Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-03-05
IHe FIRST STRIKE.

The First yT- Tluov or Was an Egypt
Three Ts"u.anJ Wears Ago.
There Is nothing new under the sun
receives nowhere Il more startling verifi-
cation than IN this matter Of strikes.
The way ia which our workingmen Of
modern Europe try 10 cocrcc their en-
ployers WAS IA substance the WAY adopt
ed by their dark skinned. ineanly
clad, poorly fe1 predecessors IN the land
Of the Nile before Moses led ire Israel
ties out of Egypt. Vi. Maspcro, who Is
well qualified TO speal, On all points con-
nected with Egyptol0gy, devotes several
very interesting pages TO the subject
in his charming Historic Readings
which have just been published. II
seems that the families of the working
classes were quite as improvi3eiit in
Egypt thirty centuries ago rs soEle -
then are Ia England at the present Gay.
At the beginning Of the month. when
they had Just received their months IA
tions, eating and drinking went on with
ont restraint. BY the middle Of the
month the stock began to fail, and fam
Inc began 10 stare the thriftless hOasc-
holds in the face. ~ again and again
they went out on strike i'm order 10 ex-
tort more from their superior 4 strike
of masons l. described by VI. Maspero AZ
detail. and some parts OF the description
might almost be mistaken for extracts
from al English or German newspaper
IN the Nineteenth century Of the Chris
tian era.
On the l0ih II the month the lsiii=ers
ously ont % Inc place where ihey g-cre
working ani -at down behind 4 chapel
in the tenn j. precincts, exclaiming. We
are hungry and there are eighteen days
before next pay day They charged tbs,
paymasiers with dishonesty. asserting
that the latter gave false measure. The
paymas;ers. on the other hand. charged
the men with want of foresight. alleging
that they spent iheiF wages as soon as
they touched them. After some further
negotiations with officers of the govern
ment the men resumed work on the un-
ders;andinS that the king himself should
receive their complaint. Two DAYS later
Pharaoh actually visited the temple. and
when the matter was laid before him or
derel relief 10 be given TO the woebe-one
quiet. but soon provisions failed. and lis
content broke ont again with renewed
violence. On the 10th Of the following
month the strike was in full force again.
Not man would work. On the 18th and
18th they still refused to lift a tool.
On the 18th they attempted 20 leave
the precincts Of the temple in order TO
carry their grievances into the outer
world. but found that the person who
was placed over them had taken precau-
tons 50 effectively that no one could
leave SO they spent the whole Of that
day in laying their plans. On the fol-
lowing day they resoried TO more noisy
methods After vainly appealing with
loud cries TO their manager, they decided
TO apply TO the governor of the city. and
therefore rushed through the busy streets
TO the Inconvenience Of pedestrians. not
stopping until they reached the gov
ernor's palace. Like their European sue
cessors, these discontented artisans stub
bornly refusd TO work, speat many hours
IN discussing their position and pros
poets, disturbed the order Of the streets
10y their impetuous movements. and nj
timately obtained part at least of their
demands. So we can trace the strike
hack for 5000 years, that is, TO period
when Rome was not built and even
Greek civilization was s;ill in its in
fancy.
How old the method was a. tina: time
II Is at present impossible TO say. Per
haps the custom Is as old as the Iyra-
mids. Perhaps the first strike preceded
the most ancient of the existing rnouu-
ments Of civiliza;ion--PallM Mall Gazette.