Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-06-07

not only been stimulated by this gos-
pei and led by its chief representa-
tives, Tom Mann, Ben Tillett and
others, but from the very first they
have been an actual application OF the
new idea and have marked long step
toward the complete reorganization OF
the British unions.
They were started with the seamen's
strike in June, 1911, when the lockers
In many places struck in sympathy, at
the same time adding demands OF their
own. When the seamen won their
strike they refused to go back to work
at several places until the lockers re-
ceived what they were striking for.
With the lockers were involved team
sters. The railway strike was largely
due to the fact that the railway unions
decided to cooperate with this fedora
ton.
1t Invented Sabotage.
If the syndicate is not strong enough
to win a strike, or IL as it has hap
pened several time in France the gov
eminent interferes and fills with sol
diers the places left vacant by strik-
ers, the workingmen are directed to
give in, resume work and begin new
form of strike, sabotage.
The word Sabotage" was coined in
1894 by Pouget,. the most powerful
French organizer. Sabotage never was
generally or effectively applied until
year ago, when the French railroad
men lost their big strike. The strike
only lasted three days. Then Premier
BRAND issued an order making every
railroader a reservist, and all went
back to work as soldiers, some $500
of them were discharged and then
the silent strike began; sabotage was
kept up until every one Of the $500
employees had been reinstated.
Every man began to discharge his
duties in strict accordance with the
letter of the rules. Railroad men
acted like the Chinese tailor who had
been commissioned by foreign con-
sui to make a duplicate of suit OF
clothes given him as a model and who
carried out his instructions exactly
SO exactly, in fact, that patch on
the trousers, torn belt on the waist
coat and two grease spots on the coat
were carefully duplicated on the new
garment.
Station men would work faithfully
until the precise minute when they
were supposed to quit, and then allow
freight car they had been moving to
crash to the bottom Of an incline or to
obstruct the path of incoming trains.
Repair gangs would keep on repairing
the track in front of limited, delaying
it for an hour and disorganizing the
schedule, or else let 1t pass over a
stretch of unfastened rails, and conse-
Quently sink into the roadbed.
What distinguishes syndicalists
from unionists and socialists is their
absolute internationalism. Socialists
are naturally supposed to be citizens
of the world, but whenever there ap-
pears a war cloud on the horizon
French and German socialists wilt
very speedily under the pressure OF
public opinion and join the bellicose
chorus OK patriots.
Would Abolish War.
Syndicalists, on the contrary, try to
get together and to avert the war peril
by threatening their governments with
reprisals In the form Of strike or
civil war.
A good example Of this method OF
proceeding was the syndicalist meet
ing held in Paris last August, when
France, Germany, England and Spain
seemed on the point of drawing swords
over the Moroccan imbroglio. Schmidt,
Bauer and Silberschmidt speaking in
behalf of the German, Barris and
Negre Of the Spanish, Koltheck of the
Dutch, Tom Mann of the English.
Yvetot, Savoie and Merrheim of the
French syndicalists, declared that their
constituencies were absolutely opposed
to war, and proclaimed the brother
hood of European workingmen.
A month before Yvetot. the secre-
tary of the Associated Labor Council
of France, had been invited to address
the Berlin syndicalists. His speech.
the Importance of which was fully ap-
preciated by the imperial government,
which ordered him to be Immediately
expelled, contained among other things
the following remarks addressed to
the French and German governments:
"Just try once, you blockheads, to
stir up one people against the other,
to arm one people against the other;
you will see If the people won't make
an entirely different use of the weap-
ons you put into their hands. Wait
and see if the people don't go to war
against an entirely different enemy
than you expect"
Fight MiIltarism.
The French and Italian syndicalists
are fighting militarism with tooth and
nail. for a standing army is an ever
present danger in case of strikes.
AS early as 1903 the government of
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