Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-08-29

.Sur1cToN Aug 22-The records of strikes
w the United States extends over S,sto nto
These thousands strikes and ockouts are
not scattered and meaningless instances OF huustrIa
bad feeling. They are parts OF one Whoe' Vi ono NJ
ment that carried the nation steadily alohg certain ~
mite lines until brought to the very unconi0f'"ie
position we occupy today. The story OF American
strikes is the explanation of the present situation a
1t is the nations guide in forecastns the future
The most erudite advocates industrial warfare are
fond of tracing story of labor troubles Oack u
0+,r,ss before Christ when the wnsherwomen of Je-
rusalem refused wash, the Israelites paray%eu
the Egvptan brick-making industry in protest against
an ouegad insufHciency in the allowance OF straw La
Dor troubles there have always been' OF course %
long as one worked for another but THESE ou
time difficulties relation to the modern sltua-
tion So far are concerned they are meaningless
and negligible
Even the earliest American strikes have little bear
ing on the modern problem except as they show the
vastly in which the position OF laoo Is
regarded nowadays Labor has won its present power
and dignity by organization and industrial war, and 1t
is little wonder believe that both these
things are essential the maintenance OF its poson
and to further progress
Two centuries labor had little organization and
less power When the New York bakers struck in ia!
thew only in getting themselves convicted OF
conspiracy in New York struck in 1902 to nave
their wages raised $14 month, and for the first
time in America intimidation used to make other
men in the same trade join the strike The leaders or
this attempt jailed few years later court de-
cision declared combination of workmen whose
nurnose is united action to raise is condemned
nv law Shortly that another decision stated that
ourneymen confederang and refusing to work may be
indicted for conspiracy this period that the
terms strikes" and "scab' came into general use
The situation not encouraging to labor Amer-
can courts strongly under the influence of English
Jurisprudence this the period when judges in
England throwing wouldbe strikers into Jail after
lecturng them strongly for lawlessness and presump
ton less, the first signs of the strength OF
the new movement began to appear in a few minor
strikes that were partially successful in spite of the
conspiracy laws
The state of industry in those days different
from what it became few decades later that labor
had little chance. Most manufacturing piece work
done in little shops in the home. and when
the employers who out the materials and paid
the wages hampered by strikes they could usually
send their work neighboring town and get it
done the old price. There organization OF
labor that went beyond narrow local limits.
The effort to unonize spread rapidly, however, and
I'm 1882 the merchants of Boston formed counter
organization, which of the earliest Organza-
not to hire labor From that time forward the
industrial conflict developed slowly but steadily.
farsighted economist could have read in those begin
nings the troubles of the future, few of them
did read signs of the times. But the of the
people refused take the strike and lockout problem
very seriously. 1t took the great strikes of the
entities to awaken the nation.
Bv that both labor and capital compare
lively organized. Though the organization of capt.
tai did not extend beyond individual corpora
ton and the number of union workmen was estimated