New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-02
STRIKE REFLECTIONS.

The circumstances Of the waning OF
the London dock strike are worthy %
careful consideration by ri thoughtful
friends OF labor and its interests That
the strike Is waning and demoraliz"d
there can he little doubt. The union
leaders may give strained interpre-
tatiOns OF their order last Saturday.
and the strikers may repudiate their
own leaders and persist In striking {;
but il Is obvious that what was an
organized strike of the first maGni-
tude has become nothing more than a
guerilla warfare Of men who are a.
dlstrustfIil Of their comrades a. they
are antagonistic 10 their employers
That dstrust itself is suggestive There
have been intimatiOns all along that
the men were being kept on strike
against their will by leaders who had
selfish interests TO serve. and these In
tlmations were strengthened by the per
Torrance Of Mr.. Ben" Tillett Ia pub
licly leading the strikers in prayer
for Lord Deyonport's death. II IS not
surprising that many now regard those
antics as mere pretences, intended &"
save the face" OF Mr.. Tillctt and %
prepare the way for his confession Of
failure and his abandonment OF his
dupes
1t IL a serious thing FOR wOrklnGnen
thus 10 lose confidence, with good
cause. in their own leaders. II is also
serious for them to meet with 50 eyi-
dent lack Of sympathy on the part OF
public. Their leaders, dragooning them
into q strike IN which many Of them
had no heart promised that If neces-
sary they would b. supported by a
kingdom. If not In the world, and as
sured them that the sentiment OF the
public would be overwhelmingly on
their side and would compel the en-
ployers to Yield Neither OF these
things proved true. Other wOrkingmen
turned a deaf ear to the dock strikers
appeals, and the vast preponderancc Of
popular sympathy was against them.
We need not attempt 10 determine
whether the leaders were or we're not
sincere In making those representa-
tons. If they were, they showed lack
Of Judgment and Of information which
hopelessly disqualified them for leader
ship while If they were not, their
moral culpability must be accounted
enormous.
Nor Is it difficult TO discern why
there was that lack OF sympathy and
support, when we consider the origin Of
the strike. There was one man in the
employ Of shipping company who was
efficient and honest and was doing each
day fair days work for n fair days
wage But he did not belong to Ger
tain labor union and would not Join It,
and his employers refused 10 cOercc
him into joining 1t or to dismiss him.
On that sole ground the strike was or
dered The Issue was compulsory
unionism. The employers had no
thought Of discriminating against the
unions. nor any objection to recOgniz-
Ing them and treating with them col
lectively. But they were not willing to
make membership In them sine qua
non to otherwise perfectly satisfactory
employees. II is not surprising that n
strike on that ground failed 10 com
mand the support which was essential
to success. or course, other issues
were subsequently raised, but this one
alone was fundamental. Moreover, the
employers were at all times willing TO
treat with the unions collectively on all