The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-09
A COMPLEX WORLD.

than when strike occurs on a large
scale. 1t is not the direct effect, but the
indirect effect which is so remarkable.
The striking men not only bring them
selves to standstil, which Of course
they have a perfect right to do, but
they bring other workmen to a stand
stin, who have no desire to strike, are
perfectly satisfied with their condition,
but who are obliged to quit work be-
cause material which must be prepared
by the striking men is not to be had
and mills have to shut down in conse-
quence, leaving thousands of people
out of work, involuntarily on the part
of employer and employed.
The nter-dependence is shown some
times in other ways. The war of
secessi, not only affected the seced-
ing states but it ruined thousands of
homes in Lancashire, England, the
great cotton center. Lancashire de-
depended entirely upon the cotton
crop of the South for carrying on the
manufacture of textile fabrics. When
the war came and the blockade was
declared the cotton crop was cut Off
The result was no work, the shutting
down of mills by wholesale, and the
transformation of a thriving commune
ity, well paid, well to do, sober and
thrifty into a starving people, obliged
to seek for charity through no fault
of their own.
The nter-dependence of modern
civilized life is thus clearly shown, and
it is not confined to communities but
there is a like inter-dependence be-
tween individuals, not only those init
mately connected, but those who ap-
parently are widely separated. The
complex mechanism of our social, civic
and national conditions requires the
deepest study. No one has mastered
it, when any one has thoroughly mas
tered it, the ideal of life will have been
reached, and the dreams of Sir Thomas
More's Utopia and Bellamy's Model
civilization will have been realized. But
to return to the strike.
The strike that more Immediately
affects us is the strike or strikes upon
the Pacific coast. This affecting the
handling of produce and the running
of the sea carriers. Should steamers
become tied up in San Francisco, it
would be a very serious matter for us,
for we depend upon the coast not only
for supplies of luxuries but for the very
necessaries of life. Situated as we are,
without any telegraph cable we are
l,,1,
situation and are utterly unable to
forestall events.
1t does not seem probable that the
coast strikes will be successful. The
employers of labor are organized. 1t is
not only one particular business or
manufacture that is organized, but
there is an organization of all. This
has not been the situation before, and
it brings an entirely new element into
play. Then again some of the strikers
are unskilled men, and in a section of
the country where men are seeking
work, and have often been unable to
find it, there will be no difficulty in
supplying their places. When the
strike is over, these men will discover
that their places are filed and that all
that has been gained has been empty
pockets and hungry bellies with no
chance of being again able to fill either |
Moreover the strike of the teamsters, |
coming as it does during the crop sea-
son is destroying the hopes of the |
farming and fruit. growing classes of |
California. 1t is therefore very I'M
popular. If one sees the fruits of a
years labor and cultivation lost be- |
cause there is no means of getting it to
a suitable market, through lack of
hauling power, one is very apt to have |
hard feelings against those who have |
brought about such conditions.
Bradstreets while recognizing the |
gravity of the situation has somewhat |
optimistic views. Upon such a ques-
ton the opinion of such a conservative |
commercial organ as Bradstreet's is
very valuable. Strikes to the daily pa
pers are news, and good news. They
are apt to eXaggerate and throw every
thing into a lurid lights. Bradstreets
takes a calm and philosophic view.
This commercial organ points out
first that the extraordinary climatic |
conditions. must be taken into consid-
Grafton. The heated term and the steel
strike are coincident. Abstention from
such work as is required in the steel |
plants would be, easier to obtain at |
such a time than in the depth of
winter. 1t is contended that taking
this argument into consideration the
cessation of work may be regarded as
normal rather than as abnormal. There |
may be something in this argument
But a stronger argument is based |
upon the numerical proportions. 1t |
is pointed out that it is easy to swell
the proportions of strike which is |
made the subject of wide discussion |
but the careful searcher after facts will
RDd - didicuIt RI iuStifV an estimate |