The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-29

general disposition on tine part VI iDAlt-
sh workngmen to obstruct as much as
possible the use of labor-saving ma
chinery, and to limit Its output when
ever the employers add machinery to
their plant; and also that in certain
trades the rule is lone man, one ma
chine" whereas in America one man
will attend to two or three machines
1t is furthermore charged that there Is
an increasing disposition on the part
of British workingmen to shfrk work,
and to use all expedients to perform as
little labor as possible during the hours
for which they are paid, These charges
are made with great particularly
against trades unionists. There is, 1t
is to be noted, a growing tendency
throughout the country to shorten the
hours of labor. while at the same time
there is an upward movement In wages.
AS a rule trades unionists deny the
charge of obstructing the use of labor
saving machinery and limiting the out
put; and they retort that employers
are lacking in enterprise in not fit
ting up their factories with up-to-date
plants. 1t is undoubtedly true, how
ever, that, speaking generally ana
quite apart from the question of trades
unionism, English manufacturers find
1t almost impossible to get the same
amount of product from machines as
is obtained In America. There are two
reasons that account for this, indepen-
dent of any agreement, express or i'm
piled, on the part of trades unionists
to limit the output. The first reason
is that, as a rule, the British work.
man Is not as adaptable as the Amer
lean workman-he does not so readily
get command of new appliances as the
American workman; and the second Is
that 1t is not the custom of the coun-
try for an Engllshman, whether me-
chanic, clerk, or laborerl to work as
hard as an American.
English trades unionists who have
recently visited the United States as
delegates to labor conventions, or in a
representative capacity to make OBJ
servatlons, as a rule report that Amer
lean mechanics and factory hands work
too hard. An American manager of a
, match factory established over here
with American machinery once told
me that 400 people in factory In
America turned out more matches than
700 people over here, with identically
the same machinery--andi incidentally
it may be remarked that practically
all the machinery used in the Eng
fish match factories Is American, and
has been so for many years. In some
respects, the English workman Is more
Independent" than the American
| workman-that is, he will not endeavor
to make himself SO handy" and will
often refuse to do anything outside a
certain line rigidly laid down by the
| custom of his craft generally and by
his trade union in particular Ameri-
| can manufacturers who establish fac
| tories here find that, although the
English workman is thorough in what
| he does, he is not only slow in COM
| parison with an American workman,
| but will sometimes strike on the slight
est ocation-although 1t is OBJ
| served that within the last two years,
the leading spirits among trades
| unionists have taken a somewhat pro-
nounced position against strikes, ex-
| cept as a last extreme resort. In this
connection, 1t is worth noting that, as
| a rule, strikes in England are more
| stubborn than In America, although 1t
| Is the exception for violence to be
used here. Although there is a great
| er division of labor in America. yet
oftentimes twice as many men are re-
| quired in England to do a certain job
as would be required in America, as
each man is very Jealous lest a work.
man In another allied trade should do
| the smallest piece OF work which the
! rules of his trade say should be done
| by him, and him alone. For instance,
when the town hall OF Liverpool was
recently being remodeled In the in
terror, there was a strike for several
months owing to the fact that some
cabinet-makers did some work which
the joiners claimed should be done
| by themselves alone. Within the last
| few days, a strike was aVerted by ar
| bitraton at Laird's shipbuilding yard
! (where the Alabama was buIlD, on the
Mersey, opposite Liverpool, the dispute
| being as to whether the engineers or
the shipwrights should place an cleo
fri Axr a., In &c
| now q controversy. with threats of a
| strike, at a port just north of here,
between carpenters and shipWrights. as
| to who. under trades union rules, had
the right to construct a pier.
A few weeks ago, some painters who
were redecorating the interior of a
church in a midland town ceased work
| because women were employed to clean
| the droppings of paint on the pews,
and the employers had to finish the
| job themselves. And quite recently in
a seaside town, there was a strike of
| transfers because their employer re-
| fused to discharge a driver who had
made journey to a lneighboring town
three hours quicker than they them
| selves had been accustomed to take.
| A Liverpool architect once told me
that he had two large buildings on
| which there had not been a stroke of
work done for over three months, for
the reason that a strike had been de-
| clared because a plumbers apprentice
| had been caught by the union dele
| gate" making a joint which the union
rules stated should be done by a Jour
neyman. 1 was informed by the archi-
tect that within the last 10 years the
| cost Of construction had increased II
| per cent-owing partly to increase OF
wages, but principally TO the limita-
! tons as to a days work. A cut-glass
manufacturer residing In Liverpool
| tells me that notwithstanding in
| creased mechanical facilities, the out
| put per man has decreased fully Is per
| cent. during the last dozen years
/ could multiply instances OF this condi-
| ton of affairs, which permeates all
! grades Of working people here. Even
| household servants are imbued with
| opposition to doing the slightest thing
| but what is strictly in line with their
| particular employment. II can readily
| be seen that the prevalence Of this
| cast-iron. hardand-fast custom adds
| enormously TO the ultimate cost Of la
! Dor, although the individual wages ac-
/ tually paid here are much lower than
! in America. Americans who have beer
| inclined to come to England to estab-
| lish factories have often been forced
| to abandon their intentions, because
| Of the disadvantages they would be
under by reason Of the system above
/ explained.
In addition to the slowness Of the
/ British workman as compared with the
! American, there is a widespread feel
/ ing among working people here that
/ they owe It to themselves not 20 ex.
! coed a certain amount of labor. and
I here Sgain the independence" Of the
( British workman shows itself, for he
| win often absolutely refuse TO do any
] than "a certain HaGfInf -
/ though he be threatened with dis
| missal in consequence. Many work
/ men deem II a duty to themselves and
| their felloM-Morkmen 70 MAKE a ioI