The Washington times., 1903-04-19
TRADES UNIONS REIGN
SUPREME IN LONDON
Jealous Of Their Ancient
Rights and Privileges.
SLOW PROGRESS ON ROAD
Members of Each Organization Do Only
What Their Schedules
Call For.

LONDON, April 1S.-Tne slow progress
being made By the woTkmen employed
by the London county council on Kings
way, the new thoroughfare from the
Strand 10 Holborn and AldwycE has
been the subject Of comment
a correspondent Of a morning paper
yesterday declared that investigation
showed that the work will take forty
nine years 10 finish at he present rate
or progress. another writer today takes
up the subject, and by means Of hU-
morous exaggerations shows bow the
general condition Of the various trades
unions IN England Is responsible fer
this slowness. The writer declares that
tie work will eventually be concluded.
How Gangs Work
He describes how he watched a gang
OF dozen men who with the assist
ance Of travelling crane. succeeded in
4 little more than a quarter OF an hour
IN depositing a large bucke-ful of mix
ed ballast in huge trench that has 10
De filled up.
The specialization oS this function
is the basis Of modern Industrial or
gsnizatiOn, says the writer. and he
proceeds 10 show with truth conveying
exaggeration the minute differentiations
Of duties made by the various labor
unions. One reads how "a member of
the Bubble WheeIers Union" wheeled
up a barrel of rubbIe and then retired
to rest. A member Of the Sand Shovel
ers' Union sprinkIed sand, and a ce-
ment fletcher who was uuionist. added
cement.
Then 2 member CT the ''Amalgamated
Watersprinklers Society" added water
after which members of the Mixers
Union" turned the mixture over with
their shovels- BY this time the rubble
had become ballast. and therefore could
not be handled By any but the ballast
beavers, who placed 1t IN a bucket,
when a member Of another union hooked
the lifting chains
Then when the engineers manipulated
the crane, a member o. the League Of
Meditative Bucket Tlppers released
the catch. and the ballast was deposited
IL the trench
Little ExaggeTation.
The foregoing parody is not such a
great eXaggeration Of the actual condi-
tions Of trades unions IN England as
might be imagined. The differentiation
OF duties that may be performed by the
members OF various unions is quite as
sharp as described above, as many en- :
ployers have learned 10 their cost and
sorrow when the unions have had a
squabble in regard 10 where their re-
speetive fields begin and end, and the
work has been stopped until the mat
ter was adjusted.
On this account an American, J c.
Stewart. whose methods of management
recently electrified the building trades
Of England. notably IN the erection CT
the huge Westinghouse establishment
near Manchester. has been chosen ar
bitrator by the English AmaIgamate1
Federation Of Labor. His mission IS not
only TO arbitrate the several Disputes
between the employers and employees,
bur principally 10 define the Limitation
OF each trade. such as the exacI de-
marcatien between stone masons and
stone cutters, iron erecters and riveters,
and also the latter's usage of hand or
pneumatic tools; whether brick laying
ASSlUuSS tAS SSttiA6 u TERRA COLta the
right Of wrought iron handlers to place
cast iron and cast iron handlers to place
steel. etc.
Mr. Stewart has also been approached
from America as to whether he is will
ing to act as arbitrator in the steel
workers dispute He has already sac
cessfully arranged several long standing
disputes between kindred unions in Eng
land