The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-13

e. ges away Derele tav nssn pou rvftn. tne Previsieae lvr the laeA ar' eauduys eniIknteneo, u Isss elaborate
 Cntii very recently 1t WaS suppuseu that tnfs policy taa Desn nisniy sue. cesatlki, ana tne eEapIeyes aps,recfa ted tho enurts of their eraployer ts .s4ske their rolI nor oniy WfspS<ssA4sse, oat ssA,s asreexoic. The eoInmanity was liivus .,i to De cept,onaiiy ras ssTed and Isaipy, and tho "Aabor pfopiem' appeared to De solved. Suddcniy, mose than tws months ago, for roasons that nave not yet been made clear to tho public, Ii,e workmen went on . strike. The original source of trouble was the washing cf the towels, which the company fur- nished free, by washerwomen who did not belong to trade union. A com mtttee of workmen informed the corn- pany that the work must bc taken from these women and given to q union laundry. Rather than do this the com pany gave up furnishing the towels. The next episode was demand that the compressed air springs on the doors should be removed, because they had been manufactured by a concern that employed non- union labor. To this de-. mand the company. rather weakly tt would seem. yielded. Presently the de- mand was made that the compa Ay should discharge a man simply be- cause he did not belong to union. and again the company yielded. It went So far as to pay $16 a week for three months to each of two men discharged fer lying and drinking and neglecting their work. rather than have trouble. But when there came a demand that they should reinsrate five men dis missed because there was nothing for them to do. the company, after its of- fer to submit the question to arbitra- ten had been declined, refused to yield further. The members of the two trade-unions interested struck. and the operation of the works necessarily ceased.
 It is hard to believe that the forma- tion of trade-uniOns has in this case benefited their members. A year and a half ago there were no unions, and the relations between employers and work men were apparently ideal. Since the unions became aggressive, these rela- tio15 have been strained, and the con- dition of the wOrkmen has in several respects become worse. The company appears to have been conciliatory in the extreme; but it Is, of course, abso- lutely impossible for it to consent to retain in it's employment men whose services are unsatisfactory. It's pro- ducts would very soon become unsal- able if 1t was obliged to employ in- ferior workmen. So far as can be as- certained the facts. this was the issue which brought on the strike and which has thus kept 2.3O0 working people idle from the end of April to the beginning of this week.
 And now the workmen have con- cluded to ot'return to work as they left It." We very much fear that cannot be. They can, after a year or two save the $200, ,O00 or $300,0sO which they have lost in wages; but they car hardly restore the good feeling and mutual respect that once prevailed Doubtless the managers will continue | to take thought for the welfare of theil | workmen: but they cannot feel theil former hopeful enthusiasm. They may comply with the demands of duty. bu they cannot take their former pleas l ure in their plans. Nor can the work men. after so humiliating defeat. b. l in the mood to accept aught of favor O | to respond to benevolent advances. Th' loss is not confined to the parties t l this controversy; 1t extends through out the industrial world. Many peopl had regarded the conditions at Daytol as ideal. and every one interested il
 the progress of the working classes vii | feel Encouragement at the situation i We should almost be pleased to lear that the strike was the fault of tn
 employers. for their delinquency, how
 ever deplorable, would not impair tn merits of their former policy. But W
 fear that the blame lies with the em ployes. and that they have done nnuc
 to becloud the future relations of la bor and capital.