The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-04-27
STRIKES IN EUROPE.
An Epidemic on the Continent-Arbitra-
ton Proposed as "a Remedy.

chase Of land Is not wholly due 10 the
German Emperor. or 10 socialism, or 10 the
spread Of the modern spirit" All those
things have no doubt helped the agitation
by di.sipating the old belief that suffering.
| like hail. can only be endured In patience:
but they are not is ole causes.
There is reason 10 believe fhat throughout
the continent the lahOring classes, other
than peasants. have during the past lean
years been pressed almost beyond endur-
ancc. Their WAGES the iirsi-class artisans
excepted have been lower than those OF
/ English agricultural labOrer-. their hours
/ have been excessively iOng-the full twelve
/ represents nearly The average truth over The
whole year-bctter and better work.
which means more sedulons work,
/ has been demanded Of them
under The pressure Of competition: their
rent. which is the one outlay that can never
Doe postponed or paid in part. has decidedly
risen. and the cost Of bread has been run up
/ by protective duties quite - per cent All
/ this has happened. too. al "a time Of awaken
] ing consciousness, and in AN crn when ply
steal comfort has become all-in-all. and
when. moreover. the general notion as TO
the irrcdurihle minimum Of that comfort
/ has been raised Oy the general diffusion Of
% thin kind of popular education.
We believe, too. that the almost universal
| substitution Of companies for individual
employers. which has been going ON for
| Years. has greatly increased The severity OF
I Wurkmou's treatment. the Continental Com
mny having mo- "hcart." and being COM
/ PEELED 90 treat an employees exactly alike,
/ and Insisting, therefore, Oh mnchine-like
regularity. often a- distressing as work ON
/ "a fread-mll. The economic position has, 300
/ fact. for an hui the picked workmcn who
gain materially hy every rise i'm the quality
of labor demanded been exceedingly bad.
/ 10 is not unnatural. therefore. that the Con-
/ tinonlal artisans should feel ill-u-cd hy
/ fate: that they should dream dreams of 20
new .-Ocioty.' or flii, pending The Niilcn-
MUM. they should venture on the risks iu-
NONcd in striking.
These risks are great enough % prove The
mems sincerity. They have no claim. when
ON strike. ON any Poor funds; they have
very small savings. which they are much
more unwilling than Enelishmcn 10 exc
hau.t. and they encounter bitter opposition
mot only from employers. but from the 0m-
niprcscnt officials and police. lhcn
method of carrying on the fight
/ i-, therefore, % reduce thcmsclNc,
and their families at once 10 starVa-
ton ratiOns, often moi more than quarter
of a decent dietary. and they become under
/ the priyatiOn quite sayagc-a deterioration
shared also hy the women dependent On
them. They are. moreover. tempted tO riot
hy the feeling that they cannot struggle
long. and boo some places. Austria more par
/ ticularly. hy the reluctance of the small
ehOp-kCepcrS TO give any credit nj ala
/ sharp aggraNatiOn Of the incidents Of
strike. rarely seen in this country. That,
under such circumstances so many classes
should strike at Onco-thcrc are said
90 Doe nearly twenty trades "out' in differ
emf places ln Au-tra--pOnts 20 real dis
tross. and even 90 kind of despair such as
/ tcmpi- men ON the Continent 10 suicide.
As q rule. so far a. We have observed,
| they generally get something though not
what they have asked. before they give in.
| The highest authorities, in their fear Of dis
order always press for compromise. opinion
among the bOurgeOisc is turning against
/ tho excessive hours. and shilling on so a
week i- yielded in the matter Of WAGES
| Then the men return 10 work. much embii-
| tered. NOT much benefited. but with ihe iee'-
| inr that combination does do something Jon
| Them. however little and that if they could
/ but strike for "a longer time, they would per-
mancnty improve their pecunay condl-
/ ton.
Now. is that impression bad or eoods The
general feeling among the English ctli.-
waited is that 10 is utterly bad. and they read
/ long accounts of the striking mania with
q feeling almost of dismay: bat we cannot
profess ourselves quite 80 fully confident.
/ The waste OF means and energy and harpi-
ness involved in such method Of hagglng
/ is almost horrible. and seems 10 men who
are not hungry quite prepostcrOu~. bat we
are not sure that the practice Of striking is
not prOphylactic against socialism. 10 is
an act. and ends dreaming for the time. 10
really does test in way Ineligible ~ The
men the capacity of the masters iO pay. and
when checked as ii is on the Continent bl
the positive hunger which i'm its later hours
il always involves for the strikers. 10 is not
| likely 90 Doe res0rtcd 90 without adequate
season.
our English strikers suffer too. often most
severely; but they iOn0t 20 so near 90 death
| 10y hunger as their coniiueniHl comrades
Aud we are sure ihat while the Tot of Che
best Workmcn On the Continent is quite cn-
durable the lot of The inferior grades i- IN
bad years almost iniOicrahlo. All manner
of hali--killed journey men. lahorers DEEPEN
dent on strength alone, and employees in
trades which any one can follow. are wretch-
cdlN paid paid. in fact, $50 little That they
cannot. If married. purchase sufficient food.
They need more wages tO Keep them at all.
and may almost as well -fave as live iorI
years so close % the very verge of slarYa-
ton.
I'm trying % better their lot hy -tolid en-
durancc for few weeks of increased misery.
they can hardly bee pronounced WRONG. and
certainly they are not iniuring society. ON
thc contrary. 10 is far better that society
should not Doe undermined by entire classes
gradually sinking below ihe level of ciNiliza-
ton. and getting fun Of "a despair which
would welcome any revolution. hoWcNerNio-
lent as giving them. at all events, chance
of some substantial relief There is speech
in strike. audible speech; and az "a certain
point of suffering. which is. we fear. more
often reached in the great cities oithe Cont
ncnt than our comparatively comfortable
cOuntymeu imagine. audible speech he-
comes "a necessity. The employers may Doe
able 90 pay mo- more the trade itself may he
capable of yielding no mOre-therc has
been "a remarkable instance of This among
the Nienuese hcadmaker.-hut 10 is, never
thcles~ better that the case OF the workers
should Doe made fully known.
The public will often submit 90 modef-
ate increase of prices after strike. and
shareholders hold their directors response
Bile il they have such an excuse 20 ohef.
Moreover. If. as does sometimes happen. the
men win i'm part without iniurng their
trade positive good has been secured. 80
many thousand families who were mise-a-
hle are comparatively contented. or, al all
events. have "a little more hnpciuness put
into them by their success. The strike has
their labor less despairing than before; IN
other words. a less discontinued and dane
gerous multitude.
ID is the method of crying out. rather than
the fact of the cry. which alarms us for The
future. There seems never to amy improve
meni upon strikes, never any experience on
enlightenment acquired from them. One
would suppose that on the Continent.
where everything is regulated. and there is
am official for every purpose, striking would
long since have been superseded 10y some
wiser method; but il is not so. The unlYel-
sal education does no good. The military
training does no good. The military train
ing does no good. The absolute security
provided against instruction does 30 good.
The employers and their men fight whenever
they differ just as ihej do i'm England. and
with tar more acrimony and less result.
They do not merely contend as they do IN
England. the men refusing 10 sell their In
Dor a. they might refuse % sell their goods.
and the employers declining 90 purchase as
they might in a warehouse; they hate one
another with the sort of feeling existing ON
a bad Irish estate. The men think their
employers hloodsuckers, and the employers
think their men unreasonable cXtOrtiOners.