New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-03-12
THE STATISTICS or STRIEES.


| Tow men have the patience 90 perform faithfully
aud lovingly the labor Il getting together the facts
which bear upon the causes OF particular phenom-
cnon IN social affairs OF the expodiency Of certain
/ line If puDlic policy M Carroll ID. Wright. Chief
! Of the Bureau II Statistics Of Labor in Massachu-
setts. has therefore performed public service in
the information ne has collected about strikes IN his
state The substance Of his geanings has recently
been published in his animal report. He devote.
sixty-nlne pages TO history Of all the strikes
which have taken place in Massachusetts since
1880. The facts having been obtained. and being
presented AZ considerable lcngth. he draws there
from several conclusions so important. bearing 50
! Immediately on tho welfare of every person who
works for wages that his volurle ought tn bc placed
! IN the hands Of reading aud thinking wOTkngmen
| throughout the country. The Keirney crowd, too
ought-but. then. It Is doubtful after oil whether
/ they read.
The total number of strikes and locsouts included
IN tho record is 150. OF tins number, 10 were UNI
/ eucrcs.lul, Is wero successful and 0 partially So
and g were compromised The result of the other
niue ~ not known Only about one in seven re-
suited ln any "a for The strikers. The strikes in
the city OF Fall River cost the operatives there
~ 400 600 IN wages, 10 say nothing Of the very
larg, sums drawn from banks and spent tor
snpuort cf the strikers. strike of the CrispIti,
]
waqes forfeited by idlc1css; a1d ono by
the Crspins at Lynn cost T25O000. In tho
cation mill strike at New-B ,diord in 1877.
there was loss Of $4,000 in wages The total
&C losses throughout the State since 1880 is not
known. but j., plainly so large that 1t completely
oyershadows the amounts gained by tine few strikes
which we're successful The long strike OF 1879 at
Fnl River for an increase OF ID per cent. Had
il been ccsfu, II would have taken each opera
five two wears TO recover the amount lost by his
idleress for fifteen weeks. Had he won a vIctoryIt
,yould have been 40 costly an affair for Tim that he
would not have recovered from il in less than two
years. Unfortunately for MN he won 10 victory at
all. and will never recover from it,
Mr. Nrighfs first conclusion IS that strikes
Generally prove pOwcrless TO benefit the condition
of tbc wage classes They generally leave the men
in exactly the Same position as at first 50 far rs
wages arc concerned and this IS stating the ease
literally Again. they " tend to deprive the strk-
ers of work" The men lose their places and tine
employcrs rather than submit to q blind and reck
less dctatlon, which ignores the current state Of
trade and the contracts they have made for mar
keting their goods, take measures to stock
their establishments with machinery which will
dispepsc permanently with a large part OF
tho labor they formerly employed. Plenty Of
oxa,nples OF this action the part OF the employers
can be cited. hut noteworthy one is to he In
the fact that ring-spinning ia now rapidly taking
tho place Of uue-spinning throughout the factories
of New-Eugland employers having found that
nule-spinnng places their business at the mercy of
strikers and being resolved to emancipate them
selves from that slavery. Lastly. Mr.. Wright says,
that strikes lead to improvidence. and are de-
moralIzng in their effect upon the working man."
This the whole record proves conclusiyely.
Here and there strike has proved successful.
The men asked for more wages and stopped work
when their request refused, and tue employers
conceded the advance rather than have their bust
meas intorfered with 1t ia noteworthy however.
that the advantages gained in these cases have al
most invariably either been temporary or could
have been obtained by negotiation and fair dealing.
In nearly every success due to the general
prosperity Of the times. and not 10 the demand Of
the strikers The state of the markets and
tho tendencies of the times ere the last
things workingmen take into account, but
Mr.. Wright shows concluslvely that they
should be tho first, because when the business
OF an establishment warrants it an advance Is gen.
orally given without astrke, and If business does
not warrant it a strike almost infallibly dsas-
trous failure. The fact that strikes are generally
blind reckless and ill-timed is the reason why six
ont of seven of them are failures II they were in
telhgent and well-tmed there would be no need for
them at all.
Mr.. Wright las laid down some sound rules for