Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-13
TRADE UNI0NI SIN
Its Effect in This Country and Great
Britain Contrasted.
AN AMERICAN WORKMAN'S PRIDE
The EngIishman Wants to Do the
Least Amount of Work.
EFFECT ON OUR PROSPERITY

Judging from the contents of numerous
| government reports, general and consular,
| which are being sent out from England, 1t
| is evident the British nation Is deeply con-
| cerned as to the inroads made upon her
! foreign trade by the United States Many
| reasons given for the recent success OF
| American manufacturers in new markets,
| but no English politician or public man has
| apparently dared to state the real cause OF
| England's inability to successfully COM
| pete with the United States for orders
| where time and price are primary consider
| ations.
| The fact that this real reason Is not ex-
| pressed does not imply, however, that 1t Is
not fully understood by English manufac-
! turers, but 1t Is of such a character that
! they cannot face it with bold front. Every
English trade is at the mercy Of the union
| representing that trade. The basis Of every
union organization in England Is not only
| the fixing of the days wage, but the limit
| ing Of the amount of work which shall be
| zone for that wage.
If a British workman Of one OF these
unions turns out more work in eight hours
| than the stint allowed by union rules he is
either forced from his job or else heavily
| fined. The result of such a system as this
is to make the labor factor in the cost of
| an article Of manufacture as rigid or in
| elastic as that Of the cost Of materials or
| transportation to market.
The Object of the British Workmen.
1t might be stated a general principle
| that the British workman strives to accom-
| plish as little for the money he Is paid as
possible without causing an entire shut
| down Of the establishment in which he is
| employed. This may sound extreme but 1t
| is not. for the English strikes are largely
| efforts to reduce the amount OF work to be
required Of each employee. The relations
| between the British workmen and the en-
| ploying firms purely theoretical in that
| each treats the other as an outsider and
not one mutually Interested in the sue
| cess Of an enterprise in which they are en-
ployed. The employing firm Is an intangi
BILE sort of thing to the British employee.
| He knows that the firm owns the works
| and that from its counting room comes the
money to pay his wages but he has no
| more idea Of the standing OF that firm, Its
success or failure. than he has of the do
| ings Of the foreign office in Downing street.
The result of this attitude Is that strike
| is very serious matter in England. for
| there Is no human interest taken by the
| employees in the business Of their employ
| ers, and the same can be said in most cases
| Of the employers as regards the employees.
| The English union is strong and danger
| Gus organization with its present tenden-
| cies. 1t holds within its grasp the fate Of
| the trade represented. ~ The cost of raw
materials is not very different In England
from what 1t IS in other manufacturing
|
| England to the great markets Of the world
are lower than they are from many other
| countries. Trade is not hampered in any
| way by customs regulations nor are the
| taxes so great upon industry but that the
| burden can be easily borne. The whole
matter resolves itself into a question of the
| willingness or ability of labor to accommo-
| date itself to the new conditions which are
| now confronting commercial England.
The British workman is very conserva-
| tive. Even to this day the opposition to
iabor-saving machinery is strong-so strong.
| in fact, that in many places 1t IS not yet
| safe to Introduce It. Where labor-saving
machinery has been Introduced the unions
have required that the same number of men
be employed as Of old; hence there has been
no reduction in the cost Of manufacture,
the only gain being one of time and uni
formity. The position Of the unions in the
present discussion Of what England must
do to hold her own and continue to give
employment to her great Industrial army
seems to be that the burden of reform or
change Is all upon the shoulders Of the
employer, and that under no circumstances
can any change be made In labor methods.
The Americans Pride.
The difference between the British and
the American workman is that the latter
takes a pride In his productiveness 1t is
his ambition to be pointed out as the man
of all others who can do the most work in
the least time for his employer. The man
who wheels barrow counts the trips he
makes during a day, that ne may, If pos
sibie, brag over his fellow workmen as hav-
ing made the most. The man who laws
shingles, drives nails, saws wood or does
anything else keeps an eye upon his neigh
Dor, that he may not fall behind in his
daily performance. The favorite employe
or an American firm Is the man who is
quick, willing and skillful, the man who Is
always ready to do more than is asked of
him. and do it in less time and in better
shape than any one else. When there Is
opportunity for promotion this man gets
pushed ahead. When wages are increased
ne gets the biggest share When times are
dull he is the last man to be laid off and
when the shutdown Is complete he can Sc
cure a recommendation which will find him
employment elsewhere.
This Is the one simple secret of the Sic
cess of American manufacturers In foreign
competitive markets. The natural advan-
taSes in most lines of trade are with the
United states, except that business is d me
III thlS country on a more liberal scale
wages are higher and there is less cheese
parlng IN all departments. AS a matter Of
actual expense this liberality would prob
ABLY neutrallZe the natural advantages
thus leaving the entire argument in favor
of American goods resting upon the labor
factor ~
The English employers are largely to blar,e
FOR their own troubles for they have made
no effort in the past to put themselves upon
human FOOTING with their employees a
roofing which fortunately for the United
States prevails In a large majority Of cases
between American employers and their en-
ployes