The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-03-11
0o-Operative Labor in England.
10 BE CONTINUED,
Mr.. Thornton. IN his hook an labor .;

Mr.. Thornton, IN bis book on labor, give
us a narrative of the success Of co-opers
tion-
Messrs. Henry Briggs, Son & Compan,
are owners of the w wood Haiph Moo
and Meahley Collieries, near Normauton
z 1orkshlre,of whicl he original member
or the firm have undertaken the manage
ment 10 or about 1852. During tie mex
twelve years nothing could be more unsat
lsfdctory than Nessrs. Briggs relation.
with their men. "As bad as it could be
would DC about the mark, j" was tie reply
OF one Of the latter when asked what used
to be the state Of their mutual feelings
Once, when party spirit ran particularly
high, Dir. Briggs sr., was served with an
anonymous notice that be and bis son should
be shot within the fortnight The letter
concluded With Scriptural allusion "My
nIte is sharp, but my bulits is shurer than
my nife, and if ! can 7 will by -; if it
be at MONDAY you shall have the ORA, if it
he in your Chart like old Abe" By cold
Abe" be il understood King Ahab, not
poor President Lincoln was meant. The
Samaritan despot was not the worst simil.
itudc found for Mr.. Briggs. "I believe. "
confesses one Of the pitmen, who has since
seen reason To modify materially bis former
opinion OF bis master-"I believe | said he
would be the devil if he only bad horns +"
Another time the same sentiment was ex-
pressed in an amplified form, and without
any qualification, thus ''All coal masters
is devils, and Briggs is the prince of dev-
liz" AT that time the miners were con-
tinually striking work. In 1858 they we're
out for five months, and again, in 1858,
for thirty-tive weeks but it must be adj
mitted that in both these instances their
conduct was apparently justified by the re-
suit, for on the first occasion they got an
advance Of thirty Por cent, which it is quite
clear they would not have got without strik
ing, and ID the other they prevented a
threatened reduction Of fifteen per cent.
from gong beyond seven aud half To
general, however, very frivolous pretexts
sutficed them. Once they stopped work
for six weeks because required to separate
large work from small, and again in the fol-
lowing year for twenty weeks because de-
sired to riddle the coal underground This
riddling would no doubt have given them
some additional trouble, and besides. as has
been gravely urged in their excuse, the
noise by it might have disturbed the ha-
bitual quiet of the pit, and so have pre-
Yentgd any indication af cracking in the
roo from being heard. But the real OBJ
iectiOn to it seems to have been that it was
no innovation, the colliers being in the
habit of threatening to "set down" as
they termed il, any en- loyer who ventur-
ed to make a change in the customary
mode " working, OF otherwise to interfere
N their trade regulations. Almost more
snnuy ing than the prolonged strikes were
the shorter stoppages that were always
taking place in the intervals between them.
Scarcely a week was suffered to pass with
out the men leaving their work, on some
childish pletext or other. Sometimes IT
would be because they fancied jhe Goals
were not properly weighed. Though they
had appointed their own check weigher, they
would not trust his weighing, but suspect
ed him Of understanding the quantities
they were to be paid for. Often for no bet
ter cause than that some man, complained
of the day before for not properly filling
bis corr, would come on the bank and say !:
"Now, lads, | bave had corf stopped yes
terday,' whereupon it would be put to a
vote whether they should have a play day
or not, and generally carried in the affirm
alive Any lad, almost by holding up his
hand, could make play day. Or it might
he that all the men would 80 of in body
to hear lecturer declaim against coal
kings and tvrants And what was play to
the men was almost death to the masters,
who, though productive operations were at
a standstili, were not the less obliged to
keep all the pumping engines and laborers
employed m preventing the passage from
getting out Of order According to Messrs
Briggs calculation, for every holiday their
men took they were themselves from G120
to f15O out Of pocket. Nor did the men
content themselves with striking in mere
ly negative sense. The police had repeat
edly to be called 70 protect non-uniOnists
from violence A block of cottages was
shown at Whitworth the windows Of which
it had been found necessary to barricade
for the protection Of the "black sheep
penned in them during a turnout, on whom
IN spite Of every prccautiOn, an assault
l. = 1, II -.
for their share III it, several Of the ring
leaders were prosecuted at the Assizes, ,anU
sentenced to nine months imprisonment
To remedy this unfortunate state .
things, the Messrs. Briggs resolved to at
tempt to give their workmen a share in th,
enterprise. They accordingly changed
their business to JOINT stock company
retaining two-thirds OF the shares in thei
own hands and offering the remaining on,
third at 500 share to the public, and es
peclally to their own employees. AT th
same time they pledged themsel, es to di
VIDE, every year, half the profits above II
per cent on the capital invested among tn
employ ees, IN percentage on their respec
tive earnings. This wise experimen
proved magnificent success. It com
menccd in July |, 1865. At the end q
the lfst year the total profits proved to b
II per cent, Of which the shareholder
) took twelve, and the work people two De
, cent ID the second year, sixteen per cent.
N the thrd year the shareholders got se1
, enteen per cent. and the workmcn thre
and half. The totals Of the workpeople'
percentages were 81 800, ,0OO, and 3,i5C
. The largest bonus the first year to one nj
: ner was over S54; in the third year Sj7
! Formerly the men could not be depende
upon Tor working two days consecltivey
; but IN She last three years not more 4 ha
9 haif dozen playdays have been taken, AN
not one 70 the last year Off he three. One
t the men had arranged to have holiday, f
the purpose Of attending public meetin