New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-07-27
THE POSTMEN.
THE TROUBLES IN TIE BRITISH POSI-
OFFICE AND WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THEM.


the following document. 1t Is the petition 1or-
warded by discharged postmen in the "hl'e-
chapel district: o
"Milward Coffee Tavern, July IL. 1880
"To the Postmaster General. ,,,,, nm
Sir We the undersigned estahllSneu anu un
established postmen Of the Eastern Distilct osS
Office deeply rcgrcttng our past ln uIsvic'hh u.s.
humbly beg 10 place this our hiinpe P'I'. .,oaI
fore YOU PRAYING you VIII " fI1 as POSSIBLE We
wouM respcctfully beg your c0nsldeIauioh v" 90"
count of our being led astray ny our 'er.,gs' ond
admit that VIC should have known oct.eI, aha
,housht ~ the consequences befor acting a l'o
On account of MS being mostly married men wl,n
families to support who would lie gie'| r sitnao
sio'' W. also beg 10 state that we have en-
dravored 10 reprcss all violence towhrd mos, "r
work, and also as soon as we lonnu ouu S W" Two m
we concluded to return to the office, ana give up
W. W. On,ades We are all agreed TO meet the
wishes of the Postmaster General by wtnGrt Nv
ing. and to have further connection Will h r
any Deeply apologizing for 3nr pas nsora pi Of
duct. and trusting you will think taVoranA ~
this humble petition. We are Hlr' Fo"i '''''''''
Here follow the signatures OF eigh'y-tr'e INV"
out of ntDety-tourJ Ill h
Whom Thomson sang Brtons never sha' 'c
slaves. he did not foresce the British ros'''"'
in 1890. or Mr.. RaiScs, or Sir Arthur backw"o"'
or Mr. Toombs the Controller. who SreNis !" '"'''
had some connection with this mchncH"A ~
A
the pctiton was really drawn up by any pos''ilah
whether some Of Mr.. Raikess officials ana n"O
hold the pen. think not. but it matters htte'
What matters Is that the Postmaster-General OF
como of his upper staff should have given II ouV
for nuhlication. They say, in effect: ." THESE are
The terms on which wish to stand "i'' ''c
nostncn No humiliation can be TOO gre"V loi
men who have vcntured 70 differ from rs or 10
rebel against our authority. Let them crawl III
the dust. and eat tie dust And they DO
No doubt the postmcn have made mistake
Their conduct is not defensible. but they nav
been driven into tie commission OF indelehsior
acts by their chiefs Their grievances are Oh o''
standing They have addressed one memorial
after another 70 the Department. Ihcre i
s,ereotvpcd answer 70 such memorials they are
"u,ao, consideration The men could get no
real answer. no promise. M assurance OF redress
They were lccturcd and hectorrd and Threatened
They were forbidden 70 hold public meetings cN-
con. undcr conditions prescribed by the Postmaster
General. They formed Union and their Union
was outlowed They tried to negotiate Earl
Comnton took ND the cause of the teegraphsts
and the London Trades Council that of the post
men Both were told by MI h"iAe'
to mind their own business VucS"'"S
were asked in Parliament and ahS"''e"
in the driest official way, and the members "h'
presumed 10 ask them were themselves reo"h'"
by the Postmaster General The postmcn may
we'll be excused il they found II hard 10 pear an
this domineerng arrogance, and II thelr Just irr''
ton and resentment led them into foolish conrscs
M doubt. also. discipline must he maintained
in great department like the Postofhce There
must he subordinotlon, and the public service
must be carried on. Under the sting of oppres-
sion and insult the postmen forgot this, or many
Of them did In Whitechapel and elsewhere they
resorted to violence 10 prevent outsiders from
doing the work of the office which they them
selves refused to do. They were badly advised
and badly led Their Union never was strong
enough TO enter upon serious contest win rhe
Department, and no sufficient preparation TOT
strike was made. There was neither money nor
organization. The Union had no real authority
over its own members. The manager OF II was
Mr.. Mahon. who does not understood his busi-
ness one Of those men who think words as good as
deeds: especially if the words Dc rather strong
He ordered strike. Some of the more hot
headed and foolish came ont. The immense ma
iority stayed in The rcfusas to 60 on duty during
two or three critical days frequent. but they
were never general, and anybody cOuld see that
the men were not acting together, nor obeying
any competent chief. general strike was or
dered by Mr. Mahon after several partial strikes
had failed and after it had become clear that
the men as body would not join in any snch oct
A manifesto was issued. The placards OF tho
newspapers announced the strike in their biggest
capitals. Nothing happened. and the public then
saw that the collapse YVES complete
The public had begun by sympathizing with the
rostrnen Their sympathies alienatcd by
the mere threat of strike They felt, rightly
enough. that the conditions Of work In the Post
office as In the Police are different from those OF
n great mill or even the docks, though in the
latter the strike-doctrine was carried FAR beyond
any permissible limits, and came near infiicting
serious and irrparablc injury on the trade of the
port OF London. 1t is the fashion TO consider
strikes unsuitable; it may be called the age OF
strikes Mr. Gladstone extends what he calls the
right of combination even TO boycotting, OF which
cruelty is the inseparable accompaniment and
outrage the final sanction. Yet / imagine that
even Mr. Gladstone-when not in search Of votes,
or not under the duress of political alliance In
which his allies seem able to dictate their own
terms-would draw line somewhere. His III
stincts though at present held in subsection "a
Irish necessities, essentially conservative
lie would, think, look with horror on the sug
gestion that 1t may be right 10 disOrgnnize TIC
public administration for private advantage oi
that great community, not Irish, should be ter
rorized by body of men who have either
political or personal ends 10 gain.
Such. at any rate. is the general opinion of THU
community on the subject Of strikes The Trade
Unions OF Great Britain have carried their point
so completely that against the general right o.
combination among workmcn hardly voice II
now raised. 4 legislative sanction has beer
given 70 tic doctrine, and it is supported by Tn
assent of the community, regardless of the fac
that successful strike is now always, or almos
always. accompanied by intimidation and Otter
by violence The Unions would care little for tn
right Of combination II they were denied th
privilege of preventing Others from don
the work which they refuse 10 do
The Socialists, and still more the An
archists, have seen that the claim OF the Union
could be turned 10 their own purposes, and the,