Evening journal., 1920-11-02
THE HIGH COST OF STRIKES
Chapter VII
The High Cost of Strike Failures
BY MARSHALL OLDS
CopytlghL I92O. Ne " York TrIbune Ino.

and struck. yet a majority Of their
leaders condemned the strike. All
through July and August soft-coal
miners. principally in Illinois and In
diana, but more or less all through
the country, struck in direct violation
OF the agreement that ended the big
coal strike Of last winter.
The majority Of their own officers
say these strikes are wrong and un-
Justified. Their own higher union
officials pleaded with the B. r. T.
workers not 10 30 on strike. The
leaders OF the dock workers who
struck in August hastened to tell the
public the men were wrong and
shouldn't have struck In fact. most
or The strikes that came to public at
tentlon during August have been con-
dcmned by a large part, and often by
a majority, OF labor itself as being
without adequate Justification. And
the October strikes, OF which a spe-
cial record happens to have been kept
Is even worse, for here out OF seventy
strikes only eight were unanimously
sanctioned, even by labor itself as
being Justified.
Altogether over 100000 workers
last year struck for causes that labor
itself admitted did not warrant the
strike, which means that labor itself
admitted that % per cent OF last
years strikes were unwarranted.
One OF the most serious clothing
strikes In chicago was called because
the manufacturers refused TO pay a
nuge blackmail to certain union ON
cials for not calling the strike.
The strike In the p. +. Sternberg
plant in Chicago was called because
a new paymaster refused to include
/ $50 In his weekly payroll to 'hand"
certain walking delegate.
On August q, $500 American long
shoremen went on strike and refused
10 load American vessels-even YES
scfs carrying provisions 10 Americon
/ troops on the Rhine-because the Eng
lish government had arrested an Irish
political criminal.
On August 1. all the printers in
Manila were on strike because Of one
political editorial In one newspaper In
favor OF American government in the
Philippines.
on July q, nearly a hundred thou
sand lrishmen went on strike because
an American court sent Larkin, ar
American citizen, TO Jail for a crime
committed in America.
During August, over a dozen groups
OF workmen went on strike because
OF the war between Russia and POLAND
part OF them because they wer,
afraid the government might help ol
encourage one or the other OF thesj
foreign combatants, part because they
were afraid their government nigh
not help or encourage one or the
other Of these foreign combatants.
In August. a group Of American ma.
rlne workers went on strike because
| an English Official would not let ar
Australian archbishop go to ireland
Another group Of dock workers, sea.
men and cooks, struck because thi.
same archbishop was allowed 10 ge
on a boat 10 trv to get to ireland.
On August 81, when five women ap
peared on certain New York dock.
waving green flags and haranguinl
the workers TO strike till the British
government should release the LOr,
Mayor Of Cork from prison. $500 o
all races most Of them supposed Il
be American citizens, stopped loadin.
boats-chiefly American boats. n
, man in his sane mind. II he stOppe
10 think about Il, could believe tha
? such an act could change the cOurs
: OF English law any more than Henr
y Ford's slogan getting the boys out r
, the trenches before Christmas coul
! stop the World War. And. in an
+ event. why American shipping shoul
! be penalized American beef cargoe
\ be allowed TO spoil and the America
I people be forced by American wOrl
/ men into paying the cost Of a strik
in such a cause are equally beyon
v the average mans Imagination.
G OF course, most Of these workel
( saw the incongruity OF such a situi
ton in a few days and went back
- work and the strike cost only pc
q haps S5O,0O0-a mere bag5.eele as "
d count costs today. But the point
l. there have been literally hundreds
n strikes equally footlass and resultle
v for Ireland. or Russia, or Poland,
e Philippine independence. or becau
l. This or that or the other man. gene
a ally a criminal, was, or was M
treated Ghis. that or the other way
" whose sum total has been a treme
10 dous item in piling up the cost Of Ii
ID ing without any beneh, 10 anybody
,r 4 fourth group of strikes part
IS which come under the group whli
m labor itself condemned and part
l. which do not-but all Of which r
rs suhcd in piling up great loss to q
RS public and bringing no good to an