Industrial War.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 48, 18 August 1911, Page 5

Industrial War.

A Serious Outlook Soldiers Galled out to Protect Railways Labor "Settling the Job Once and for All." Widespread Unrest Everywhere. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright.

Received 17, 10 p.m. London, August 17. Every available soldier at Aldershot is under orders for service on the railways. The men will be stationed along the lines. Cavalry will be utilised at the large stations, and will patrol the lines. Twenty-five thousand soldiers are ready to move in a few hours. Similar orders have been issued at other military stations in England and Scotland. Several detachments have arrived in London. Only one-fourth of the railwaymen are members of trades unions. The railwaymen have issued a manifesto demanding the same opportunities as a combination as other workers, also to have their wages and hours settled by their own union. They are determined to accept nothing less, and will settle the job now once and for all. The Daily Mail states that at the conference Mr. Askwith asked the companies to meet the union officials half way. They refused. The York railwaymen decline to handle the" trains conveying soldiers and police. Widespread unrest exists in the North-East Coast among the colliers, stevedores, boilermakers and shipyard laborers. Further rioting took place at Liverpool. A mob smashed the windows of the tramways, and took no notice of the display of force until the military knelt in an attitude for firing. Then they hurriedly left and scattered, the assemblages being dispersed by baton charges in various parts of the city. The tramwaymen threaten to strike to-day. The police secured the services of an armed motor wagon. Owing to the shortage of coal the Liverpool co-operation humanised milk depots are closing, depriving 700 of the poorest children of all sustenance. Business in Manchester is demoralised. The strikers have notified the Post Office not to permit postmen to supplant the railway porters who unload mails. The ranks of the strikers are swelling hourly. The police, in arresting a striker, were attacked with stones and bottles and pieces of iron. Five were severely injured. The prisoner escaped. The railway services have been reduced 60 per cent. EMPLOYMENT OF SOLDIERS DENOUNCED. THE GOVERNMENT'S DETERMINATION. PROTECTING THE FOOD SUPPLY. Received 17, 10 p.m. London, August 17 In the House of Commons the Labor - ites denounced the brutality of employing soldiers. Mr. Ramsay MaeDonald criticised Mr. Churchill's attitude, and said his blood boiled at the conduct of the police. If it were true that an officer had shot a man through the head he should be tried for murder. Mr. Lloyd-George deprecated making Mr. Churchill's and Mr. Buxton's tasks harder. He considered that the action of the railwaymen in giving but 24 hours' notice was a mistake, making negotiations impossible. He appealed to the men to withhold the threat till the Board of Trade's machinery could come into operation; otherwise they would alienate public sympathy. The Government would at all costs protect the railway and food supply.

TOM MANN, FIREBRAND. "A GLORIOUS" OUTLOOK. Received 17, 11 pjn. i London, August 17. Tom Mann, in an article in the Daily Mail, states that the present strike# is a move in the direction of industrial solidarity as opposed to sectional trade unionism. The outlook promises gloriously for the worker. There was no real necessity for anyone, even a laborer, to work under 40s weekly. New unionists should take special pains to prevent artificial prices by launching co-operative production and distribution. THE RAILWAY MEN'S GRIEVANCES. THE EMPLOYERS FIRM. A SKELETON SERVICE ARRANGED. London, August 16. Mr. Buxton conferred in the morning with the railway managers and in the afternoon with the raihvaymen's representatives. The latter complained of the slowness of the conciliation board's procedure, which they said enabled the companies to postpone the settlement of grievances. The crux of the position centred on the recognition of the unions, which would enable the men to be represented on the board by clever representatives from headquarters instead of local shunters and porter,?. They also contended that the latter were intimidated and deterred from pressing for good terms lest iVy be victimised by the employers. The North-Eastern Railway Compan 'lone recognised this handicap and allowed the union officials to serve on the board. The employers' attitude towards labor caused dissatisfaction. Sdft jobs had been eliminated, and the men now worked more intensively although the hours had been reduced. Interviewed after the conference the employers were firm. They considered their direct meeting with the men would be a violation of the existing agreement regarding conciliation boards, which the Government had imposed. It is understood that the companies foreseeing trouble adopted precautions months ago for a skeleton service in the event of a strike.

Work is gradually being resumed at London docks. The Port of London Authority has reinstated the strikers.

" BEYOND CONTROL." THE CAUSE OF THE UNREST. London, August 16. The labor movement is increasingly beyond control. It is stated that the non-unionists exceed the unionists in number. Explanations of the strike include the theory that it is caused by disaffection at the comparatively stationary character of the remuneration for skilled labor for several years. The Westminster Gazette, commenting on the workmen's threat to smash the railway conciliation boards, says that no country can permit a railway strike on a large scale. If Mr. LloydGeorge, when President of the Board of Trade in 1907, promised to prevent such an occurrence, Mr. Buxton cannot do less.

A representative of the Labor Party states that the conference of Messrs. Asquith and Buxton has nothing to do with the actual strikes, but was designed to discuss preventive measures. Mr. Buxton has invited railway managers and representatives of the railway unions to confer with him to-day. Will Crooks gave notice of a Bill making a strike illegal until the dispute had been considered by a board representing the masters and workers with a Board of Trade umpire. After the board's decision the men are to be free to accept the award or to strike. The Laborites will raise a discussion on the strike in the House of Commons to-day. Increases have lately been granted to seamen by the Cardiff Board, and preference to Europeans over negroes, of whom some six hundred are at Cardiff. Many of them arc starving, and some .'•-•nulted a ship's officer who refused to i'ir;age them, and fought the police, who quclW the riot with truncheons, j Sewn ikjm'oos were rendered uncon scious :md removed to the hospital.

Mr. Churchill declared that while the Government would not support the companies against the men, or vice versa, they would see that no disaster came to the communities' food supply. Lord Haldane, speaking in the House of Lords, declared the Government would use all the force necessary to repress ( unruly and turbulent violence as at jjiv- ] erpool. He deplored the use of the mili- j tary, but may be there was no other j way. j The newspapers are organising motor ■ .deliveries in the event of failure of the ' railways. Five hundred and fifty troops have I been sent to Ordiff. STAYING THE THREATENED STRIKE. ANOTHER CONFERENCE. Received IT. 10 p.m. London, August 17. It is unlikely that the railway strike will commence to-day. Mr. Buxton. following up yesterday's conference, desired to meet the railwaymen's executives. The latter acquiesced, and are coming to London to confer. Meanwhile sectional meetings of railway employees have agreed to obey the call.

PROVISION FOR WAR TIME. Lor.'on, August 10. Owing to the strikes, newspapers are discussing the shortage of food in wartime and the problem of national granaries. Thousands of tons of food have been destroyed at the docks and warehouses, and there have been large clearances at the railway depots. The London streets are crowded with merchandise. The retail prices of butter, ham, bacon and foodstuffs have risen 25 per cent., ow!:ig to lack of carriage, and owing to

Hie drought vegetables and fruit are enormously dear. The Great Western Railway goods men at Birmingham are awaiting developments and have resumed work. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, fearing disturbances, asked for 500 infantry and 150 cavalry to protect the food supply. Railway passenger and goods traffic at Manchester has stopped. The Central Committee demands the abolition of the Conciliation Board, a fifty-four hours week, recognition of the unions, and an advance of 2s in all grades. Food is at almost famine prices in Liverpool. A convoy of meat was escorted by military from the docks f o the merchants.

Tom 'Mann claims that in granting permits to firms and the public institutions to remove bread and flour he stipulated for abundance of bread for the rank and file of strikers, and milk for the children. Mr. Samuel, Postmaster-General, in the House of Commons, said that the Government recently obtained from the Central .Strike Committee in London facilities for the delivery of mails similar to the measures at Liverpool, and the continuity of the mail cart service was assured.

A PRESII DIFFICULTY. AT THE LONDON DOCKS. London, August 16. Mr. Churchill announced that a fresh difficulty had arisen with the London dockers, who are opposing the employment of non-unionists at the Albert Docks. Two battalions of infantry and a regiment of cavalry are in readiness, in the evenf'of trouble, to proceed to Manchester.

Sir William Guy Granet, manager of the Midland Railway, after to-day's conference, announced, on behalf of the railway managers, that, the Government having promised the companies ample protection, they would continue the services. The directors are prepared, even in the event of a general railway strike, to give an effective, though restricted, service. STRIKE ANTICIPATED WEEKS AGO. By Telegraph—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. Advices just received locally from London go to show that the trouble amongst the transport workers was apparently anticipated some weeks before it actually arose. It appears that on July 3 about 3s 6d per cent, was being charged for insurance against strike or riot, whilst a private cable message received to-day states that the rate for the same class of insurance is 10s per cent, in London and Is per cent, in Liverpool for fourteen days. The last quoted rates are not as astonishing aS is the fact that a rate of 3s 6d per cent, was charged early in July, when, as far as the cabled news from England was concerned, there was no indication given that the present trouble was imminent. The July rate seems to indicate that some people in London at that time were expecting serious trouble. It is also noteworthy as an indication of the seriousness of the position of affairs in London that the war rate charged during the recent uncertainty in connection with affairs in Morocco was only 2s 6d per cent.