New-York tribune., 1919-06-22
Fundamentals


Fundamentals
The truth of his statement about
the States stands out the more clearly
the more one digs into the underlying
facts about the strike 1t was planned
at a meeting at Calgary which was
attended and largely guided by the
men who had just been beaten in the
avowedly Bolshevistic movement at
Seattle. The One Big Union move
ment, which is behind it, is a part of
revolt against the big international
unions which cover Canada and the
States. Labor in the two countries is
in one organization, and practically
one in thought. What is being done
here will be tried in the States to-
morrow.
There is more direct evidence. Dun
can, the Seattle strike leader, has
been here openly Other agitators
from the States have also been here,
but under cover. Propaganda literature
is being sent here by mail, largely
from Detroit. The money comes from
the States in sums that are not even
estimated-comes from New York in
big packages of 500 bills, sent through
the express companies, but without the
sender's name appearing.
81 see you are waking up" one of
the strike leaders said when newspaper
men from the States appeared here.
"It's about time. There are twenty
eight railroads crossing the border and
lots of roads-lots of them"
The strike leaders here will not talk
for publication now-they say they
have been so misrepresented and mis-
quoted that they have decided to say
nothing except through formal state
ments So their side Of the case can
be given only from these statements
and from articles appearing in their
newspaper organ.
These-now that the strike is los
ing-violently deny that there is any
trace of Bolshevism, any desire for
revolution, any thought of a soviet
government or proletarian dictatorship
III Lic IiiO'cH4cHJ Ucy Sdy lHdt LllC
authority they seized during the first
days of the strike was taken for the
good Of the city, because Of the emer
gency, and without their own desire,
and that they had no wish to paralyze
the government, but merely to show
/ the power of labor.
! But there is no man outside the
labor ranks who doubts that all the
charges of Bolshevism are true. 1t is
not believed that many of the strikers
for they have been taught to believe
that the principle of collective bar
gaining-one of the most sacred tenets
of all labor organizationsis at stake.
But the citizens point to both word
and action of the strike leaders to
prove their point.
On the original quarrel, that be-
tween the metal workers and their
employers, the sympathy of the city
seems to be with the strikers. The
question was one both of hours of
labor and of the extent to which the
principle Of collective bargaining,
which the employers accepted in
theory. should be applied. The unions
wanted agreements negotiated with a
council representing all the metal
| working trades in all the shops in the
city. The employers, pointing out that
5000 Of the 5000 metal workers in
TIE city were in the railroad shops.
and declaring that they would thus be
controlled by men who had no interest
in their business, tried to negotiate
collectively with the men in each es-
tablishment. The government offered
| arbitration on the basis of the in
clusion Of the whole industry-~that u.s.
Of all the shops outside the railronds-
in single negotiation.
SO far sympathy was rather with
the strikers. There is wide feeling
that labor has very just and weighty
grievances, and that it is entitled to
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