New-York tribune., 1918-07-31
Labor:s Tantru,,,s
By P. w. Wilson
Correspondent IN the United States ,or ~,
London Daily Netos
By P. w. Wilson
a UGH attention is being paid here to
WI the strike in Great Britain. u 10.


lVN the strike in Great Britain. IA;
serious matter, but it should he
seen IN its true proportions At recer.
date the returns show that under nor
cent of British labor was UNEMPLOYED Th;.
means that taking the years as whole
there have been very few Idle hours. In
one or two cases. strikes have broken on.
because continuous work has got on peo-
pies nerves, and something is to be said
for granting regular leave to munition
workers like that granted TO soldiers. TN.
der the iron discipline Of Germany it ia
probable that there have been as manv
labor troubles as in Britain
Our latest dispute has broken out not an
the Clyde and not in South Wales. which
hitherto have been the perilous areas. Ap.
parently this is not syndicalist trouble
The centre Of it is Birmingham, known
hitherto as a city most oUtspoken for its
patriotism, the stronghold of the Chamber
lam family, and exclusively conservative
IN Its Parliamentary representation. Wom-
en- are unaffected and nothing has shaken
their resolution to beat Germany. The diff
Guilty lies with the Amalgamated Society of
Engineers. The leaders Of the union are
against the strike. Indeed, Mr.. Georga
barnes, also for many years secretary of the
union, sits In the Cabinet with Mr. Llovd
George. When Mr.. Arthur Henderson was
a Cabinet minister he spent much of his
time trying to hold back the very forces
among the engineers which have now
broken loose. Mr.. John Hodge, Minister of
Labor, has also been closely associated with
this type Of trade unionism.
The strike is therefore unauthorized by
labor itself, and it is unpopular with other
unions and even with the unskilled men in
the engineering trades. What we have tn
face is broadly the growing restlessness of
the skilled engineer in face of ,he severe
pressure of accentuated recruiting
Earlier in the war there were exempted
industries, and chief among them vas skilled
engineering. Immense numbers of Young
men Joined the union and so obtained the
badge which relieved them from the dutv
Of voluntary military service. as 10 then
was. The union thus became, as it were,
guarantor against military service-not of
course officially, but by the very fact that
it had accepted so many new members. The
less responsible of these workers are now
trying to enforce their privilege They in
sist upon being regarded a INDISPENSABLE.
and they dislike anything which limits
their mobility. Leaving certificates were
therefore abolished, but since then there
has arisen what has been called the en-
barge, which, as described here, apportions
to each manufacturing concern the number
of men essential to its war OUTPUT The en-
gineers do not like this. apparently because
it revives the leaving certificate in an
other form.
The answer of the government is simple.
The right to strike is not denied But the
strikers are told that in so far as they
cease work they cannot be regarded as es-
sential, which means that they become
liable to military service. One personal
factor should be noted MIR. Winston
Churchill is Minister OF Munitions and a
very vigorous personality. He is not liked
by labor, but in saying this must add that
the difficulty which confronts him is not Of
his making. Mr.. Henderson, Mr.. Hodge and
Mr.. Barnes have all tried their hand in It,
The strike will be discouraged by public
opinion. But every such incident affords
opportunities for those who are led by their
religious or their Socialist convictions to
advocate early peace. Personally, my
sympathies have always been with labor
but | cannot pretend that these engineers
who are revolving against their own union,
to say nothing of the national interests. are
animated by any very lofty motive. When
war broke out we in England were neither
better nor worse than other people War
has taught US many things, but it has not
transformed US as yet into a nation Of per-
feet altruists. The old leaven takes a lot Of
eradicating, and we can only claim that on
the whole we have put up fair nationsl
effort. These strikers are the exception.
Bear in mind that there are real and solid
reasons for restlessness. The casualty lists
are appalling. The age limit has been
raised to fifty. Life is hedged round with
restrictions and victory is still delayed. As
nation shall continue to do our duty
with all the strength that we have, but oe-
casionally this or that element in the na-
tional organism will show signs of stress.
The thing to do when this happens IS 10
handle the case firmly, yet with under
standing of the conditions. When look az
Europe to-day what surprises me is not an
occasional strike, but the fact that strikes
are only so occasional All the Allies are
sticking it out finely
C1-z1.~~.