New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-10-22

miner is free for his family or bis amusement
The second is from two on into the night.
Some years ago lola, in his 'Germinai' drew
picture Of the life Of these miners IN those
strong dark lines which his admirers imagine
to be realism. Even so. II was innni'eF less
terrible than Disraeis account OF the Ehsh'h
Black Country some fifty years ago. 1ha' the
life in the mines is preferable to many other
kinds of manual labor may be seen from two
plain facts daily verified. Nearly all 'hese
miners are recruited from the class OF peasant
farmers, and there are not too many farming
hands in France Moreover. in spite OF all the
pressur. from the unions, workmen In inc helgh
boring mines obstnatcly refuse to strike.
Even at Lens. the strike Is openly attributed
to that peculiar class of agiators who are called
'leutenants' and 1.-THE flower of the strike.
These are the under officers Of the union. Ihey
are able to terrorize the Socialist Deputies into
countenancing their manoeuvres by reason OF
their supposed influence over the voters OF the
mining districts They are feared by the miners
to whom the union is almost a necessity Ana
they are in league with the saloon-kcepers VINO
never do more thriving business IMAM curing
the first idle weeks Of a strike Ihese heu'eh-
ants have nothing to lose. II the strike 1alis' II
IS IDENTITIES like Basly and Lamendin. whom they
have forced into sanctioning the strike. that Will
be ruined politically. They have everything 10
gain The failure would remove mer VINO OFTEN
stand in the way Of their own pohhcai ahpi
tons: while the success Of the strike VIII make
themselves favorably known for future oppor-
tunitias
All this by Itself, would be but common
place of that vulgar labor agitation which may
occur anywhere. and is n veritable expectation
of the laborer. The portentous side OF the
affair is that when the strike has been decided
on there should be chosen its turning point
so preposterous a demand this for the double
note of pay. 1t dscloses the definite tendency
Of trade unionism to bring about cohdiuoh Oh
affairs from which the only refuge VIII DE an
unmitigated State socialism. This Is rot pecuhar
to France perhaps even ii is the working Oh an
inevitable law. Simply, the French unions push
their demands to logical conclusion, aided by
their Socialist leaders.
The outrageous demands OF extreme Socialists
only distract the public attention from the prog
ress already made by the French state ana the
French people along this line. The prircipIe OF
State arbitration between capital ana TABOR WIS
admitted. incautiously and to the satisfaction OF
neither party by NJ. Loubet, the predecessor OF
the present Prime Minister. at the time OF the
strike of Carmaux. A law OF December =, lo'-'
even prascribes that the justices Of the peace
shall officially invite. in case OF strike poth
companies and workngmen to settle their as
putes by arbitration. This has been done III
the present strike in both the Departments Of the
Pas-de-Calais and Of the Nord. where the miners
Lave Joined with their ncighbors. But arbitra-
ton which either party is free to reject has
nroved itself miseratly inefficient. The actual
relations between employers and employed az
Lens for example. are the result OF mntuai
arrange nent made only two years ago ana
from no
almost without previous notice. The company
naturally has refused to have anything 10 90
/. with a new arbitration which We uld only repeat
the old odous experience 1t is clearly seen on
| both sides that arbitration to be Of any prac-
| teal value. must be compulsory. anu co''se-
nuently a matter of State intervention.
This is recognized not by Radicals ana So
cialists alone. Nearly every political group
| which thought 1t worth its while AT the ia'e
| elections 10 court the workinginens votes oy
occupying itself with the labor question pun Tor
ward the principle that legislation ought 10 de-
| terrirc the minimum OF wages and the maxi
| mum Of hours Of daily labor. In practlc" thls
would doubtless disappoint the workingmen wh"
| are none too willing that the rate OF wages
| should huctuate with the marRet. iut IL """lu
| also subject the companies to the dlc'atlon OF
| government overscers. II would even limit So
verelv all that free use and organizing OF capital
| ard the means Of production which give the
! RIGHT of existence to industrial enterprise ana
| financial speculation. This certainly is near
| approach To socialism Of the puiest water; for
| the essence Of socialism is To substitute pubic
| for private manipulation OF organized capitaI.
II is tru. that even French Socialists never "x-
plain how capital is 10 be organized in the irst
| niace without private enterprise. which can
| also hardly continue to exist without some free
| scope for It's operations. But this Is another
| question. In the matter Of the present strikes
| il is sufficient to note the definite tendency oil
| all recent French politics TO restrict the Tree
| cement Of private enterprise ana TO enlarge
| the sphere OF State intervention
Count Albert de Nun leader Of the rallied
| Republicans. in spite of being the grandson OF
| Bourbon Minister is the chief organizer OF those
holt .orkin pft1fp vh
| risen to such importanc, in France and Belgium
during the last few years He would hardly ac-
cept the name even Of Christian socialist thoueh
| It is freely applied to the movement which ne
| represents Yet his whole system OF social re-
| form is based on the organization OF labor IN
| imitation Of the workingmcns guilds and cor
porations Of the Middle Ages. Just as they fur
nished the artisans with needed Offset to inc
| Influence Of the privileged classes Of a feudal
| society, 80 organization to-day must give labor
a footing TO treat on equal terms with organized
capital He sorrowfuly acknowledges that TINS
| has so far resulted in downright civil war OF
| organized interests. compared I" vhich coWp"'l-
| tion in trade Is simple chd's play. And he 10y
ally goes N to accept the inevitable consequence
BY right ard necessity Of state interv nt' IN Tor
| n belongs 10 the state to judge and apT@ase the
dis.cnsions among it's citizers. The resolutions
of the September congress If the Catholic Social
Democrats Of Belgium practc'Hy put Ioi"h'u
| the same conclusion.
| ers TO make recourse TO compulsory state arpl-
tration a necessity Of the situation. FOR thlS
they have two means-the general strike and
| International union. Both have been badly
ms mayed in the present strikes of the Pds-j@-
| Calais: and II should almost seem that me inter
national part Of the progra'm"e VIII a'N"S"
| meet with nsurmountable difficulties in prac-
lice Still the spread of the consequences OF the
French Revolution throughout Europe ought 10
| ,.,cb ne that elsewhere than I'm France the UNI
| expected is likely to happen.
| Meanwhile international relations work but
| badly. Tho English strike does not materlahy
| influence the French market: and the Belgian
| a al, ton across the border. which the French
| leaders have vainly tried to Increase by personal
ac,on prorrises be little successful as their
| own Yet the Belgian mi Ter in wages and loug-
inr and every resource Of comfortable NE Is
| fer worse off than the French strikers OF Lens.
| another difficulty in the way OF International
| .ymnathy IL that a strike in one country gives
| increase OF work and wages In another. Ana
! workingnen themselves are not yet above TAX
| ip~ advantage Of national competition In trade
nn,,n, Time ago the tulle WOrkt OF Cnlais