The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-10-09
NO. ID.


The number of workingmen nj thil
moment on strike in England, says {
correspondent of Il New York paper
may be counted by tens OF thousands
They did not all begin ut once, and viii
not end at once, nor is there an under
standing among them all still, it is easy
TO see how one strike brings or another
and how the history OF nearly all may bC
read in the history of one. That n
Newcastle comprises the greatest number
OF men in one body, and attracts more
interest than any other. It began by Il
time strike in Sunderland, where the
shipbuildcrs struck for nine hours n day,
and they got it But the first strike
included only the shipcarpcntcrs. The
enpine-smi.hs still worked ten hours,
and the situation speedily became impos.
siblc, for the two casSes Of men tOilod
together on the same ship, one outside,
the other insid', aud the smiths obtained
the same concession. Many of the Sun.
derland engineers belonging to the New.
castle Trade Unions, the crntagion soon
spread to the blnks OF the Tyne, and the
Newcastle engineers, cDunting on easy
success, followed the Sunderland exam.
pie, and struck for nine hours. This
happened over four months ugo. The
masters in response refused to see the
men, refused all consultation or expnna,
ton, and sent them lawyer to confer
with. The men resented that treatment,
and nearly 1O,0)) struck work in abO1y.
Nearly 5000 skilled workmPn lett
Newcastle. So great is the demnnd for
ships and for that kind Of skill which
goes to the buildiEg OF them, that many
Of the 5000 found little Difficulty in get
ting work elsewhere, and 2,GOO of them
are still Mt Newcastle,
The manager Of the strike is the Chair.
man OF the Labor Trades League, John
Burnett, an able man, speaking and
writing in good temper ut al times, 1t
is he who carries on tho negotiations,
and directs the movements Of the men.
They have learned the secret OF orgnni-
zation and the value OF discipline. It is
wonderful how obedient they can be,
these strong-willed giants, with their
bread Mt stake and their families welfare
dependent on the success of such an
experiment n sa strike, or on what seems
to n slow.moving Englishmm the much
rasher experiment OF changing his home
and going either into the next county
or to far of continent.
As matters now stand, thcrcis nothing
to Indicate speedy settlement. The
masters have brought in considerable
number of men from other towns, but
the relief to them is very partial, md
fresh difficulties have arisen with the
newly-imported men. They sent far out
of England for supplies, to Belgium,
Denmark, Prussia, and elsewhere. The
Unionists sent ont their own agents to
counteract the employers, and were sue
cessiul in preventing mlny Germans
from coming over. Those who are EN-.
ployc1 do not have very pleasant tine
OF it, and many Of them have left the
work, after they had made contracts for
the season.
The employers were by no means
asleep while the League worked. They
went to the magistrates and got out war.
rants to compel the Germans to carry
out their contracts, and many of them
were sent to prison for breach Of contract.
A London workman WIS sentenced for
two months on the same charge. This
has served to rouse good deal OF indig-
nation in Newcastle and wherever else
there are worliingincn. Certainly i. will
not assist the immigration which the
masters are striving to promote. The
members Of the League hive distributed
more than $4,000 among their own
mep, and say they are ready to pay as
much more, il need lie, to keep posses.
sion of the advantage they have got, and
to close the doors against that foreign
competition which the employers invite.
Newcastle, meantime, is not altogether
IN agreeable place OF residence. There
have been disturbances, us there must
be, with such numbers of idle men
about, and such fierce passions burning.
The law deals harslly enough with all
these the magistrates Sympathies being
seldom on the side Of the workingmcn
in England. The number of mon still
on the books OF the Lenguc is 2,1Sl, and
Of children 2,S2S, The allowance to
each man was Sl.5O per week, and %
cents for each child. One day there
was a grcat mlss.mccting Of worl;men
on the Town Moor, at which the for
eigucrs who were in Newcastle were
present, and some so of the best of them
came with their bundles on their shOul.
dcrs, made speeches in their own Inn
guage, and then marched of to the
railway station and started for home.