The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-03-23
The British Government and the
Labor Troubles.

Failure to settle the strikes in Brit
i>h shops and factories turning out
var material. and I o deal success.
fully with grievances among the
miners and dock workers. means pro.
longarion of The war by months or
even years. If it does not mean some
thing worse. from which England
avertS her face. Mr.. LLOYD C;toICF
was not eNaggerating in the least
when he said in his famous sunday
speech at Bangor
This war Is not going To- be fought
mainly on the battlenelds Of Belgium
and Poland. 1t is going to be fought
in the workshops Of France and Great
Britain"
As Mr.. LLOYD GEORGE said to his
constituents. France. with a Socialist
Prime Minister. a Sociallsi Secretary
for Wal and u Socialist Minister Of
Marine. was having no strikes be-
cause The employers and wurkmcn
We're >ubOrdinating everything 10 the
protection of their beautiful land"
II is very different IN England there
labor troubles. which have already
caused the Government great embar.
ri>>ment. are ON the increase. and il
seems useless to make the appeal to
patriotism. The French think thai
such a condition is a rerroach 10 Eng.
! and aud bAt.A "a Np,.pf.. ,,n q, H.. "a,
cllned to point the finger of scorn at
her, But the matter j. by no means
so simple rs il seems.
For the employers in the ella sgow
engineers strike. who agreed Ia make
an advance in the wage rate. but not
as much as ~ asked for. II Is said
that they booked a large number Of
contracts during the threatened slump
in trade before the war and would
have stood To- lose heavily if they
granted the fun demands of the >trik-
ers. The men III the other hand.
have seer the cost Of living 20 stead
lily up, and the economic law. that
the Government SOOthed them with
when invoking the spirit of patriot
ism. has done nothing for them
wages have not automatically risen
with the advance in neccsSaries. II
may he unpatriotic AZ such a time
TO believe, as the workmen do. that
manufacturers are making huge prof
its out Of Government contracts, but
ii is human. Most of the employers
are doing nothing of the kind, II
may not he patriotic to expect better
wages because the Government is
spending vast sums of money on the
war: but the labor agitator cncour-
ages the hope, aud he has II hypnotic
influence over the men. Then there
patriotic 10 work in The war material
factories aS to fight in The trenches
and the workmen have been told
his by the Government over and over
again-it j. only fair that the fac
tory soldiers" should receive wages
that Keep pace with the increasing
cost of living,
While something may be said in
favor of each side to the controversy,
| there remains the fact that neither
side. each looking to the continuation
of the strife of capital and labor after
the great war is over. is willing to
r"alizc the straits Of the Government
ana to recognize the danger of defeat
ON the Continent, This seems unwor-
thy of Engli~hmcn IN the great crisis,
bur ii must br remembered that free
institutions permit such injurious in.
/ Dependence of action. France Id, her
conScripljon and every workman j. n
soldier in fact as wei, rs in theory,
besides, the war is being fought upon
her soil. What j. to be done, then,
by the British Government to settle
the labor difficulties and quicken the