Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-29
Improving Labor Situation
From the New York Times.

The resumption of work in the mills of sew
eral cities of New England marks the termna-
ton OF 4 gronp OF labor troubles, Including the
strike that has disturbed Lawren-e since Feb
ruary. The workers get both shorter hours and
higher pay and get them by agreement with the
employers in all goodwill except in Lawrence.
There there was a strike, which. for time
threatened to take the course of the strike here
IN 1917 In that year the /. w. w. directed
events, and there were riots and killings on
lamentable scale. This year. too, there were
disorders, but the authorities had learned their
lesson as we'll as the strikers, or rather better
AS IN Seattle, it seen in time that the
preservation of order is more important than
the winning Of any strike and order was main
tanned as ruthlessly as it was assaulted by those
who care more for the overthrow of govern
ment than for the welfare of labor. Since
l9l1, sentiment in Lawrence has changed and
there was no general sympathy with the strikers
as there was in that year. Neither was the
Lawrence strike supported by any union in
good standing. The United Textile Workers
called the strike, but disavowed it when it took
the form of an attack on American institutions
and the American Federation of Labor Joined
in the disavowal. The collapse of the strike
therefore, is triumph for the good sort of
unonsm, as we'll as defeat for the bad sort
The cause OF the strike was that the Law
renee mills refused to concede the demand for
48-hour week with 81 hours pay. The shorter
hours were conceded readily enough, for the
cancellation Of war orders, and the lack of
civilian orders had left half the machinery with
out anything to do. The manufacturers ex-
planned this, and the workers did not even ask
for the increased pay at first, Only in Law
renee was this position taken, under the slim
ulatlon OF outside agitators. Some of them
were characterized by one of the Lawrence
judges in disorder case as "boudoir boil
man Of several denominations, and an actor
in religious as we'll as labor troubles. And
there was an eruption of Psychologists" eager
to distribute prosperity with other peoples
property. The disorders became so serius that
the Massachusetts, Board Of Cancellation made
an inquiry into the situation and reported that
the strike was "subversve of the rights of indi-
viduals and of private property and revolution
airy in tendencies, creating terrorism, preventing
the resumption of work, disturbing the ordi-
nary business relations of the community and
destructive to orderly government"
strike of that sort deserves to fail, for
it is rather political than labor strike. The
failure is worth insisting upon for two reasons.
Firstly, the lesson is that when strikes are of
that sort they should be met with firmness
rather than sympathy for the general interest
suffers more than labor can profit. And, sec
ondy. the result of this strike should teach
labor that it can gain more by peaceful than
by forceful methods. What it was not pos
sible to concede to threats in Lawrence, under
the. conditions of that time, it is now possible
uHueT DetteI business COnullOnS 10 give freely
to Dover Lowell, Fall River New Bedford and,
in fact, the whole industry of New England The
|. w. w. will be weakened and the American
Federation of Labor will be strengthened by
the failure of the attempt to set un onists against
both other unionists and capital The moral
is, as Ole Hanson says, that labor will form
the main guard against the red menace in this
country" for he admitted that the |. w. w.
hated Gompers more than it hates him.
The Seattle and Lawrence precedents OF how
to meet strikes against community interests
may be commended to Canadian observation,
where the method of Cancellation, which is
such a credit to the good will of the Canadian
government seem to be useless. Unemploy-
ment is the greatest danger Of the world under
present conditions, and there is too much of it
here, where there is least excuse for it. Record
ing to the report of the New York Industrial
Commission in this state, in 1918 there were
1,5l9,8S4 days, 4S centuries, of strike ideness.
1t is easier to say what labor lost than what
labor gained by it, and it is agreeable to add
that the latest reports are the most reassuring
that such danger is no longer to be feared The
decline in number of workers, according to the
commission, has been "halted," and the volume
of employment is now as per cent above the
level