Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-09-25
LABOR IN GREAT BRITAIN.

LABOR IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Cleveland Leader.
Some of the heaviest employers of
labor in England, said a recent cable
special to the Leader, have met and de-
termined "to make stand for the right
of employing whom they please" and are
celebrating upon a plan to prevent
"unjustiliable strikes" "While as yet no
formal action has been taken," said the
dispatch, "there can be no doubt that
English capital is preparing for strug-
gle, not against the unions, as such, but
against the dictations of the unions, and
the unions are entirely prepared to take
up the challenge"
The progress of such struggle would
be watched with great deal of interest.
The contest between capital and labor
in England during the past hundred
years has been quite one sided, the
advantage having been almost always
on the side of labor. The great states
men and literary men of England read
the lesson taught by the bloody revolu-
tions of France and impressed it upon
their enlightened countrymen. They
said, from the forum and through the
press, that unless reforms came from
above, freely given, they would come
from below, wrenched by the torch and
the sword, and they preferred the
peaceful and safer method of ameliora-
ting the condition of labor. The change
thus wrought has been one of marvellous
progress. AS late as 1879 the miners of
Britain were in state of serfdom. The
History of Trades Unions of England,
page 119 says, "they were compelled by
law to remain in the pits as long as the
owner chose to keep them at work there,
and were actually sold as part of the
capital invested in the works. If they
accepted an engagement elsewhere their
master could always have them fetch ed
back and fogged as thieves for having
attempted to rob them of their labor"
This law was not repealed until 1893, less
than one hundred years ago.
While this harsh semi-slave code has
been entirely obliterated, not only in
England, but throughout Europe, many
English employers have made the most
laudable efforts to level all the obstacles
that endangered the harmonious rela-
tions between capital and labor. Regular
codes of arbitration have been adopted
in number of large establishments,
rules providing for the settlement of
trouble between employer and employe,
and twelve years ago parliamentary
commission reported that their operation
had been productive of the most salts
factory results, both to capital and labor
Cooperative associations were also set
on foot and efforts made to spread them
over Great Britain.
But with all this labor troubles appear
to be about as numerous as ever.
Modern industry, so intricately organized
that slight disturbance deranges the
whole machinery, is prey to almost
daily troubles from the antagonistic |
attitude of its two great arms of support, |
labor and capital. 1t has found that the |
settlement of this question is not a |
matter of exact science. What seems a |
fair remedy to-day, some new invention |
may set aside tomorrow. A general |
cure-all, either in the economic or the |
physical world, inspires but little conf
dence among men of intelligence. But
we all have confidence in the general
progress of mankind, in the steady |
onward march of man toward higher |
realization of equality, and in the power
of education and the enobling tendencies
of this age to ameliorate his conditions |
1t is these influences more than any
special plan that may be devised that |
will settle the struggle between capital
and labor.