The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-10-28
FIRST PRIZE ESSAY
II r A ID F. s u MO n =
For which FIFTY pounds (the gft Of Mr. Macdonald NJ p
we're awarded the Liverpool Trades Union
Congress, January, 1873
Continued from last treeL.)

1
TRADES USIoNs-TEEIR EFFICACY.
Indeed, almost the whole Of the great
failures on the part Of the men, when look
/ ed at in the way, show that all was not lost
nor indeed so much as was supposed The
same dismal uniformity, the same misera-
bic monOtony of defeat, as an ironmaster
once called long series Of strikes, would
indeed be gloomy if 1t could not be shown
that, as in the great Montrose' campaign,
Argyll often gained the victory bnt failed
to reap its fruits. The great strike Of the
Manchester spinners in 1929, when f25O,-
600 Of wages were forfeited apparently to
no purpose a similar loss when in the fol-
lowing year 30, 600 spinners at Ashton and
Staley bridge struck work the dispute on
the Tyne and the Wear in 1882, when
thousands of pitmen held out with heroic
endurance the strike of the Manchester
builders in 1888, when L. 10000 of wages
were sacrificed the Preston strikes in 1896
and 1854, in the former of which thirteen
weeks idleness cost the men l.. 81, 200
and in the latter there WAS the terrible suf-
fering Of seventeen thousand persons fore
going L 420, 900 Of wages for thirty-six
weeks the engineers strike in 1853, which
lasted 10 weeks, in which l.. 40. 900 Of
wages were lost the strike in the London
building trade in 1860 that of the iron
workers in Staffordshlre, and that in the
north in 1865 that Of the London tailors
In 1867 and that Of the South Wales min
ers, who last year sacrificed L. $50, 600 to
say nothing of the disputes in the eastern
counties, and the numerous disputes and
locks-out which have recently dotted the
island here surely land these are but
samples) il list of failures sufficient to
stamp out the life Of Unionism, because in
the cases mentioned the men had to give
in and return to work on terms sometimes
the same, often worse, and seldom better,
than those against which they struck.
Strikes, however, are sometimes Of that
nature of which it can be said, ct is the
battle ouly, and not the victory, that can
be dwelt upon with advantage" The men
often appear to have failed disastrously.
But the fact is, they we're not failures en-
tirely. They were defeats in which the
victors got all the glory, the defeated all
profit. The masters rush to the fight with
the dash of cavalry, and force the men to
capitulate but between their victories
they are constantly giving way to the men.
Inc WOrkmen seem FULLY conscious OF this
and in printers dispute in Liverpool, a
few years ago, men turned out with their
fellows when the result Of the formers do
ing so WIS to strike for lower wages. Such
was their faith in the ultimate advantages
of Unionism, and events showed that they
had not miscalculated. As Mr. Thornton
put it, During nearly half century all
signal triumphs have been on one side, all
substantial success on the otter"
1t ia not, therefore, just to say that
strike having cost L. zoo, 900 OF L. 4OO, 900,
and having failed to obtain that for which |
1t strove. i necessarily failure. The ad- |
vance may come later on. Nor can it be
said that q strike having cost L.20, 900,
and raised wages say only L. 1000, has fail
ed. The strike will certainly have been
local the rise il almost certain to be gen.
eral. A strike, too, in one portion OF the
country often enables men to obtain an
advance of wages in another portion wit
out recourse to the final appeal. The funds
of the Union are thus saved, and often a
large advance in obtained at a very small
cost, a in the case Of the tailors last year,
who, a. already mentioned, obtained an
advance amounting to AZ, 600 per annum