The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-08-04
THE FAILURE OF THE STRIKE.

The record OF strikes does not pre-
sent an argument favorable to the
workingman., AS benefit to the wage
classes, strikes have in nearly all In
stances proven ineffective. The Louis
Vile Courier-Journal gives the labor
ing classes some valuable advice which
they would do we'll to heed. On the
subject, "The Failure Of Strikes" the
Courier-J ournal says:
"In 1880 when Carroll D. Wright was
Chief of the Massachusetts, Bureau OF
Statistics, he published pamphlet
containing the statistics of strikes In
that state for the previous fifty years.
His conclusions were discouraging so
far as the strikers were concern
ed, since they showed that
only one strike in seven
brought any advantage to the working
man. Mr.. Wright not only said that
"Striks generally prove powerless to
benefit the condition of the wage class, |"
but also that "strikes lead to IMPROVE
dence and are demoralizing in their eff
fects on the laboring man."
1t is not hard to find the reasons for
such ill-success as this record presents.
The sympathy of the public, as rule,
is with the toiler in his demands for
shorter hours, better wages and better
treatment. The love Of fairness is i'm
planted in every breast, and people
who are not affected directly by the In
creased expense that must follow con-
cessions by employers are anxious to
see these concessions made. Few
strikes occur in which the public does
not at the start lend material assistance
to the strikers.
With such a potent advantage In
their favor it may be wondered why so
few strikes result to the betterment of
the wage-earners. 1t is chiefly because
publicly sympathy Is sacrificed by the
reckless conduct of an element OF the
strikers, usually only small minority
OF the active members, but for whose
proceedings the leaders are held re-
sponsible. A few are tempted into
violence and disregard OF property
rights, sometimes even OF life, with the
result that the law Is invoked by the
employers and the strikers put on the
defensive and routed. We see a la
mentable exemplification OF this in the
Cleveland street railway strike, where
dynamite is used to wreck cars on
which are innocent passengers,
even women and children, and
an attempt is made to justify
violence. The consequence is that the
troops have been called out and the
strike has no chance Of success. From
the moment when the mobs begin to
form, the cooperation of the public,
whose moral support would otherwise
be given, is lost forever, and without it
no strikes ever succeed.
The remarkable success attained by
the Brotherhood OF Locomotive Engi-
neers in all their controversies with
their employers is negative proof of
this assertion. Whoever heard OF law
lessness in connection with an engin-
eers' strike in the rare cases when re-
sort has been made to that expedient?
On the contrary 1t is the practice of
the organization to appoint commit
ee of strikers whose business it is see
that there is no harm done to person or
property, and there never is any done.
The fact is, strike must be won, II
won at all, by moral suasion, and not
force. When strikers begin to threaten
non-union laborers or to destroy prop
erty they forfeit the advantageous po-
sition they before occupied and begin
10 De r9gdFQ6u DIS bu6 Oppr6SSOrS IN
stead OF the oppressed. 1t is safe to say
that even in cases where the strikers
are manifestly right the same results
would follow Alternate the good will
OF the public and the strike had best
be called off at once. Any show of force
or violence alienates the best friends OF
labor at once. That is largely why
there is such a record OF failures in the
long list of strikes Notwithstanding the
sympathy that is always given to such
movements.
In fairness to the Cleveland street
railway strikers we believe it can be
shown that the strikers were in no way
responsible for the destruction Of prop
erty belonging to the street railway
company. AS is always the case, the
opportunity to destroy property under
such circumstances is taken advantage
of by an irresponsible lawless element
=. and in the Cleveland case, it is said
some of this same element took the
places Of the strikers.