The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-08-20

panN nad announced tne strike was pro-
ken. Yet Pratt-who by the laws of
things ordinary, ought to have been eX-
hausted, had cordial smile, word of
greeting, and for half an hour gossiped
of other strikes in which we had met
he as their leader, myself as a reporter
and then he adjourned to restaurant,
since he said it was time for him to eat
breakfast, dinner and supper together
and get ready to pull the men out of
the Willow Grove bam-the company's
last stronghold in the morning.
That he was performing Il modern
miracle of walking into city of which
he did not even know the names of the
streets and tying its traction up from
end to end, and iarring the seats of the
politically mighty until they could see
their whole political house falling about
their ears, did not seem to occur to him
at all.
We've let them brag about the 10y
atty of Willow Grove" he said, because
the more they could be induced to brag,
the more the public would see they were
Stung when we pulled the line off It's
a bad plan to take too many men into a
strike at once. Then, if they're all out,
all YOU can do is to wait while your fore
cs weaken, and your backs broken. But
while YOU have men still orking that II
strike when you want them to, then
YOU still have ground to 90 ahead on"
Pratt is in his business because he has
faith in the golden rule and himself,
and incidentally in Ella Wheeler Will
cox. To some motormen who wanted
to rush out and heave bricks at a pas
sing car, manned by strike breakers, he
recitcd one of her poems on the strength
of being right, and then told them to
90 home and pray for God to help their
righteous cause conquer
don't know who can fight Pratt
down. The position OF the erstwhile
captain of industry who is unfortunate
enough to head Il traction company
against which Pratt organizes his force
of strikers, is not one to be envied.
In three cities-Salt Lake, San Fran
cisco and Philadelphia-Pratt has pulled
off strikes whose progress the writer
has had chance to view at close range.
L. ,f of
the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company
that his company would stand with all
its fighting resources against the issue
Pratt brought forward most vigorously,
sounded exactly like the statement of
w. H. Bancroft, Iarrimans right hand
man in Utah, ON lust such an issue
Bancroft had the whole Hartman sys-
tenn and finances back of him. Yet he
had to give in.
Parsons had the whole political ma
chine of Philadelphia back of him. Yet
he gave in The final word of Mr.. Ban
croft before his hour of welching was
that there never would have been any
trouble if this out side agitator had just
kept his hands off and let the company
deal with its own employees in peace.
And good folk of Philadelphia whose
memories run back to June will recall
that a certain mayor in that town, and
a certain director of publice safety and
certain president of traction com
panv cot out a certain riot proclama
ton. a certain statement that the vic
tory was won, and Il certain attack on
Clarence o. Pratt, respectively, just Il
dav before Pratt came out of the home
of contractor Boss McNichol, with a
memorandum of agreement in his pock
ct on which the strike was to be settled.
Pratt is not a man to have his meas.
ure easily taken by the prevailing tapes.
He is new, and it was not until Dante
had been many years dead that people
linked his name with those of Shakes
peare and Homer and Milton, and styled
them the four writers of universal ap-
peal.
Pratt believes he wins because the
greatest movement of civilization of the
hours is the movement of the masses into
large units to offset the large employ
ing units previously formed. Pratt be.
lieves in the trust-thinks their organ
izers are merely the helpless servants of
the economic needs of the day-and
that they'll buy their labor in the best
market when he shows them where it is.
Don't one of you men ever say you're
not working he said to roomful of
strikers the day before they were to get
their pay and turn in their badges, in
accordance with notice from the com
pany. Don't say your bosses have fir
ed you. You tell your bosses you have
fired them for little while. Don't you
turn in your badges. You keep them
and tell your bosses you are not ready
vet for final accounting. If You need
your money, take it since they offer it.
but tell them you're taking it ON ac-
count. Don't let them tell You youI
union is a bad thing Do they ask yocl
permission when they want to go tC
their directors meetingf Well, then
what riobt have they TO question you