The Dominion. MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1919. THE LONDON POLICE STRIKE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 264, 4 August 1919, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1919. THE LONDON POLICE STRIKE

Particularly at a, time when industrial disorders have gained wide and dangerous spread in the United Kingdom, the adoption by the London and provincial' police of. the policy of direct action would bo almost a crowning disaster. Today's cablegrams show that an attempt is being made to bring about this disaster, but fortunately there are substantial reasons for believing that the attempt ,will fail. As news stands at time of writing only 650 members of the London Metro-, politan Police (out of a total strength of something ever 22,000) have struck, and tho Home Secretary (Mr. E. Shortt) is credited with the statement that in the provinces the strike has completely failed except at Liverpool, where 300 men out of 1700 failed to report. Unless the situation has altered greatly during the last month, the strike is unlikely ; to extend much beyond the limits indicated in these figures when the extremists responsible for .its inception have made their effort. The affair may be summed up as an attempt to stampede the English police into revolutionary tactics ,when they have either received or are definitely premised full and liberal satisfaction of all legitimate grievances. Some of the demands made by the Londoi; police' on the occasion of their short-lived strike in August last year were admittedly just. The British Government recognised the fact by granting substantial increases in pay and making some other concessions. On one point, nowcver\ it was and remains adamant; it declines absolutely to recognise an organisation of the policemen on trade union lines asserting the right to strike. It is self-evident that there could be no weakening on this point without destroying the foundations _of discipline in the various police forces and robbing the community of the safeguard and guarantee a disciplined police force is alone able to afford. It is vital to the interests of the whole population that the. Government should be able to rely absolutely upon the police in all circumstances for the preservation of order. In addition it has to be considered that the members of the police forces are invested with extraordinary powers, such as that of summat-y arrest, and that if they were not strictly answerable to a responsible authority intolerable abuses would be bound to result. On all _ grounds it is evident that no police force could exist in that character and perform its all-important functions in protecting the public if it were not disciplined and subject to authority in a degree quite incompatible with trades union orI ganisation.

It is likely that the elementary essentials of police organisation would never have been challenged by the English police but for the fact that their reasonable claims were for a considerable period unwisely and unjustly neglected by the Government. Even when it became notorious that the police in London and' elsewhere were insufficiently paid and subjected to conditions in some respects vexatious, the Government offered little in the way of remedy or relief until its hand was forced by last year's demonstration and the conditions it reflected. Since then, however, the matter of redressing police grievances has been taken up with energy. The increase of pay granted in September last was supplemented recently with a further substantial increase and other important concessions have been made or expressly promised. On May 30 this year it was announced that the Government had decided, without waiting for the report of the Desborough Committee which was then inquiring into police pay and conditions, that the pensionable starting pay of a constable in rhe Metropolitan Police Force should be not less than £3 10s. a week. Describing the effect of this concession, the Labour correspondent of the London Times pointed out that before the war 'tho pay of a newly recruited constable was 275. a week. On August 30, 1914, it was raised to 30s. On September 2, 1918, it was increased to 435. In addition to this amount, which is "pensionable," i.e., the amount on which pension is ultimately computed, the constable received a war bonus of 12s. a week, bringing his weekly wages up to £2 15s. a week. The increase to £3105.' thus means an addition of not less than 15s. to a constable's weekly earnings and an important pension concession. In announcing the minimum of £3 10s. the Home Secretary intimated that it would date from April 1, 1919— that is to say it was retrospective for two months from the date of the announcement. At tho same time he stated that although he was not able to say what the report of the pesbovaugh Committee would be, its members had informed him that substantial improvement in conditionsas well as a substantial'increase in pay would be recommended, and that one of the improvements certainly would relate to housing. Whether they would re commend that the police should be housed free or that houses should be provided at a very small rent he did not know, but there would be proposals in regard to housing which Die Government would consider and carry out. Simultaneously it was announced in Police Orders that it had come to the knowledge of the Commissioner that a movement was on foot to induce the Metropolitan Police again to withdraw from their duty to the State (a strike ballot was then being taken) and that any officer or man who failed to report in the ordinary course of duty or when called i.pon would be forthwith dismissed, would under no circumstances be permitted to rejoin and would lose all service counting towards pension. It was thus made clear tint while the Government was ready to repair its past neglect by granting liberal pay and fair conditions to the police it was resolutely determined not to recognise' 'v Police Union and to deal severely with any attempt to compel recognition of that body by a strike. | The good effects of this policy of just concession, together with an

unyielding insistence upon the essentials of police organisation, at once became" evident. On June 1 ihe res'ilt of the strike ballot was announced at a great meeting of police held in Hyde Park. Out of 55,000 ballot papers issued, about 49,000 were returned, and the votinc showed a majority of more than if:.000 for a strike. The Union leaders, however, declined' to call a strike, one of them declaring that ; '\ve shall come out on strike when it suits us, not when it suits them" (the authorities). Nothing that was said, by the speakers at the meeting, most of them Socialists of the revolutionary type belonging to various organisations, threw any real light upon the refusal to carry the result of tho iiallot into effect, but the explanaticn freely supplied in other quarters was that in spite of the result of the ballot anything in the nature of a general police strike bad become impossible. Though it was unwisely slow in taking action, the Government acted effectively in time to save the situation and avert a revolt which would have been as disastrous for the police as for the public they have long and loyally served. Reports declare that prior, to the meeting in Hydo Park many wen withdrew from the Police Union, and that in some cases whole divisions declared against a strike. It is the less likely that these conditions have materially altered since the Government is going to all reasonable lengths in meeting police demands. For instance, one-of to-day's cablegrams ■shows that a Bill has passed the House of Commons which authorises the establishment of a Police Federation to promote the welfare of the police, while it prohibits their organisation on trades union lints or the affiliation of the_ Federation with any outside organisation. One of the speakers at tho Hyde Park meeting predicted that a strike would Bo called later ■ under much such conditions as are now reported, but in the circumstances there is little- doubt that the affair will _ prove a fiasco and that all but aft inconsiderable minority of the police.will break definitely with the sedition-mongers and anarchists with whom they have' nothing in conlmoa. • •