IT,
has no physical force at its back It is quite
true that these organizations do exact, on all
questions affecting the relations between en-
ployer and employed, complete sacrifice of
individual tastes, opinions, and interests. and
do inflict on anybody who disobeys their
orders that most terrible of punishments, the
reprobahon OF his own class; and this appa-
rent tyranny has called down on them the nm
sparing denunciation both of English and
French economists. But then it must be re-
membered that nothing short of this kind
of discipline will effect the object in view
Nothing but perfect union amongst the work
men can give them their way as against the
capitalists, and no penalties less severe than
those now enforced would ensure this union.
10 abuse the trades unions, therefore for
tyranny, is to abuse them for existing at all,
and this, of course, leaves the main question
untouched.
The extension of the English organization to
the Continent is perhaps the most striking
result of the wonderful power of combination
developed of late years amongst the WORKING
classes. 1t is partly the result of a congress-
held year ago at Geneva, which was mainly
managed by Englishmen, but which contained
delegates from most of the Continental conn
tries. The congress, however, was but a
meeting of an association founded three or
four years before, and called the 'Interna-
tional Association of Workingmen," which
now numbers over 10000 members in Emo
land, France, Belgium, Switzerland and
Italy. Capital, wages, hours of labor the
condition OF women, and various other
subjects interesting to workingmen, were
freely discussed at it; an enormous
amount of nonsense being talked as
might have been expected the French and
Italian workmen contributing the greater por-
tion of it. But although they came to some
very well-defned conclusions on variety of
topics, the only practical result of the meeting
was the establishment of unity of action as
well as OF sentiment between the English and
Continental workingmen, so that the Eng
lish can strike now with tolerable certainty
that they will not be broken down byimporta-
tiOns from France and Belgium.
The great strikes in England hitherto have
been amongst the irOnworkers, carpenters, and
masons. Within the last month, the engine
drivers have struck on some of the principal
lines of railroad, causing such inconvenience
to the public in the neighborhooGl of London as |
almost to throw the whole machinery of bust !
ness out of gear. They struck for higher
wages, for equal wages for all capacities, and |
for promotion by seniority and not by merit. |
The rise of wages they carried, and compro- |
missed on the other points-a man passed over
by the traffic manager having the right of ap-
peal to the board of directors in case he thinks |
he has been unjustly treated. But they re-
Vealed in the course of the strike an
amount of ability, good sense, modera-
tion in statement, and power of combina-
tion which has astonished all England and
alarmed considerable portion of it. They
published paper, too, called THE Train !
which presented their case with remarkable
cogency, and yet with great self-restraint
The result was that they were met and /
reasoned with, both by the daily and weekly .
press, with an amount of respect and conside- |
ration such as, we believe, no body of strikers
mas ever before received. In fact, the art of
combination is being brought to such perfec-
ton in all the trades, that there will verv soon
not be one left in England which will not
be able to make its terms with emplovers nc
one man, while backed up by the resources of
hundreds of thousands -
In America the trades unions are almost os
powerful, and strikes are as general If not os
effective, as in England. But the Amaricsm
Workmen WELD one weaponwhich is not With,
the reach OF their European brethren. and tbo+
Is political power, and this they are now ,si,'o
very freely to secure what no strike wonId
ever induce capitalists to agree to- and that 10
the withdrawal from employers and emplove5
OF Ille power OF lNlng their relations by con
tract Inc elghI-hour movement, when it was
nrst started TWO or three years ago, was
laughed at by most men of inteilioenca' o,t ",t'
side the class who have Appropriated ~
their exclusive use the title of ttworlTro
men," For little while it was little TonSso
than mentioned in the press, and was noob
poohed by employers as something uttorI,
wild and chimeTical, which was hardly ~
serious opposition. But it has nevertb oln.I ~
grown steadily, and is in most States aitba,,
producing legislation or in a fair wav To mo
duce it. By holding aloof from the two greot
political parties, and using their votes solaIv
with reference to the eight-hour scheme. the
''working-men' have brought the politicai
leaders to their feet and now no convention
ever draws up platform without INSERTING il,
it a small parcel of twaddle on the "rights of
labor" advocating legislative interference with
contracts. In every canvass, too desperate
efforts are made to fasten on each candidate
the charge of hostility to this delusion and
the candidate makes herculean efforts to repu-
diate what is in reality a tribute to his intelli-
gence. The thing has, as might be expected.
wonderful fascination for some philanthro-