The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-05-07
BY WILLIAM +. dunno
SECOND ARTICLE.

THE rapidity Of the es-elopment to
L ward the present crisis in British
industrial and political life can be
gagged best by the fact that less than
one month ago the best Informed labor
men in Great Britain and on the con
tinent believed that no strike of coal
miners would take place.
Early In April a conference was
held in Paris attended by influential
British trade union officials, spokes-
men Of the continental labor unions
and by high officials Of the AIi-Rus-
sian trade unions. The conference
was called TO consider the miners
situation. After thoro consideration
Of all factors-Fnlne owners, the
miners union and the British Trade
Union Congress-it was the I'M
animous opinion of the delegates
that no strike would occur.
This opinion has additional signih.
canoe if it is remembered that every
person at the conference was opposed
to the report of the coal commission,
and believed that the campaign to
lower wages and lengthen hours must
be met by a counter-offensive on the
part of labor and that each had done
much to put the British labor move
ment in fighting trim in preparation
for just such a situation.
In addition to the opinion that no
strike of coal miners would occur
there was the further belief that if
it did it would receive only half
hearted support from the rest of the
labor movement.
For obvious reasons 1 cannot give
the names of the labor men who are
at this conference but they are those
men in closest touch with the masses
and who follow closely every phase
of the British movement. Yet the
miners struck, the Trade Union Con-
gress supported them, British indus
try is paralyzed and the government
and the capitalist press talk hysteric-
ally of revolution.
The speed and momentum Of mass
movements are hard to estimate and
in Great Britain this is doubly true.
So we'll established is the belief in
the British devotion to parliamentary
methods, so many times has the labor
party parliamentary leadership sue
ceeded in diverting strike action into
channels where the militancy of the
masses has been dissipated, so in
volved with the aims of British cap
italism is an influential section Of the
trade union leadership, so strong was
the belief that the subsidy to the coal
owners would be continued-tempo-
rarily, at least-that those who work
ed the hardest for and wanted most
the awakening of the British labor
movement to its danger and the need
for unity and struggle, despaired OF
anything like united action at this
time.
The National Union of Railwaymen,
headed by J. H. Thomas, leading fig
ure in the Labor Party and former
member of the Privy Council, an i'm
perialist to the backbone, had signed
an agreement with the employers and
this was looked upon as definite indi-
cation that the union would take lit
tie or no part in any general struggle
Of the rest Of the trade union move
ment.
The Amalgamated Engineering I'm
ion (engineers in Great Britain are
machinists, etc. began negotiations
for a new agreement and met with UNI
expected opposition from the bosses
who insisted on district agreements,
lower wages and a change for the
worse in the job conditions. One OF
the most powerful unions in Great
Britain, II was evident that the capt.
talists believed that the A. r. u. would
not fight and that It It did It would re-
ceive but little support from the rest
Of the labor movement
Undoubtedly the metal trades bosses
found comfort in the fact that a ma
jority of the executive board OF the
Miners Federation OF Great Britain
was opposed to the militant policy Of
A. J. Cook, its secretary, whom the
capitalist press always calls a Commu-
mist but who is not a member of the
Communist Party
However, things began 20 happen in
the coalhelds which exerted tremen,
dous influence in shaping the policy OF
the Trades Union Congress.
Third Article Tomorrow
alsa-s--,