The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-17

M ES: MONDAY, NOVEMBl other the crushing of the railwaymen The motor transport system im-
 proves, the number of trains run ming increases.
 But the crisis approaches. If the intermediates do not find way Of settlement. their unions will have to
 take the fateful decision. If they de- cline to join in the war the railway
 men are lost. If they are divided, trade unionism Is split from top to
 bottom. If they join in, England Is faced with the prospect of the gen. eral strike and its incalculab1e dan gers.
 The Seventh Day-Octobcr Srd. A day of prolonged negotiations leaves the situation worse than II has been since the strike began. The converse tions have broken down finally, some say.
 Just as there is an extreme ele- ment among the men which Is out for smashing capitalism" and pro-
 noting the Social Revolution, so there is an element on the other side ! which desires once and for all to flight 1t out with the trade unions. In almost all trades Labor has | gained certain definite advantages 1 during the war, and it fears intense 1 Iy that attempts will be made to com | Del g reduction, whether or not the ! high cost of living falls substantially. 1 Suppose now that the railwaymen l arec rushed and that hereafter some 1 other union proposes to strike Striker" says the state or a private l Elm mpioyer's Federation, strike by all means! The railwayTnen thought to {. bring industry to collapse and the l country to starvation. They were the most powerful of all the unions and l we beat them to the ground. Strike, if you cheese, and wew i'll beat you' 1 too"
 !! This, Is why even the most conser- ! vative trade union eaders-Hender- son, Clynes and others-win next week advise the general strike. The longer the strike lasts the more essential it becomes that nei- ther side should be defeated. There must be no knockout blow Now that we are on the verge of the precipice we can realize that it is 1 1nonstrous the strike should ever have been allowed to come at all. Tn ere has been nnismanagenent on both sides- from the beginning.
 The negotiators should get back to root principles and recognize that the men are entitled to living wage and to a substantial margin bey1 nd. For the first time now rnls coun- try has discovered the solid worth and the statesnan1ike qualities of the l trade union leaders. They do not want the general strike; they forsee
 and fhnxr a P9inSi the class war; they are against the
 extremists.
 The Eighth Day-October 4th.
 It is clear today that the calling ot
 the General Trade Union Congress
 for the next Tuesday is intended tc
 create a breathing space in which 9 settlement may yet be reached. The lightning strike was the railwaymen's
 master -blunder. Many of the trade union leaders certainly did not ap- prove of it and they will not initiate tactics so disastrous in their effect or public opinion.
 The End-Sunday, October 5th. The strike is settled and there 1.
 victory for neither side, though botf sides claim it. The only real victory is for the moderate men among tn, trade union leaders and in the gov Fernment. The defeat has fallen on tht
 'tfight-to-a-finish'' men and thos, who regarded a bitter war betweer Capital and Labor as Inevitable ! and thereby helped to bring 1t about The railwaymen keep all that the!
 have obtained in increase in wage
 for twelve months, which Is a rount
 ga atisfying period, and they are pro missed g. minimum wage of 51 shil | nngs. which is at least slight in crease for small proportion of thei
 numbers.
 The "lessons'' of a war are alway
 more important than its detailed op
 erations.
 The first is that the idea of "di
 rect action" or the lightning strike :. has received a heavy blow. Societ. can defend itself much more efficient ly than had been supposed against i, sudden thrust.
 It is apparent to all that the da.
 of the motor and the roads has ar rived. When Telford, the great Eng
 lihs engineer. was laying down hi
 roads they were intended to be tn main channels of commercial com . uaunication. But just then the stean locomotive was being born and tn,
 infant prodigy, growing enormousl!
 and fast thrust Te1tord 8 work into tn , background. Now it ernerges ono . more triumphant, owing the the sud den withdrawal of the railways. s The roads will ne~sr retreat int,
 obscurity again. The war and tn a strike have been a lightning flash, il = Illuminating their fncalculable value : ASPIRIN FOR COLDS