The Dominion. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1913, INDUSTRIAL WAR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1862, 23 September 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1913, INDUSTRIAL WAR.

. The political and industrial outlook in tho United Kingdom at the present time must be causing great anxiety to those responsible for the good government of the country. Tho Home Rule problem is becoming more serious every day, and trado and commerce are being greatly hampered by a succession of strikes, and a widespread feeling of discontent and unrest among tho labouring classes. The transport workers' strike in Dublin; which has been accompanied by noting and violence, has spread to certain parts of England, where rail way men and others have gone out in sympathy, and there has even been talk of a general sfcrike. There are indications, however, that wiser counsels are beginning to prevail, and that the trouble will soon be settled as far as the railway service is concerned; but as regards tho Dublin transport workers it still looks as if it is to be a fight to a finish. _ The employers are no doubt right in taking a firm stand, for when an important principle is at stake there is nothing to be gained by putting off the evil day .by means of compromise, They aro faco to face with the assertion of syndicalism in its most aggressive form, and if, as they declare, "it is not an ordinary agitation, but a challenge to society," they have no other course ojien lo them than to show in an unmistakable manner that they are not to be intimidated either by threats or by actual violence. In taking up this attitude they will have the general support, of the community, and if they stand firm they will do. good service to, the cause of industrial freedom throughout the United Kingdom. Tho employers have stated that they aro not fighting trades unionism, but Larkinism— that is the methods of Larkin, the strike leader, which are equivalent to syndicalism.

The extension of the troublo to England is causing- much anxiety to the more far-seeing of tho labour leaders, who are well aware that a strike almost always causes more loss and suffering to the workers than to tho employers. Tho men in somo places seem to have got out of hand. They do not appear to have confidence in their official leaders, and are inclined to follow the bad advice of irresponsible demagogues. This fact is aeplored by men like Mr. PhililP Snowden, the wellknown Socialist member of Parliament, who knows, how dearly tho worker has to pay even for a successful strike. Mr. Snowden points out in words that deserve to bo carefully pondered by the working classes in all parts of the world that though labour -has secured a small but substantial gain from tho disputes of the last two years, yet "when the men win in any particular demand every workman knows that j;he employers indirectly take it out of tho workmen." It is not that tho employers "take it out" in any vindictive spirit, but that they are compelled to protect themselves from loss, and the extra cost of production caused by increased wages and other concessions has frequently to bo balanced by a rise in prices to the consumer. In this way a general increase takes place in tho cost of living which goes far to counterbalance the gains in wages that have resulted fronj the so-called "successful strikes."

A strike, like a war, cannot_ be carried, on for any length of time without money. The financial aspect is of tremendous importance. The wives and children of tho Dublin strikers and of the men whp have been locked out are already feeling the pinch, and the English 1 railway workers, now that tho excitement .caused by the'first move has subsided, are beginning to count the cost of a national strike. Though they have accumulated funds totalling £oop,ooo, only £160,000 is available for fighting purposes, and ono week's strike pay for a quarter of a million members of the union would absorb nearly £150,000. These figures give somo idea of the enormous sums of money which the working men in England are wasting in the succession of futile strikes which have taken place during the present wave of industrial unrest. This sort of thing will probably continue until the employees come to their senses, and discover by bitter experience that the wild revolutionary schemes of the syndicalist leaders, if given effect to, would be disastrous to capital and labour /alike. The worker has every right to make tho best bargain he can with his employer, and circumstances from time to time arise which justify a strike should all efforts to reach a reasonable agreement provo unsuccessful; but it is in the interests of all the parties concerned—the employer, the employeo, and the general public —that there should be.reasonable opportunities for a friendly settlement before tho extremo measure of a strike or lock-out is resorted to. The wisdom of this course is frankly and fully admitted by Mr. Snowden, who deplores what ho calls the now policy of entering on a strike without any effort being made to secure a settlement, of exasperating tho employers by every means, and of indulging in wild, sanguinary language. Mr. SnoJwden thinks that tho true remedy for such provocative and anti-social methods is a system of Stato arbitration, such as that which finds practical expression in tho Bill which Mr. Massey has introduced to amend the Now Zealand Arbitration law. Tho special object of one section of this Bill is to prevent either a strike or a lock-out from taking place "without any effort being made to sccure a settlement," and to give both sides an opportunity of calmly considering tho wholo position before declaring war. There is no intention of taking away the right to strike -from thoso workers who have not placed themselves under tho Arbitration Act; the Bill merely gives reason a chance of allaying exasperation; and provides, by means of a sccrct ballot, that the decision to strike or not shall be the deliberate judgment of the majority of tho workers concerned. Tho new provisions contained in the strike clause of' Mb. Massey'!! Bill aro entirely in accord with the views cxcrensaed by

Biich a trusted and cxporienced leader of the English labour movement as Mr. Snowden, and this fact alone is a complote answer to those critics who, for party purposes, aro endeavouring to creatc the impression that these clauses of the Bill aro intended to place tho workers at a disadvantage in the event of a dispute with their employers.