The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-27

!. 1903.
cause 10 was brought about. not by eoo-
nomic. but by political forces
v.
Mr.. Ashley proceeds TO inquire what the
men secured In the anthracite region by
the strike Of 1907 There 10 no doubt that
they gained IN immediate rise In wages,
and the gunpowder grievance was re-
dressed. The sliding scale was abolished.
On the other hand. no provision was made
for future readjustments Of the rate, nor
for the settlement Of local disputes. Tho
miners had argued: The anthracite coal
owners form . combination. II. then.
combination 10 good for capital. 1t u good
for labor. We should organize In order
that combined labor should do business
with combined capital In the settle
msnt Of the strike Of 1900, however. the
representatives Of combined capital had re-
fused to do business in any formal way with
combined labor" or. a. the phrase went,
in any way to recognize II. They re-
fused to meet the leaders Of the United
Mine Workers and thei tcrme. finally agreed
upon. had come to them through third
parties. That is why the settlement OF
the strike Of 1900 Is here called an armis-
tioe. Mr.. Ashley should have pointed out.
however. that the operators declined to
recognize the United Mine Workers. not
because the latter represented combined
labor. but because they included bitumi-
nous, a. well a. anthracite miners, although
the conditions under which soft coal and
hard coal are mined are materially
different.
The first Of the great anthracite strikes
In recent years terminated at the end OF Oct
ober. 1900; the second began in the middle
of May. 1902. Our author does not pre-
sumo to play the part Of Judge, still less that
Of advocate, with reference to the last named
struggle between capital and labor. He
Acknowledges that We are not far enough
away in point Of time to see the incidents
Of that period in the right perspective.
He confines himself. therefore. To the part
Of historian. He begins by noting that.
although, In the course Of the second strike
the miners put forward certain specific de-
mands with regard to wages hours OF labor
and the weighing Of coal, which were, to
some extent. discussed during the negotia-
tions, the preliminary and primary cause
Of the strike was the refusal OF the coal
operators to grant recognition" to the
United Mine Workers Union. What rec
IGNITION" means was repeatedly explained
in the clearest terms by both parties; 1t
means any form OF direct negotiation with
the national officers Of the United Mine
Workers Union.
Mr.. Ashley sees that the situation was in
no respect really altered by the interview
ton lat the request Of the miners), OF the
so-called Civic Federation, an organization
of conspicuous American citizens, for the
purpose OF mediation and Cancellation in
labor disputes. 1t is not denied that tho
Civic Federation had done good service In
terminating industrial disputes elsewhere.
but the opinion In expressed that It's inter-
venticn Is certainly more appropriate In the
case Of employers or employed who pos
seas no strong organization Of their own.
II might also conceivably perform useful
service when one party to dispute Is really
beaten, by enabling 1t to save its face
and yield gracefully on alleged grounds OF
public interest That In the case Of the coal
strike OF 1902 the situation was materially
different Is clear to the author OF the book
before IN. In the present case the two
parties were well organized; they knew their
own mind; and IL was really better for the
community, in spite Of the suffering 1t
would occasion. that the fight for which
both sides had been spelling should finally
take place. We cannot but feel q certain
sympathy with the remark Of tho President
Of the Reading Company: Anthracite
mining Is a business, and not a religious,
sentimental or academic proposition.
Mr.. Ashley goes on to remind us that 1t
should be distinctly understood that the
ultimate arbter In the industrial world.
as In the world OF international politics,
must be force: the determining decisions
can commonly be arrived at only by an
avowed or tacit trial Of strength This
sounds very materialistic and brutal;
though. even In ordinary warfare. 1t has
been observed that there mutt be a man
and some sort Of human will at the other
end of the bayonet. The statement, how
over, becomes an economic commonplace
when for force we put the more HARM
less sounding forces and say that the
conditions OF labor arc determined by the
play Of economic forces This really means
the same thing. If we include the human
will among our forces and remember that
an immediate victory does not necessarily
mean a final settlement. We can get men
to do the work for 20 much You can
not get men TO do the work for so much. '
We will not submit to reduction OF profits
You must submit to reduction OF profits.
Antagonisms like these can only be brought
to an issue in our present society by trial
OF strength. They could only be deter
mined otherwise II we possessed, what
we do not possess. an accepted doctrine
as to what wages and what profits were
in themselves desirable. OF course, in the
trial Of strength, in this instance. the star
walton OF the men and the bankruptcy Of
the masters, the usual sanctions Of the
law OF competition, were reinforced by
the public interest in keeping itself warm
in winter. But this, also, is q force. like
others" MIR. Ashley recognizes that the
public authorities in the anthracite region
ought to have been strong enough to pre-
vent the exhibition Of any physical violence
by the strikers toward non-unionist miners
There is no doubt that they would have
proved strong enough for the purpose
had the Governor Of Pennsylvania chosen
to assert the powers that he possessed