The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1894-07-31
The Many TurnOutS Of Labor Dur
ing the Past Century.
sHOEMAKERS START THE BALL.
In the Great Majority Of Cases, Strikes
Have Ended DisastrOusly to the
worISingman - Immense Amounts
Lost in Wages by the Laborers.

In view of the numerous strikes In
several lines of labor thus far this
year, and especially the present rail-
road strike, it may not prove unlnter-
esting to look back a little and see
whether or not history repeats itself.
MANY people seem to think that the
troubles are greater this year than
ever before; that labor is now making
a last stand, and will either win or
break; that Coxey is the John Brown
of the coming civil strife; that the en-
tire fabric of society will be over
turned by the result and built anew to
fit the new conditions, and many
other such insane decisions, without
for a moment turning back even a few
wears and comparing notes of causes
and results of past strikes. There is
nothing in any of the strikes thus far
this wear that is not a repetition OF
some past strike. Labor has made its
last stand annually for many years
mast. and will no doubt do so again
next year. The only new thing is
Coxev. and his miserable failure from
start to finish certainly is not very
strong resemblance to John Brown,
and he yet lacks hanging to make 1t
at all perfect. Putting man in jail
for tramping down grass does not
make him a hero at al. Let us go
hack about one hundred years and
notice a Jew of the most important
strikes, of which there were l49l
from 1896 to 1850, besides thousands
of others termed "unimportant" in
the Government reports. The differ
ences in strikes then and now were
about equal to the differences in pop
ulation and manufacturing import
ance then and now.
The first strike in the United States
that is recorded was in the year 1896
by the shoemakers in Philadelphia.
1t was termed a turn OUT at that
time. They demanded an increase in
paw, and after two weeks got IL. Inc
same were "turned out" again in 1898
and 1893 and in both cases were sue
cessful, so that the first strikes we
have any knowledge of were success
full. These "turn outs" were quiet
and without demonstrations of any
kind. The men simply quit work,
and as there were no others TO take
their places their demands were
granted and the price of boots and
shoes correspondingly increased. The
success of the Philadelphia strikers
was the indirect cause of the next one,
that of the sailors of New York in
1903, when a part of them turned
QUIT on a demand of an increase of 81
month. Not meeting with success,
L., - q prOpasS1On
marched around the city and down to
the docks and compelled the other
men TO "turu out' against their will.
This was the first instance in which
force and intimidation were used to
carry the points desired. Their conduct
resulted in the town guard militia
perbaps) turning OUT and the lead
ers being "turped inn Jail, after which
the end was not long in coming. 1t
was a complete anu dismal failure
the first failure in history. However,
the failure did not seem to discourage
the pioneers IN the "turn out" busi-
ness. for on November l, 1905, we find
the Philadelphia shoemakers out
again demanding higher wages for
the fourth time This was for an in
crease of from % cents to 40 cents
per pair. This strike ended in a
failure, and trial of number OF the
men for conspiring against their en-
ployers' business. They were all con-
vicied and fined IS and costs each.
The records of this trial are still pre-
served in the library of the Supreme
Court of the United States. This de-
feat killed labor organizations in
Philadelphia for many years, if its
influence is not felt some even TO this
dav. In 1909 the New York shoe
makers struck, and returned to work
on compromise In 1915, just at the
close of the war, the city OF Pittsburg.
since famous as a strike center, expe-
rienced its first one, the shoemakers
again being the strikers. They lost the
strike, We're jailed, tried for conspiracy
and fined.
The first strike on record directed
against working with non-union men
was in 1921, among the printers of
ALBANY, New York. What the result
was We do not know. 1t was nine
wears after this before any new causes
were introduced into labor strikes,
when the Boston building trades
struck for ten-hour day, but did not
succeed. They continued to agitate the
ten hour day until, in 1882, the Boston
merchants resolved - 1nal we Will
neither employ any journeyman who
belongs to such combinations, nor
give work TO any master mechanic
who employs journeymen thus pledged
to each other.n 1t can be said, how
ever, that the resolution had little or
no effect, for it was itself combina-
ton. In 1886 a still new cause was
introduced when a gang of Canadian
Iaborers working in Maine struck be-
cause they were not allowed to smoke
while working This strike was a
success, and they smoked.
August, 1886, commenced the first
strike of mill hands, when all hands
in twenty mills of Patterson, n. j.,
struck for shorter hours. Six weeks
idleness and loss of S24 900 in wages
was the only result to the strikers. A
month later the coal handlers of the
Quaker city felt strong enough to try
q strike on the ten hour question.
After several weeks in idleness, they
agreed to return to work "from sun
rise to sunset" This was Immediately
followed by a strike of numerous
trades in the same city, who paraded