The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-30
AGREAT BLOWT0 ENGLAND
yAs1 HARM DONE M TIE sTRIKB
or THE ENGINEERING TRADES.

tyranny or . Labor U~nIon-oueen victoria
nrouEht 10 Tcrn,s-Much Distress To Grescs
-pron,s or q Lenden swsep-A. Football
competition erase In EnEIish Papers.
IoypoS, Jan. 2l.-It would be difficult to OK.
,prerate the Importance to the whole industrial
world of the collapse OF tho engineering strike
IN Great Britain this week. At the expense Of
deadly blow TO one OF the greatest ind stries OF
the British Empire the simple truism has been
established that II 10 impossible for manutac-
turers hampered by heavy burdens and ~restrio-
lions to do business in the markets OF the world
against unhandicapped competitors. 1t was not
tho strike and lockout just closing which
proycd this. 1t had been demonstrated to the
point OF disaster by the very men who have been
out on strike for the past six months before this
final struggle began. The eight hours agitation.
rs one OF the papers explains, has been q sham
from tho first. 1t was resorted to In the hope of
securing public sympathy and other advantages.
The real aim from the beginning was to carry
out the general trades union policy In this coun-
try Of restricting output while maintaining
wages.
1t has been this policy. enforced arbitrarily
and inexorably by the strongest trades union in
the world. that has brought tho engineering in
dustries Of Great Britain to q disaster from
which thcy will never recover. and which will
detract from national prosperity for generations
to come. The effects OF it had been severely felt
Inv pritish manufacturers long before the pres.
an, s,rugoIe heoon. and the foraee,ng ones
omono them ALREADY realizcd that n l,fe.and.
death test NJ endurance vas Unavailable. Rut
the men, with q folly or blindness almost beyond
belief, refused to recognize tho situation, and
strovo instead to put the screws still tighter
upon their employers. Now the battle is vir-
tually ended and the defeat Of the unionists Is
comnlete and overwheln,ino NJ evsrv noint
7, I. douh,fr, avon 70 thar rn,on srrviwos n
a.. ,...on, co., I,a .,ron.o.. hans :, -.
~.sso.s. s... -. - a. ,H.s.SLN.'
proved themselves utterly misguided and in.
competent demagogues. Mr.. Barnes, the most
prominent officer of the mems organization, 1t
has been truly said. has done more to smash
the unions than all the employers put together.
1t remains to be seen how long the men will
continue to put confidence in him and his ilk.
1t should DO borne in mind that there never
has been any question of wages in this DISPUTE.
nor has tho matter Of hours been a serious issue,
The real struggle has been over the point
whether an employer shall be master in his own
shop-that is, shall he be permitted to run his
machinery at its full capacity while it is in
operation. The trades unions have arbitrarily
limited the output OF machinery to from 25 to
60 per cent. of its capacity In the past;
or, in other words, it has forbidden its
members to operate more than one-quar-
ter to two-thlrds the machinery which
an American workman easily superin-
tends. 1t has until now been impossible to
convince the British trades unionist that this
policy Is anything else except a benefcent ex-
pedient for giving employment to three or four
times more men than would otherwise have
work. Perhaps he is only half convinced even now
that a large proportion Of the British engineer
Ing trade has gone abroad. But the system has
received its deathblow in this country. and
there is really no danger that 1t will ever be
rcestablished.
II ia now some arty years since oueen Victoria
and her husband nurcbased the estate IN IN.
Isle Of WIGHT known all the world over as M.
borne House. and used as tho marine palace NJ
the British sovereion. At the time the nnr.
chase was negotiated they failed to secure the
closing of A public road which ran right tbrouoh
the property and to n considerable extent
spoiled its privacy.
Repeated efforts were made from time IN time
to get the road closed. but without success
owing TO certain stid.necked members of the
local governing body. There was some tbougbt
a little time non NJ comneIIing IN. IocoI nutbnri.
tics to meet the oueep's Wishes Inv n special act
OF Parliament. But the idea. if It were ever
seriously entertained. was abandoned and the
more effectiye measure VIVA taken NJ thra,ter-
ing that the Queen would sell the property and
cease residing in the Isle OF Wight. This would
have meant the general deterioration in value
OF property in the island. which naturally enjoys
very material advantages from possessing a
'o."i loSiuehce. Inc autnoritics' therefore,
e"mo " terus' anu 'he oargaih was cohsum-
NJ VI 'ah'i1.
inc queen mas mad to pay for her love OF
privacy vs. smarty as any private Individual
Mou,u nave oone. In return Tor closing the road
II nae naa 10 give the town OF Cowes a four
teeh'Sere heia 10 DC used as a pubic recreation
kpu"u anu IN aouition sho mas mace over a
'"'u"o'o sra'eipit, ana undertaken 10 construct
1He" road IN another direction Mt considerable
snpun9e, inc "nair ID crediteoie Dotn 10 inc
s.u,.s independence OF the local authorities
"|S = Sueen victoria common sense.
oT"olhe aoes NOT as many suppose belong to
49, aSa'e' VI is inc queens private properly
y ~ 'hc savings OF her early years
e"h ucf ms HlWayb Decn curiosity as TO l9