The Indianapolis journal., 1891-02-20
LESSON FOR LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.
No Matter How Great Their Power They VIII
BE Resisted When 1t Becomes Necessary.

No Matter How Great Their Power They VIII
BE Resisted When 1t Becomes Necessary.
New York Sun.
When the great strike of Australian
workingmen came to al end last \ November.
we outlined the history of the demonsta-
tion, so far as the facts were at that time
attainble by telegraph. We now have an
exhaustive and trustworthy account OF the
motives which prompted the strike, and or
the causes of its disastrous failure, from
the pen of an eyewitness. Mr.. ii. II: Cham:
piOn, one Of the most conspicuous friends or
labor in Great Britain. Itwas Mr.. Champion
whomoved the resolution which brought the
London dock strike of 1889 TO triumphant
end. and it SO happened that he landed In
Melbourne Just before the outbreak of the
most tremendous conflict between labor and
capital that has yet taken place. He does
not hesitate to impute gross biunders TO the
authors and managers OF the strike; IN
deed. he describes the workingmen as an
army of lions led by asses. He is convinced
that in Australia the trades-unlons Will
never recover from the crushing defeat in
dicted by the employers after the latter
were forced to organize IN their own de-
fense.
In the account of his experience at Mel
bourne which Mr.. Champlcl has contrib
uted to the Nineteenth Century, he con.
firms the impression made on the readers OF
Sir Charles Dilke's book-"Ihe PROBLEMS
of Greater Britain"-that nowhere in the
world could labor enter on a test of strength
with capital under such favorable con5i-
tions as in the Australian colonies, and
particularly in Victoria. There, for many
years, powerful trade-unI0ns have main-
tained in the towns an eigbt-hour labor
day, and an average daily stipend of from
81 to $3.50, while the agricultural and
pastoral districts offered larger pay,
but vainly, the demand for the labor
needed on farms and sheep runs being
continually in excess of the supply. On
the other hand. the politicians being all
controlled by the wish to gain the labor
vote. all the coercive resources of the
colonial and municipal governments were
practically at the disposal not Of capital.
but of labor. These resources. however.
only amonnted to GOO policemen in city OF
half million inhabitants and 400 artillery
men In country bigger than Great Britain.
On the one side. in word, was perfect organ
ization and political preparedness; on the
other an entire absence of organization
and of the means of defense. Neverthe-
less, in this apparently unequal contest the
capitalists won.
The causes of the strike were two nearly
simultaneous incidents. OF which the flrst
was, by far. the more important The fed
Grated unions established what was called
the mon union wool boycott" that Is they
undertook to compel shearers who were un-
willing to Join the ''Shearers' Union" TO do
90 under pressure from their employers, by
getting the maritime unions to refuse to
load or carry any bales of wool that had not
the stamp of sheep station known to be
worked under union rules. The second
incident was the demand of the Marine
Officers Association of Melbourne for
higher pay, which was refused on the
ground that the association was in alliance
with the Seamen's Union. Twenty-four
hours later the officers left their ships. and
the seamen refused to sail with non-nnion
officers. When non-union seamen were OBJ
unload the vessels. Similar strikes took
place in the other colonial seaports,
and the chipping trade was paralyzed
throughout Australia. The conflict soon
extended to other trades Some coal
from the ships in the harbor of
Melbourne was unloaded by non-unionists
Upon Its arrival at the gas-works the stokers
withdrew in body. and for two nights the
greatest difficulty was experienced In light
ing the streets. This was he turning
point of the struggle Public opin ion was
aroused against the strikers, and the gov
ernment Was apuia uded for maintaining
order by enrolling special constables. call
ing out the mounted rifles Ia species of
militia) and summoniDg to the city the
small force of soldiers, to whom ball cart
ridges were issued. Meanwhile, the boy
colt of nOn-unlon wool had caused the
sheep-owners to form most powerful
combination. commanding from the start
an income of 100000 year and a defense
fund of g.. 100000.
The Melbourne strike committee, finding
that they couldlnot bar non-union men out
Oh tue gaS-WOThS. uctoIIliDcu 10 cut Ol tuo
coal supply and thus stop not only the gas
manufacture, but all industries dependent
upon steam. including the railways. which
in Victoria belong to the people themselves.
As the coal used in Australia comes from
New South Wales. an international colonial
conference was called in Sydney. the capital
of that colony. The first act of the confer
ence was TO order strike OF the shearers all
over Australia with the ayowed purpose of
destroying the years wool crop, valued at
500, 100000. This of course turned all the
sheep-owners who had hitherto employed
union shearers into deadly foes of organized
labor. The next act of the conference was
TO order strike of the coal-miners. This
second edict was repudiated by the men to
whom it was addressed, and as the first, di-
rected to the wool shearers. had proved in
operative, the whole attempt of the trade
unions to coerce employers suddenly col
lapsed. 1t had lasted three months. and
had cost the workingmen S10,0O0.000. in
cludiEg 10000 forwarded from London.
Mr.. Champion considers that the disas-
trous failure of the strike has settled some
questions about which widely different
opinions have been entertained in England.
1t has shown that the most gigantic fedora
tion of labor, unless it is handled with
greater strategic ability than is ailable
III Australia. will break like an egg against
an iron n-clad when faced by the resolute OPP
position of employers who are also feder-
ated. 1t mas shown that such federation of
employers. however difficult to organize
will take place and Will receive public sup
port in the most democratic countries the
moment that labor makes q demand which
to the public seems arbitrary or unfair
could be effected by the simple expedient
of ordering all rnlon workmen to refrain
from work SCENE to have been refuted def
initely by the Australian experiment.