The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1891-01-23
TIE FIRST STRIKE.
The First we Know of Was in Egypt
Three Thousand Years Ago.

I'rom She Pal, Mali Gazct,cJ
There is nothing new under the sun,
receives nowhere Il more startling vcrih
cation than in this matter OF strikes. The
way in which our workngmcn OF modern
Europe try to coerce their employers was
in substance the way adopted by their
dark skinned mcanlv clad. poorly fed pred
eccssors in the land Of the Nile before
Moses led the lsraclitcs out Of Egypt. NJ.
Maspero who is well qualified to speak on
all points connected with Egyptolosy, de-
votes several very interesting pages 10 the
subject in his charming "HiStoric Read
ings," which have just been published.
| Il seems that the families Of the working
classes we're quite as inprovidcnt in Egypt
thirty centuries ago as some IF them are
in England at the present day. at the
beginning OF! the month, when they had
lust received their months raiioEs, eating
and drinking vent on without restraint.
By the middle Of the month the stock be-
gan to fail, and famine began TO stare the
thriirlcSs households in the face. So
again and again they went ont Oh the
strike In order to extort more from their
SuDcriors y strike of Inasons is described
BIZ y Maspcro in detail, and some parts
Of the description might be mistaken for
extracts from an English or German news
paper in the nineteenth century OF the
Christian era
On the 10Th Of The month the builders
employed at a temple rushed tumutuOusly
out OF the place where they were working
and sat down behind 4 chapel in the tenn
pie precincts, cxclaming: We are
hungry and there are eighteen days before
the next pay day" They charged the pay
master with dishonesty, asserting that the
latter gave false measure. The paymas-
tcrs, OH the other hand, charged the men
with want OF foresight, alleging that they
spent their wages as soon ao they touched
them. After some further negotiations
with officers of the Government the men
resumed work on the understanding that
the King himself should receive their
complaint. Two days later Pharoah act
ua!lv visited the temple, and when the
matter was laid before him. ordered reiiet
to be given 10 the wocbegonc maSons.
For short time thorc was quiet, but soon
provisions failed, and discomfort broke
out 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 ard 18TH they still refused
to lift tool On the 10Th they attempted
to leave the precincts OF the temple in or
der to carry their grievances into the
outer world but found that the person
who was placed over them had taken pre-
cautions so effectively that no one could
leave. SO they spent the whole of that
day in laying their plans. On the follow
ing day they resortcd to more noisy meth :
DDS. 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 governors
palace. Like their European successors,
these discontinued artisans stubbornlv re-
fused to work. spent many hours in dis
cussing their position and prospects, dis
turbed the order OF the streets by their
imPetn0ns movements, and ultimately OBJ
tanned part at least Of their demands SO
we can trace the strike back for 1900
years; that is TO a period when Rome was
not built and even civilization was still in
its infancy.
How old the method was ut that time
it is at present impossible to say. Per-
haps the custom is as old as the pyramids.
Perhaps the first strike preceded the
most ancient of the existing monuments
OF civilization.