The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-04-09
THE BRITISH LABOR MOVEMENT

/ h"hoS 10 HOW dpOuI 1,OOU,OUU, CuNltet
into 100000 miners, 100000 railway
men, and $4,000 transport workers
The president is Robert Smile who il
also chairman of the consultative com
mittee, composed of two officers from
each of the constituent federations
While the miners federation is tn,
only one of the three which is built III
throughout on an industrial basis, botl
the railwaymen and the transpor
workers have now embraced the prin
ciplc of industrial organization. 1t j,
significant that the admission of otheI
federations to membership in the Al
lance has been made TO depend OF
the factor of industrial instead Of
trade unionism, and that the post of
flee employees, who have adopted
strike clause, and units in the textile
trade, are agitating for a change il
organization to fit in with this require
ment.
As indicated above, the vast power
resident in the Triple Alliance doe.
not mean an underlying revolution
airy purpose, and it appears that the
executives are as keenly awake tt
their responsibilities to the community
az they are to their strength. The Al
lance has never yet acted as a unit
on the strike field, although there is q
possibility that concerted drastic ac
tion may yet be taken on the nationali
2ation of mines issue. The clauses OF
its constitution show how jealousy the
Triple Alliance guards its power. They
are summarized by the 1919 Labor
Year Book as follows
l--Matters submitted to the Joint
body must he of a national char.
acter in the opinion of the body rails,
ing them and such as necessitate joint
action.
Incorporation is not to be expected
until the matter in dispute has been
indorsed by the national executive
primarily concerned. No movement
shall be instituted by any of the af
filiated bodies if it is likely to in.
volve the others, until it has been sub
mitted to the Joint body for consider.
alton.
3-Ieriodical meetings of the three
full executives to be held at least
half-yearly
i--Consultative committee of six
two from each executive, who may call
conference at any time, and must
call one on application by any one of
the three bodies.
5--Every effort shall proceed among
the three sections to create effective
and complete control of their respcc.
tive bodies.
G-Autoromy reserved to each BODY
to take action on its own behalf.
Joint action can only be taken
when the question at issue has been
before the members of the three organ.
izatiOns and decided by such methods
as the cosntitution of each organiza.
tion provides, and the conference shall
then be called without delay to con.
slider and to decide the question of
taking action.
$40 obligation TO act shall dc
volve on any of the three bodies un.
less these conditions are comnlied
with.
The briefest discussion of the Triple
Alliance, however, would not be com
plete without mention of the section
of labor thought which still favors an
improved trade union organization and
holds that the Triple Alliance may
easily become the autocratic and un.
representative tyrant of the whole in.
dustrial field. Others. and they are
the majority, hold that the Triple
Alliance will galvanize the whole in.
dustrial side of the labor movement
into more aggressive and well.forti.
fled stand, without itself dominating
the field after the present transition
period. There must of course, be a
strong, forward-looking executive coun.
ell of labor to hold the balance be.
tween the Triple Alliance and the rest
of the organized labor during this
transition period, and it is obvious that
the Triple Alliance has already re-
suited in general agitation for a stron
ger and more uniformly progressive
personnel on the parliamentary com.
mittee of the Trade Union Congress.