New-York tribune., 1919-06-05
sympathetic Tie-Up Broken,
Except for Carpenters
and the Metal Workers:
Railway Men May Quit
Soviet Idea Is Defeated
SsOne Big Union'' Movement
Is Revolutionary, Says
Conservative Unionist
Staff Correspondence

Staff Correspondence
TORONTO, Ont, June 4.-The sym
pathetic strike, which has been fizzling
along in Toronto for nearly a week,
ended to-day when one union after an
other voted to go back to work. By
tomorrow night practically 1900 will
be back on their jobs, except those in
the metal trades and the carpenters.
The return ends the first attempt to
demonstrate the zone big union," or
Soviet idea of labor organization. that
has been sweeping the West and has
been the cause Of the trouble at Win
nipeg.
The committee of fifteen in charge
OF the sympathetic strike denied there
was any idea of revolutionary expert
ment behind it, but to-day some of
them loosened their tongues.
The issue in this case was on]v
collective bargaining and the solidarity
OF labor said one of the metal trades
leaders. But we are only getting
started. We have read the Russian
bolshevik constitution, we know their
plan of government, and we know it is
the best for labor that has ever been
devised. Some day there is going to be
a sympathetic strike that will tie up
the whole of Canada, and on that dav
the old governments will go into the
discard. That is the day we are work
ing for, but in this case the collective
bargaining was the issue. 1t is a ncces
sary step"
Soviet Idea Also Issue
There were two issues. one the
usual fight over hours and wages.
started by the metal trades council,
and the Soviet idea, as exemplified in
the sympathetic strike, based on the
"one big union" agitation, which aims
to make it possible to tie up the whole
country on behalf of any single shop
quarrel, and, after solidifyine the
power of labor, to seize the govern
ment. The hours and wages matter
has not been settled
Ihe street railway union, which the
committee of fifteen had hoped would
join the sympathetic strike, has a
quarrel of it's own, which is due to
break on June Is. There are indica-
tions that the Soviet advocates hone
to start another sympathetic strike
then The railway men say they will
reject this offer of help.
1t was largely due to the street rail-
way union, which refused to break it's
agreements with the railways, and to
the attitude Of other conservative
unions, which followed their leaders
advice to keep out of the fight, that
the Soviet strike was broken
Revolt Move Beaten
ut has not been labor unionism that
mas been beaten in this strike," said
Arthus O'Leary, president of the
Trades and Labor Council. at has
been move toward revolution. When
those men came in with a resolution
mat no union on strike in Canada
should go back to work so lone AS
there was one union that was not sat
lshed, and SO tried to make it a ma
tlonal affair, the cat was out of the
bag. That is the one big union idea
pure and simple, and we killed it
quick"
This thing demonstrates that the
great majority of the labor men of
Toronto still have faith in their old
leaders," said Controller w. d. Rob-
bins, secretary Of the Street Railway
Mems Union. "The men that were
running the strike are not known.
have been here twenty-five years, and
know only three or four of the
fifteen. Our men have no faith in
them, and they have no faith either
in the men who are running the rad
lcal unions and who demanded this
strike"
"Pacifists and Slackers"
"They are mostly the same men we
have been fighting for years." added
Alderman Gibbons, business agent of
the union. "They are the men who
have been pacifsts and slackers and
friendly to the Germans all through
the war. And you can judge for your
self about this-not one of them had
cent to bless himself with a little