Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-10-13
FROM OUR CoRREsPoNDRNT.

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LondonAt times the prevailing
Industrial unrest in the United King
dom shows signs Of Quietening down.
Any hopes Of relief Of this kind.
however, are speedily disappointed
and labor conditions become acute
once more. / have given pretty full
accounts in previous weeks of the
main lines of dispute and the sec
lions of workers affected. Attention
might be called now to the increas-
ing tendency towards amalgamation
OF our trade unions. A very import
ant conference was held on Septem-
Der 22nd and 23rd with a view to
amalgamating the fifteen unions
covering the transport workers of
the British Isles. The unions repre-
sented were the following:
Dock, Wharf, Riverside and Gem
eral Workers Union; National Call
ors and Firemen's Union; Gas Work
ers and General Labirers' Union;
Amalgamated Society of Watermen
and Lightermen: National Dock
Laborers' Union; Amalgamated
Steyedores' Union; National Anal
gamated Union of Labor; National
Amalgamated Laborers' Union Of
Swansea; Amalgar ated Protective
Union of Engine Crane Drivers
Hydraulic and Boiler Attendants;
Labor Protection on League; Ma
tional Union Of Ships Stewards,
Cooks, Butchers and Bakers; Metro
politan Vehicular Workers Associ-
alton: National Amalgamated Union
of Enginemen; Amalgamated Soci-
ETY. of Railway Servants; and the
Workers Union Roughly, the Fifteen
unions represented a membership of
181, 900. In addition to the English
delegates there were representatives
of the French lockers and President
'O'Connor of the Dockers' Union Of
America.
1t was decided that immediate
steps should be taken to establish a
federation of all unions in the trans
port industry and that the objects
of the federation should be, the con-
trolling and conducting Of disputes
in the trades and occupations COW
cred by the federation. 1t was fur
Their agreed that stop should be put
to unwarrantable competition be-
tween unions for members in the
same occupation and that the fede-
ration should gradually stop the
overlapping of unions. The fedora
ton will be on the lines of the Min
ers' Federation and the question Of
actual amalgamation has been left
open and will probably come for
ward at the next meeting of the con-
ference In November.
The crisis In the cotton trade con-
.tinues. The cotton milloWners,
whilst agreed that arbitration was
the proper mode of settlement, are
not agreeable to the reference Of the
dispuate till the operatives return to
work at the firm mill where the
trouble began. Against this the OPP
eratives have laid down that the mill
shall remain closed till the awara
is made.
A ballot Of the Federated Miners
of South Wales to the number Of
100, 900 is taking place on the Ques-
ton whether the men will support
the Cambrian combined strikers by
a levy of TWENTY-FIVE cents a week
or by general strike. The miners
win be greatly Influenced by the APP
peal made to them by w. Abraham,
Labor Member of Parliament and
veteran miners leader. He desires
that the miners shall be saved from
what he calls ''calamitious crisis. :"
The miners, however. regard their
case and resources as strong and do
not appear to be- over inclined to
listen to the voices of the Old Guard.
There is nothing new to report
about the boiler makers lock out
and ballot of the members is not