The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1911. STRIKES IN THE OLD LAND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 88, 4 October 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1911. STRIKES IN THE OLD LAND.

The position in regard to the strikes in England and Ireland does not appear to have improved of late. The latest ad\ice >lio\vs that unless the railway companies unconditionally reinstate the strikers, a general strike of Irish transport workers will he called. If this extreme step is taken, Ireland may soon he in the same chaotic condition as London and some of the big English centres were a few weeks before. Xevvs t>y the mail just to hand gives one a better idea as to the extraordinary nature of the latter. The strike began on August 1, when 7000 dockers ceased vork. and spread with exceeding rapiditv. l>y the middle of the second week, when it had reached its height, some Sft.OflO men were out. and London was at the mercy of the mob. For two days tiie police were unable to give protection. I raders who had no connection with the strike were interfered with. Iraflic was stopped. Many of the motor omnibuses in London ceased rnnn ing rrom want of petrol. The streets took on a strange appearance of emptiness, while the river was crowded with ships that could not be dKeharged. T'or some days the people of London were within sight of famine, and this though there was vast almndawo of all manner of supplies in the great warehouses of the docks and in the holds of I he shipping. The port Was practically cut, o(T from the metropolis, and the many docks and warehouses filled with all kinds of perishable goods were sealed against the consumer, by reason of the violence of strikers. Tn some eases they permitted ice and foodstuffs for hospital* to pass the cordon, but. absolutely declined to allow meat and Mores to he removed to (lie shops or barracks. The ("lovernment virtually abdicated power. Authority passed into the hands of a little committee on Tower Hill, which issued permits and ukases and which was approached on bended knee hv Ilis Majesty's Post-mastcr-f!cneral»wil h a h unilije for tin* vt'lcu-c of prlrnl ami foililor to carrv on the Po-4 Office work, it was a humiliating position, but, the Government. who were severely blamed in some quarters for failing to give protcc-

tion to peaceful and law-abiding citizens. I found themselves in an extremely dilli- j cult position, and had to act cautiously I with regard to the disposal of troops for j the enforcement of order and maintenance of supplies; harsh measures would J have only incited resentment and led to further disorders of a more serious nature. It became necessary, however, to provide strong escorts for the supplies intended for the soldiers, and that circumstance impelled the Home Office to more energetic action than any other ! incident in the fortnight's history. The prospect of military intervention certainly did help to calm the situation. The men, it is freely admitted, were not without some justification in demanding an increase in wages. Largely as the result of the enormous increase in rates and taxes, the cost of living in London has risen in the last few years by 20 per cent., while-wages have remained stationary. The great mass of the people are really poorer than they were ten or fifteen years ago. But it is questionable whether the result of the strike, though it may have brought an immedi- | ate advance in wages, will give much relief. The effect of the increase of wages, already granted, it was pointed out, is shown by the fact that the Port , of London Authority has announced a 7% per cent, increase of all the existing duties, rates, rents and charges, other than river tonnage dues on vessels, river rates, and port rates on goods. This additional charge will, says the Times, "of course, be handed on to the consumer, perhaps even in an aggravated form, and ivill go to increase the cost of living. That increased cost will fall upon the necessaries of life, upon meat and bread and butter, and will be felt accordingly by the poor as well as by the rich, and even more acutely by the poor. What is done by the Port of London Authority will be done all over the country in a thousand ways, and the final result must be not only to cause increased wages to go no further than the lower wages that preceded them, but also to handicap the industries of this country more severely than ever in the unavoidable competition vith manufacturers elsewhere. The prospect thus opened up is one which every man who can look beyond the immediate present must regard with very grave anxiety." adds the Times. "Apparently very few take the trouble to enquire whither we are tending. Most are quite content to make what party capital they can out of the follies of the passing hour. The existing condition of affairs in the industrial world, especially in view of the scientifically organised competition we have to meet, is a cruel satire upon the management of our national affairs. It is a not less cruel satire upon the religion and the morality upon which we pride ourselves. We are assisting at the absolute decomposition of society into its elements, in the absence of settled principles, of sane direction, and of discipline in any shape or form. That decomposition is nowhere more marked than in the trade unions themselves, which flout their own leaders and trample upon their own engagements. There is," concludes the Times, "110 King in Israel." and every man is a law unto himself." "The recent strikes," said another English paper, "are teaehing people some elementary lessons in the nature of commerce, in the way wealth is created, and how our wealth and luxury Mould be at an end to-mor-row but for the men who are willing to move and carry things. We cannot be independent of our fellow workers unless we are willing to do all our own work and supply our own needs. And even if we do that we shall fare very poorly, and our diet will have small range. Rudyard Kipling says we should stave but for the food which the Big Ships bring us; but the men who load and unload are as important as the ships. The men have only to refuse to unload the ships to cause waste of food and famine." Many articles have been written discussing "the economic situation, and the general concensus of opinion seems to be that the solution of the problem lies in some system of profit sharing. All are agreed that diligent investigation should be made for some system that will avoid the recurrence of what is undoubtedly a national peril. "The whole dispute," said the Daily Chronicle, "in London as* elsewhere, emphasises the importance oS the suggestion which Sir Chas. Macara recently made to the Lord Mayor of Manchester. The dislocation of commerce caused by industrial strife is a national danger. It imperils our position, says Sir Charles Macara, as a great commercial nation. Warfare in any one great trade means loss to all The interdependence of industries makes the question a national one. It is well worth considering whether the time has not arrived when some independent tribunal of a national character should be devised to meet the case of industrial deadlocks."