The Delta independent., 1891-03-31
THE FIRST BIG STRIKE.
1T WAS IN EGYPT THREE THOU.
SAND YEARS AGO,
Tho Workman Engaged in 1t had Ample
'ause for Complaint and They
Quit All at Once-Nothing
New Under the Sun.

- mere Is nolnlnS new unQer the
sun, receives nowhere n more start
ling veritication than in this matter of
strikes. The way in which working
men of modern times try to coerce their
employers was in substance the way
adopted by their dark skinned, meanly
clad, poorly fed predecessors in the
land of the Nile before Moses led the
lsraelites out of Egypt. Nj. Maspero
who is well qualified to speak on all
points connected with Egyptology, de-
votes several very interesting pages to
ehe subject in his charming "Historic
Readings" 1t seems that the families
of the working classes were quite as
improvident in Egypt thirty centuries
ago us some of them are here at the
present day. AT the beginning of the
month, when they had just received
their months ration's eating and drink
ing went on without restraint. BY tho
middle of the month the stock began
to fail, and famine began to stare the
thriftless households in the face. So
again and again they went out on
strikes in order to get more from their
superiors. A strike of masons is de-
scribed by M. Maspero in detail, and
some parts of the description might al
most be mistaken for extracts from an
American newspaper in the nineteenth
century of the Chistian era.
On the 10th of the month the builders
employed at a temple rushed tumultu-
ously out of the place where they were
working, and sat down behind a chapel
In the temple precincts, eXclaiming:
1--WE arehungry, and there are eight
cen days before the next pay day" !"
They charged the paymasters with dis
honesty, asserting that the latter gave
alse measure. The paymasters, on
he other hand, charged the men with
want of foresight, alleging that they
.pent their wages as soon as they
touched them. After some further ne
gotiations with officers of the govern
ment, the men resumed work, on the
understanding that the king himself
should receive their complaint. Two
days later Pharaoh actually visited the
temple, and, when the matter was laid
before him, ordered relief to be given
to the woebegone masons. For short
time there was quiet, but soon provis-
ions 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 and 18th they
still refused TO lift a tool. On the 10th
they attempted to 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 precautions so effectively that no
one could leave. So they spent the
whole of that day in laying their plans.
On the following day they resorted to
more noisy methods. After vainly ap-
pealing with loud cries TO their manag-
or, they decided to apply to the gov
ernor of the city, and therefore rushed
through the busy streets, to the incon-
venience of pedestrians, not stopping
until they reached the governors
palace. Like their European success
| ors, these discontented artisans stub
bornly refused to work, spent many
hours in discussing their position and
prospects, disturbed the order of the
streets by their impetuous movements,
and ultimately obtained part, at least,
of their demands. So we can trace the
strike back for 5000 years, that is, to
a period when Rome was not built and
even Greek civilization was still in its
infancy. How old the method was at
That time, it is at present impossible
to say. Perhaps the custom is as
old as the Pyramids. Perhaps the
first strike preceded the most ancient
,f the existing monuments of civiliza-
ion.