Cornell Univeisily Library HD 8390.A8 Industrial problems and dispute 3 1924 002. 2b3 130 THE MARTIN P. CATHERWOOD LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002253130 INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS AND DISPUTES INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS AND DISPUTES BY LORD ASKWITH m PRC^HRTY OF L"^'^ARY cc.-^..-:ll Ui^,A'i;:\crrY NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY 1921 FOREWORD In publishing this work, I have no ambition to be a prophet of the future relations between Capital and Labour, but to state, however imperfectly, facts within my own knowledge, with some views upon certain of the problems which have arisen. These facts may help in some small measure to throw light upon events of the present day and the problem of industrial peace. We have no guide to the future except our experience of the past. I would like to record my gratitude to the staff who worked so hard and loyally with me for long years and through the War — men and women. Mr. I. Haig Mitchell and Mr. D. Cummings, as chief lieutenants, with Mr. Sidney Clarke, my first private secretary, and Mr. H. J. Wilson, who succeeded him, worked with me through many strenuous days, of which these pages give some record. There are, too, many conciliators and arbitrators, men like Sir W. W. Mackenzie, Sir William Robinson, the late Mr. T. Smith, and Professor J. B. Baillie, as well as my colleagues on the Committee on Production, who have given unwearying service to the cause of industrial peace. I should add that Professor Baillie materially aided me with the chapters on Socialism and Syndicalism. A^ CONTENTS OHAPTBB PAGE I. The Lad . ...... 1 The zest of a boy — Choosing a career — Questions to be answered — Occupations to be entered — Character of occupations. II. The Lad in Employment .... 8 Evils of blind-alley work — Chances in a workshop — Difficulty of promotion — Growth of opposition to employers — Suspicion. III. The Employer ...... 13 Aims of the employers — Production their business, and not teaching — Ties of business — Combines not favourable to mutual interest between employer and employed — More education and less opportunity hinder mutual interest, IV. Education ....... 18 Increase of educated youths — Limitations of industrial training — Necessity of continued education — Effects of specialisation — Reasons for completion of industrial training and changed methods of workshop handling — Guidance to vocations — Importance of giving a chance. V. Training and Service ..... 28 Types of training — Results to be desired — Examples of methods — ^Y.M.C.A. clubs — ^The prefect system — Importance of general education — Charts of careers for boys — The building trades — Print- ing and bookbinding — Shop assistants — ^The grocery trade — En- gineering — An insurance office, VI. Two Camps 66 Capital and Labour — Importance of unity — ^The failure of em- ployers and labour leaders — Absence of a poUoy, VII. The Dockers' Dispute of 1889. . . 71 Reasons for the present position — Conditions prior to the dock strike of 1889 — Outburst of the dockers — Effects of the dockers' strike — Casualisation still prevalent. VIII. The Conciliation Act, 1896 ... 76 Clauses of the Act — Small powers given by the Act — The North- Eaatem Railway arbitration — ^The Penrhyn Quarry dispute — A Scottish conciUation case — Later results. vi CONTENTS vii OHAPTER PiOE IX. The Taff Vale Railway Case anp the Trade Disputes Act, 1906 , . 84 Minor eases — London oompositora' dispute — A tinplate dispute — Origin of the TafE Vole Railway dispute — Beasley v. BeU — Decisions of the Courts of Law — Royal Commission on Trade Disputes — The Trade Disputes Aot. X. Army Boots and Nottingham Lace . . 97 The army boot strike — The Raunds district — Nottingham lace- Reconstruction of an industry — Piecework statements. XI. Theatres oe Varieties .... lOS Theatres of varieties as they were— An unexpected strike — A series of awards — The barring system — Progress of the industry. XII. Belfast, 1907 109 Kiots in BeUast-^Carters, coal porters, and dockers — ^Mr. Larkin and the carters — Appearance of Belfast after the strike — TarifE of carters* wages. XIII. Railways, 1907 115 Low railway wages — The All Grades Programme — Attitude of the companies — Settlement of the dispute — Progress of conciliation — Establishment of Conciliation Boards. XIV. Scottish Miners, 1909 . . . .126 The niinimum wage — Support of the English miners — Mr. Smillie*s attitude — A general coal strike avoided — A souvenir of the dispute. XV. Cotton, Boilermakers, and Coal, 1910 . 134 Difficulties of cotton disputes — The Brooklands Agreement — A one- man difficulty — Mode of settlement — A missing clause in the Agree- ment — The boilermakers' difficulty — The heart of the difficulty — Mode of settlement — The Cambrian dispute — Abnormal places and a disputed seam — Insistence of the miners — ^Retum to work. XVI. Transport Workers, 1911 . . . 148 General outbreak in 1911 — The seamen's programme — Southamp- ton — Hull — Manchester — Effects of a mutual pledge — Leeds — London — Results in London— Sailing barges. XVII. Railway Strike, 1911 .... 160 The railwaymen's ultimatum — Attitude of the companies and the Government — Negotiations through the Government — A Royal Commission on grievances — Resolution of the House of Commons — The parties meet — ^Final settlement. XVIII. Jute, 1911 170 Manchester — Liverpool — Dundee — A hurried journey — A Christ- mas settlement — Character of the 19H disputes. viii CONTENTS OHAPTIE PAQB XIX. The Industrial Council, 1911 . . 178 •, Proposals for avoidance of disputes — Sir Charles Maoara's plan; — ijj Appointment of the Industrial Council and the Chief Industrial Commissioner — Hindrances to the success of the Ooimcil — ^Mr. Buxton's opening speech — Difficulty of conciliation by a conunittee — Names of the members, XX. Lancashire Cotton and Clyde Docker, 1912 187 Non-unionists in the cotton mills — Long conferences — A question of principle — Time for reflection and common sense — Loss by the stoppage — Dockers on the Clyde — Non-unionists again — Settle- ment of a tarifE — The ore trade. XXI. Coal, 1912 201 Claim for a minimum wage — Failure of negotiations — ^Action by the Industrial Council — Letter by the Prime Minister — Origin of the claim — The claims in detail — Hearing by Cabinet Ministers — Miners' ultimatum — Renewed conferences — Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Bill — ^Frime Minister's speech — Result of the strike. XXII. Transport Workers, 1912 . . . 220 Non-unionism and the federation ticket in London — ^InterTen- tion of Ministers — Sir Edward Clarke's inquiry — Passive resistance of the employers — ^Attempted extension of the strike^ — Lord Devon- port's interview — Results of the dispute — Press comments on Ministers — Mr. Ben Tillett. XXIII. Industrial Agreements, 1912 . . 284 The reference to the Industrial Coxmcil — Mr. Lloyd George's views \\ — Diificulties of enforcing industrial agreements — Report by the ^ Industrial Council — Inefficacy of monetary penalties — Value of an interpretation clause — Proposed legislation — Inaction of the Govern- ment. XXIV. Canada, 1912 242 My mission to Canada — Extent of the journey — ^Trade Union Congress at Guelph and conference at Vancouver — Report on the Lemieux Act — Value of inquiry and report — Inaction of the Govern- ment — Differences between Great Britain and Canada — Scots in Canada. XXV. The Midlands, 1913 . . . .252 strike at Dudley — Extension to Birmingham and the Midlands — Midland Employers' Federation — The firebrick trade — March to London — Provisions of the settlement. XXVI. Larkin, 1913 259 Sudden outbreak in Dublin-7-The sympathetic strike — ^A Ootirt of Inquiry — Report of the Court — Task before the Court — Murphy and Larkin — Delegates from the trade unions — ^Failure of the strike — ^Larkin's views — One big union. XXVII. Labour Exchanges .... 272 Origin of the Bill — Exchanges in London and Germany — Pro- posed objects of the Exchanges — A disintegrating force — An inccQ. tive to unemployipent — ^Expentirs otQoialdon), CONTENTS ix OBAniB PAGB XXVIII. Trade Boards 282 Evils of sWjeatiDjg — Committee of the House of Lords — Arguments for a change — Objects of the Boards — Unity of employers and em- („^ ployed — Necessity for legislation — House of Commons Committee — The Trade Boards Acts. XXIX. Propaganda and Ca' Canny . . 294 Methods of persuasion — Absence of counter-arguments — ^Aggres- sive influences — The disease of ca' canny — The spread of the disease — Examples of the disease— Necessity for a common purpose. XXX. Unemployment 305 Ca' canny one of the causes — Importance of decasualiaation — Failure of relief works and colonies — Evils of doles — Importance of production — Possible paths of remedy — Unemployment as a charge on each industry. XXXI. Socialism 318 Co-partnership — Its difficulties — Forms of socialism — The inten- tion of socialism — Materialistic character — Claims for equality — Claims of socialism in relation to trade unions, co-operative societies, the State, conmiunism, and anarchism. XXXII. Marxism — Syndicalism — Guild Soci- alism ...... 327 Marxian socialism — Comparison with Syndicalism and Guild Socialism — ^Marx's Manifesto and book on Capital — Marx's conten- tions — Criticisms on his contentions — The violence, of Syndicalism — Direct action — Guild Socialism — Theory of the future — Balance of power between Guild and State. XXXIII. The Position before the War, 1913-14 347 Beginning of 1914 — ^The spirit of unrest — Apathy of the Govern- ment—Reasons for the unrest — The Labour Party in Parliament — Feeling against Capitalism — ^Materialism of the country. XXXIV. The Beginning of the War . . 356 Prospects for the autumn — Strike at Woolwich Arsenal — Declara- tion of war — Cessation of disputes — ^The King's message — Shortage of labour — The leather trade — Wool — Cotton — Production, restric- tions, and shortage of men — Lack of co-ordination — Trade union rules — ^The Committee on Production. XXXV. The Spring of 1915 . . . .367 Problems to be settled — Conferences in the shipbuilding trade — Reports of the Committee on Production — ^Appointment of arbitra- tion tribunal — Outburst on the Clyde — Increase of disputes — Pro- fiteering — -A note on labour unrest — The Shells and Fuses Agree- ment — The Treasury Agreement. XXXVI. The Munitions of War Act, 1915 . 383 Increase of arbitrations — Equality of treatment — Terms of the Munitions Act — Tribunals — ^The Welsh coal dispute — Mr. Lloyd George yields — ^Non-unionism at Southampton — Issue of the dispute —Unrest on the Clyde. X CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGB XXXVII. 1916 400 New Munitions of War Act — Women's wages — Special arbitration tribunals — DifEerence between arbitration and conciliation — Re- quirements of conciliation — Non-unionist question in South Wales — Second cycle of wages — Pressure of new cases— ^-Scottish National Building Code— Govecoment and departmental interference. XXXVIII. New Ministries - . . .414 The Ministry of Labour — Clashing of claims and settlements — The Engineering agreement for periodical revisions of wages — Extebsion of the agreement — Alterations in the Tribunals — Conflict of new departments — Complaints of lack of co-ordination — ^Proposal for one authority. XXXIX. Twelve and a Half per Cent. . . 426 Commissioners* inquiry on industrial unrest — Leaving certificates and wages of skilled time-workers— Third Munitions of War Act — Committee on time-workers — Danger of sectional advances — ^The Coal Controller — Grant of the 12^ per cent. — Extension of the grant — Government Labour Committee — Bonus on the railways — Claim by the electricians — Decision of the War Cabinet on pieceworkers — Criticism of the order — Award to electricians — Extension to piece- workers — Final settlements. XL, 1918 446 The building trade — The Metropolitan Police and the Fire Brigade — Fire Brigade award — The Whitley Committee — Joint Industrial Councils — ^The pottery industry — Future of industrial councils. XLI. The Armistice and Nationalization . 460 Dispute in the cotton trade — Weavers' settlement — Difficulties with the spinners — ^Wages (Temporary Regulation) Act — Changes at the Ministry of Labour — The eight-hour day— Mr. Clynes's warning — Revival of labour claims — Nature of the disputes — Mr, SmilUe and Nationalization — Vague use of the term — Necessity for explanation — Objections to the proposed plan, XLII. Government Methods and Conclu- sions 478 The Coal Commission — Opportunism of the Prime Minister and the Government — ^No unity of purpose — Criticism of the methods used — Outcry against expenditure — The railway strike — ^Direct action — New men — Present position — Necessity for greater know- ledge and unified eSoit — Unity the aim of sonciliation. Index "^ 490 INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS AND DISPUTES CHAPTER I THK LAD Let any man imagine himself a boy again, and throw back his thoughts to those days of which the memory remains so keen and vivid throughout the whole of life. He wiU remember his ambition to excel in games or in work ; his desire for the goodwill and friendship of others, possibly of all with whom he comes in contact ; his hope for enjoy- ment of life ; his interest in every plan he makes. Every day all that he does seems to result in something of direct and immediate interest to himself. He is always going forward, in mind as in age and strength ; and even though he may never pause to sum up results, he feels and senses them, and acts upon the experience gradually coming to him. In great or little measure education gives him know- ledge. Some things he is told that it is necessary for him to learn, and as all the other boys and girls are learning them, he follows the rule and finds results. According to his nature, the influence and skill of his teachers, and the incentive of competition, he may achieve some success. Spurred on by results, he becomes a leader of others, and may discover, almost without knowing it, fitness for par- ticular kinds of learning or pursuits beyond the general knowledge commonly impressed on all. Most lads are full of life and hope, eager to succeed, without much prevision or any knowledge of the different lines of life which may be open to them ; but they do find that effort produces results and that the results affect 1 2 THE LAD them individually. Their zest is not thrown away ; they become eager to follow the paths of success. Other lads, of course, there are who do nbt wish through their sur- roundings even to arrive at a basis of a general education or to apprenticeship of any kind. " The laddie was terrible against being made a gentleman," as Sir James Barrie says, " and when he saw the kind o' life he would hae to lead — clean hands, clean dickies, and no gutters on his breeks — his heart took mair scunner at genteelity than ever, and he ran hame." One may turn to the parents of these young people. Whatever standard of life the parents may have reached, they are anxious that their children should not fail to have at least as good a standard. For years, now, more and better education has been called for. Vast sums have been spent by successive Governments in improving and extending education, and at the present time wide schemes are before the country. Parents have spent their means and harassed their minds in the endeavour to obtain the best possible result for their children. They want them to learn as much as possible and to have their intelligence developed with a view to success in life and improvement of their condition. Year by year thousands and thousands of young people are thus being educated, and have to start out on some means of earning their own living and reaching a position which will enable them to marry and have children of their own. It is extraordinary that, with all this yearning desire for advancement, there is at the present day so little a know- ledge of the possibilities of different careers both among old and young, and such little guidance as to careers. A lad's chance of choice is generally so narrow that he is very likely to take up some form of unsuitable work. When the time comes, lads start on what they can get, some following their father's trade, some taking the first emplojonent which offers itself, some joining a trade which their friends may be seeking to follow, or which happens to be the main trade of the district in which they live. The selected work may be work for which the lad is mentally and physically un- fitted, or work which offers few opportunities of a satis- factory career. How can any lad know that there are more than sixty main occupations, each with many sub- divisions, and in each subdivision employment for workers. CHOOSING A CAREER 8 whether skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled ? It is at least one step forward if that fact is realised by a lad before he considers or examines several of them with a view to selection of the most suitable. The most suitable will probably be that occupation where the good and not the weak qualities which he possesses will be most useful : in that direction the best chances of his success will lie. If he has a strong interest in anything, the idea will come to him, with little examination, which callings may pos- sibly be entered. If he has no strong interests, he may be equally fitted — or perhaps it should be said, not unsuitable — for several kinds of employment, and may try to ascertain what occupations are open, and examine as best he can, by reading or by talking to persons engaged in the work, or, if possible, seeing the place of work, the nature of the work which he proposes to undertake. For both classes of lads knowledge alone, forethought alone, can give some glimpse of the chances of the future. Few can find out much by themselves before taking the leap in the dark. Many are the questions that might be asked, both as to occupations and as to the circumstances of occupations. Some occupations are given in a list at the end of this chapter. Is such a list or choice often brought before a lad ? Useful questions are also given. Are such ques- tions ever asked, when a random choice is hinted at by lads necessarily, by their age, without any experience of actual facts or future possibilities, or any power of wise judgment ? If lads cannot get the answers for themselves, it is not too much to say that educational authorities, boys' clubs or associations, or even employers, may well prepare information that can be readily accessible to those who desire to know. Every boy kept from an unsuitable occupation is likely to be a more contented citizen. Guid- ance and encouragement in using any available training facilities and exercising judgment will not be thrown away. It seems to be very usually supposed that general remarks about the value of education are sufficient for lads — sermons on their duty and the usefulness of know- ledge. As a matter of fact, they are of little or no use. It has to be brought home to the lad as an individual that 4 THE LAD self-improvement is an advantage to himself before he will be prepared to make much effort to obtain it. As Solomon very truly wrote, " The beginning of wisdom is the desire for discipline." The first thing is to establish the desire. When desire exists, opportunities may be more easily seen and more quickly taken. The ground is prepared for advice on the course of training to be followed and for information on the occupations in which a boy is interested. The boy will be in a position to consider for himself such vital questions as whether he is suited for the work, whether the wages are satisfactory, whether the employment is regular, and whether there are fair chances of promotion. All these four questions are elementary questions which every boy should have brought before him and should try to exercise his inteUi- gence in answering. He should know that, if he is an appren- tice or learner in commerce and industry, his path is more or less defined, but that if, as a boy, he joins the army of unskilled workers in works, offices, or factories, or starts in employments which lead nowhere, blind-alley employ- ments, he may be amongst the few, the very few, who reach as adults the ranks of skilled industry ; he may be absorbed among the unskilled or semi-skilled who are attached to an industry ; or he is very likely to have to leave and seek other employment, because there is no room in that industry for his services as an adult. It is an out- standing feature of emplojmaent in the unskilled and blind- alley employments that after a time the lad must leave and seek other employments for which he has had little or no training. The remedy Ues in preparation and train- ing, only too difficult to obtain and too slightly given. A generation of lads is now growing up, many of whom, owing to the war, have not had the control of fathers or elder brothers, and often not of mothers. In their hands will lie the decisions and work of the future, the fate of the nation. There is available at oiir very doors a vast field for effort and service. The world urgently needs effective workers, and offers them good rewards. Conditions in a workshop or an office are so exacting that none but intelli- gent persons with knowledge of their work can hope for success. General intelligence is the chief requisite, know- ledge beyond the small piece of work a man may first be engaged on is the second, if a lad is to have a real chance of OCCUPATIONS OF THE WORLD 6 advancement and promotion. It is a platitude that educa- tion to an intelligent man never ceases during his Ufe, that every addition to his knowledge is an asset of advantage or pleasure to himself. It is at no period of life more im- portant than in the period of his youth that this lesson should be learned, and that teachers should bring it before the individual lad. And yet how seldom is it done I Lord Rosebery is reported to have said that there was one thing which age could never teach — experience. If the implica- tion is that the young must and will find out for themselves, the saying may have truth when applied to some facts of life ; but at least it must be qualified by saying that there are facts in life, the whole career of a man, on which it is desirable to raise and encourage ciu:iosity, and for which experience may give guiding lights of value. The industrial problems of the present day, the problems of years past, are closely connected with the use which we make of our lads ; the chances we give them to advance, and by advancing to assist others by service and example ; the avoidance of putting them in wrong places ; their oppor- tunity of getting a fair chance according to their efforts and brains, and of understanding the position of others and not seeking or imagining misunderstanding. Women may well say, " We are giving you sons year by year. What are you doing with them ? " Occupations of the World Agriculture. — General farmer, stock farmer, dairy farmer, fruit farmer, poultry farmer, gardener. Commerce. — Wholesale and Retail Shopkeepers. — Bakers and confectioners ; booksellers ; butchers and meat sales- men ; chemists and druggists ; drapery, wholesale and retail ; dealers in dress : boot and shoe dealers, hosiers and haberdashers, outfitters and clothiers ; fishmongers ; poulterers ; game dealers ; fiorists ; greengrocers ; fruiterers ; grocery ; ironmon^ary and hardware ; hair- dressers and barbers ; milk-iellers and dairymen ; news- agents ; oil and colour men ; pawnbrokers ; stationers ; tobacconists ; warehousemen. Offices. — Banks ; insurances ; shipping ; railways ; carriers ; agencies ; counting-houses ; manufacturing works. 6 THE LAD Industry. — Building trades ; engineering ; textiles ; mining ; inetal-working ; precious metal and instrument- making ; glass ; chemicals ; paper and printing ; pottery ; woodworking and furniture ; leather, skin, and hair. Professions. — Minister ; doctor ; dentist ; teacher ; lawyer ; architect ; army ; navy ; police. Public Services. — Civil service ; municipal service ; gas ; electricity ; water-supply ; tramways ; roads ; sanitation ; health. There are more than sixty main occupations, most of them with many divisions, open to young people leaving school. What a Boy should Know about an Occupation he Wishes to Enter 1. The size and importance of the occupation. 2. Is the occupation growing or diminishing ? (E.g., is it becoming mainly work for semi-skilled, or is it actually decreasing in importance ?) 3. Is the occupation crowded, or is there a scarcity of high-class workers ? 4. Is the occupation stable, or is it subject to frequent changes ? 5. What is the length of the working-day ? Is overtime frequent, and is it paid for ? 6. Is payment by time or by the piece ? 7. What are the different kinds of work in the occupa- tion ? He should know the names of the different branches, the kind of work, and the pay in each branch. 8. Is it an occupation which employs a large proportion of boy-labour ? If this is so, the boy should know that he will probably be dismissed when he reaches seventeen or eighteen years of age. 9. Is the occupation a healthy one, and is it carried on under good conditions ? 10. The average age of entry. 11. Is there any need of training before entrance ? 12. Where this training can be obtained. 18. The wages at entrance. Are they small at first and slowly increasing to high wages, or comparatively high at TYPES OP OCCUPATIONS t first, with a small rate of increase — the maximum reached in a few years ? 14. Have all beginners the opportunity to learn more than one operation or process ? 15. What is the number of apprentices or learners ? 16. How are the skilled workers recruited ? 17. What are the opportunities for technical training ? CHAPTER II THE LAD IN EMPLOYMENT One of the first results, when a lad enters employinent, is apt to be the disillusionment of youth. I am not speaking of blind-alley employments, such as messenger, errand- and van-boys, newsboys and street-sellers, into which a boy may have drifted by the necessity of earning rnoney or ignorance of the danger of starting in blind-alley work. In such work fairly good wages may be obtainable at the start, but lads will generally find that they have to give place to others before they become men, and must change their occupation when^it is too late to learn more skilled work. After several years of blind-alley work, a youth of eighteen is generally unfitted for learning skilled work. He cannot apply himself to the task or will not submit to the discipline and control necessary for learning a trade. He will not take a boy's job, and cannot get a man's job ; and a few weeks spent in looking for a job is often sufficient to make him degenerate into a casual worker or a loafer. At most he may as a young man be able to get work in an unskilled trade, with the prospect before him that in times of trade-depression the unskilled workmen are the first to be dismissed, and the last to be taken on, and by force of circumstances have to be the chief applicants for relief. Even in these occupations, at the most impressionable period of their life, when the general education which they have received might be a basis on which to build, they enter a new school, and are left to shift for themselves. In a lesser degree, the same principle appertains in the skilled trades, and will appertain in those trades and under those employers where the worker is only regarded as a mere element in the cost of production : with the system of restriction to one machine or one process, and no train- 8 RESTRICTIONS ON ADVANCE 9 ing in his industry or in several sections of his industry. The young lad, on entering a workshop or taking up almost any form of manual labour, finds his position curiously changed. He may not realise it at first, but it cannot be long before the fact is borne in upon him, either by his own experience or the instruction of his colleagues. Instead of everjrthing being done for them, with parents harassing themselves to give them the best possible education and insurance for progress, and teachers endeavouring to get the best results from the development of their brains, these young lads are only too often put in a position where development is curtailed. They have been full of zeal and ambition, underrating difficulties, believing that the world was before them, and that, given a good education, fair brain, and hard work, they must be able to make their way. Perhaps at school they had gained prizes and were en- couraged to believe that progress and advancement were not only possible, but even easy. But they find out that in the new world this is not so. They may begin by making every effort to get on and, by conscientious work, try to get out of the ruck. It is not to be done. There is no ladder, no open door. In the majority of cases they never have a chance. As trainers say of young horses when spurred to greater effort than they can accomplish, " Their hearts are broken." Good work and bad work, steady effort or slacking, lead to no result, no difference in their remunera- tion, no real chance for the future. The lads are not taught a trade or how to take interest in a trade, but only a process or part of a process. They are encouraged to become proficient in one or a few opera- tions, not to gain a general knowledge of a trade or its interest. They are not taught the continuance of educa- tion or how to effect it, but become an element in the costs of production. Occasionally some may be promoted and may rise, but the majority find the door closed to them. Their efforts are restrained to becoming machines graded to produce a particular type of article, but nothing else, with no direct interest in their work or the result of their work. They are against a wall which they cannot climb, and are not encouraged to try to climb. Why ? The answer is obvious. The lad is out of the hands of teachers whose business it is to expand and develop his growing mind and intelligence, and who make their livelihood by 10 THE LAD IN EMPLOYMENT following that pursuit or business. The lad is transferred to the custody of persons whose business it is to produce, not to continue general training. Their business is to make the best use of the factors within their reach, and they do not want to spend their time, energy, and money in teaching. Teaching of that kind might be philanthropic, but it is not their business, any more than to teach young children. Proficiency of a narrow, specialised kind is most conducive to their undertakings, and, so they think, to their produc- tion. As individuals they select what they require for pro- duction; and as production is their business, no blame should be attached to them for that reason. They have started with that object ; they have directed their brains and their money, large or small in amount as it may be, to that object ; and they wish to make use of every oppor- tunity and of every person whom they can employ in furtherance of that object. What is the result ? The young lad leaving his general school-training finds that the specialised operations common in workshops are to be his lot in life. His hopes may be great, his ambition may be soaring. For some time he may trust in possibilities. He does not like to admit to himself that he is not being trained as an engineer, a ship-builder, or a house-builder, but to become an operative. But in a brief time to the majority comes disillusionment ; and when once a man is disillu- sioned, bitterness is a very natural result, and antagonism to the system which he deems to be the cause. He has to turn elsewhere, and in place of a business career he may see the chief prizes are to be got by becoming a leader amongst his fellows and by finding, in opposition to the system, a career which does not lead to production from which he gains his daily or weekly wage, but which does lead to direct results to himself, with possibilities of high advancement. Slowly or quickly he finds himself opposed to the employer, and opposed to the very prospects which that employer holds most dear. His hopes of success lie in bleeding the employer rather than in joint effort to increase production and gain the best possible results for both. In the workshops the lad, who was led, while at school, to believe that all was possible and within his reach, finds himself in an atmosphere where he soon discovers that the belief exists that his chances lie not in prospects of success in his trade and co-operation with his employer, but in RESULTS OF RESTRICTIONS 11 something outside and in opposition to that employer. If he has served an apprenticeship in the trade, and spent years and money in learning two or three processes, he will soon realise that the knowledge of such processes is his trade possession, and is all he knows. Jealously will he guard the very pigeonhole in which he finds himself — any infringement of rules or restrictions, rates or methods, he will resent and fight against, because, as far as trade is con- cerned, he is fighting for his sole possession, his only vested interest ; and he will thus aid in maintaining those trade union restrictions which are so continually denounced by those who consider them to be a bar to production. Then, again, lads cannot desire that any in the same state as themselves should do work which would raise the level which they are expected to reach. As soon as the day's work is over they are only too ready to put on their coats and leave, however important the result of their work may be to their employers. They will band together and support any movement which shows a chance of the general level of their remuneration being raised. They will listen to any teaching which holds out a prospect of taking some- thing from somebody else, and of sharing in greater measure the supposed results of the production of goods or the sup- posed capital embarked in the support of an enterprise. Some will accept the position and, engaged in domestic affairs, or games, or betting, or simply from want of enter- prise, will follow what others suggest in the matter of trade movements, and agree with the behests of delegates either elected or self-constituted. Others will take no interest until cost of living or some requirement of their lives stings them to support claims which they would otherwise regard with apathy. Others, who cannot reconcile themselves to the lack of opportunity, seek it in obtaining leadership over their colleagues, in active support of their trade union meetings, and in the endeavour to become trade union leaders, or leaders of any movement which interests their minds and shows direct results for themselves. And against whom or what are their efforts directed ? Their claims, their promotion, the use of their education, the chance of advancement in new and untried paths, all appear to them to be blocked by the employers who have placed them in particular work, and keep them at that work and that work only, and to be hampered by the system which 12 THE LAD IN EMPLOYMENT has that result and fixes in particular ways the distribution of the results of their toil. The result is that there is suspicion and, from time to time, war : suspicion and war continuously fostered by propaganda. Women might again ask : " Is this what you are doing with the sons we are giving to you ? " CHAPTER III THE EMPLOYER The boy who, by succession, education, or wealth, becomes in the ordinary course of events an employer or manager knows little or nothing, and as a rule thinks little, of the fate that is in store for him. He is occupied with the interests and aims of a boy's life, and acquiring information on various items of a general education. If he shows any liking for the Army or Navy or the University, his parents, if well enough off, may endeavour to satisfy him and help him to the career of a profession. In any event most parents will strain to send him to the best school they can manage. The ever-increasing lists of boys to be entered for our public schools show the earnest desire for educa- tion, and preferably for that which is supposed to give good schooling, in addition to the advantages derived from membership of a great institution, comradeship in thought and games, and friendships lasting throughout life. When the time comes to leave school, it is the parent who looks round and consults others as to what he can do for his boy. If he has a business himself, in nine cases out of ten the boy goes into it as a natural path where the resistance is least : or he is placed in a similar business run by a friend. Then, under the eye of a trusted clerk or with some watching by his father, he proceeds to learn as much as he can of the working of it, in an eager or desultory way according to his inclinations and the nature of his tuition. He may loathe it from the first day of his entrance, but it is difficult to break away, and he is continually told, and feels, that he has no experience, and that he must earn his own liveli- hood, and perhaps livelihood for others. If the business is run in a particular groove, he has to follow that groove or tradition, and finds little encouragement to break away. 13 14 THE EMPLOYER Employers of this class are only a type. Side by side with them in the same trade will be found a limited number of men who have risen from the ranks, and by intelligence, luck, or strong will attained to the government of a busi- ness. Others will be managers acting on behalf of com- panies, associations, municipalities, or the State, restricted in varying degrees by Boards, committees, or governing bodies. It is not my purpose to define the varieties of the em- ploying classes. They, like the wage-earning classes, must vary in intellect, physical attributes, and character. They do not form a homogeneous whole moulded to satisfy the stock phrase " Capital and Labour." There are vast numbers of anomalies and fluctuations, gradations, inter- locking of interests, schemes of management, and divisions of rank and authority. But even if these facts are true and a wide generalisation is difficult, the broad point remains that the man who aspires to be a successful em- ployer aims, in the course of his competition with others, at production and the right to profit by his own exertion. He is not up against a stone wall beyond which he cannot advance. His aim is gain, success, advancement, so that he may have means for himself and means to hand on to his children. He is a competitive individualist, limited by such restrictions of association with others as, in his judgment, will aid his own success, and sometimes also influenced by philanthropic or educational aims selected by fancy, sympathy, or ambition. The familiar phrase " Business is business " covers many a design, good or bad in intention or result. Nobody ever heard of a working- man making use of or relying upon that cover or explana- tion of his objects. To the employer it has become a commonplace proverb. When the employer considers the best method of improv- ing his business, he may bring into the estimate a large number of factors ; but it is safe to say that, as a rule, a very small factor in guiding his judgment would be the idea that it might be his business to teach, or to continue the general training and open the doors of a career to, the working- class lad entering his employment. The lad is useful to him in proportion to his value as one of the items of the costs of production. The employer will even lament that during the period spent in acquiring knowledge of one or BUSINESS IS BUSINESS 15 two processes the lad costs more than he is worth. One hears the remark over and over again : " They are always moving just as they are beginning to be useful." Of course they are. It is the attempt of the lad, by himself or through the advice or need of his parents, to better himself and to go where he thinks there are higher wages, better conditions, or more chances of advancement. It is the same spirit of movement which may lead some lads to seek a new con- tinent or go to the Colonies. The employer himself, as a rule, does not want to move. He may open new branches, and the new branches may overshadow the original business. But when once he is established in a place or amid particular surroundings, his object is generally to develop in that locality. He is tied by buildings, occupation or ownership of land, con- tracts, goodwill, machinery, etc., and is practically unable to change as the humour seizes him. An old-established business is not lightly scrapped. The workman, too, is not a migratory person any more than an employer. He does not want to move away from his home, and go among strangers or to an unknown country-side. There must be an incentive before he is stirred to action ; and the greatest incentive of all is the lack of opportunity or the pressure of circumstances in the district from which he comes. The restive spirit of youth may be moved by prospects of high wages and greater inde- pendence ; and by the hearsay reports of what others are doing. The desire for change and adventure may be a lure, and the wish to test his ability or value in other places, with the hope of better openings, may speed departure. Hence the attraction arising from developments of iron or of coal, and such startling results as the increase of the population of Glamorganshire from 70,879 in 1801 to 1,120,910 in 1911, or of the port of Barry from about 100 in 1881 to over 13,000 in 1891. If, then, quick changes are not the usual desire of em- ployers or employed, it might have been supposed that the difficulties and disadvantages of movement would tend to better acquaintance, friendship, and mutual interests between parties who would prefer to stay where they were and cultivate that intense love of home which is so strong in British minds. In some, perhaps in many, instances such results may have been attained, but can it be said that 16 THE EMPLOYER in the majority of businesses any such relation exists, par- ticularly in large cities ? Whatever may have been the philanthropic or paternal interest in their workpeople which has been evinced from time to time in businesses run by one man or a family, the tendency of late years has not been in the direction of interest by acquaintance or friendship. The cold entity of a joint-stock company or a huge combine does not lead to it. The workmen become numbers, grouped on pro- cesses, driven into pigeon-holes at the very time when education and more education is pressed upon the people and better educated lads are being turned out by their tens of thousands. In England in January 1918 there were nearly 5| million, and in Wales over 466,000, scholars on the books of the ordinary public elementary schools, higher elementary schools, special schools and certified efficient schools. During 1917 the number of pupils of both sexes in secondary schools recognised as efficient was, in England, 242,024 (128,709 boys), as compared with 203,540 (110,118 boys) in 1914. The vast majority of these children and lads must neces- sarilyseek their livelihood in industryof one kind or another. The number is continually increasing. Where will the employers be if there is no outlet for them to go forward, and if their chances of a career are continually stopped by a wall ? The cry is daily for more and better education. The Government itself has proclaimed " the need for a complete and systematic plan of elementary education in each area, properly related to elementary and secondary schools and universities, adapted to local needs and particularly to industrial needs, and offering to every stu- dent facilities for a graduated and progressive course of instruction suited to his or her requirements." In that the working-classes see the chance for the better fitness of their children to take part in the work of life : but the children, with wider views than their ancestors, will not be satisfied with a life limited artificially in its opportunities, and controlled by the dictation of a few. They want to have an open chance ; and will generally desire to see a direct interest in the result of their work. Without such incentives they will not do the work as it ought to be done, or give the production which is necessary for the future of the nation. MODERN COMBINATIONS 17 It may be said that the employers themselves are becoming more and more limited in freedom. These are the days when the process of handing over the conduct of business to joint-stock companies is rapidly continuing, and employers act as trustees for others. These are also the days when huge combines in every class of industry are being effected. Such amalgamations are devised for economy of working, and in some measure allow more openings for those connected with them than the " one chief" business. But there is the great difference that, when employers come under such limitation, the limitation is voluntary. The employer joins if it is to his advantage to join. He can choose for himself, except so far as pressure of competition may impose the practical necessity upon him. But the existence of these bodies does not lessen the utility of considering the importance of an open chance or of a direct interest in the result of work, both for employers and their workpeople. A tribute to those principles may be given in the words of a recent report of a successful company : " We try to give all our 6mployees an equal opportunity of advancement, and the growth and success of our business prove the soundness of this policy. The path is open to them, even up to the directorate." CHAPTER IV EDUCATION If the preceding suggestions are not entirely incorrect, and if the nation or employers or both are perplexed with the seething mass of proposals for betterment put forward on behalf of equally perplexed workers under the guise of ideals, it may not be out of place to ask them to pay more attention to the subject of youth. The present practice not only stunts the proper growth of our youths, but tilts their activities in a wrong direction. Nothing has been so marked during the last, thirty years as the growth of labour troubles. Reams of paper have been consumed in dealing with it. Labour troubles vied with the war as a nightmare troubling everybody, and since the war have oppressed the nation. Are they not largely the result of a system, or, rather, the lack of a system? And are not the majority of labour troubles due to a movement of the young men ? Let it be admitted that the education of children has been progressive, that the good education of twenty years ago was not equal to that of ten years ago, that the education of ten years ago fell short of the education of to-day, and that the training of our children from five to fifteen years of age is being constantly improved. Let it be allowed that there is a general desire to equip the rising generations as thoroughly as possible for the battle of life, and that large sums (a fact only too obvious) are annually spent in the perfecting of this equipment. The tendency is in the direction of education and still more education. For eight or ten years in the life of our children the aim of our National Education is to broaden, develop, and expand their minds and latent capabilities, an endeavour generally endorsed as right and proper, even though a strong volume of opinion may exist that, as a nation, we 18 NEGLECT OF TRAINING 19 are still far behind what is required if the best results are to be obtained and our children are to get that chance which their natural abilities demand. And yet, in comparison with this attitude, public sen- timent, so far as the training of our young workpeople aftei" they leave school is concerned, is one of surprising neglect. Much has been said and written of the extreme impressionability of the youth of both sexes between the years of fifteen and twenty. Whether these years are the most impressionable or not does not matter. They are at least sufficiently impressionable to make the after-life of the youth largely dependent upon the use which is made of these years. What generally happens ? At the risk of repetition, is it not the fact that the general practice is to place these young people with some private employer whose business is not training, but production ? No doubt there is in the mind of the parents a hope that the broad education begun at school will be followed by a compre- hensive training in the trade which the youth has chosen. In actual fact nothing of the kind occurs. Let us suppose that a lad enters a trade through the medium of a large manufacturing business. The lad finds that the line taken with his education while he was at school is reversed. At school the whole endeavour was to broaden and expand his mind, so much so that he frequently wondered to what use he could put the different branches of knowledge which he was encouraged to study. In his new business a contrary line is taken. His work is narrowed, confined, and restricted ; he is encouraged to become proficient in one or a few operations, not to acquire a general knowledge of a trade. It does not require much reflection to see that no other result could come from the system at present followed in industrial education. Until a comparatively recent date, industrial education was left, with some confidence, almost entirely to employers under the apprenticeship systems. Whatever may be said of this training in the past — and it may have been suitable a century ago — it is certainly wholly inadequate now. There are, of course, exceptions in the case of firms which have taken special care about the subject. A particularly successful firm tells that they " have nineteen apprentices who are instructed in a special tool-room in the operation of all machine tools ; their 20 EDUCATION work consists in making jigs, fixtures, special tools, parts of machine tools that need replacing, a certain amount of millwright work, and any work of an exceptional nature. Each apprentice carries through his work from the commencement to the finish, and repetition is avoided as much as possible. Their progress has been quite satis- factory. Three of them have left our employ to take positions as competent toolmakers. The remainder are probably better workmen than the majority of men who come to us as skilled mechanics. "In addition to the regular shop-work, they receive instruction in mathematics, physics, and machine drawing, the classes being held three evenings a week from the middle of September to the middle of May. The classes are held from 5.45 to 7.45 p.m. We have four classes in elementary mathematics on Tuesdays and Fridays, one class on ad- vanced mathematics on Fridays, and the same pupils attend the class in physics on Thursdays. The two last- mentioned classes are conducted so as to furnish material for each other — i.e. a portion of the mathematics relates to the physics being studied at that time, and special attention is given in the physics classes to provide material to demonstrate the applicability of their mathematics. "Up to January last we had two classes in machine drawing each week, but we found that we could keep up the interest and accomplish more by giving the youths one long session from 5.30 to 8.30, during the first portion of which they receive their instruction, after which they devote their time, under the supervision of the teacher, to work which would otherwise be done at home under less favourable conditions. " The books and materials required for the classes are provided by us, and we also provide the accommodation free of charge. The instructors are provided by the county educational committee." The method of production in the earlier half of the nine- teenth century, with its small factory and workshop, its limited orders and its lack of specialisation, lent itself to the general training of the apprentice ; he had to do everji;hing within the compass of the business. To-day that system is changed, or at least the only thing that appears to remain is the belief that a lad can enter a large shipyard, engineer- ing works, or building establishment, and learn his trade. REQUIREMENTS OP A WORKSHOP 21 It would seem that either such a belief exists, or that, with a complacency which is even more dangerous, the nation is content to leave matters to right themselves. In either event an incorrect theory clouds clear thinking. A lad entering his apprenticeship to-day does not learn his trade, and matters, if allowed to go on, will not right themselves, for the simple reason that all tendencies and interests are the other way. An employer, when he engages a lad, however much he may be concerned with the mental, moral, industrial, and physical development of the boy, is much more concerned with making his own business a success, and, naturally, whatever he may do for the boy is circumscribed by his larger and more important aim. Many, in fact, pay little attention to the lad except as an aid to their business. In any case the modern employer does not want his works filled with all-round highly-skilled mechanics or artisans. He requires many specialised workmen capable of handling the machines as specialists, and executing the parts of the special kind of work he is engaged in manufacturing. Any training he gives his apprentices will naturally tend in the direction of turning out men equipped for the special operation he will require them to do. Thus thousands of young men become highly expert in one, or at most a few operations, and narrowed, in outlook as well as capability, long before they are out of their apprenticeship. It would be remarkable if it were otherwise ; an employer no more accepts responsibility for the training of our youths than he does for the training of our children. Indeed, when children were entrusted to him he made a bad mess of it, as the history of the factory laws so clearly establishes. The effect of this narrow scope of work has been already mentioned. The lad becomes disillusioned, embittered, and finally antagonistic to the whole system. A few, aided by influence, struggle on and win through, but the great bulk look for other fields for their endeavours. Work- people are not different from business or professional people. They must have an outlet for their energies, ambitions, and hopes of advancement. If this outlet is blocked or denied them in one direction, the natural and helpful direction of advancement in their trade, then another outlet will be sought. This is easily found in trade union and labour agitation activities. An attractive field is open before them. 22 EDUCATION In place of the difficulties facing them in the struggle for a career in their business, they find that, by espousing the cause of Labour, a welcome career awaits them, with high prizes not depending upon favour or influence, but upon their own powers. Is it any wonder their hesitation disappears ? Before they realise it, they are taking sides against their employer and their trade prospects, and responding to the invitation of the trade unions. Our young men are, by this method of specialised and narrow training and consequent stoppage of prospects of advancement, being driven from the piirsuit of trade ambitions, and ruined as prospective aids in the struggle to connect to man's use the gifts and forces of nature. This educational equipment of the youth has resulted in hundreds of thousands of workpeople being forced into more or less active hostility to their employers. In place of eager joint efforts to expedite production, many in fact seek to retard production, while many are, to say the least, in- different. Others are imbued with an hostility which develops into antagonism to all authority. Some consola- tion is no doubt obtained from the thought that, frequent as industrial troubles are, they have so far been surmounted by some means or other, and the hope is possibly enter- tained that, harassing as the recurring menace is, means will stUl be found by which the difficulties will continue to be surmounted. The consolation must be small, because the seriousness of the trouble is so steadily increasing that it is obvious a condition of things is growing which, unless rectified, must have a grave effect. No other result can be expected. The knowledge and intelligence possessed by children leaving school is progressive. It is foolish to keep drafting this growing intelligence into industry, and expect it to remain quiescent when the hopelessness of advance- ment in industry becomes apparent to that intelligence. It is only necessary to meet the young miner, engineer, or factory worker, who has possibly done well at school and science class, to recognise that, if a pace commensurate with his intelligence is not found for him in his trade, he will find a place for himself in the ranks of labour agitation. There are at least two remedies within reach : (1) Completing by industrial education the work com- menced at school. WORKSHOP HANDLING 23 (2) A changed method in the workshop handhng of labour. As to completing by industrial education the work com- menced at school, if the qualities embodied in children require careful tending during their younger years, it is surely not less desirable that care should be taken when they are just beginning to be aware of the great possibilities of life. The nation, or, if intervention by the nation is to be avoided, associations of employers or individual em- ployers for those within their trade or factory, and trade unions, instead of being satisfied with education and train- ing up to fourteen or fifteen, should aim at completing by industriaL education the work commenced at school. The development of our youths is equally the interest of the nation as is the development of. the child. Why stop at fourteen or fifteen years of age ? If the education of the child by the nation has proved beneficial, why not go on and see him through part, at least, of his industrial educa- tion ? After he is twenty or so, he may safely be left to fight his own battle and specialise if he so wishes ; but until then, guidance, encouragement, and help in the work- shop are essential to the broad, general, and varied training which is necessary to his or her full man- or woman-hood. Recent developments of secondary training-schools are only a small beginning. As to a changed method of workshop handling, the dead level of trade union conditions is not the goal to be aimed at. It is to an upward, not a downward, direction that employers should devote their thought, so that advance- ment in his trade, not too long delayed and generous, will be possible to the aspiring youth. The ideal to be aimed at is to make every worker act as if the business was his own, and this result can only be reached if an opportunity is given to make the business actually his own in some proportion to his worth to the business. It may be allowed that the proportion of his worth to the trade may not be an easy question to answer. Is it more than to give to each lad " a fair sporting chance " of getting an opening in life ? I am not saying that every lad can have or obtain a general education, or should learn a whole business or the objects of it. Many lads show no aptitude or ambition whatever for acquiring such knowledge. Their parents, family, sexual inclinations, so 3 24 EDUCATION fearfully strong and so generally overlooked, laziness or stupidity, may each or all be causes which prevent any desire or attempt to move forward. Those lads will take a back place in the battle of life. They will be in the army of the unskilled or semi-skilled, with no ambition to go farther ; but still, it is fair and expedient that they should have had their chance. Guidance as to vocation may be helpful. Opportunity from the State, the municipality, or the wise employer may afford the opening for those capable of taking it, and the door may advisably never be entirely closed. Neverthe- less the fact remains that in modern industry there must be division of work and specialisation. If the opportunity of general education is not taken, or the value of general knowledge of a trade is not recognised or is not sufficiently valuable to an individual, that individual has to select the course that he will or can follow. The most that can be said for him is that he should have had his chance ; a chance which under present conditions he seldom gets. The State may do something, but a few hours a week in secondary education do not afford much foothold. Volun- tary Associations directing lads in clubs may do much. Employers endeavouring to select the best brains amongst their employees may do more ; and if parents are gradu- ally brought to see the importance of. lads having their chance and not being hurried, for the sake of present gain at the expense of their future, into minor wage-earning employments, parents can do most. The intention and wider outlook have to be obtained. Then all correlative forces may unite in the same effort. Give the lad or girl the best chance which is possible, up to the age of twenty or twenty-one, and then, as leading-strings cannot be kept indefinitely in being, their place in the body politic and their future must largely depend upon themselves and their own aptitude. Some may become leaders of men, but the majority must follow. They have to follow in the state for which they are fit, according to their merit and ability. Yet those who are leaders must still consider them. The rabbit in the hutch, the fowl in the hen-roost, the cattle in the meadow cannot be healthy or breed or satisfy the conditions of their life if they are not tended. Unhealthy surroundings, insufficient food, close quarters are bad for animals, but how much worse for men, women. CLAIMS FOR BETTER CONDITIONS 25 and children, beings with powers of reasoning, with standards of comfort below which they will not go, similar in birth and death and many requirements with all other human beings ! At the present day the industrial world moves more speedily than ever. Men and women expect more. They read more, travel more, discuss more than was customary twenty years ago, and in addition, these islands are more crowded. The conditions of life, the standards, amenities, power of movement and amusements have rapidly changed. Better conditions of work are therefore demanded — and each step in better conditions may give rise to a desire for more. It is obvious that they cannot be given unless the means exist to do it. Care, forethought, paternal interest may do something. The end cannot, however, be reached without mutual confidence, without a spur showing men that good work will produce good results to them as well as to others, interesting them in their own career and the success of the business to which they are attached. If so, the business is bound to progress, whereby the means will be obtained for giving better and better conditions. Take the point of view of this example in a big American firm of 6,000 employees and four or five different factories, where it is said that no labour troubles have existed : " Instructions to Foremen and Managers "Promotions. — 1. Promote employees to operations of higher skill and wage as rapidly as possible. "2. If you cannot take care of the natural ability of an employee in your own department, see the Superintendent and Employment officer and recommend the man for a better position elsewhere, even when it may mean to you the loss of a good operator. " Help every employee to succeed to the best of Ms ability. "3. Any operator wishing promotion or change to another job in the Company open to him shall be transferred, after serving a notice as required. The maximum notice required shall be one week." I might cite another instance, showing the policy pursued in some large boot and shoe factories employing 13.000 26 EDUCATION workpeople and producing 86,000 pairs of shoes daily. They announce to their workpeople a notice running : " Square Deal for Workers " All our better positions filled by promotion. " All the best jobs in the Factories and Tanneries filled from the ranks. " No good position filled from the outside, but always from the inside. " This policy will be followed strictly in future, and be well understood by the workers, so that those in lower positions may confidently expect, in due process of time, tp advance into the better positions when open. " Leaving the experienced man where he is, and hiring a new man for the higher and better positions, is the easiest way, but not the best way, and should not be considered for a moment. " The stability, growth, and future development of this business depend upon the above policy being strictly carried out. The ' goodwill of the workers ' can only be secured and maintained through fair treatment, and it is UNFAIR to a working member of our concern to have some- one from outside put in above him. Favouritism should never be POSSIBLE. Merit alone should be the only consideration for promotion." In the United Kingdom since the war a large number of firms have been aiming in a similar direction. The Govern- ment has been taking some steps, by the Welfare Move- ment, to indicate suggestions and improvements in amenities, though it may be questioned how far Govern- ment interference in this matter is desirable. A healthy movement, spreading naturally, is much more lasting than anything imposed by another authority. Amenities alone are not sufficient. Paternal improvements may be accepted, but youth wants power of expression through its own efforts, command of its own money, plans and schemes devised or worked by itself, and a tangible result within a reasonable time. If the principles suggested by these two notices, and the examples shown by the best firms in the United Kingdom, are adapted to the variations of different businesses, a very IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTION 27 remarkable change might be effected in industry, and in the prospects of industrial trouble in these islands. Other results will follow, b^t a root difficulty is the lack of oppor- tunity and lack of recognition. Sweep that away, engender mutual confidence, commence with the view that every employee should take pride in his prospects, the result of his labours, and the success of his firm ; add to it, if you like, by giving a share of surplus profits or by allowing the employees to invest in the shares of the firm, to arrange with the management the method of settling disputes, or to suggest improvements or even the policy — then the position will be strengthened both within and without. There will be no need then for the interference of Govern- ment or outsiders, or for discussions over old age, minimum wage, unemployment, hours, demarcations, restrictions, payment by results, piece- or time-work, or any of the thousand and one questions now looming so large over the industrial world. They will be solved because it will be to the mutual interest of everybody in the firm or company, taken in its broadest sense, to have them solved. The wise trade union leaders will leave that firm alone, even if its employees may belong to their union and pay sub- scriptions for the sake of sympathy, associations, or such benefits as may not have yet been settled within the confines of the firm or trade itself. His energies will still have ample scope. A change is not effected in a day, and there will be the old story of those who lag behind, of those who do not care till a rude awakening comes to them, of those Avho say, " What was good enough for our fathers is good enough for us." CHAPTER V TRAINING AND SERVICE I MAY be asked what kind of training should be given in order to enable the lad to have his chance ; and the answer is not easy to give. Teachers of primary schools alone can adequately depict the feeling of despair which must come over them in considering the long procession of children passing through their hands, from every kind of home, with every type of brain-power and every type of character ; some almost hopelessly hampered by bad homes, bad clothes, bad feeding, bad companions, or bad health. And when school life comes to its closing days, there is the desire or necessity of parents for money to be earned, the ignorance of the child as to where to go or what to do, the accep- tance of the first opening, however unsuitable, or the idleness induced by a sense of new freedom. Efforts have been made in thefpast by boys' and girls' Friendly Societies, apprenticeship associations, and naany another charitable or philanthropic society. Government has stepped in with schemes for secondary education, notably the recent Fisher Act, taking tentative steps to pass such legislation as will be accepted generally for the time being. My con- tention is that further efforts must be made, and service of those better able to understand and better fitted by means, knowledge, or position must be given in every possible direction, if the lad is to receive chances, if any unity is to be obtained, if class hatred and industrial strife are to be mitigated. These are in themselves very desir- able objects to most men and women, but even if a revolu- tion occurred, if violent methods or a vast succession of strikes were adopted to paralyse or overthrow industrial and social systems, and seemingly succeeded, the same problem would have to be met, and the same necessity would arise. Life has but little value unless use is made 28 GUIDANCE IN CAREERS 29 <;f the brain, and unless other aspirations beyond those of i purely material kind have in some measure opportunity of being satisfied. , Are not the stages to be attempted at least three in /'number ? (1) To get hold of the youth when he leaves or I is leaving school, and endeavour to teach or lead him, whether at work or in his spare hours, and the evenings, to some knowledge of the advantages gained by use of brain and hand, service to others, a corporate life, and pride in his association with others and in himself — in fact, to make him a good citizen. (2) To guide and help him to the best career that may be open to him, with such addition of general knowledge and interest or smattering of voca- tional knowledge as time, ability, and effort will allow, the latter point of vocational training being one which, from the necessities of the case, parents will expect and the lad more and more wish. (3) To give him opportunity, when started on his career, to add knowledge which will improve his interest in life generally, and his trade in particular, and give him a better chance of advancement in his trade, till such time as he is a man, and must fend more or less for himself, and in his turn begin to help those who are growing up around him, " to give our children occupations which will make solitude pleasant, sickness tolerable, life more dignified and more useful, and therefore death less terrible.' L Many are the schemes which have been started from time to time, but I may illustrate the first point by the efforts being made by the Y.M.C.A. in their Red Triangle Clubs, with which I am more personally acquainted than with others, to show the class of aid practically within reach. I take them as an example only, with no desire to ignore efforts which have been made by other bodies. The fine work of the Boy Scouts and many another national or local association or club is well known. There is room for all, if care be taken that they do not overlap. I take the Y.M.C.A. because they have clubs of which I know the particulars. The clubs are spreading like wildfire, their enlargement being only limited by means for installation and the supply of the right people to run them. They began as a revival of inchoate work commenced before the War, when in April 1918 I was asked to meet seven district secretaries, and others interested in the work, at Cheltenham, 30 TRAINING AND SERVICE and endeavour to arrange a scheme with a view to co- ordinated effort. After three days, plans were draftei which were unanimously adopted by all the Committee and the National Council of the Y.M.C.A. A few excerpts may show its intention and method of working. In alluding to " aims and present position," the report said : " The field for a National Organisation is immense and complex, but if the scheme is sufficiently broad, support should be obtained for it ; its work would strike the imagi- nation and the common sense of the country at large, and the good results which may be obtained are almost incalculable. Seven district secretaries have already been appointed, but four more are requisite immediately to cover the North, the South Coast, the North Midlands, and North Wales. If funds can be granted and the men carefully selected, four paid full-time secretaries should be appointed for these districts as soon as possible. " The self-respect and discipline resulting from adherence to a recognised body, and the connection of the Y.M.C.A. with all features of the War, will lead lads brought within its influence to be keen to assist in the War and give some preliminary touch of mutual effort which will make training more easy for those who enlist. For those who are engaged, at an earlier age, in any of the trades, any controlling influence is bound to assist in the general .production, chiefly, at the present time, that of munitions of war. After the War, such influence will continue and spread, to the advantage of the community at large, in various parts of the country, and particularly in trade. " Local support, by cities or counties, should, by right tactics, be forthcoming ; and an example is already apparent in the results obtained in the City of Birmingham and its districts, where a minimum of £6,000 a year is assured. Advantage should be taken of the offers or use of suitable premises. Equipment can be gradually acquired if it cannot be provided to an adequate amount in the first instance. " The country has been mapped out into areas. Those areas may have to be subsequently divided and sub- divided again and again, owing to the largeness of the problem and the necessity of not having unwieldy con- stituencies, and of having close individual influence and SCHEMES FOR LADS 31 control. But for present purposes these areas are suitable for the planning out of the general scheme. This scheme should be either on the basis of — " (a) The City attracting its suburbs and then spreading its influence over districts and areas, such as has been accomplished at Birmingham ; or — " (b) By the County absorbing under its general effort such branches as may have been formed, welding them together under County Organisation, and working with the County as the main centre of the interest that may be aroused. " This latter scheme is, in a sense, the Birmingham Scheme reversed. Either plan is simple to understand, and would depend upon the lines of least resistance. " The outline of the Birmingham plan is — "1. The City Board has full control of the Policy, Programme, Finance, and Staff of the whole City. Each Branch Association has its Committee of Management responsible to the City Board. Each Branch Association has its Sub-Committee for Extension Work into outlying villages. Each Branch Association submits an Annual Budget to the Board, which approves or disapproves. " 2. From the City Board are developing strong County Committees which will control Policy, Programme, Finance, and Staff of County. Each Association in the County will have its Committee of Management responsible to the County Committee. " 3. Representatives of the County Committees with the City Board to form the Midland Divisional Committee. "4. In the City of Birmingham co-operation is estab- lished, or working arrangements are made with the Welfare Control Committee, Employment Exchange, Care Committee, Magistrates, Education Committee, etc. " The efforts hitherto made for boys may be divided into — "(a) Spasmodic and nibbling efforts made by Govern- ment Departments and other bodies — or individuals — some- times religious, sometimes sectional ; and generally without organised scheme or cohesion (with the possible exception of the Boys' Brigades and Scouts) ; and " (b) New efforts, being made chiefly under the pressure of the War, by the Ministry of Munitions, or in connection with the Ministry of Education, the Home Office, and the 32 TRAINING AND SERVICE Ministry of Labour. It is of the utmost importance that the Y.M.C.A. should not fight against these old and new efforts in any aggressive spirit. Its efforts should be directed in a tactful manner to absorption, co-operation or co-ordination, as local circumstances may dictate. The result at Birmingham shows what can be done, but there should be no disheartening feeling if such wide results are not obtainable in each area. There is no reason to suppose that hostility will be shown by other bodies, and the Y.M.C.A. should not be out to provoke it. After all, the field is wide enough without squabbles and jealousy leading to impairment of work and the waste of valuable time. Strict instructions should be given to all Secretaries as to the value of tact and the absolute importance of working with those whose aim is directed to the same broad object of assisting the boy. " Internal Organisation " The National Council of the Y.M.C.A., acting through a Juniors' Committee, will have the supreme directing voice, and also be the ultimate Court of Appeal. For the areas, I emphasise the importance of paid full-time secretaries, whose assistants m.ay ultimately be multiplied to any required extent. It is essential that these secretaries should be capable organisers, and not become too much immersed in detail. They should have power to delegate and delegate again, and if they will not delegate, must be made to delegate. In their Counties or Cities, as the case may be, they will have to deal tactfully with County and also Local Committees, which, though they may sometimes do little work, are a necessary concomitant for obtaining local support and criticism. The secretaries will be respon- sible for seeing that the right people get upon these Com- mittees ; that important types and interests, such as parents, are not left out, and that mere faddists are as far as possible excluded. I would recommend that some women should be members of these Committees. For the staff under the secretary, in Birmingham, it is thought that there should be a centre of training for business staff ; where such a centre is obtainable, the gift horse should not be looked in the mouth. Further experience will show whether it is a necessary adjunct in all districts. LADS' SELF-GOVERNMENT 33 The secretaries should have, with the help of the local committees, the discretion of selecting the type of man whom they may choose as their assistants, for forming and managing the Red Triangle Clubs or Branches that may be established, having an eye to the importance of selecting men who like the work and understand boys, and remembering that it is easier to put a man into a post than to get him out. Under the staff the boys themselves should be strongly encouraged in self-government, and for this purpose I am of opinion that the Prefect System should be adopted. " The Prefect System implies a carefully considered method of Badges as an indication of good attendance, good work, and power of controlling others, and is a method of stimulating competition and merit. All boys joining clubs should make some contribution in money. These contributions will not be adequate to pay for clubs, but where possible should bear some adequate ratio to the expenses of the club. The secretaries m^y from time to time consider and suggest methods for adding to the income of clubs, with the object of making them, as far as possible, self-supporting. " Syllabus " I understand that in any work done the objects of the Y.M.C.A. — educational, physical, recreative, or religious — will be kept in view without undue regard to any one of these objects ; but considerable discretion should be left to the secretaries in working any schemes. " Much will depend on the intentions of the New Educa- tion Act and other plans now being tentatively put forward by Government Departments ; but whatever syllabus is adopted in different districts, trial trips in novel subjects should not be discouraged. After interesting conversations, I think that a general instruction might be given to the secretaries to try to encourage, by small prizes if necessary, those boys who will keep accounts and show accurately how they spend their money, amounting in many cases, at the present time, to pounds a week. " Very different opinions were forthcoming as to the value of charting boys according to the Canadian System which has recently been adopted in the U.S.A. I would 34 TRAINING AND SERVICE lay down no general rule, but those secretaries who are prepared to try it, and such adaptations as experience may dictate, should be permitted to continue, and should pro- duce their arguments and results at a later Conference. " Miscellaneous " Discussion took place on the question of separate clubs for certain definite classes of boys. It is agreed by everyone that there must be grades of clubs varying according to districts, although membership, say, of two clubs, or even of promotion from club to club, might not be outside the possibility of testing. In the same way promotion from the Boys' Clubs to the Men's Clubs should be a subject for careful thought and, in many cases, for personal influence. " How far, and in what manner, girls should be brought into or have a separate room in clubs should also not be put outside consideration, and trials might be made. " On the point of separate clubs for very special classes of boys, I thiink inquiry might be made, and support would be obtainable, say on the Mersey and at Cardiff, for the provision of separate clubs for Riveters' Boys. In con- nection with these clubs, the problem of men acting as Riveters' Boys, and a separate room for such men, will have to be dealt with. These men cannot be left out. Riveters' Boys are a section especially crying for immediate treatment. " Clubs in Rural Districts may, in many Counties, involve problems far more easy of solution where the Rural District is pratically semi- suburban. In most parts of counties like Lancashire and Yorkshire, the City would affiliate the semirural district in its immediate vicinity. In other parts of such counties, or in purely rural counties, the County Organisation would have to look after the area, and an assistant secretary might have to inquire and experiment without involving the secretary in minute spade-work of less importance than the main organisation in the big cities. Such assistant secretaries may, in some villages, organise permanent clubs ; in others, make use of the perambulating activities of the Y.M.C.A. for weekly lectures, socials, and general encouragement in existing rooms, schoolrooms, or even private houses. Parents A BOY CAMPAIGN 36 should be brought in to some of these functions. In this work, as also in city -work, the great importance of healthy cinema instruction should be a branch for special develop- ment. " London is a problem by itself. I suggest clubs should be established and worked up where suitable premises can be obtained as models, and linked together by degrees. The interest of two or three active Borough Authorities in different districts north and south of the Thames might be invoked, and advice sought from persons having know- ledge of such districts as the Dock Districts. " I would suggest that it be a rule that all the Head Secretaries should meet together at least once in six months, for the purpose of reviving mutual acquaintance, intro- ducing new men, comparing notes, revising and dropping mistakes, and suggesting improvements and developments. " As a final word, I would only repeat that the Boy Campaign must be broad, boldly supported, and pressed with wisdom and audacity." Within a few months, the conference met again at Oxford, on November 24, when it was found that nearly all the suggestions made in April had been or were being carried out. About 10,000 boys were being dealt with after these few months' work, and a large amount of spade- work had been accomplished. The Midland System, of which a more detailed account was given, had been practi- cally adopted all round, and found to work. It had become clear that to ask a locality to provide funds before any work was done caused delay and expenditure of effort, which sometimes proved to be fruitless, owing to the diffi- culty of obtaining subscriptions where no practical proof had already been shown, and where failure of previous attempts by other organisations had created prejudice ; but that when work was shown, local assistance speedily followed. Training-schools for club secretaries were advo- cated, and have since proved invaluable. The report continued : " The experience of the last few months entirely endorses the opinion that the Prefect System should be uniformly adopted, and has led to some interesting developments. After hearing a long discussion upon the subject, my 36 TRAINING AND SERVICE opinion is that the first Prefects should be nominated by the Club Secretary, and that after these first Prefects have become established, vacancies should be filled or additions made by the Prefects themselves under a process of co- optation from boys who have earned the Bronze Triangle. The Prefects know the kind of work to be done, and jealously maintain the efficiency and credit of their class. The boys themselves have the competitive objects of gaining first the Bronze Triangle ; second, the post of Prefect ; and in practice this has proved a better system than the boys choosing their Prefects by election among themselves. " The second development is that in a large club, under the leadership of their Prefects, the boys can be divided up into boys coming from different areas, the areas, as it were, representing ' Houses ' in a Public School. The areas can be named either from a parish or a district, or the name of some popular person. The Prefects look after their own boys, are keen to keep up the number of boys from their area, and to add to their number by new recruits. Further, the area system allows competition within an easy distance in games, gymnastics, or other forms of energy. " In the District Reports considerable stress was laid upon the almost unexpected interest taken by boys in music. It was stated that the Camp Song-book of the Y.M.C.A. was very popular, but that other classes of singing had also been tried with success, as well as piano-playing. The opinion was that this was an interesting line to follow up, both as giving a mode of expression and developing character. It was felt that a very small assistance by Song-books and Musical Instruments would lead to results which might then be tested by an expert, who would advise whether any and what course of instruction could be sug- gested for adoption. It must be remembered that most of the boys commence in entire ignorance of music, but seem to be attracted, by good-class music, going so far as to take keen interest in competitive singing and choirs. " Trials, as suggested, have been made in socials, in which both girls and boys join, and also in periodical meet- ings. It has been found that there was keen objection by the younger boys to these forms of entertainment, but that the older boys and the Prefects did not dislike them, GENERAL AND SPECIAL TRAINING 37 and were desirous of bringing girls to concerts. It is sug- gested that entertainments of this kind, with boys and girls of all ages, are not very useful, but that there might, from time to time, be an older boys' night, when girls would be admitted and younger boys not be allowed to be present. Such a practice would afford a sort of halfway house to the knowledge, by boys and girls, of one another, without doing any harm. No case of any bad result from these meetings is known. " Progress has been made with the proposed Clubs for Riveters' Boys, both at Newport and on the Mersey. In Newport the club has been warmly welcomed by all classes. A building near the Ship-repairing Yards and in telephonic communication with them has been secured and adapted. The employers have agreed to recognise it as the Welfare Centre for the boys, and from it the gangs will be called up as required. The officials of the Local Boiler-Makers' Association are in entire sympathy with the development. As the club is situated near to the homes of many of the boys, it will, in addition to the foregoing, form an ordinary Evening Club. A separate room has been provided for the older boys. In this connection it may be well to men- tion that the belief sometimes expressed that such clubs will afford places for gambling is entirely unfounded and inaccurate. The boys will gamble wherever they can, if there is no club ; but where they can be got to attach themselves to a club, the gambling, through the influence of the club secretary, comes to an end. " I would specially mention the work done by the District Secretary of Wales, in South Wales, among the Workmen's Institutes. About fifty of these Institutes are affiliated to the Y.M.C.A., and boys are admitted as soon as they enter the mines. It has been arranged with the Executive and Representatives of the Institutes to experiment in Boys' Work in certain centres in Glamorgan- shire and Monmouthshire. The proposal is to assign a room or rooms for boys in the Institutes, and to provide a Boys' Programme, which is being put forward by the District Secretary. I am strongly of opinion that this movement should receive the full support of the National Council. " It was stated in April that the great importance of healthy cinema instruction should be a branch of special 38 TRAINING AND SERVICE development. An interesting experiment in Bristol tends to show the advantage of this suggestion. Eight hundred boys attended on Saturday evenings, for a whole season, to see a machine showing pictures of travel, sane adven- ture and educational subjects, at an entrance fee of one penny. It was found that a simple explanation of each picture was received with the utmost attention, and that the show was improved by having intervals for mass singing. " The suggestion was made that, in London, clubs should be established and worked up, where suitable premises could be obtained as models and linked together by degrees. Some premises have been obtained, and linking- up may in time follow. " I suggest that the same principle should be continued, when the process of linking-up may gradually develop. " I am satisfied that the Boy Campaign has come to stay ; that it fills a want that other organisations do not cover, and can work in with almost any type of good organisation ; that the work done by a small staff has been excellent, and that the Y.M.C.A. may safely and advisedly continue to encourage and support it." Let me add, too, that such clubs give an opportunity for those who are better educated to give service to those who have had less chance ; and to interest and advance them in knowledge of books, games, and a corporate spirit, and develop those qualities which in the War made men so loyal to their comrades, so ready to share with a chum, so generous and chivalrous to those who might be in trouble or unfortunate. The second stage to which I have alluded in some measure overlaps the first, just as the first may also over- lap the second, or continue coincidently with it. There come in it the choice of work, the problem of suitable work, and the education connected with that work. For use in the Y.M.C.A. Clubs, Mr. S. A. WilUams, one of its officers, has prepared a series of admirable charts of the principal trades, by which a lad can see at a glance, when he considers the trade to enter, which line of develop- ment he should try to follow, how some branches offer more promotion than others, how important it is to avoid cul-de-sac employment, and how, while working at one VALUE OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 89 section, he may be able to prepare for the next section to which he may have a chance of promotion. Such informa- tion as this cannot but be useful and instructive to both employer and lad. A selection of these charts is printed at the end of the chapter, under the heading " Careers for Boys." There are, however, in addition to choice and advice as to work, the very difficult questions how far education should be general, with a measure of specialised training, or how far general training should be subordinated to that specialised work which may be the lad's lot in life. Mr. Fisher, in his recent Education Act, has endeavoured to obtain some admixture of the two, recognising that a vast change cannot be made in a day, and that money has to be earned at an early age by the majority of mankind. He has laid a foundation on which much may be nationally built; but apart from the national minimum, it must be recognised that individual care for the individual, and partly by the individual, may and does produce results according to the development of brain and aptitude in individuals, and that industries, trades, firms, as well as societies, may all aid in well-considered advance. For those lads who can aspire to get through, it is to be noted that the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies have laid down, for the First School Examination, intended by the Board of Education for pupils of about sixteen and a half years of age, a declaration in favour of the English language and literature as a compulsory subject, with four subsequent groups, history and geography, languages other than English, mathematics, science ; and they urge that, in scholarship examinations, credit should be given for general ability, and not alone for excellence in one special department of scholarship or knowledge. Their general opinion has been expressed in important resolutions stating : "(a) In the awarding of scholarship, high importance should be attached to the writing of English, and to General Knowledge, and that these should be tested by an essay paper, and at least one General Knowledge paper. " (b) In examinations for Entrance Scholarships at the Universities, the requirement of minute and detailed know- ledge of the main subject or a branch of it, such as is 4 40 TRAINING AND SERVICE commonly now made, necessitates excessive specialisation at school, and urgently needs to be amended. " (c) In examinations for Entrance Scholarships at the Universities, credit should be given for knowledge of subjects other than that which is the main subject of examination. "(d) Where it is found practicable to do so, consideration should be paid to the school record of candidates, and to other evidence of work which they may offer. "(e) No pressure should be put upon scholars to take their degree in the subject or subjects in which they have gained their scholarship." As a late Chief Constructor to the Admiralty told me, " After the experience of a lifetime, I find the lads with good general education gradually specialising prove the most apt pupils, advance farther, and have more wide interests, than lads coming forward with high training in one subject. I have tried both systems, and have no doubt as to the best." The difficulty in practice is the line of demarcation (1) between a general education and vocational training; (2) in vocational training, between general training in everything connected with the industry and the special efficiency required in one section of that industry. The requirements of modern industry demand, for instance in engineering, not a mechanic with vague bits of theoretical knowledge, and a little knowledge of ever5rthing connected with the industry, but an efficient and speedy workman in a particular branch. In training such a work- man, it is essential to recOi?[nise that it is sheer waste to throw a lad into a large busihess, and leave him to pick up what he can, as and when he can, with no sequence of training, no understanding that the work he is on is of a useful character, or why it is useful, and no interest in the article he is producing or in the industry to which he belongs. "^' CAREERS FOR BOYS 42 CAREERS FOR BOYS CHOOSING A CAREER This diagram illustrates the two ways of choosing a career. On the left is the " blindfold " way, with its dangers. When the boy leaves school he is anxious to obtain work, and is often sent out to find a job. In the window he sees a card " Lad Wanted," and applies for the post. The left-hand figure shows the probable result of following this course. The chances are at least even that the job holds out no prospects of a career. It is very probable that it is definitely of a blind-alley character which will turn the youth adrift in a few years without a trade or occupation. In many cases he will help to swell the ranks of casual workers exposed to the twin evils of poor pay and frequent unemployment. On the right is the " explorer's " way. The schoolboy should follow the method of an explorer, and find out what occupations are open to him, which are suitable to him, and what are the prospects. The right-hand figure shows what are the probable results of following this course. CHOOSING A CAREER 43 BAD OCCUPATION UNEMPLOYMENT SURPLUS OF WORKERS POOR WAGES UNSUITABLE WORK ["Lad Wanted "is a common notice. It is often not the best job for the boy.] GOOD OCCUPATION CHANCES TO RISE DEMAND FOR WORKM.EN SATISFACTORY WAGES REGULAR EMPLOYMENT SUITABLE WORK [The map is the list of occupations open to boys, a synopsis of which is printed on page 5.] SCHOOL BOY 44 CAREERS FOR BOYS BOYS IN INDUSTRY This diagram represents the three courses which are open to a boy when he leaves school. The right-hand side shows the path of a boy who becomes an apprentice or learner. His training includes instruction in the workshop and attendance at technical classes. At the con- clusion of his apprenticeship he becomes an improver, or Young Journeyman, and later a skilled workman, or Journeyman. The middle section shows the paths which are open to the boy who enters industry as an unskilled worker. During the first portion of his time he may do odd jobs or operate an auto- matic machine or do other routine and mechanical work. This period of time is most important, for it probably shapes his future life. If he proves his ability as a worker, and improves his general education and technical knowledge by attendance at classes, he may be promoted to the ranks of the skilled men. He may, however, simply prove an industrious worker, and thus be of value to the firm, which may retain his services as an adult on semi-skilled or unskilled work. In many branches of industry, more boys are employed than can be absorbed as adults, and after two or three years' work, many youths are forced to leave the occupation to make room for a new generation of younger workers. This often proves a serious thing for many boys. They are unskilled and without any definite training, and they have not the strength or experi- ence of a man. They often drift aimlessly till they are too old to learn a trade, and are forced to enter the ranks of casual labour. On the left is shown the path of those boys who enter blind- alley employment — that is, occupations which provide work for boys and youths only. All these young people will be compelled to seek fresh work. It is particularly important that boys in these two sections should realise at an early stage that they will be forced to find fresh employment after a few years. They should prepare for the time of change by considering what they are going to be, and by attending classes to improve their educa- tion. Unless they do this the future has few prospects.for them. BOYS IN INDUSTRY 45 tpare for this time by ending classes and cning about prospects >theT occupations. VB THE OCCIJPATION SKILLED WORKMAN UNSKILLED OR SEMI-SKILLED WORKMAN IMPROVER INTELLIdEKT BOYS WHO ATTEaiD CLASI PROMOTED REPETITION" OR CrNSKILLED MANUAL WORKER BLIND ALLEY EMPLOYMENT ^WORKSHOP TRAINING Attendance and Woi are nei skilled Training make a UNSKILLED WORKER LEARNER OR APPRENTICE SCHOOL BOY 46 CAREERS FOR BOYS THE BUILDING TRADES This diagram illustrates the main branches of the building trades and the usual methods of entering the occupation, and the kind of boy who is likely to be successful in the work. A boy who wishes to enter the building trades can follow one of three methods : 1. He can enter a technical or trade school direct from the elementary school. 2. He can enter a workshop direct from school, and supple- ment his practical experience by attendance at technical classes. 3. He may enter a workshop and remain content with the instruction he gets there. The first case is shown on the right hand of the diagram. During the first year the boy will attend a general buUding course, including workshop training. During this time the boy's tastes and aptitudes are studied so that he can be directed to the branch for which he is best fitted. The remaining time is spent on a special course — building, joinery, bricklaying, • plumbing, decorating, etc. At the end of the period he will go as an improver. The middle section represents the course which is usually followed. A scheme of apprenticeship has been drawn up which follows the method shown in this section. The boy is apprenticed for five or six years, usually without premium. The pay varies from one-eighth journeyman's rates in the first year, to two-thirds in the sixth year. He receives training of two kinds : 1. In the workshop and on job. 2. In school. After he has completed his apprenticeship, the youth becomes an improver. The left-hand section of the diagram shows the path of the boy who receives practical instruction in the workshop, and does not attend classes to gain technical knowledge. He becomes an improver, but his prospects are not so good as those of the boys who have had a thorough training. The top line of the diagram shows the various branches of the building trades. It also points out that from carpenter and joiner the position of builder may be attained, and this may include a certain amount of architectural and surveying work. In the top corners of the diagram the advantages and dis- advantages of the building trades are shown. THE BUILDING TRADES 47 ADVANTAGES EFUL AND ESSENTIAL WORK HERALLY HEALTHY OD SCOPE FOR INTELLIGENCE OD PROSPECTS FOR ■LL TRAINED MEN DISADVANTAGES SEASONAL TRADES WORK LIABLE TO BE STOPPED IN WINTER AND BAD WEATHER C ORATOR PLUMBER MASON & BRICKLAYER CARPENTER & JOINER ARCHITECT SURVEYOR BUILDER WORKSHOP PRACTICE THE WORKSHOP WORKSHOP PRACTICE THE WORKSHOP QUALIFICATIONS FOR BUILDING TRADES PART TIME CLASSES TECHNICAL OR TRADE SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE SURVEYING BUILDING SPECIAL JOINERY BRICKLAYING COURSE PLUMBING DECORATING •^C^O^S^E^ BUILDING FULL TIME TECHNICAL OR TRADE SCHOOL SCHOOLBOY STRONG: INDEPENDENT; MECHANICAL HEALTHY: SELFRELIANT: FOND OF DRAWING 48 CAREERS FOR BOYS PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING This diagram illustrates the main classes of work in the print- ing and bookbinding trades, the various branches of work in each class, the work which is done by a student or apprentice in learning the trade, and the qualifications which are necessary for success. In the middle of the diagram the path from a schoolboy through student and apprentice to skilled man is shown. A boy may go direct from school to works as an apprentice, or he may spend some time in a Technical School. The lower section on the right shows the work which is learnt by a student or apprentice in bookbinding. When he has learnt the general work, he may specialise on one or more branches. As a skilled man he may either enter the letterpress binding or account-book binding. These are shown in the top right section of the diagram. The arrows right and left show the work done during the period of training. On the left are shown the main branches of work in printing : composing, stereo- and electrotyping, and machine managing. The lower sections on the left show the work which is done by student or apprentice, and the upper sections show the classes of work in which he may specialise as a skilled man. In top right- and left-hand corners the prospects and scope of the trades are indicated. THE PRINTING TRADES 49 IS o z Q 2 1—1 o o o h a. I aw I A t7 l-l I Q>o I oaio ; i-icuo H o u a S o < 2 z o n U tl) « 2 ^i Q o S '^ rl z a o « < - Z 2 S ^ u ^g So! fJ & Id Bi Ul o O < U. U d ll] 2 Q < W PROPERTY 8"* i ° < OF UEiF3fARY"w Qh so CAREERS FOR BOYS SHOP ASSISTANTS This diagram gives in outline the main branches of the distributive trades. It shows the usual methods of entry, the qualifications of the entrants, and the probable line of develop- ments of the business. In drapery, the Departmental Store will probably be a permanent feature ; in grocery, the Multiple Shop System will extend ; while in ironmongery there are good prospects for proprietors of small shops. THE DISTRIBUTIVE TRADES 51 ^ J K % o o ■< § O s K a: h Z tn X- P! ^ 11) s D Q III 01 < U O P < 3 Q U) K ^ O s Z o Cti h Ul < u D '' K ' O z f- u Ul D Q W O H) w Oi -1 1 w U) U) \ ^ 2; w \ . !1 o o o m u h h''^ ■s . CJ S ,. >» u b: s s 0, Is o ? " « ii c 0. ■ [I. / a o s a; o f o < >< o w [ t. o H 2 g H 2 s J o \ \ «/ \ m >. H \ 2: Q 2: T m < ^fe 1 \ S UJ §1 W Q 2 D \ J^ \ O On °l (I. < cu [i: \ 5 = \ u OS CQ U \ ^' \ z K ' < 2 ^ ' 3^ cd tn o HI « Ii. 4L Q Sm g^ o srf :: rirxg ctn-y- co-t^^loz^xozl^ j Jcmu-ell^ XO -wcx-a the last chance. I knew perfectly well that after seven 190 LANCASHIRE COTTON AND CLYDE DOCKERS days of negotiation, however spread over, practical men would negotiate no more. Everything that could be said would have been said. I also knew, or guessed, that Lancashire, except for some very good reason, would not cut its own throat, but, although it was gashed, would think twice before severing the jugular vein. My plan was to give further time for reflection, if under the surrounding circumstances the parties would agree to reflect. If a generalisation may be allowed, it seems to me that, on the assumption that a settlement must be effected, say at 12 o'clock, with the alternative of a fight, generally per- fectly useless, Scotland will settle at five minutes before the hour and make quite sure ; Lancashire will settle one minute before that hour ; Yorkshire will debate so long that they may by inadvertence pass the hour and have trouble ; Wales will take no note of the hour and sometimes settle and sometimes not ; and Ireland say that the clock is wrong, and that if it is right they will settle or not without any regard to it. Personally I prefer the Scottish method. My plan succeeded. During the week more conciliatory expressions of opinion had been published both by em- ployers' and operatives' representatives. The public Press began to assume a more hopeful mood, after being in the depths of despair, but again relapsed when no settlement was reached on January 15, after a sitting of ten hours. On the following day their views again brightened when at last an agreement was effected. The agreement was based upon the principle of time. It said this : " As each side claims a principle — the operatives that the workpeople have a right to refuse to work with non-unionists at any shed or mill; the employers that they must maintain their established practice of strict impartiality as regards unionists and non-unionists — and as both parties attach great importance to maintaining such rights, it be now agreed by the employers' and operatives' representatives that, with a view to provide means whereby the dispute may be settled by reason and in a friendly manner, work shall be resumed on Monday next, January 22, under the old conditions of employment, on the understanding that at the end of the period of six months, during which no action shall T)e taken in tendering notices or striKmg mills on the non-unionist question, Sir George Askwith, who has been TIME FOR REFLECTION 191 chairman of the conferences, and has heard the views which have been expressed by both sides, will, if requested, sub- mit to the parties his suggestions upon the matter, contain- ing, if possible, a means by which both sides can maintain their principles without injury to the rights of each other. " If such suggestions are requested, the parties shall meet within twenty-one days after receiving them for the con- sideration of the subject. " In the event of the foregoing procedure not providing a solution of the question, neither side shall be entitled to take any action on the non-unionist question involving a stoppage of the machinery unless six months' notice in writing has been previously given by one side to the other." There was some doubt, even after the agreement, whether it would be endorsed by the districts, as the operatives' leaders, although they had full power, desired to ascertain the opinions of their associations ; but on the following Friday the agreement was accepted, in spite of protests from some militant districts. Although no suggestion for settlement had been produced anywhere, criticism, coupled with sighs of relief, indicated that some superhuman intelligence should have evolved a clean-cut settlement. The critics failed to see that neither party could accept such a settlement, which must mean complete defeat for one or the other, and that sheer tenacity could only succeed in averting an unnecessary, inconclusive, and ruinous struggle. It might be correct to say that this agreement did not settle the question, but it gave time, and it also gave opportunity for withdrawing from an untenable position if, after exercise of calm judgment, it was so considered by either side. In order to revive the question, I had to be asked to give an opinion, but not before the end of six months. Further, if that opinion was obtained, the parties had to meet to consider it, and finally, whether it was satisfactory or not, neither side was after that to take any action involv- ing a stoppage of machinery without sii months' previous notice in writing. Thus plenty of time for consideration and discussion was afforded before any drastic step could be taken- Peace was established for a year at least. No principles were sacrificed, but ample time for reflection was given to consider whether the fervour of organisation was sufficient excuse for entering again upon such serious strife. 192 LANCASHIRE COTTON AND CLYDE DOCKERS Several months afterwards my opinion was asked, and on these Hnes it was given. No general rule could be laid down, and the parties recognised that fact by not reviving discussion. In my letter I said : " I have given very careful consideration to the subject, and have had the advantage of the views of many of the most prominent employers and trade union officials in other industries. I have also examined the past history of the subject. " This consideration leads me to the conclusion that it is not possible, at the present period of industrial develop- ment, to appraise the value of the contending opinions of each party respectively, nor the modifications which time may render it possible for either party to accept on this question. " In theory both parties must desire and will maintain their liberty of opinion and action. In the common interests of the maintenance and security of business, neither party may desire to use that liberty to the full measure. Prac- tical common sense, rather than any written rule, will define the measure in which it can be used, and lead to efforts for preventing any difficulty that may arise from becoming acute. Under all circumstances, I think that no written rule can advisably now be made." The annual report of the Lancashire Weavers' Amal- gamation recognised the situation by saying : " The letter gives no suggestions, which brings us to the conclusion that none could be made, because if the un- rivalled experience and knowledge of Sir George Askwith cannot find a solution for the non-member question, then we don't know who can." Some statistics of the dispute were : Looms stopped Spindles stopped . Spindles on short time Weavers and allied workers idle Spinners on short time Total cost to trade of Lancashire Cost to the trade unions Weavers' and allied workers' loss in wages Operative spinners' loss in wages Cardroom operatives' loss in wages Total loss in wages 450,000 3,000,000 45,000,000 160,000 100,000 £7,000,000 250,000 725,000 160,000 115,000 1,000,000 THE CLYDE BEGINS 193 The very day that the proposed agreement in the cotton dispute was completed, I had to leave for Glasgow over some disputes in that city in which I had been asked to attend conferences. Although Mr. Mitchell and I had come on other business, the visit was interpreted as an attempted intervention in a threatened dockers' dispute. As a matter of fact, I had previously suggested, when a stoppage was threatened in December, that the parties should endeavour to settle the pending dispute by themselves. They had had several meetings, and reached agreement on some points. The employers had suggested reference of the remaining points to me, but the men resolved that the time had not arrived for intervention. I had no anxiety to interfere, and left them to themselves. On January 19 the executives of the employers and the principal Dockers' Union had managed to reach an agree- ment, but three factors prevented its acceptance : the existence of another union with whom the employers were not prepared to deal, the objections of stevedores, who said they had not been consulted, and complete refusal of the rank and file to consent to the proposed terms. The leaders of the dockers were new men, and again the old story came up : they did not know what the men really wanted, and they could not control the men so far as to induce them to accept an agreement which they did not like. It was put before the men, and they rejected it. The employers were in a complete quandary. Under these circumstances they posted notices that on January 29 they would put into operation the terms and conditions as adjusted at the conferences. They did not know what else to do, or could not ascertain what were the real diffi- culties. On that day about 7,000 men replied by ceasing work, bringing the whole of the shipping of the port to a standstill. The situation had become very complex. A dispute which might not have been difficult in December had now become mazed with conferences and proposals, while the executive of the men did not seem to know what the real complaints were. My presence in Glasgow was required for three other disputes, partly in completion of arrangements made in the middle of January ; but going there on Sunday, February 4, it was impossible not to take notice of the state of affairs existing at the docks, even though neither side had definitely requested inter- 194 LANCASHIRE COTTON AND CLYDE DOCKERS vention. Accordingly the employers were seen informally, with a view to ascertaining their opinion. They agreed at once to a conference. It was a sequence to their ex- pressed views, as they had proposed a month before that outstanding points should be left to me. The men were much more difficult. Some strong speeches had been made to the effect that they should fight it out, particularly by persons from other ports, who had nothing to lose by inflaming the Glasgow dockers. Mr. Mitchell, however, explained that there was no intention of an arbitration, such as they seemed to think the employers meant, but of a joint meeting, at which the chairman would not act as an arbiter. Then they readily agreed, and the first phase was completed when the parties met before me at 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Even after a tangled skein of misapprehension and confused councils has been unravelled, it is not easy to make clear the different chances of long discussions, but it is still more difficult at the time when angry recriminations may be bursting out and when different persons on the same side may have very different views of the points which they may wish to have decided or which they consider to be most important. The position was clearly this : an agreement had been made to which the executives on both sides had given their adhesion, but the rank and file outside, who had not heard the arguments, would have none of it. What was their reason ? After two hours' discussion, the men's executive said that they wished for an interpretation and explanation of the full meaning of some of the clauses. We adjourned for these queries to be drafted. They were put before the employers, who in their turn drafted their replies. Conferring with each side separately, the queries and replies were made still more precise, and lastly a joint conference sat till midnight, when everyone was too tired to debate any longer. The only point made clear during the day was that the supposed contention that the men were insisting on the elimination of non-union labour was wrong. Some sections of the men had been putting this question forward as the point on which issue was being joined, but the employers showed that they did not mind whether a man belonged to a union or not ; they would retain the right to employ a man, unionist or non-unionist ; but in practice some sections were all AN APPARENT DEADLOCK 195 union men, in others not. There would be no interfer- ence with custom. The union leaders, on the other side, knew this fact, and knew they were not sufficiently strong to insist that every man working in the docks should belong to their union. In some sections there was another union claiming the right to have men within their ranks. The analogy of the recent cotton dispute proved a useful argument against unwise pressure for a principle which could not possibly be enforced. The employers were exceptionally strong, and all united, whatever their mercantile competition might be, in solid opposition to such alleged interference with management. A second phase of the trouble had been passed. On the next day conferences lasted from 11 to 7.30, and then broke oft. There appeared to be an absolute dead- lock. The agreement had been accepted. The union leaders, if they desired to retain authority as negotiators or as interpreters of the wishes of the rank and file, could not wisely denounce it as absurd. The employers insisted upon the agreement being implemented. The answers to the request for explanations were clear, and had prac- tically been arranged in conference. Why was there no final agreement ? The answer entirely depended on one question : the terms of resumption of work. The em- ployers in the previous year, under extreme pressure on individual firms, had given concessions which involved chaos in the port. They were not prepared to continue these concessions. They had consented to a joint committee, with power to call in a neutral chairman for the settlement of any disputes, including revision of rates of pay or hours of work and the conditions of employment for any particular class of work, and also any question concerning the mutual welfare of the employers and the dock labourers. They demanded that work should be resumed, without notice of intervening concessions, on the same terms as had existed a year before, and if any complaint was made, appeal should be lodged before this coi^amittee. The union leaders said no resumption of work was possible on these terms. Work could only be resumed if the condi- tions existing immediately before the dispute were to be accepted, when the employers could appeal to the joint committee and attempt to get the conditions changed. It took a long time to make the men see that their proposal 196 LANCASHIRE COTTON AND CLYDE DOCKERS would not be accepted. The diffictilty surged round the conditions at the port, which both sides admitted would not work, and the fact that, if existing conditions were renewed, any subsequent change would be fought by each section affected by it, involve the whole port, and be considered a concession by the workers. The workers would be out for loss and nothing else. The whole dispute turned on revision of the conditions. Without revision, the employers would be supposed to be beaten. They would not consent to accept that position under the present circumstances, with an agreement in their pockets. Both sides were claiming return to a status quo, but the status quo was fixed at different dates. So I argued to myself, and partly to both sides, as the anxious hours sped by ; until the conviction came that a status quo was impossible, and the idea that a new line must be taken. Why not anticipate the joint committee, settle the best terms on which work could be conducted, as both sides were agreed the existing terms were wrong, and then allow either side to appeal to the joint committee ? It seems a very simple deduction on paper, but in practice deductions are not so easy to impress on excited partisans, with a proportion of " die-hards " in the committees of either side, and many more " die-hards " in the constituents outside. The difficulty was that the union leaders at that time had no real knowledge of the actual wishes of each section of their men. They could not say what were their claims in detail. They were not tabulated. I suggested they must be tabulated ; it would have to be done sooner or later ; and meanwhile I would deal with other disputes — lace, turkey-red workers, and ironmoulders — on which my mission to Glasgow had been based, and assist by seeing any sections of dock-workers they might wish. This policy appeared to some employers to be a policy of delay, to which they objected, desiring to attempt employ- ment of new labour. If it had not been for the moderating influence of Sir Joseph Maclay, subsequently Shipping Con- troller during the War, negotiations might have come to an end. Some firms did try to deal with urgent cargoes of fruit. The leaders of the men also issued a manifesto, saying : " After negotiations lasting two days, the Dockers' Committee has unanimously decided that they cannot possibly accept the proposals of the joint owners, and AN ISSUE FOUND 197 whilst regretting the failure of Sir George Askwith to bring about a settlement, they feel that the proposals of the owners are too preposterous for the men to contemplate, in that they propose to ask the men to go back to work under the abominable conditions prevalent for twenty years up to June last. The owners' interpretation of Clause 6, the principal clause in contention, leaves no other conclusion possible, and taking all the circumstances into consideration, we have unanimously agreed that the owners have not, and never really had, any intention of settling the dispute, but have rather played a game of bluff, apparently with a view of throwing the onus of the dispute upon ourselves. We feel, therefore, our only course is to accept the owners' challenge and get on with the fight." Another manifesto read : " Dockers, carters, sailors, firemen, cooks, stewards, cranemen, riggers, and all sympathetic to the cause are requested, in their own interests, to resist the latest efforts of the shipowners. They must be beaten, and we must fight ! " In addition, messengers went to London with the view of pressing the National Federation of Transport Workers to call a general strike. That association wisely took nothing upon trust, but sent delegates down to Glasgow, with the result that they agreed with the steps suggested by me, and advised consent to another meeting with duly prepared claims. The meeting was almost stopped by serious riots on the river-banks, extra police having to be called in. The Corporation met to consider whether soldiers should not be summoned, and only decided to wait till Saturday morning and the chance of an agreement being reached on the Friday. I had arranged that a smaller committee should meet me to discuss the technical details of conditions of work. This conference met at 2 p.m. on Friday and sat till 4 a.m. on Saturday morning. The agreement then signed was adopted in the course of the day by the associations on both sides. The original agreement was confirmed, the questions and explanatory replies were confirmed, but there were also now fixed the 198 LANCASHIRE COTTON AND CLYDE DOCKERS conditions to be followed on resumption of work, that vague field which had previously been left open for the joint committee to arrange. It was a tremendous tussle, and, as the hours drifted by, it seemed as if no issue could be effected. At last patience, tenacity, and will sifted out the difficulties and the dispute was officially closed. The dockers' leaders courteously came to give me good-bye at the station. One of them said, " I wouldn't have your job for thirty thousand a year." It was inevitable, with feeling so very high as it had been and after such a bitter dispute, that there should be an aftermath of difficulty which nearly caused a renewal of the dispute in the next week, but the leaders had now a stronger position ; real grievances had been rectified, the terms were down in clear black-and-white. The hotheads failed to get adequate support. It was alleged, indeed, that certain employers had wrongfully reduced shore- gangs, and the men of two steamship lines refused to work. Conferences between the parties did not settle the matter, and on February 15 the employers locked out about 6,000 men employed in connection with seagoing vessels. I had again to see the representatives of the Dockers' Unions and communicate with the shipowners, with the result that both sides agreed to an arbiter appointed by me giving a decision. Lord Mersey decided the employers were quite right, under the terms of the agreement. So long an account of this one dispute may seem to be out of proportion, but I haye given it in detail in order to show that part of the plan, just as in the cotton dispute, was due to the growing aim at improved organisation, and an attenapt, which failed, to use that organisation in favour of the principle of unionism, which the organisation was not strong enough to enforce, and which employers were not prepared to assist or put in practice. As Mr. Arthur Henderson, ex-chairman of the Labour Party, said of the cotton dispute : " ' Sold again ! ' is the language with which the tem- porary settlement in the cotton trade is received by some of the operatives. One can easily understand the dis- ^.ppointment which must be associated with the truce which Sir George Askwith has succeeded in achieving. SOME TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT 199 Ardent trade unionists were out for a great victory on a principle, vital, as they thought, to the union position. They have failed in this object. This, however, is no justification for the wild talk about being sold. The position was an exceedingly difficult one for the officials of the union, and they did their best. The fact is that some of the rank and file expect too much in these days. They believe all too readily that the strike weapon is omnipotent, and when it fails they conclude that they have been ' sold ' or ' given away.' In my opinion the result would have been the same no matter how long the fight had lasted, and even if the end had come through a process of exhaustion of the union resources ; the strength of trade union opinion against their non-union fellow-workmen is the measure of the employers' determination to be free to employ whom they please." The other part of the plan was economic — a desire to know exactly the conditions under which men were to work, and to have some share in fixing the amount of work or assistance which each man would have to expect. There was also the strong desire not to increase the chances of unemployment by large or uncertain reduction of the number of men employed on a job. Those were the reasons, in addition to amount of pay, for such terms as the following in the conditions for resumption of work : " General cargo liners and ocean steamers loading general cargo, eight men to be in hold ; discharging general cargo, six men to be in hold. " When oil is to be discharged from lower holds in lots of 100 tons or over, eight men to be employed. " Slings to be regulated by the stevedore with due regard to safety and economy of working. " Ore Trade " Unloading of vessels to start with two tubs and swing- ing tub till bottom is reached, after which four tubs to be used. " Men's committee to consider if they will agree to the fourth tub when twelve feet from the coamings. 14 200 LANCASHIRE COTTON AND CLYDE DOCKERS "Number of Men in Gangs " Sixteen men in holds of boats from foreign ports — Spain, Portugal, etc. — as at present. " Special consideration to be given to men at special boats, such as the Glenmore and Behera type. " Boats of coasting type, wherever from, up to 150 tons, 9 men in gang ; boats 150 to 350 tons, 13 men in gang ; 350 to 1,000 tons, 15 men in gang ; over 1,000 tons, 19 men in gang." Each section of men desired to know where they were. Each section desired to have as good terms as their neigh- bours, or to maintain a relative position. Employers, on the other hand, desired to maintain control and manage- ment, not to pay unnecessary men, and to support the authority and technical judgment of their stevedores. There was no principle of overthrowing society, or estab- lishing new theories for the conduct of industry. Possibly it may be said that the next strike proved the first great struggle which led up to some of the views now being so much talked of. In Disraeli's Sibyl Chaffing Jack remarks : " I fancy from what you say it's a cotton squall. It will pass, sir. Let me see the miners out, and then I will talk to you." " Stranger things than that have happened," said Devilsdust. " Then things get serious," said Chaffing Jack. " Them miners is very stubborn, and when they gets excited, aren't it a bear at play, that's all ? " The miners were coming out. CHAPTER XXI COAL, 1912 Miners are not averse to striking on slight pretext. They like to " play " at intervals, and then return to scrabble harder in the pits, whence they can direct their thoughts with some contempt to the people who have to pass all their hours on the surface. The public takes no notice of these small disputes. They are not even reported in the papers, except by some short paragraph stating that 2,000 men have stopped work because a non-unionist has been discovered, or a foreman is disliked or the appoint- ment of a check weighman is questioned. The man in the street wonders why such a storm in a teacup should upset so many people, and possibly deems the stoppage to be the work of an " agitator " or an unnecessary exhibition of strength. He trusts it will not affect his own supply of plentiful and cheap coal, but otherwise thinks of it only as an affair of the coal-owners and the miners. A national strike had never occurred. Although in 1909 a national strike, owing to the pledge of England to the Scottish miners, had been within an ace of happening, it had not happened, and the British public went to sleep again. Now it was to happen, and proved the forerunner of similar effort in future years, and an example which railwaymen and transport workers have followed, or are in process of organising so as to be able to follow, either separately or in union with the miners. Immediately upon return from Glasgow on February 11, 1912, the closest attention had to be devoted to the serious position in the coal trade. The miners were demanding the acceptance of the principle of an individual minimum wage for all men and boys employed underground at certain fixed rates formulated by them. Their demands had been refused. Notices were being put up all over the country to cease work at the end of February, and no 201 202 COAL, 1912 negotiations were being continued between the Mining Association of Great Britain, representing the coal-owners, and the Miners' Federation. These bodies had separated on February 7 without making any arrangement for resumption of negotiations, and on February 13 and 14 the Miners' Federation adjourned, " to be called together again when the officials of the Executive Committee find it advisable." There was still a possibility that negotiations in the Federated Area, covering North Wales and the whole of England except Northumberland and Durham, might result in an agreement, and as long as the parties, or any of them, were still negotiating, any interference from outside was contrary to the policy I have always endea- voured to follow. It was possible that, if the Federated Area could settle, a precedent might be set for other dis- tricts ; but there was so much doubt and time was running so short that, having ascertained the latest date up to which the parties could reasonably negotiate, I felt that, unless there was a settlement, speedy action would be necessary, or the country would drift into a coal strike without an attempt at prevention. Even if there was a settlement in one area, some effort at inducement to the other parties to get together again might be necessary. The difficulty was to decide on the best method to apply, when there were two bodies with many leaders, and no one responsible head who could say, " We will agree to meet." There was no indication that representative leaders of the employers, as a whole, would respond to any invitation from the Industrial Council, and on the other hand there was clear indication that some of the miners' leaders would not accept its invitation, if invitation was sent. Under these circumstances it appeared that the Government must be the collecting authority, and on the very day (February 20) upon which I heard that the miners had finally refused the proposals of the owners in the Federated Area, I suggested to the Industrial Council, specially con- vened for that day, that in the interests of the community they should consider whether the position should not be clearly put before the Government. 445,800 miners had voted for a national strike, and only 115,721 against it. No negotiations were being continued. The prolonged effort in the Federated Area had broken down. South Wales was particularly active in pressing for a national strike. GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION 203 If an invitation was sent by the Government, the parties could not well refuse to accept, when it could be proposed that they should resume conferences, or that they should consider the questions with expert business men, repre- sentative of employers and employed. The Industrial Council concurred, and agreed to the letter which the Prime Minister signed the same day, and sent to the representatives of the coal-owners and of the miners. It ran as follows : " February 20, 1912. " Sir, "His Majesty's Government have watched with close attention and growing anxiety the development of the present crisis in the coal trade. Up to the present they have entertained some hope that means would be found by direct negotiation among the parties concerned to avert the disaster of a national stoppage. As, however, the date approaches when the miners' notices for cessation of work will mature. His Majesty's Government cannot conceal from themselves that the prospect is gradually lessening that amicable arrangements, covering the whole of the coal-fields of the country, will be arrived at before that date. " There is no need for me in this letter to enlarge upon the very serious consequences, both to the industries of the country and to all classes of coal consumers, which would inevitably follow a general stoppage of industry, and His Majesty's Government feel that they could not allow such a calamity to ensue without making every en- deavour to aid in preventing it. " In this connection I have received a communication from the Industrial Council, which, as you will be aware, was appointed last year with the object of dealing with the prevention and settlement of laboiir disputes, in which they advise that, in view of the critical position which has arisen, immediate steps should be taken by His Majesty's Government to convene a meeting of the representatives of the coal industry, with a view to discussing the grave situa- tion which has arisen, and the possibility of arriving at some means of averting the disaster of a national stoppage. " His Majesty's Government have given their earnest consideration to this communication, and to the circum- 204 COAL, 1912 stances of the case, and I desire accordingly to invite repre- sentatives of the coal-owners of the country to meet me and some of my colleagues at the Foreign Office on Thurs- day next, February 22, at three o'clock. " I am, etc., H. H. ASQUITH." A similar letter was sent to the Secretary of the Miners' Federation. The Ministers met the representatives of the parties, and there followed the longest series of declamatory speeches and explanations, without any business being done, I have ever heard. The Ministers had no particular plan, and evolved no particular policy. They did not propose that the parties should resume conferences or consider the questions with expert business men, representative of employers and employed, but seemed to be very interested in hearing for the first time some of the difficulties of the miners' lives and their proposals. Days were consumed in talk, and meanwhile the strike grew more and more near, while the nation waited. In order to estimate what this crisis was all about, it is necessary to refer to the scars of the past, such as those left by the Cambrian disputes, when, as already stated, the men had kept out and in the event found themselves in the wrong. Whether right or wrong, the result was that there were elements ready to retaliate, rather than to reciprocate. In addition, for years past there had been in different districts frequent disputes — varying in number and intensity according to the seams of coal, the action of foremen, or the position of trade — over payment for abnormal places. The miner working on piece might be in a position where for some time he received little ready cash, and when the abnormal place was passed did not like the deduction due to pay for any advances he might have received to keep him going. He wanted a minimum wage. The employer, on the other hand, said that if there was a minimum wage, and a high minimum wage, the miner had not the incentive to get through the abnormal place, where no coal or less than the average amount of coal could be got, and get out the coal from which both parties could get profit. The trouble had existed for many years. It came to a head in a very quiet way in September 1911, soon after the ORIGIN OF THE DISPUTE 205 Cambrian miners had resumed work. Both parties met, and memoranda were exchanged over the rate of payment for working in " abnormal " places. The Miners' Feder- ation had decided to demand payment of a minimum rate of wages to miners working in such places. The men proposed " that this joint conference of coal-owners and miners' representatives recognises the right of a miner working at the coal face at fixed tonnage rates to receive full wages ; if employed at an abnormal place, the rate to be the average rate of wages previously earned by the workman under normal conditions, which shall not be less than the recog- nised minimum or average rate paid in each district. Further, machinery should be set up in the different dis- tricts for the purpose of deciding on the question as to whether the place in dispute is abnormal. Pending the settlement of the dispute as to whether a place is abnormal or not, the men to be paid the district rate." The owners replied : " (1) The owners recognise the right of workmen who are engaged in places which are abnormal to receive wages commensurate with the work performed. (2) The customs and circumstances of the different districts vary so much that it is, in the opinion of the coal-owners, impossible to deal with the question collectively as applied to the whole country, a!nd, therefore, the method of dealing with it can only be satisfactorily settled locally in the different districts. (3) The collective meeting of coal-owners, there- fore, recommends the coal-owners in the various districts of the country to meet the representatives of the men in their respective districts when requested to do so. (4) It must be understood that in coming to the foregoing conclusion the meeting must not be assumed to have done anything to abrogate existing agreements." On the next day, September 29, the miners met and resolved " that, in view of the employers having admitted the right of men working in abnormal places to be paid fair wages. 206 COAL, 1912 and having recommended that the owners in each district should enter into an arrangement to carry this out, we hereby recommend that the owners in each district should be now met on the subject, and a National Conference be held at the earliest possible date to consider the result of the negotiations." On October 6 the Miners' Federation met at Southport and went a step farther. They proposed to get rid of the abnormal place question, which meant a bargain with the individual collier on his work in a particular place, by the comprehensive demand for an individual district minimum wage for all men and boys working in mines without any reference to the working places being abnormal. Pursuing a method which has been very usual in later cases, the Miners' Federation followed up this demand with a brusque intimation to the coal-owners that, if there was no assent, there would be action ; and they amended their rules in order to make action feasible. They said : " In the event of the employers refusing to agree to this, then the 21st rule to be put into operation to demand assent " ; and made that rule to read that, " whenever a federation or district with the approval of a conference specially called has tendered notices ... a conference shall be called to consider the advisability of joint action being taken." Each district was instructed to meet the employers and come back to a special conference on November 14. There can be little doubt that the coal-owners did not realise the strength of this united movement by the miners. They had been accustomed to deal by districts, and there was no leader of sufficient weight to bring them together in united counteraction. They put forward and continuously adhered to the principle of the maintenance of existing agreements, which would preclude a national change. The miners, on the other hand, were seizing hold of the ideal of a national settlement, with equality for all districts and persons, irrespective of any district agreements. National settlements and an equality of treatment are all the vogue now, but in 1912 were an aspiration, deemed generally to be unsuitable in practice and liable to create greater anomalies than settlements which took account of geographical or historical conditions. The owners met the miners by districts, but no settlement was reached in any PRELIMINARY FENCING 207 district, much less by the districts as a whole. The con- ference of November 14 was held, and to it the complete lack of success was reported. Scotland relied on an existing agreement which would not expire till 1915, South Wales on an agreement which would not expire till July 1912, although they were willing to discuss the question of abnor- mal places, " upon condition that the men would be willing to give an undertaking to loyally carry out the existing agreement ; but only on that condition " ; and the Federated Area or the English Conciliation Board, while accepting the principle of the minimum wage, came to no settlement on the amount. This conference of November 14 was very important. It resolved that the conference was glad to learn that the English Conciliation Board had obtained the principle of a minimum for all men and boys working underground, and considered that their discussion should be adjourned to a future date, "so that further efforts may be made to bring about a satisfactory settlement." Then it further resolved that the best course to pursue with a view to obtaining an individual district minimum wage with the least delay was to negotiate nationally, instructed their Executive Committee to formulate claims for each district, and meet the coal-owners of Great Britain ; and added, " but this resolution shall not prevent or interfere in any way with the negotiations now being carried on in the various districts." It must be confessed that the coal-owners were not put in a position in which they could proceed to any negotiation with much chance of success. What was the good of conducting negotiations in various districts, if there was to be a national demand which might purport to overthrow any local settlements, in the same way as the miners were asserting that a national claim overrode and was outside any existing agreements in Scotland and South Wales ? And, further, the demands for each district which the executive were to formulate were not ready, or before the owners, and indeed were not ready until the following February. In any event the owners adopted a passive attitude, and no settlement was reached or apparently attempted. The Miners' Conference, on their part, took the line of activity. They met again on December 20 and 21, and decided to 208 COAL, 1912 ascertain the feeling of their constituents on a ballot : " Are you in favour of giving notice to establish the principle of a minimum wage for every man and boy working underground in the mines of Great Britain ? " There could be no doubt, particularly in view of the way in which miners' ballots are usually conducted, as to the result. It was declared at Birmingham on January 18 : 445,800 in favour to 115,271 against. Thereupon the conference agreed that notices be tendered in every district so as to terminate at the end of February, though an intimation was to be made to the owners that they were prepared to meet them to continue negotiations in districts and nationally. Although the sword, in the shape of the tendering of notices for the end of February, was kept hanging over their heads, the owners only received the formulated claims after a meeting of the Miners' Federation held in London on February 2. The claims included : (1) Individual minimum wages, varying in each district, for pieceworkers at the face of the coal ; and added : (2) No underground adult worker shall receive a rate of wages less than five shillings per shift (changed later to five and sixpence) ; (3) arrangements for boys' wages to be left to the districts, but to be not less than present wages nor in any case less than two shillings per day. Individual minimum wages for pieceworkers other than colliers were to be arranged by districts, as near as possible to present wages, and day-workers underground also by districts, with instruc- tions that an endeavour be made to arrange minimum rates for each class or grade locally in each district. It will be seen that the complexity of the subject was great, and required in some grades minute care, but the general claim became known as the " five and two " : five shillings at least for all underground workers per shift, and two shillings at least for all boys per day. The full claim was now out, and the employers met the miners in national conference on February 7. Both sides passed resolutions. The owners stated : " The owners are prepared to assent to the proposition that each person in their employment should receive a fair day's wage for a fair day's work, but are convinced that the principle of payment in proportion to the amount A DEADLOCK 209 of work performed is the only one which can be applied successfully in the case of coal-getters. They are aware that there are cases in which, owing to difficulties arising in consequence of exceptional conditions in the working-place, a man, while doing his best, is unable to earn what he would under ordinary circumstances. In such cases the owners recognise the necessity for special consideration, and are willing to discuss with the workmen the means by which this shall be ascertained. In assenting to the above, those districts which are now under agreement reserve their rights thereunder, and the districts comprised in the English Conciliation Board area reserve their rights to continue their negotiations." To which the miners replied " that we express our regret that the coal-owners have refused to accept the principle of an individual minimum wage for all men and boys employed underground, as we know there can be no settlement of the present dispute until this principle is agreed to. In view of the fact, however, that we have no desire for a serious rupture in the coal trade of the country, we are willing to meet the coal-owners at any time to further discuss the matter if the coal-owners desire to do so." The owners in effect refused the demand for a minimum wage. They went back to the original demand made by the miners in September, and said they would discuss abnormal places, ignoring all that had occurred since that date. In fact, it seemed to me that many of them were extraordinarily ignorant of all that had been happening in the miners' movement, and how strong the feeling had now become. Some of them in conversation did not appear to understand the difference in the demands, and that the mere discussion of abnormal places had long since receded into the background. As before mentioned, the parties left each other with no arrangement for further discussion ; the Federated Area continued local discussion till Feb- ruary 20, and when the discussion broke down, the Govern- ment asked the parties to meet them. Four Cabinet Ministers— the Prime Minister, Sir Edward Grey, Mr. Lloyd George, and Mr. Sydney Buxton— sat to 210 COAL, 1912 hear the case. The miners said they could do nothing without leave of the National Conference called for Feb- ruary 27, so their statement had to be adjourned till the 27th, and meanwhile ninety coal-ownersT at first, and afterwards a committee, met Ministers in three sittings. On the 27th both parties were seen. All these conferences were inter- esting, but most clearly exemplified the futility of concili- ation by a committee. There was no plan, only a renewed statement of points which everyone except the four Ministers had heard over and over again. Any one of them by himself would probably have got down to the kernel of the case, but the four together never worked it out, Mr. Lloyd George keeping conspicuously quiet, and possibly keeping himself in reserve for a crisis. Time was running fast, and it was decided a pronouncement must be made. It took the form of saying that the Government were satis- fied, after careful consideration, that there were cases in which underground employees cannot earn a reasonable minimum, from causes over which they have no control, and were further satisfied that the power to earn such a wage should be secured by arrangements suitable to the special circumstances of each district, with adequate safeguards to protect employers against abuse. Then it was proposed to have district conferences with a Govern- ment representative present, and if no settlement was soon reached in any district, the Government representatives were to decide jointly the outstanding points in that dispute. This pronouncement was not altogether unfavourable to the owners, and possibly, if they had had an outstanding leader, or there had been longer time and opportunity for talking to them by districts, or if the policy of a national settlement, with the waiver of local agreements in favour of a national settlement, had been adopted, they might have seen that it would have been a wise course to accept the pronouncement. But none of these elements came into being. The parties spent February 28 in considering the proposals, and the owners came back with an acceptance by the Federated Districts, Durham and Cumberland, but a refusal by Scotland, South Wales, Northumberland, and the smaller districts (Forest of Dean, Somerset and Bristol). The miners returned with a resolution that there could be no settlement unless the principle of an individual minimum A NEW SURPRISE 211 wage for all underground workers was agreed to by the coal-owners, adding : " We are still willing to meet the coal-owners to discuss the minimum rates of each district as passed at special conferences of this Federation." Asked what they meant by the minimum rates, they said : " Our definition is the minimum referred to in the Schedule of Wages already laid before the coal-owners and His Majesty's Government." These propositions sounded reasonable. The Govern- ment and many districts had already in effect agreed to the principle, and the miners appeared to be willing to discuss the amounts in each district, although they had said nothing about safeguards against abuse, on which the employers laid great stress. The Prime Minister proceeded to inquire about safeguards and the procedure which might be adopted. Then there emerged the fact that the miners were not concerned with this kind of discussion : they wanted the money, and at once. " You are out for the money, Mr. Barker ? " said the Prime Minister in an imperturbable manner, and Mr. Barker, a member of the Welsh Miners' executive, agreed that he was, and would not go back without it. The Prime Minister had been more than conciliatory to the miners' representatives, and seemed to be a little irritated by the strict adherence of the Welsh coal-owners to a position which prevented any settlement by agreement, but as an observer I can only say that this new contention, and the statement that the miners could only enter into such conferences on the understanding that the minimum wage to be fixed in each district must be at the rate revised and finally adopted by the Federation on February 2, and nothing else, was too much for him, and also that the miners made a mistake. It appeared as if they thought the Government was on the run, and that they could coerce coal-owners, Government, and nation. It seemed to be a demand sprung at the last moment. After saying they would discuss, they presented an ultimatum. What was the use of conferences to discuss an irreducible minimum, arbitrarily fixed by the Miners' Executive and first promul- gated on February 2 ? The whole scheme of discussion became a farce. Possibly the Government had made a mistake by Cabinet Ministers involving themselves in an industrial dispute and listening to long platitudes from both 212 COAL, 1912 sides, instead of making use of their own creation, the Industrial Council, or a non-political, unbiased tribunal, and insisting that industry must settle the disputes of industry ; possibly the owners had made a mistake by lack of cohesion, knowledge, weighing of consequences, and generally a short-sighted policy ; but the mistake of the miners by reaching out too far and attempting dictation was, if I may say so, an alienating movement. Mr. Asquith decided to put the matter before Parliament. It was most important to know what the real views of the coal-owners were. There were only two hours available in which they could be seen. The days which had passed in instruction of Ministers could not be retrieved. On the morning of February 29 I saw as many representa- tives of districts as time allowed. The great district of Northumberland had been divided in opinion, and after debate passed a resolution in the terms : " After hearing suggestions of Sir George Askwith on the present position of the coal dispute, the coal-owners of Northumberland are prepared to state that they do not dissent from the clauses 1 and 2 of the proposals of the Government [which amounted to settlement by districts, with adequate safeguards]. In assenting to the above resolution, the owners do not retire from the position they have taken up, that they cannot consent to pay an indi- vidual minimum wage to underground workers irrespective of their ability or disposition to earn such wage." The smaller districts seemed inclined to follow this decision, and possibly, with further time for explanation, Scotland might have agreed, but finally decided to abide events. The meeting in the Cabinet room at Downing Street, where the owners were to express their views, was not without interest and even humour. No districts were quite sure of the opinion of other districts, and when Scotland declared that they must wait and see, the chairman of South Wales jumped up and, waving a paper containing an unequivocal refusal, sang out : " Stands Scotland where she did ? " Mr. Asquith stuck to his guns. He told the miners that, if the Government were to undertake responsibility, it was essential they should discuss with. both sides the reason- A FURTHER INVITATION 218 ableness of the particular rates for various districts, or, in effect, he would not accept without discussion the miners' ultimatum. He told the House of Commons that, with the exception of South Wales and Scotland, who objected on the grounds of existing agreements, the coal-owners in practically the whole of England and North Wales had accepted the proposals, but that the miners would not negotiate rates for coal-getters, and that under these circumstances conferences were at an end. This position was not very hopeful. The official report states : " Meanwhile the men's notices to cease work had ex- pired ; a number of men in Derbyshire and other districts had ceased work already between February 26 and 29, and on March 1 the whole industry was virtually at a standstill. It is estimated that altogether about a million workers engaged in the coal-mining industry ceased work as a result of the dispute." It was necessary to find an issue from this impasse — and so, on March 4, the Industrial Council again met, and decided to hold meetings every day. They appointed a committee which met the Prime Minister, and urged that there should again be an attempt at discussion. Neither of the parties were in the least likely to give an impression of weakness by coming forward to propose further con- ferences. Under the circumstances the Government alone could make such a proposition, they having elected to be concerned with the meetings and to preside over them. It was with some reluctance that the Government did decide to make another attempt, as another failure would not be very pleasant ; but it was informally ascertained that the parties would accept an invitation, and on March 8 the invitation was sent. " His Majesty's Government," it said, " consider that the proposals which they have already placed before the representatives of both parties offer the fairest means of arriving at a satisfactory settlement of the dispute. In view, however, of the difficulty of making any progress towards a settlement without mutual discussion. His Majesty's Government invite both parties to meet them 214 COAL, 1912 jointly in conference, without prejudice, with a view to the free discussion of the whole situation." Conferences continued on March 12, 13, and 14. It was not till the 15th that the Prime Minister had to say that no agreement had been arrived at, and they had come to the conclusion, with great regret, that though they had done all in their power to arrive at a settlement by agree- ment, " that was impossible ; other measures must there- fore be taken." " The Prime Minister then stated that the Government would ask from Parliament a legislative declaration that a reasonable minimum wage, accompanied by adequate safe- guards for the protection of the employer, should be a statutory term of the contract of employment of people who are engaged underground in coal-mining. As regards the important question of how such a minimum was to be ascertained for any particular area, the Prime Minister, without pledging the Government to any precise form of machinery, indicated that the district minimum should be locally fixed by a joint board in each district, consisting of representatives of employers and employed with a neutral and independent chairman, who might be selected by the parties themselves, or if necessary by the Government. Such a body would, in the opinion of the Government, afford what they have always regarded as all-important — a means of securing finality. The proposals of the Govern- ment would include provisions to secure promptitude in point of time in the presentation of the cases of the parties and in the adjudication thereon." After all these long days of talk, the statement that a settlement by agreement was impossible certainly ex- hibited a confession of failure. It was an example at least to show that conciliation by a committee, however powerful, was not a very effective method. The method was not sufficiently elastic. Opposition crystallised more and more. The same points were discussed round and round, while the country was expectantly waiting — and beginning seriously to suffer. On March 19 a Bill was introduced " to provide a minimum wage in the case of workers employed under- SCENE IN THE HOUSE OP COMMONS 215 ground in coal-mines (including mines of stratified iron- stone) and for purposes incidental thereto " ; and its second reading was carried on March 22, by 348 votes to 225. Even at this late stage an amendment was proposed to fix in the Bill the general minimum of five shillings for adults and two shillings for boys as demanded by the miners. Sir Edward Grey shelved the question for the moment by suggesting another conference, and for two more days Ministers conferred with the parties, without success. The Prime Minister was very firm on the principle that Parliament should not make a guess at the proper figure, and that such legislative enactment of wages would be a bad precedent. No agreement was reached ; the Bill proceeded, 326 to 83 voting against the inclusion of the " five and two " in the Bill, and the Bill became an Act on March 29. It is said that Keir Hardie jumped with joy at the result, not because he agreed with all the terms of the Bill, but because legislative enactment had recog- nised the minimum wage. Under the Act, minimum wages were to be " an implied term of every contract for the employment of a work- man underground in a coal-mine," unless the workman was excluded by the provisions of district rules. These rules were to lay down conditions in regard to aged, infirm, or partially disabled workmen, emergency inter- ruptions, and the regularity or efficiency of work ; and the persons and modes for determination of various questions likely to arise through the existence of a minimum rate. Joint district boards of workmen and employers with an independent chairman were to settle minimum rates of wages and district rules in twenty-three separate districts, and in settling any minimum rate " shall have regard to the average daily rate of wages paid to the workmen of the class for which the minimum rate is to Ije settled." Groups or classes of coal-mines in a district might have special minimum rates or special district rules. There might be subdivision or combination of districts. Mini- mum rates might be varied by agreement or on notice after expiry of a year since the last settlement. If the joint district board failed to settle minimum rates and district rules within a specified time, the chairman had to settle them. The office of chairman might be held by one person, or committed to three persons, of whom a 15 216 COAL, 1912 majority was to be deemed to be the chairman for the purposes of the Act. The Act was initially to continue in force for three years and no longer, unless Parliament otherwise determined. There had, however, been a crisis. There were two questions — the attitude of the miners and owners, and the attitude of the Opposition ; and an unwonted scene in the House of Commons, where both those difficulties came to the front. A contemporary journalist wrote to this effect, in a description which I can endorse : " The Prime Minister spoke with growing slowness, until he was scarcely audible. He mourned the fact that the expectations the Government had of obtaining peace had been disappointed. ' But,' he exclaimed, ' we laboured hard.' Yet — and his voice sank back— he pleaded that those who had the deciding word would stay the havoc to the community with which the country was confronted. He narrated all that had been done to obtain a settlement, how hopes had risen and hopes had been shattered. He would not apportion blame, but he was filled with sorrow that, when the issue had been narrowed down to the matter of five shillings and two shillings a day, agreement could not be reached. The one thing the Government could do was to pass the Minimum Wage Bill, and provide machinery for a reasonable wage to be decided. " But when it was passed, would the strikers accept it, and would they go back to their work ? That was the question in men's minds. It was deeply embedded in Mr. Asquith's brain, for he knew that the strike leaders had proclaimed that they woiild not recognise the Bill unless in plain print there was inserted the five shillings and two shillings minimum. He turned toward the tight- wedged Labour benches. If their case for five shillings and two shillings was strong, could they not rely on the district boards giving those rates ? The law would be changed, and yet would they continue to subject the community to increasing hardship ? " Then the awful strain got too much for Mr. Asquith. ' I speak under the stress of very strong feeling,' he said, with an effort. Hesitating between his words, he asked Parliament to pass the Bill as the only possible solution in a great emergency. ' We have exhausted all our powers of EFFECT OF THE STRIKE 217 persuasion and argument and negotiation,' he added swiftly, as though he would deliver the words before agitation checked him. He struggled to control himself. Tears were in his eyes. Then he said, in thick, low, halting tones : ' But we claim we have done our best in the public interest — with perfect fairness and impartiality.' The House was profoundly impressed. Asquith, the cold, unemotional Prime Minister, showing the soft side of his nature before Parliament — that was a spectacle which will ever be remembered. " The crisis was acute. The Opposition was gallant. Mr. Bonar Law appreciated the straits in which the Government were. The Opposition did not think the Ministry had adopted the best method, but it was the Government's method, ' and so no obstacle will be put by us in the way of the Bill passing ' — a remark which was frankly appreciated by Ministerialists. But with his eye on eventualities, the Leader of the Opposition gave advice. ' The members of the Miners' Federation,' said he, ' are not merely members of the federation ; they are citizens of this country, and whatever may be their view, we rely upon them to obey the law. But unless society is to fall to pieces, the Government will be expected to use all the resources of this country to protect from molestation any man in any part of the country who desires to obey the law.' A tornado of cheers swept from the Opposition benches ; Unionists would back the Government so long as the Government saved the genuine worker from tj^anny." The owners recommended their colleagues to adopt the Act. The miners held a ballot, 244,011 voting against resumption of work and 201,013 for resumption. There was, therefore, a majority against return to work, but as there was no exact precedent as to the majority necessary to support such a decision, the Executive recommended that the prin- ciple of a resolution of December 21, 1911, requiring a two- thirds majority for a national strike, should be applied, and that the same majority should be required to continue the strike. They advised a resumption of work. This advice was accepted at a National Conference on April 6, and gradually, by the middle of April, practically all the men had resumed work. 218 COAL, 1912 What was the effect of the strike ? I quote from the official report, which said : "It is estimated that the aggregate duration of the dispute amounted to 30,800,000 working days. The al- most complete cessation of the coal-mining industry very seriously affected employment in other industries. The industries most affected were those engaged in the manu- facture of pig-iron, iron and steel, tin-plates and sheet steel, pottery, bricks, and glass. The pig-iron industry came practically to a standstill early in March ; 10 per cent, of the blast furnaces were stopped by March 2, and nearly two-thirds by the end of the following week, while by the end of March only 13 per cent, were still working. Employment at iron and steel works suffered a heavy decline in the week ending March 9, which was further accentuated in the following weeks, nearly 60 per cent, of the men being unemployed by March 23. More than half the tin-plate mills had ceased working by March 9, and by the end of the month only 76 mills at 13 works were still working, as compared with 489 mills at 80 works at the end of February. The sheet-steel works in connection with the tin-plate trade were practically at a standstill by March 9. In the pottery trade of North Stafford- shire the majority of the workpeople were out of employ- ment in the middle of March, and in the brick trade nearly one-quarter of the workpeople were idle by March 23, and many more were on short time. The glass-bottle industry, especially in Yorkshire, was the branch of the glass trades principally affected, and was brought almost to a standstill by the end of March. " Owing to the great curtailment of railway services, railway servants were considerably affected ; many of the regular employees were put on short time or were required to take their annual leave, while large numbers of men in the lower grades were thrown entirely out of employ- ment. This was particularly the case with men employed in the coal exporting ports ; and for similar reasons large numbers of seamen, coal-trimmers and teemers, dock and waterside workers and coal-porters were unemployed. The fishing industry was greatly affected, especially at Grimsby and Hull, where most of the trawlers were laid up, thus throwing large numbers of labourers, in addition to the crews, out of work. Generally it may be said that casual UNNECESSARY FORCE 219 labour, in its various forms, was severely affected through- out the country." This account does not estimate the hardship to every household in the country, the loss of trade, the expense to the nation, and the loss to the miners themselves. Was the strike worth all this trouble and turmoil ? and was the result adequate for the trial of strength ? I think not. Minimum wages had become usual in many industries in the country. I had myself continuously established them. The principle may be contested, but they prevent much hardship and abuse, and do not as a rule prevent the exercise of individual ability or the incentive to effort in the majority of men. Some there are who will be con- tent to earn the minimum only, if the margin between the minimum and the amount obtainable by piecework is narrow, but not the majority. In most trades such rates do not become the standard rate, as is commonly asserted. The Federated Area were prepared to accept the principle, and if the miners had not pressed for so high a rate at first, the principle couJd have been adopted in that area, and the increase of the rate, if it was insufficient, obtained at a later date. If by agreement in that area it had been started, other districts, some of whom were not averse to it, would have been bound to follow, and very possibly Scot- land and even South Wales might have been willing to waive their contention as to breach of agreements. They would at least have had to give way as soon as those agreements terminated. A certain section of the miners, however, were determined to fight, the rest speedily got their backs up, and the owners entirely failed to realise the seriousness of the position. The intervention of the Government and Parliament followed, a situation which led to subsequent Government action from time to time when disputes arose in coal, culminating in the present demand for nationalisation by means of the State, though some at least of the miners would desire to press the State by direct action as they tried to press the owners in 1912. CHAPTER XXII TRANSPORT WORKERS, 1912 The coal strike of the spring was to be followed by a trans- port strike of the summer involving about 100,000 work- people, and a duration of about 2,700,000 working days ; chiefly confined to the Port of London. It was a dispute varied by extraordinary changes in the demands made, in the allegations of breaches of faith put forward by both sides, and in the attempted methods of settlement. It exhibited proofs of astounding obstinacy on both sides, and, as it would seem, an intention to mis- understand each other, with strong objection, particularly by the employers, to the action taken by the Government. It was a dispute with which I had little to do until the close of it, although I had to be present at some conferences, and was supposed by the employers to be the " devil " behind the scenes. The initial cause was based on the old question of non- unionism, where the employers maintained a passive atti- tude, refusing an undertaking to restrict themselves to union labour ; and the unions found that, though in effect they might enjoy in practice a preference for union labour, they could not force by agreement the employment of union labour only. Behind this cause was the perennial irrita- tion existing in the London docks, and the policy of some labour leaders at that time to get the most they could out of an arbitration or an agreement, and then to raise questions of interpretation or breaches of agreement, head- ing and turning the irritation and the men's demands into a claim which bore the aspect of legality. Their excuse might be that they averted worse trouble by showing that they were doing something, and certainly some unions had difficult constituents. Their condemnation by the employers was that they could not control their men, that 220 WATERMEN, LIGHTERMEN, AND BARGEMEN 221 they were fomenting trouble, and that it was of no use making agreements with them— the last point being of importance, as this was the main cause of a general refer- ence to the Industrial Council on the subject of breaches of agreement. The strike was too variegated for detail of all its features, but some of its incidents are not without some interest. The question of the Federation ticket, to be worn by all dockers as proof that they were members of the National Transport Workers' Federation, had not been really fought out or settled in 1911. It was revived in 1912, and the attempt showed the lack of organisation and weakness of that union, a lack which they have been working studiously to remedy ever since. The trouble began with the Water- men, Lightermen, and Bargemen, where some employers and some employed for years failed to get on with each other. A watchman, who seemed to have been a foreman and continued to belong to the Society of Foremen Lighter- men, did not want to join the Society of Watermen, Lighter- men, and Bargemen. The lighterage company by whom he was employed said they had nothing to do with the dispute, on the ground it was a dispute between two unions, whereupon, on May 16, the lightermen were called out on strike. The Association of Master Lightermen and Barge Owners had resolved to stick together, under the belief that their heads were to be chopped off one by one, and decided to do the lighterage company's work for them. They told their men to do this work ; the union men refused, and were discharged for not obeying orders. This lockout at once enlarged the dispute, and the fire quickly spread. On May 18 the executive of the watermen passed a long resolution saying the master lightermen had broken an agreement of August 19, 1911, that by this agreement only foremen were exempt from a Federation card, and they had locked out men who were under the agreement for refusing to work for a firm employing union and non- union men. On May 20 the master lightermen issued a statement that they had never agreed to anything of the kind or to employ only Federation members. On May 21 the watermen and lightermen's time expired ; they came out, and the dockers began to strike in sympathy. The Executive of the National Transport Workers' Federa- tion held a meeting, and on May 23 called upon " all the 222 TRANSPORT WORKERS, 1912 transport workers to cease work to-night." This drastic command succeeded in London and on the Medway, work gradually ceasing in the course of the next few days. The London transport trade was stopped. I went on a Sunday to Trafalgar Square, where Mr. Ben Till^tt and other speakers were addressing a mass-meeting, and heard the end of his address, closing with a bow and the words, " Good luck to you, boys." There was little enthusiasm ; the prospect was rather grim. I heard a man say, " I hope Sir George can stop this." As I was one of those who countersigned the agreement of August 11, and as there was nothing in it about the Federation Ticket being obligatory, I saw the parties separately, since they would not meet, with a view to seeing whether the agreement was really the only issue : if that was the trouble, as alleged, it was a matter of interpreta- tion ; if there was another issue, could they meet and discuss the difference ? Frankly, I do not know how Ministers started in to deal with the dispute. The Prime Minister had left London for a Whitsun rest in the Mediter- ranean, and some of them may have thought they should deal with so serious a matter as a stoppage of the London transport trade, or were " rattled " by a fresh disturbance in his absence. First one and then another had informal interviews with representatives of the parties, and finally it was announced in the House of Commons that the Government had decided to cause an inquiry and report to be made " on the facts and circumstances of the present dispute affecting transport workers in the Port of London and on the Medway." One of the Ministers (Mr. Haldane) asked me to take this inquiry, but I pointed out that I had been immersed in negotiations with both sides, that both sides knew I was aware of every point, and that nothing could be gained by a fresh inquiry by me, so that I proposed a new mind might be brought to bear upon it, if this inquiry was desired, suggesting a list of two or three names, from which Sir Edward Clarke was selected. Sir Edward, with his usual ability, heard the parties, and produced a report recording what had been said many times before. He found that, according to the agreements, recourse should have been had and should now be had to the decision of the Board of Trade in the event of difference BISSELL 223 between the Associations ; and that the extension of an agreement to parties such as shipowners or traders not belonging to the contracting parties, so as to make it bind- ing upon them, could only be dealt with by legislation. This report did not settle the dispute. The employers definitely refused to accept it as an award on the points dealt with by Sir Edward. The men concentrated on the fact that it had not settled a question now put forward as their main contention in place of the compulsory union ticket which had been the initial reason for the dispute. This contention was that a man named Bissell, who employed two carters, and had been a member of the London Master Carmen and Cartage Contractors' Associa- tion, had broken the agreement of August 11, 1911, by paying less than the award. Bissell had resigned his membership and refused to renew it or to appear at any proceedings ; there was no power exercisable by the Carters' Association, or under any Act of Parliament, as Sir Edward pointed out, to compel him to appear or to pay ; and his own carters stuck by him. In fact, the dispute was shifted off upon this issue, but it was used as a lever to press denunciations of the employers for alleged breaches of agreement, the employers on their side being equally persistent in urging breach of agreement by the men in striking upon the matter of the union ticket. The Report was handed to the Government on May 27, but the dispute continued till well into July, and work was not resumed till the first week in August, Public opinion may have a certain effect in shortening a strike, but the contention that there has only to be an open inquiry for the public to take cognisance of a dispute, and settle it by public opinion, is a fallacy. The public cares little or nothing about disputes which do not immediately affect them ; the newspapers never publish, and cannot publish, for the simple reason that they cannot afford the space, full reports of disputes, inquiries, or even very important awards ; a sensational murder trial will oust industrial disputes entirely out of the papers ; and the most sensa- tional dispute of recent years, the Music Hall dispute, was certainly not settled by the Press or public opinion. It may almost be said that it was kept alive by the sensation created by it. After Sir Edward Clarke's report, five Ministers again 224 TRANSFOKT WORKERS, 1912 began interviewing both sides, or, rather, different sections of both sides, but without the slightest effect. The employers took up an attitude of passive resistance. At a conference with Mr. Lloyd George, the shipowners said they had nothing to do with a dispute about a master-carter ; the dockers had left work and injured them in a dispute over which they had no control, and an agreement with which they were not concerned : if they chose to hold up the whole port, the shipowners were not going to be in- volved ; if they recognised this dispute, they would have to look after every contract made by any association or any single employer ; the dispute had commenced over the claim for the union ticket, ,which they absolutely refused to recognise, and that claim had not been withdrawn ; they could not form, and objected to forming, a federation of employers ; and one of them bluntly said they were not going to listen to " the cajolery of Mr. Lloyd George." The impracticability of proper settlement of a dispute by a Committee of Ministers was abundantly apparent, and was emphasised still more strongly in my mind when I heard a politician tell a Minister that it was inadvisable the dispute should close too early, as a London election then proceeding might not go in the desired direction if it did. Although the Minister may not have been influenced by the tale, yet it illustrates the objection to politics or the suspicion of politics coming into or being allowed to affect the settlement of industrial disputes. In reply to the suggestions for a federation of employers, the employers finally sent a formal answer : " That His Majesty's Ministers be informed that their suggestion with regard to the formation of a federation of employers has been most carefully considered, and it is the unanimous opinion of those employers who have this day discussed the question that under existing conditions such a scheme is impracticable. " Moreover, the employers desire that it should be dis- tinctly understood that, whilst they are willing to discuss with His Majesty's Ministers at all times any suggestion made by them, no such suggestion, however acceptable in other respects, will be adopted until work has been resumed throughout the Port. Further, that they will not under any circumstances consent to any recognition FIVE MINISTERS 225 of the Union or Transport Workers' Federation ticket, or to any discussion for such recognition." Then, accepting the meagre statement that the employers would deign to discuss with His Majesty's Ministers any of their suggestions, further proposals were put forward on behalf of the Government, with a query whether there was any reason why the lines of the Brooklands and similar agreements should not be followed, with elaborate sugges- tions for a joint board consisting (1) of representatives nominated by groups of employers, and (2) of representatives of the men, as an Appeal Court with power to inflict penalties for breach of agreement. The men accepted this scheme, which would have been a very possible basis of sound settlement earlier in the course of debate, but now appeared too late. They made the mistake, in my view, of adding to their acceptance that they intended to declare a national strike if a reply was not given by the employers on the next day. This challenge was met by a refusal to accept the principle under l}ring the Government's proposals, the real reason being objection to the threat. Their answer was conveyed to the men, when the National Transport Workers' Federation found them- selves in the position of having to fulfil a threat or confess to an impotent threat. They sent telegrams to all ports saying, " Employers point-blank refuse to accept proposal for settlement. National Executive recommend general stoppage at once." Satisfactory answers did not come. Unions affiliated to the National Transport Workers took a ballot, and although about 20,000 men in various ports came out for a few days, the results in each case showed a majority against a stoppage. The other ports had had their struggle the year before, and were not prepared to support a lost cause. Meanwhile in London the employers began to fill up with new labour, very inefficient, but supplying in number at least some proof that work was going to be carried on. There were about 5,000 new men in the Port of London early in June, and about 13,000 by the end of the month. It was obvious that, when Ministers were dealing with the problem, the Industrial Council could not cut across any action they might be taking, but at their meeting on June 12 they took note of the repeated charges of 226 TRANSPORT WORKERS, 1912 breach of agreement made by both sides in London, and also in general terms throughout the country. They unanimously adopted this resolution : " The question of the maintenance of industrial agree- ments having come before the Industrial Council, that Council are of the opinion that this subject is of the highest importance to employers and trade unions and workpeople generally, and would welcome an immediate inquiry into the matter. " The Government, by this time in a fix, at once seized hold of this proposal, and the next day the Prime Minister, who had now returned, stated that the Council would be requested to make an inquiry and report. " It seems essential," he said, " to ascertain : "1. What is the best method of securing the due fulfil- ment of industrial agreements ; and "2. How far industrial agreements which are made between representative bodies of employers and of work- men should be enforced throughout the particular trade or district. " The Government are anxious to have inquiry made into the matter, and to receive advice from those best qualified to give it. In these circumstances, they propose to refer the above question to the Industrial Council, which is representative of the employers and of the men in the great industries of the country ; to request the Council carefully to consider that matter ; to take such evidence as they may think fit ; and to report to the Government any conclusions to which they may come." Although Ministers were in fact quietly dropping away from intervention in a dispute which they -had failed to settle, there was no opening for the Industrial Council to step in and attempt to pick up the threads. The employers had issued a statement that " schemes for dealing with labour questions in the Port of London as between and affecting individual trades and their workmen must, in view of the vast and conflicting PASSIVE RESISTANCE 227 interests involved, be complicated and require exhaustive discussion if the settlement is to be of a permanent character, and in the opinion of the Conference this discussion can only take place after work has been resumed." Their theory of passive resistance was, however, pushed so far that, in answer to the query whether it could be said that a discussion could take place after work had been resumed, they replied curtly that " it would not be in accordance with the resolution to inform the men that after work had been resumed discussion would take place between the respective associations of employers and the representatives of the men." They were apparently determined to give no opening whatever for return to work with hope of future amelioration, but to insist on confession of error by unconditional surrender. Opinions may differ as to the value and sense of these tactics, but everyone will, I think, agree that they would not conduce to cessation of an industrial dispute. The dockers' leaders said, " We are going to tell the men frankly that there is nothing else to do but to fight." Even in reply to a formal letter intimating the reference to the Industrial Council, and asking whether the Port of London Authority would nominate one or more representa- tives to give evidence before the Council " in regard to any, or all, of the Industrial Agreements to which the Authority has been a party, or with which it is concerned, or any other matter which it may deem material to the terms of reference," that body replied that " the Authority has been a party to one agreement only — that known as the Devonport Agreement, signed by the parties thereto on July 27, 1911. The history of that agree- ment is set out in the Authority's communication handed to His Majesty's Government on the 10th instant, and as the Authority has nothing to add on the subject, it does not propose to be represented at the inquiry before the Industrial Council." A Labour Member brought up a proposal on July 1 in the House of Commons, and got a resolution accepted " that, in the opinion of this House, it is expedient that the repre- sentatives of the employers' and the workmen's organisa- 228 TRANSPORT WORKERS, 1912 tions should meet with a view to arriving at a settlement " ; to which the employers, on July 4, only announced that " they adhere to their decision conveyed to the Members of the Cabinet Committee on the several occasions when meetings have taken place, viz. that they agree to no conditions precedent to the men returning to work," and that " in the future as in the past the freest submission of grievances will be allowed to employees, and just and generous consideration promptly accorded to them." This reply was unanimously confirmed on July 11 by another meeting. Meanwhile, as the weeks went by, there was beginning to be serious distress in the East and South of London. One Bishop opened a relief fund, and three Bishops, possibly with the best intention or aiming at following the prece- dent of Cardinal Manning, butted in with a summing-up of their own as to the points of difference, and the futile and despairing suggestion, " Cannot some arbitrator having the confidence of both sides suggest a formula which may bring employer and employed together, and thus close a dispute which is causing untold misery and injuring the whole country ? " It was about this date that the Prime Minister asked me to see him privately. He requested me to explain the full position. I told him the whole history in an unvarnished tale, without any comment, although the obvious deduction was the absolute failure of Ministerial interference by a Committee of Ministers in an industrial dispute, and the bad effect upon Government prestige, particularly in the event of a failure. He walked up and down the Cabinet room in Downing Street, with his hands in his pockets, and, turning to me, said, " Every word you have spoken endorses the opinion I have formed. It is a degradation of Government. Can you suggest anything ? " I said that the only chance I saw of a settlement which did not leave great bitterness behind it, and a determination for reprisals on a suitable occasion, would be a formal announcement by the em- ployers thatthey intended to keep and maintain agreements, which must be their policy and which they had always said had been their policy ; that such a declaration could only come from Lord Devonport, as Chairman of the Port of London Authority ; that it would not be believed unless the transport workers' leaders saw Lord Devonport and had LORD DEVONPORT ON AGREEMENTS 229 it from him personally ; and that, if an interview took place, Lord Devonport would be well advised to say nothing about the union ticket, which was dead, and not now a live claim : otherwise the strike would continue and would revive on the very first opportunity. Mr. Buxton was called in, and agreed. The Prime Minister saw Lord Devonport alone. I was told that he had said he would be at his private house between certain hours the next morning, and if two of the transport leaders (who were both members of the Port of London Authority) called, he would see them and say to them that he was prepared to denounce breaches of agreements by any employer. The Prime Minister asked whether this could possibly be done, to which I said the attempt should be made. I asked two of them to break- fast on urgent business, one coming back especially from Manchester ; explained matters, and took them to Lord Devonport' s door, waiting to see that they were admitted. He gave them the assurance, published his assurance in the Press on July 18, and a few days after they called off the strike. The intervening days were interesting. The two leaders had no mandate. They could only wait to ascertain whether Lord Devonport' s statements in the Press, that he had explained to them how far existing agreements would remain in force, what variation would be made, and the reason for such variation, would be accepted by the transport workers. Meanwhile they worked with quiet hints that the promises were sufficient to end the strike. When the time was ripe, the Strike Committee issued a manifesto on Saturday, July 27, recommending an immediate resumption of work : " Strike declared off. All men to return to work Monday." Even then the men, on Sunday, July 28, unanimously resolved not to resume work, but on the Monday some of the dockers and stevedores resumed. I was able, after certain interviews, to state that sailing- barge owners would continue to pay the " pink-list," and all their men returned to work. Others quickly followed. Finally, after some disturbances between the returning trade unionists and the non-unionists who had worked during the strike, a general return to work had come by August 6. This long strike had been most ineffective. It was initiated, not for improvement of wages and hours, but in the belief that by force the employers could be induced 230 TRANSPORT WORKERS, 1912 to employ men of the Transport Workers' Federation only. When the force proved insufficient, the claims were shifted on to alleged breaches of agreement, including a case where a small master-carter had resigned from an association bound by an agreement, and of which he was a member when the agreement was made. He had then paid wages lower than the agreed rates. There was no power to oblige him to remain a member or to continue as an individual to be < bound. Into this varied tangle five or more Cabinet Ministers threw themselves, though many of them in their respective offices had nothing whatever to do with the matter, and could only have interfered because they con- sidered their influence to be large or because they thought their action would serve political purposes. Their efforts completely failed. The Prime Minister was so annoyed that he gave strict orders that Ministers, even the President of the Board of Trade, who, if any Minister should intervene, was the proper Minister to intervene, were to leave industrial disputes alone and not mix themselves up with them. This request was almost unnecessary in the case of Mr. Buxton, the then President, whose policy it endorsed. It was scrupulously followed by his successor, Mr. Burns. Mr. Runciman, until the War camd and he had to tilt by advice a few cases on to the arbitration tribunals, also followed it. Mr. Harcourt, who was Acting President for some months, rigidly maintained the same policy. It was left for Mr. Lloyd George, by his personal action, to reverse this policy, during the War, in the case of the Welsh coal strike, and to make it impracticable by handing over to the vast number of new Ministries, and even the new Depart- ments, established during the War, the authority and power to deal with every kind of dispute which in the least affected their Departments, a policy which led to conflicting decisions, a maze of authorities, and a large number of disputes which ought never to have occurred, and would never have occurred but for this change. Some bitter remarks were printed in various papers on the action of Ministers, which might well have been taken to heart. As one paper remarked : " In many respects the strike that has just ended has been the most remarkable for many years . There was no question LESSONS OF THE STRIKE 281 of non-payment of reasonable wages, but only alleged small causes of friction and pressure to compel the employers to make themselves agents to force non-unionists to become unionists. " The first and foremost lesson of the struggle is that a strike, if it is prolonged, is the worst weapon for getting real advantages, and that, although it may be used as a warning, it is unwise to treat it as a battle to the end. Some opinions to the contrary were expressed on both sides last year, particularly when the efforts at conciliation had proved successful, and when such efforts did not prevent strikes breaking out in other quarters. It was even said that strikes were induced because it was thought conciliation would be used. . . . People forget that last year conciliation in towns where it had been used had been effective in causing a cessation of strife in those towns, subject to small cases of aftermath. A proof of its value and of the settlements made has been evident in the fact that, in the provincial towns where settlements were made, hardly any disturbance occurred when these towns failed to follow the lead of London. " Another lesson from the strike is that the less the Government and political persons interfere with trade disputes the better. There is no intention to propose special legislation in this trade, and yet a Committee of six members of the Cabinet, supposed to be sitting to inquire into the general causes of unrest, chose to interfere in an individual case, and buoy up the minds of the strikers with belief in legislation and the interference of Parliament. This created a notion that there was a court of appeal above the officials who had acted with success in previous strikes, not necessarily preventing them, but bringing them to a close within reasonable time. " Mr. Sydney Buxton, the President of the Board of Trade, last year earned general praise for keeping out of the strikes himself, although, being Member for Poplar, he had great temptation to interfere. He held up the conciliation part of his Department as independent of politics, and as separated from the Board of Trade in all respects except so far as it was necessary to have a Minister who could answer questions in Parliament on matters of fact. The conciliation department of the Board had kept upon those lines, and the Government had themselves 16 232 TRANSPORT WORKERS, 1912 established an Industrial Council with the object of emphasising the lines on which policy should be directed. But in the absence of the Prime Minister other members of the Cabinet thought that there was a good opportunity of advertising themselves, and interfered, with the most disastrous results. The Prime Minister at least deserves credit for having endeavoured to bring matters back to the more normal condition, and it is to be hoped that the action of the rest of the Government will not have interfered with the successful efforts of the Industrial Commissioner's Department." The most disastrous disputes are not without humorous incidents, of which one perhaps may be mentioned. In the middle of the strike there came out Mr. Ben Tillett's History of the Transport Strike, 1911, in which he indulged in a pen-sketch of me : " Sir George Askwith, the patient, plodding man, with pigeon-holes in his brains ; who listened without sign of being bored or absorbed, who concealed his mind like a Chinaman. Emotionless, excepting that he would peer through his glasses at someone making a statement of moment, never raising his diplomatic voice, or appearing to hurry over anything ; guiding without falter or apparent effort the disputants, however heated they may be, himself the inscrutable, patient listener. " And such patience ! It was more than dour in its persistence and calmness ; it compelled by its coldness, and saved us from bickerings on occasions when the wisest become puny and spiteful. " He is the most dangerous man in the country. His diplomacy is and will be worse than war. Unless it abso- lutely succeeds in forcing industrial combatants to appreci- ate the human oneness of the community, it will be a danger, inasmuch as it will make with its great genius for a peace that, after all, will be artificial." Let me be allowed to reciprocate with a few words on Mr. Tillett. He could almost deprecatingly wish the boys good luck in Trafalgar Square, or utter wild words on Tower Hill, but in the council-chamber he was not always so effective. " Where is Mr. Tillett ? " I asked. " I want MR. BEN TILLETT 288 to see him." " Oh, we have put him out of the way, to write manifestos in your room, so that he won't interrupt us," was the reply. There I found him, with his coat off, his shirt-sleeves rolled up (it was very hot), his long hair ruffled, scribbling for all he was worth, on sheets and sheets of Government notepaper. I watered down that manifesto for him, just as he consented to go back by the next train from Manchester at a crucial moment, when he could only have upset things. Ben Tillett is a far more sensible man than some people think, and, be it said, with a very kindly heart. CHAPTER XXIII INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENTS, 1912 While the London transport dispute was pursuing its unhappy course, many suggestions from many quarters were put forward with a view to anticipation or mitigation of strikes. Of these the Government, dimly aware that they were in a mess and that they had no pohcy, seized hold of two stopgaps, which could at least allow them to answer that inquiry was being made. The first stopgap was upon the subject of the breach and maintenance of industrial agreements, a suggestion made by the Industrial Council ; the second an inquiry into the working of Canadian law, proposed by a deputation from the Association of Chambers of Commerce to the Prime Minister on June 21. The members of the Industrial Council were requested on June 14 to inquire and report (1) what is the best method of securing the due fulfilment of industrial agreements ; and (2) how far and in what manner industrial agreements which are made between representative bodies of employers and of workmen should be enforced through a particular trade or district. The reference stated that " the Government will give the most earnest attention to any recommendations that the Council may be able to make." On July 24 Mr. Lloyd George in the House of Commons followed the same line. " The Executive," he said, " had no power to go beyond inquiry and conciliation. There was no other power vested in the Executive for cases of this kind — none. Up to the present public opinion was opposed to any fresh powers. If they proceeded beyond conciliation, the next step was compulsion, and if there was to be compulsion, it must be compulsion on both sides. 234 GOVERNMENT PROMISES 235 *' But, after all, it was impossible to legislate for each particular case. Problems of this kind ought to be dealt with generally, and his own opinion was that the public were beginning to feel very strongly that there ought to be some means of determining disputes without on the one hand driving one party to starvation, or on the other ruining the industry. " He was perfectly convinced that the time had come for a reconsideration of the whole problem of settling trade disputes. " The Government had set up an inquiry into the subject, and the Industrial Council were considering the best means of dealing with matters of this kind. He did not think it would be possible to deal with them without some form of legislative sanction, but before legislation could be carried it necessarily involved that there should be a guarantee on both sides that decisions could be enforced. " The Government had come to the conclusion that it would be necessary to deal with this problem. It was not merely this particular dispute. Other disputes were constantly cropping up, and therefore the Government had come to the conclusion that it was necessary to deal with the whole problem, and that in the immediate future." But in spite of these pledges, when the report of the Industrial Council was presented, and also the report on Canada, the Government did nothing. The crisis was passed, opportunist policy no longer made it important to fulfil promises, nothing was done except shelving the report by reference to the Trade Union Congress, and the Government went forward with no labour policy at all. With regard to Industrial Agreements, no observation is more often heard than the statement that it is of little use making agreements with workmen or their representa- tives, because no sooner are they made than they are broken. Many also have been the proposals for enforcing the maintenance of agreements or the awards of arbitra- tors by such expedients as penalties, imprisonments, black- listing, expulsion from associations or unions, etc. It is certainly as a rule more easy to oblige employers to keep agreements. There is damage to their trade and credit if they are marked as failing to fulfil agreements made with their workpeople. They are fewer in number ; the bad 236 INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENTS, 1912 opinion of their fellows is more easily applied. They are liable to have more force brought to bear upon them, both by their fellows and by their own workpeople. On the other hand, even if some workpeople have not equal educa- tion or moral sense to see the importance of keeping agree- ments, or will down tools without the slightest regard to their own or their union undertakings, most unions have rules by which they endeavour to lay down standards of conduct or punishments, such as suspension, refusal of out-of-work pay, or, in some cases, expulsion for offending members. The complaint of employers is that those rules may exist, but are not adequately enforced, or are not sufficiently deterrent. The subject is a difficult one, par- ticularly as in a trade dispute there are generally charges and countercharges of bad faith by both sides. I have found that allegations of breach of agreement are very often due either to misinterpretation or to misunder- standings. Industrial agreements are not always worded with great clearness or legal precision. Even if they were, who has not known cases where statutes or wills, appar- ently drafted with the utmost precision, have been construed in different ways or formed the subject of action in the courts ? Employers or workmen who have not been present at conferences read these documents, and possibly read them in different ways. Even if the employer desires to follow out the terms of the agreement, his methods of payment or the rules at his works may make the applica- tion extremely difficult, and the application selected may not appeal to his workmen as being correct. A very little divergence of view serves to give rise to charges of breach of faith. It is the same story of suspicion which might often be obviated if there was a recognised system, well matured in many works, of bringing the question before the management, and failing agreement referring it to the association or union. In the case of an arbitrator's award the arbitrator should always be asked to say what he meant, by consent of both parties ; or the document, if the parties are legally bound, may be capable of being brought into the courts. Sad difficulties, however, have from time to time arisen, when arbitrators have been so lax in their wording or understood the intricacies of a trade so slightly as to be unable to say what they meant ; and others have been known to be so foolish as to give an interpretation without DANGER OF GARBLED TERMS 237 notice to the other side and ascertainment whether they agreed to the reference or whether they had anything to say. An agreement, too, is only binding on the parties to it, just as an award only covers the parties named in it. It is only too common for this plain fact not to be realised, with the result that accusations of bad faith may be made against those who are expected to follow it by analogy or by being in business in the same trade, even in cases where their methods may be quite different, or where special circumstances have not been dealt with or heard, or where those accused may be genuinely ignorant of the existence or the terms of an agreement or award. A fertile source of trouble is the fact that only a synopsis or part of an agree- ment is generally published in the Press, and may be taken by workmen as the real agreement, when it may give a complete travesty of the proper effect. As regards personal experience, I can only recall a few instances where my awards have not been carried out, and few instances where agreements effected or drafted by me have been broken. In the first category a case arose at Grimsby, but the cause was found to be the nefarious work of bribing middlemen. In the second, cases of com- plaint have arisen, but almost invariably I have been asked -to rule on the point or to settle some subsidiary point of application or of the course to be followed in special circumstances not specifically brought forward at the conference. This procedure should be invariably followed. It would prevent many strikes. It is true that small sections of workmen do break away from agreements, very often in ignorance. In other cases I have known employers put up notices giving their own interpretation and in their own language, hopelessly wrong ; instead of putting up the whole and actual terms of the agreement. An abbre^'iation always gives rise to the belief that something is being concealed. The actual agreement should be published in full ; each workman should know of it and be able to see it ; and the simple announcement made that the terms will be carried out in the works, with a notification by what method any com- plaint concerning its mode of fulfilment can be brought forward. On the whole, therefore, I endorse now the view of the Industrial Council given in 1913, and think the statements 288 INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENTS, 1912 as regards breaches of agreement so commonly bandied about contain a great deal of exaggeration on both sides. A better method of dealing with the charges would diminish bad feeling ; and with better feeling the charges would be less likely to arise. The Industrial Council held thirty-eight meetings, heard ninety-two witnesses from the principal trades, and in their report ^ated July 24, 1913, said : " Notwithstanding the difficulties inherent in dealing with large numbers of workpeople, we find from the evidence that agreements in most cases are well kept. Although a number of instances of alleged breaches of agreements have been referred to in the course of the Inquiry, the evidence of a considerable majority of the witnesses is to the effect that agreements have, viewed generally, been duly fulfilled by both parties. The breaches that have been mentioned were, with a few exceptions, the result of the action of comparatively few men, or due to exceptional circumstances or to differences and misunderstandings in regard to points of interpreta- tion, and are not, as a rule, countenanced by the respective organisations. "It is recognised by both sides that they are under a strong moral obligation to observe agreements which have been entered into by them or by their representatives on their behalf. The principal exceptions appear to be in trades which are unorganised, or in which on one side or the other the organisation is incomplete or is of recent origin ; but we find that where agreements are the outcome of properly organised machinery for dealing with disputes they are, with very few exceptions, loyally observed by both sides. Where agreements have been broken it is frequently found that they were made at times when, owing to the abnormal conditions, great difficulty must have been experienced in arriving at a fair adjustment." After considering the merits of monetary penalties for breach or an obligation imposed by law not to assist in any manner persons in breach, the Council reported : " Our view is that voluntary organisation and collective bargaining cannot successfully proceed upon a basis of MUTUAL CONSENT 289 broken faith, and that breach of faith should be discouraged by all voluntary action that can be taken by associations on either side. In many associations rules for the punish- ment of persons committing a breach already exist, and we recommend that other associations should follow the lead which has thus been taken, and consider whether it is not advisable that similar rules should be adopted in their organisations^ " While we are convinced that it is to the interests of both employers and workpeople that industrial agreements should be duly fulfilled, we think that in the long-run this object is more likely to be secured by an increased regard for the moral obligation and by reliance upon the principles of mutual consent, rather than by the establishment of a system of monetary penalties or by the legal prohibition of assistance to persons in breach. " The suggestion that no support should be given by either employers' associations or trade unions to their respective members acting in breach of an agreement (e.g. that the union should give no strike pay in case of breach, and the association should also render no assistance to a defaulting member) has, as a principle, received general support from almost every witness who considered the matter in the course of the evidence. " We think there can be little doubt that the fact that financial or other assistance could not be given to persons acting in breach of agreement would be an aid to discipline and would tend to assist in the maintenance of agreements, and we are of the opinion that, where it has been decided by an impartial tribunal (or by mutual consent of the parties to an agreement) that a breach of an agreement has been committed by any person who is a member of an association represented by the signatories to the agreement, no assis- tance, financial or otherwise, should be given to that person by any of the other members of the associations who were parties to the agreement. " It appears to be the case that many industrial agree- ments contain no clause providing for cases of disagreement regarding the interpretation of the document, and we are of opinion that such a clause — an ' interpretation clause ' — is an essential part of an industrial agreement and should form part of every such agreement. We consider that a model clause of this character would be one which provided 240 INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENTS, 1912 that, in the event of a dispute arising as to the interpreta- tion of an agreement, the point in dispute should be referred to an independent chairman, or to arbitrators, or a Court of Arbitration, agreed upon in each case by the parties. In the event of the parties faihng to agree upon the person or persons to whom the matter is to be referred, it should be referred to a chairman or a Court of Arbitration appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Conciliation Act, 1896. Such a chairman or Court should have a casting vote, or at least be able to recommend a solution should the parties fail to agree." So far the Industrial Council did not specifically indicate legislation, though the circulation and development of their unanimous opinion might well have been undertaken. As regards the second portion of the reference (as to how far, and in what manner, industrial agreements which are made between representative bodies of employers and of workmen should be enforced throughout a particular trade or district) there was some difference of opinion, but the majority of the Council said : " We have come to the conclusion that, subject to an inquiry made by an authority appointed by the Board of Trade, an agreement entered into between associations of employers and of workmen representing a substantial body of those in the trade or district should, on the appli- cation of the parties to the agreement, be made applicable to the whole of the trade or district concerned, provided that the agreement contains conditions to secure — " (a) That at least . . . days' notice shall be given by either party of an intended change affecting conditions as to wages or hours ; and " (6) That there shall be no stoppage of work or alteration of the conditions of employment until the dispute has been investigated by some agreed tribunal, and a pronounce- ment made upon it." To which one meinber suggested the addition of the words — " (c) That it should be illegal for any financial assistance to be given by either the Employers' Association or the PROPOSALS OF THE IJNDUSTUlAL COUNCIL 241 Workmen's Association in support of any person who, having been a member of an association represented by the signatories to an agreement, has been declared by an impartial tribunal or by mutual consent of the parties to the agreement to have contravened the terms of the agreement." The point of the Report was that industries desiring extension of agreements could obtain that boon, under due safeguards for those to whom it was proposed to extend the agreement, if they were prepared to undertake to give notice of any, change affecting conditions as to wages or hours, and not to strike until the dispute had been investi- gated by some agreed tribunal and a pronouncement made upon it. It was not compulsory arbitration, it was not an interference with the right to strike, but a voluntary restriction which many industries desired and were prepared to accept. No industry need have come into the scheme unless they so desired. The Government, however, as I have said, only shelved the question. Six or more years after- wards, when the Whitley Committee endorsed the report, and also the Canadian report, the Ministry of Labour did take some steps in the direction of extension of agreements by order, but left out the important part, that agreements might be extended only in those trades which agreed not to engage in a strike unless notice had been given and the dispute had been investigated and a pronouncement made upon it. Without this compensatory bargain, extension would be entirely one-sided and unfair to small firms, to whom the application of the agreement might be onerous, largely inapplicable, or strangling. CHAPTER XXIV CANADA, 1912 An inquiry into Canadian labour legislation, especially the working of the Act known in the Dominion as the Lemieux Act, was in a sense supplementary to the reference to the Industrial Council — an interesting sidelight promised in the middle of the transport strike on June 21, 1912. The Prime Minister then said : " The Canadian Act does not provide for compulsory arbitration by an impartial authority before either masters, on the one hand, lock out their men, or the men, on the other hand, strike. ... I should be sorry to pronounce an opinion, and I do not know how far the social conditions of Canada make it easier to work a scheme of this kind there as compared with this country. I think we ought to inquire very deeply into the matter without delay. We propose to do so — to make a very careful inquiry as to how this machinery is working in Canada, with a view to seeing whether it is not possible to adapt it to the conditions of this country. That will require prosecuting with promptitude.' ' On July 31 I gave notice to the Industrial Council that the Government had requested me to make the inquiry, and on August 23 sailed from Liverpool, with my wife and Mr. Mitchell. Our journey extended from Quebec to Montreal, Toronto, London, the Trade Union Congress at Guelph, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Nelson, Cranbrook, Frank, and again to Ottawa, and then for a few days to Washington and New York. Although inquiry in the United States had also been mentioned, time and the requirements of work in Great Britain prevented any opportunity for more than ofiBcial calls. One could only express hope, never fulfilled, that another visit would 242 TRADE UNION CONGRESS AT GUELPH 243 facilitate some examination of conditions in the United States. In both countries the welcome from every class of the community was such as one can feel but not adequately express. In Canada we saw everyone we could, from H.R.H. the Governor-General, Ministers, ex-Ministers, and high officials, to minor clerks in remote Government offices ; from employers like Lord Shaughnessy, settling with a wave of his hand a large grant to telegraphists on the Canadian Pacific Railway (on the eve of the Trade Union Congress), to representatives of the coal industry of Nova Scotia and the small owner in Victoria, exercised over the restrictions of trade unions which hindered him from painting his garden gate ; and from the French workpeople in Quebec, through telegraphists endorsing the Lemieux Act (at the Trade Union Congress), to recently arrived Independent Workers of the World in the building trades of Vancouver and the mines of Vancouver Island, who paid little attention to it. In Washington the Commissioner told us the troubles of a railway crisis, and Mr. Gompers took three hours of his valuable time in showing the Temple of Labour, and intro- ducing me to his officers, with a final bestowal of a badge of the Trade Unions of the United States. The most interesting features were the Trade Union Congress held at Guelph, a town in Ontario, and some interviews at the Labour Temple in Vancouver. At Guelph there was a special debate on the Lemieux Act. The opinions of unions which were not governed by it, and irritation at a recent legal decision given by a judge, in an exceptional case, as to its supposed effect, caused a vote to be given that the Act should be repealed. If the word "amended" had been substituted for "repealed" the effect would have been better, as the principle of the Act was warmly defended by some of the unions chiefly affected by it. The real point was that the railwaymen had come under it by consent, while it had been imposed upon the miners at a time of great crisis in Alberta. The miners, therefore, looked upon it with suspicion, and in that vast country any enforcement in Alberta or Vancouver from so distant a city as Ottawa was more than difficult to achieve. In Vancouver the building trade is the governing trade. Both the city and the island are subject to invasions of Independent Workers of the World and other associations, from Washington State and other districts of the U.S.A. 244 CANADA, 1912 There are some interesting men to be met there. At one interview they started off with long remarks about social regeneration, the destruction of everything, and the new world, when Mr. Mitchell quietly remarked that I had heard these arguments nearly every day during the last few years and knew them by heart, but he believed I wanted to know the facts about Canada and what they were practically doing in Canada. I had maintained silence, but was then asked to put a few questions, when we soon commenced to discuss business points. Hour by hour flew by, and since then I have from time to time received letters from Vancouver, including an appeal to see that their men should be drafted to this country to take part in munitions work during the War. The Lemieux Act, named from the Postmaster-General of the day, and passed in March 1907, with an amending Act in 1911, was chiefly due to the work of Mr. W. L. Mackenzie King, now leader of the Liberal Party in Canada ; and is expressed to deal with " the prevention and settle- ment of strikes and lockouts in mines and industries connected with Public Utilities." It defines "strike" as " a cessation of work by a body of employees acting in combination, or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of employees to continue to work for an employer, in consequence of a dispute, done as a means of compelling their employer, or to aid other employees in compelling their employer, to accept terms of employment " — a definition which includes the direct strike and the sympathetic strike. Its scope is indicated by the definition of " employer," which is given as meaning " any person, company, or corporation em- ploying ten or more persons, and owning or operating any mining property, agency of transportation or communi- cation, steamships, telegraph and telephone lines, gas, electric light, water- and power-works," or, in a brief word, public utilities. Upon my return from Canada, and after a few weeks of rest in Algiers, my report came out in February 1913. The rest was necessary, since, as one paper remarked, " We have often wondered how the peacemaker got through his strike work last year, because it was enough to Mil anybody made of iron or adamant." Of this report the salient principle was this : that there THE RIGHT OF THE PUBLIC 246 should not be read into and expected from the Act features which were never intended by those responsible for its becoming law and were not included in it, but that " the simple purpose of the Act is to ensure the recognition of the interests of the public, as a third party, in trade disputes, and the insistence that that third party, through the Government, shall have a voice in regard to a dispute affecting their interests, and, according to the Act, before a stoppage of work takes place." That simple purpose, the right of the public, was the principle of the Act and the principle to which all the ex- planations in the report were directed. After considering the points of objection, as well as the favourable features of the Act, I stated : " that it might be feasible in the United Kingdom, with advantage both to employers and employed, to give opportunity for such investigation and recommendation as would bring into light the real causes of difficulties, and create in the public mind and in the minds of employers and employed the opinion that, when oppor- tunity exists by law, such opportunity should be taken advantage of, and that strikes and lockouts ought not to be commenced, and certainly not supported by ' sympathetic ' strikes, while such investigation and recommendation are pending." Finally, the end of the report again emphasised the value of conciliation being legally authorised, in cases where the public were likely to be seriously affected, even if the proposals for delaying stoppage of work were not inserted in a statute or were not compulsory. In spite of the Act, inquiry after stoppage had in fact necessarily to be employed in certain cases in Canada ; but that did not take away the value of an inquiry being allowed, authorised, and, in fact, required under the aegis of the law in cases where the public were interested, possibly in even greater degree than the contending parties. The report ended with these words : " I consider that the forwarding of the spirit and intent 246 CANADA, 1912 of conciliation is the more valuable portion of the Canadian Act, and that an Act on these lines, even if the restrictive features which aim at delaying stoppage until after inquiry were omitted, would be suitable and practicable in this country. Such an Act need not necessarily be applied in all cases, but neither need it be confined to services of public utility. It could be generally available in cases where the public were likely to be seriously affected. Without the restrictive features, it would give the right not only to conciliate but fully to investigate the matters in dispute, with similar powers in regard to witnesses, production of documents and inspection, as are vested in a Court of Record in civil cases, with a view, if conciliation fails, to recommendations being made as to what are believed to be fair terms. Such an Act, while not ensuring complete absence of strikes and lockouts, would be valu- able, in my opinion, alike to the country and to employers and employed." This proposal did not suggest such stringent conditions as the Lemieux Act enjoined. That Act requires that any dispute arising in connection with the class of industries named- — mining, railways, shipping, and other public utilities — shall be submitted to a board of conciliation and investigation, with a view to arriving at a settlement before a strike or lockout can be legally brought about. It also stipulates that at least thirty days' notice of an intended change affecting conditions of employment with respect to wages or hours shall be given, and that pending the proceedings before the Board, in the event of such intended change resulting in a dispute, the relations to each other of the parties to the dispute shall remain unchanged, and neither party shall do anything in the nature of a lockout or a strike. It has been said that the Lemieux Act is compulsory arbitration in disguise, but such a criticism could only be made by persons who have not read the Act or examined the practice under it. The Act differs essentially from com- pulsory arbitration. It only endeavours to postpone a stoppage of work in certain industries for a brief period and for a specific purpose. It does not destroy the right of employers or workpeople to terminate contracts. It does not attempt to regulate details of administration of business THE LEMIEUX ACT Zi'f by employers, or interfere with organisation of associations of employers or of trade unions. It legalises the com- munity's right to intervene in a trade dispute by enacting that a stoppage, either by strike or lockout, shall not take place until the community, through a Government Department, has investigated the difference with the object of ascertaining if a recommendation cannot be made to the parties which both can accept as a settlement of the difference. It presupposes that industrial differences are adjustable, and that the best method of securing adjust- ment is by discussion and negotiation. It stipulates that, before a stoppage takes place, the possibilities of settlement by discussion and negotiation shall have been exhausted ; but, and here it differs from Compulsory Arbitration, it does not prohibit a stoppage either by lockout or strike if it is found that no recommendation can be made which is acceptable to both sides. If no way out of the difficulty can be found acceptable to both parties, there is no arbitrary insistence upon a continuance of either employ- ment or labour, but both sides are left to take such action as they may think fit. As a result it does not force unsuitable regulations on industries by compulsory and legal insistence, but leaves an opportunity for modification by the parties. It permits elasticity and revision, and, if it does not effect a settlement, indicates a basis on which one can be made. My argument was that both parties might well be, as it were, educated, or become accustomed in due course of time, to see that discussion was necessary, and should be exhausted before strikes or lockouts hurtful to the com- munity as a whole should be suddenly forced upon it, without any knowledge of the facts by the community, and in a manner wholly detrimental to it. It is contended that the owners of commodities can sell or withhold them without any restrictions whatever, and why should workmen, who have only their labour to sell, be prevented from disposing of it or withholding it at the moment most favourable to them ? The answer seems to be that, if wheat, coal, iron, or any other com- modities were to be held up in such a way as to endanger society, and active steps taken to hinder all importation from any other source, society would take steps to protect itself. It was the danger of society being held up by a 17 248 CANADA, 1912 cessation of labour which apparently induced the Canadian Government to pass the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act. Carried to its logical conclusion, the claim to cease work at a moment's notice, if acted upon, would make business impossible. In a civilised community business must be made possible. Therefore, it is not very unreasonable for a community to say both to employers and workmen : "If you desire to engage in this or that business under the protection of our laws, you can only do so under certain conditions, one of which is that before bringing about a cessation of work which may seriously jeopardise the public well-being, certain notice must be given." This principle of notice has long been recognised both by the Government in dealing with labour, and in every- day business contracts. The policy of well-established trade unions, both in this country and America, is in the direc- tion, not of the sudden attack, but of obtaining discussion, and exhaustive discussion, before a stoppage is resorted to. The Canadian Act is an extension of this principle of exhaustive discussion. In effect it stipulates that not only shall the principals themselves exhaust their own efforts at securing agreement, but the community must also have full knowledge of the matter, with a view to seeing if a tribunal free from the prejudices of both parties cannot suggest some way out of the difficulty. With a view to obtaining this result, the Act gives a right of obligatory discussion, and enforces the production of witnesses and books for the purpose of proving whether contentions are right or wrong. It is surely true to say that the public have no use for strikes or lockouts. While the public might often have much difficulty in bringing opinion to bear in favour of acceptance or rejection of technical suggestions, which in many trades it would be impossible for persons who had not examined the questions to understand, their support to the principle that the ordeal of battle should give place to reasonable judgment would probably be emphatic and frequently effective. From the point of view of the em- ployers, examination need not interfere with the adminis- trative details of business or discipline, but should give better opportunity for regular and consecutive business by reducing the number of strikes, by bringing strikes to an earlier conclusion, and by the powerful effect which would VALUE OF INQUIRY 249 result in the direction of rendering unnecessary and in- effective the progress of sympathetic strikes by which employers having no quarrel with their own workmen are so frequently disturbed. At the present day, when business is becoming so huge and complicated, the redress of grievances becomes more and more difficult by reason of the absence of the " personal touch " in the conduct of many businesses. In the interest of such businesses, as well as in the interest of other trades which are closely affected by a disturbance in any connected trade, or even in trades in the same town or district, it becomes more and more necessary to clear the issues and to ascertain the actual source from which trouble has arisen. From the point of view of the employees, such a course would enable them to bring forward valid grievances with some opportunity of their being heard. Discussion, or opening the way towards discussion, is often found by the workpeople to be impracticable either in fact or in belief. Everyone who has had any experience of strikes or lock- outs knows how very often a main difficulty consists in bringing the parties together, or even, if the parties do not meet, in examining the case of each party. If there was an express and legal power of making re- commendations or of informing the public on the rights and wrongs of a dispute, a large number of trade unions should be quite willing voluntarily in many cases to afford time for investigation and recommendation, and so an atmosphere would be created in which the voluntary granting of time would be deemed to be a proper course to pursue. Workpeople themselves, now frequently coming out in sympathetic strike over disputes in which they have no primary concern, would understand that such action was unnecessary prior to examination of the initial dispute. Workpeople forced to cease work because some allied section, necessary to the conduct of the business, was not continuing work would be likely to exercise their influence in favour of examination before a cessation of work involving innocent persons should take place. Criticism of the Canadian Act in Canada has not been wanting. " The Department of Labour," to quote one paper, " has magnified its office and given a good deal of adver- 230 CANADA, 1912 tising abroad to the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, sometimes called the Lemieux Bill. But seen closely, it is found that strikes often occur in public utilities before investigation, though the Act forbids it ; and that since this Act came into operation, Canada has suffered far more from coal-mining strikes than Great Britain in proportion to the number of men employed. Strikes of this kind have been more frequent and have continued longer in Canada than in Great Britain. The prohibitory clause of the Act has been violated scores of times. No attempt has been made to punish the offence. The Act provides no machinery for enforcement, no penalty for disobedience, nor does it appear possible to add to it any of these effective sanctions." There were also strong complaints of delay from the western states, so distant as they were from Ottawa. Such criticisms as these would either have not applied, or were met, in the suggestion outlined in the report upon the principle of the Act ; but whether such an atmosphere as has been outlined in the preceding sentences could have been, or could now be, created in this country, it is not possible to say. The Government had no labour policy and did nothing at all. No attempt was made to do any- thing, although some of the leading papers urged that action should be taken. A Bill drafted by Lord Buck- master met with little support. Six years afterwards, the Whitley Committee endorsed the report, but Committees of Inquiry which were from time to time appointed since the War have been apt to be ad hoc committees, controlled by men who are partisans or reputed to be biased in view, a form of tribunal generally found in past years to be unsuitable, both in this country and in Canada. Recently, during this year, an Act giving statutory power has at last been passed. The appointment of a Commission with legal powers of requiring attendance of witnesses and production of documents had at least the indirect effect of influencing the settlement of an awkward dispute in the electrical industry. But for many years an opportunity, and a good opportunity, was lost owing to the absolute lack of any Governmental policy except that of drift. Canada, as compared with the United Kingdom, has many different factors to consider. Some of the character- SCOTLAND IN CANADA 251 istics most striking to a traveller from these islands are the great distances between place and place ; the difficulty of quick communication with Ottawa ; the influence of the United States and the connection of unions with organisa- tions in the States ; the vast tracts of agricultural, prairie, forest, and mountain land ; the French-speaking provinces ; the numerous emigrants from all countries ; and the enterprise and opportunity of individual effort. But the factor that struck Mr. Mitchell and myself more than any other was the power, grit, and success of the educated Scot, particularly in the West, coupled with his keen interest in everything connected with the mother- country. The spirit shown by so many of these men and women irre- sistibly recalled the fine lines : "From the lone shieling of the Misty Island Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas, Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we in dreams behold the Hebrides." CHAPTER XXV THE MIDLANDS, 1913 There seemed to be a lull after recent storms in the early months of 1913. Acting on a suggestion which I had been able to make in the previous year, the Boilermakers' Society were negotiating with the Federated Shipyard Employers on the terms of an agreement for preventing stoppages in the shipyards ; and the Variety Artistes brought before me claims for amendment of the Music Hall Award of 1907. A strike involving 12,000 operatives in the " Morley trade," where cloth is manufactured from a mixture of cotton and shoddy or mungo, on a claim for increased wages by willeyers, who blend the cotton and mungo, and fettlers, who clean the machines which mix the materials, was settled after many hours of mediation. A building dispute in the Garden City of Letchworth and a plasterers' strike in London were also composed by confer- ence. Then suddenly there occurred a flare in the Midlands, which spread rapidly through Birmingham and the Black Country, directly involving about 50,000 operatives in boiler and bridge works, metal-rolling works, tube works, railway carriage and wagon works, nut and bolt works, and other allied trades, and thousands of workpeople indirectly in various industries. The principal claim was for a minimum wage of twenty-three shillings a week in Birmingham and the Black Country, but the strike com- menced with the small beginning of some girls at Dudley saying that they could not live any longer on the wages paid to them. Just as years ago the London match-girls had started the London dock strike, so these girls lit the torch which fired the Midlands. The men followed suit in factory after factory. The year before a Midland em- ployer had said to me that at Birmingham they could not 262 STRIKE OF GIRLS 253 understand what had come over the sea-port towns ; things were managed much better in the Midlands, where all was quiet. The present movement did not seem to show that the employers had correctly estimated the position of their own works or taken any notice of the growing improvement in trade, the rise in the cost of living, and the probable effect upon their workpeople. In any event the employers were taken completely by surprise. There was no cohesion amongst them. As the strike went on, slowly various groups began to federate under the title of the Midland Employers' Federation, but in some sections there was a strong objection to recognition of the Workers' Union, no account being taken of the fact that the Workers' Union had been organising until it had become a very powerful body. Other employers were yielding, or in- clined to yield, the problems being to them comparatively simple. Others employed large numbers of women and youths and were not united on any scale of payment. An additional strike of the firebrick makers at Stourbridge added to the confusion. The whole position, with varying classes of firms, workpeople, and claims, was complicated, and exactly fulfilled the conditions under which a legally authorised inquiry, as suggested in the Canadian report, might well have unravelled the skein and brought forward lines of agreement. Instead of that, nothing had been done by the Government on the lines of the report, but a Bishop had come forward with unacceptable proposals, to be followed by a peer quite inexperienced in industrial disputes, both of whom the employers emphatically ignored. On May 29, and again in June, tentative inquiry was made by Mr. Cummings of my Department, when it appeared that some meetings were to take place between the Em- ployers' Federation and the Birmingham and Allied Trades Societies' Federation ; but it was not until July, after a ballot of thousands to 99 against acceptance of the employers' proposals by the workpeople, that it became plain that the parties would be glad to receive suggestions of settlement. On my arrival at Birmingham I found that the parties were assembled in different hotels. There did not appear to be any desire to meet. The employers had stated their terms, simply announced that they were final, and pro- posed to await a reply, which they seemed to think I 254 THE MIDLANDS, 1913 should induce the men to give in the affirmative. The men stated that some of the terms were so vague that ex- planations were necessary. This answer annoyed some of the employers, who said it was mere equivocation ; the terms were perfectly clear, and could be taken or left. " Well," I said, " that may be so, but as I have to explain to the men, will you tell me for my own information, what do these clauses mean ? " — citing three clauses. One em- ployer gave his explanation, and was promptly contradicted from the other side of the table. " You see the difficulty," I remarked. " You are not agreed on the meaning of your own clauses. I can convey no unanimous explanation. If I give my own, you may not agree with it. These men have got to explain to the rank and file. They may give different explanations which one or other of you may disown. Nothing but a clear statement heard from yourselves can be satisfactory, with amendments, if necessary, to your document, in order that the statement may be clear both by word of mouth and in writing." I suggested a meeting, where, if they liked, I would be present, but take no part except by request ; and at last they met. That document required several amendments and long discussions, lasting for three days. In the intervals of the second day the firebrick trade was separately induced to come to a settlement, which got one difficulty out of the way. As was remarked : " The dispute has extended over a month, and it took the peacemaker rather more than three hours to adjust the terntis upon which 1,200 workers will return to their occupations on Monday. Why should not such a confer- ence have been called in the early stages of the dispute, or even before open warfare commenced ? It does seem a pity that a month should have been wasted before the possibilities of discussion were quite exhausted. Perhaps some day we shall be wiser, and adopt some system making it impossible for a strike or a lockout to occur before the art of conciliation has been tried and has failed. This success with the Stourbridge trouble encourages an optimistic view, but can Sir George succeed in ending the whole of the industrial turmoil in the Black Country ? " Save as evidence of the widespread demand among various classes of workers for improved conditions, the FIREBRICK DISPUTE 255 strike of brickmakers in the Stourbridge district was unconnected with the strike of unskilled and semi-skilled labourers in the metal, tube, and allied trades. But the fact that an agreement for the settlement of the brick- makers' dispute has been drawn up is surely an excellent omen for the success of mediation with employers and workmen concerned in the bigger trouble. The terms approved by the brickmakers' representatives have yet to be ratified by the unions interested ; but since the men and women employed in the brickmaking industry gain an advance of 10 per cent, on piecework and day rates, and the women have secured a minimum wage of ten shillings a week, there is unlikely to be any general indisposition to resume work. Furthermore, a wages board is to be established for the trade, and pending its formation disputes are to be settled either by negotiation or by reference to an independent umpire of the Board of Trade. Obviously in the new conditions they have been able to obtain the brickmakers have substantial cause for satisfaction." The larger dispute was a much more serious matter. It was being fought with very great determination. " In some parts of the strike area men have been idle for nearly three months ; in others large numbers of work- people have been voluntarily unemployed for periods varying from four to eight weeks, while other workers have experienced the serious and depressing effects on general trade that a large disturbance of staple industry invariably produces. The actual loss in wages suffered by the men on strike and locked out now exceeds a quarter of a million sterling, but large as that figure may be, it represents neither the whole of the material loss brought upon the affected districts nor upon the workmen themselves. The semi-skilled and even the skilled labourers in the Midlands have been called out in support of the upheaval. These are the men, aggregating some 37,000, who have dispatched three marching contingents to London with set deter- mination on their faces. Every day added to the duration of the strikes intensifies the suffering and loss : in spite of the activities of relief agencies, distress among the families of the strikers becomes increasingly acute, and no one who appreciates the realities of the struggle will suggest 256 THE MIDLANDS, 1918 that the intervention of the Board of Trade has come a moment too soon." The discussion of this embittered dispute soon resolved itself into conciliation, lasting a full Thursday and Friday, and finally the whole of the following Monday, when an agreement was reached. This agreement, besides dealing with reinstatement, certain existing agreements, and the minimum wage, and the wages of women, girls, and youths, all of which were raised, was remarkable for the success of its provisions for avoiding disputes, whether on general rates, piecework, and sectional rates, or sympathetic strikes. It created quite a new spirit in the Midlands, and months afterwards both employers and workmen informed me how successful it had been. It created order out of a very chaotic condition ; the strike perhaps proving a blessing in disguise, because it provided methods of dealing with difficulties which proved of service during the War. These provisions stated that : " With a view to avoiding disputes, deputations of work- men shall be received by their employers by appointment for mutual discussion of any question in the settlement of which both parties are directly concerned, or it shall be competent for an official of any trade union to aproach the secretary of the trade committee of the federation in- volved, or vice versa, with regard to any such question, or it shall be competent for either party to bring the question before a conference to be held between the trade committee and the trade union. In the event of a trade committee or trade union desiring to raise any question, a sectional conference for this purpose may be arranged by appli- cation to the secretary of the trade committee or of the trade union as the case may be. Sectional conferences shall be held within twelve working-days from the receipt of the application by the secretary of the trade committee or of the trade union concerned. Failing settlement at sectional conference of any question brought before it, it shall be competent for either party to refer the matter to the Executive Board of the federation and the central authority of the trade union or trade unions concerned. Central conferences shall be held at the earliest date which PROVISIONS AGAINST FUTURE DISPUTES 267 can be conveniently arranged by the secretaries of the federation and of the trade unions. There shall be no stoppage of work either of a partial or a general character, but work shall proceed under the current conditions until the procedure provided for above has been carried through. " (2) This agreement is entered into on the under- standing (which the federation are informed to be the case) that the rules of the various unions involved efficiently deal with breaches of agreement by their members and that the rules in such cases will be enforced. " (8) No notices to stop or suspend work to be given in on account of any dispute in any works outside the membership of the federation. The trade unions agree to abstain from giving notice for the workmen in the employ of members of the federation in the case of an outside dispute, and the federation will not support any firms who are not members of the federation. " (4) This agreement shall remain in force for a period of at least twelve months from the signing of this agreement, and within fourteen days of the end of the term of this agreement notice to terminate may be given by either party. Work, however, shall not be suspended pending any negotiations which may be proceeding. Should the negotiations fall through, work shall not be stopped until seven days from the termination of such negotiations." The scheme involved stages of exhaustive discussion, speedy examination of claims, and no stoppage of work while negotiations were pending, together with avoidance of stoppage or suspension of work on account of outside disputes, while at the same time the right to strike or lockout was maintained. The dispute in the Midlands was a sequel to the economic disputes of 1911 and 1912, but it must not be supposed that any of these disputes failed to leave a mark. They indi- cated to Labour the value of organisation, which was being actively pressed throughout the country, and the value of propaganda, which more and more made its force felt ; they increased the cohesion of labour, particularly among semi-skilled and unskilled workers ; they educated both leaders and the rank and file on things to be done and things to be avoided in the course of a strike. After the close of this trouble the month of August 258 THE MIDLANDS, 1913 passed, with conferences over a dockers' dispute at Leith and a china-clay workers' strike in Cornwall ; the issue of the report of the Industrial Council, dealt with by the Government in the futile manner already described ; and a telegram from General Botha asking that I might be permitted to go to South Africa to deal with the strikes on the Rand. The Government refused the request on the ground that a long absence from the United Kingdom was not feasible. CHAPTER XXVI LARKIN, 1913 It was a very different disturbance to which attention had to be given in September 1913. If the disputes in the ports and inland cities of Great Britain had been chiefly based upon economic causes, the serious riots in Dublin, although founded upon poverty, low wages, and bad con- ditions, included determination to establish the transport workers' union as the " one big union " in Ireland, and to put into practice the doctrines of syndicalism. Mingled with these ideas the prejudices of politics and religion affected the minds of individuals, amongst both employers and employed. Mr. Larkin was determined to win, to hit the employer whenever and wherever he could, while on the other hand there were employers, especially Mr. William Murphy, who were out at the cost of any expendi- ture to smash Mr. Larkin, if they could. The influences of "ca' canny" propaganda, the overthrow of Capitalism, and revolution against existing authority, were all present. The Irish riots of 1913 were the precursor of many things which are alleged to be features in recent industrial differences, and to be the methods now inculcated by social writers, extreme socialists, and syndicalists ; and practised by some trade unionists and workpeople in recent strikes. On August 1 The Times remarked : " The report of the Industrial Council on industrial agreements which was issued yesterday is not likely to attract the attention it deserves. . . ." The pertur- bation which prevailed fourteen months ago had passed ; " the public have reassured themselves and general interest in the subject has died away. Strikes are no longer of interest except in so far as languid attention may be given to events 6,000 miles away on the Rand." 260 LARKIN, 1918 A month later, on September 2, Great Britain was startled from this dangerous apathy by the brief announce- ment : " Dublin, September 1. Bailed 1 ; injured 460 ; arrested 210. Of the injured, 60 are policemen. " The rioting of the past two days has been desperate, but it will appear like a playful skirmish compared with what may be expected during the present week. " Dublin is now practically in a state of civil war between Labour and Capital." The dispute was more serious even than either of the policies of trade unions, which were well described at the time by Mr. Snowden in a morning paper, when he said : " The old policy of the trade unions was to build up strong reserves ; to refrain from exasperating the public and the employers by never-ceasing threats of strikes ; to exhaust every possible means of conciliation before calling out the men, and then not to do so unless there was a reasonable chance of victory. By this policy the unions entered upon the strike with the most useful of all assets — namely, a public sympathy which had been won over by the willingness of the men to adopt every possible means to avert a strike. The new policy is to enter upon a strike without any effort to obtain a settlement of the grievances by negotiation ; to exasperate the employers by every possible means ; to indulge in wild and san- guinary language, which makes it impossible for a self- respecting employer to meet such leaders of the men ; to never pay any attention to the rather important matter of preparing some means of support during the strike ; and to endeavour to cause as much public inconvenience as possible, by involving the services upon which the public needs and convenience depend. These are the two trade union policies which are now in conflict." One of the largest firms in the city, Messrs. Jacobs & Co., the biscuit manufacturers, who had made many efforts for the welfare of the employees, locked out their employees, chiefly girls, on the ground of the " intolerable tyranny and injustice " of Mr. Lar kin's transport union. Mr. William TAINTED GOODS 261 Murphy, chief man in the Dublin tramways, took a similar line, stating that the dispute was forced upon him, and that it was impossible to carry on business under the dictator- ship which was attempted to be imposed. On the other hand, Mr. Larkin attacked everyone right and left, but was adored in Dublin, as he had been in Belfast in 1907, and had about 10,000 members of the union behind him, and at least 20,000 other supporters of both sexes and all ages. In a brief time the whole number was estimated at 80,000. It required but small observation to see that the conditions of Dublin were the chief source of his power. With the continuance of disturbance, the question of "tainted goods" began to arise in Great Britain, about 7,000 railwaymen going out at Crewe, Sheffield, Derby, Liverpool, and Birmingham. The railway trade union leaders composed this difficulty, inquiry showing that many of the " tainted goods " had not come from Ireland, and that the Irish goods arriving in Birmingham were barrels of stout loaded by trade union labour. Individual railway- men could not possibly judge the source of goods, or pick and choose what goods a railway should carry, if a railway was to be run according to law or as a business concern. With a view to general sympathy for fellow-workers, however, the Trade Union Congress, sitting in September, voted the supply of a ship filled with food for the hungry in Dublin, and sent over a mission of inquiry. They made no headway. The Lord Mayor of Dublin came forward with some proposals for a board of employers and transport workers, which, as the employers would have nothing to do with the transport workers as constituted, met with no ac- ceptance. The National Transport Federation also proposed to take over the strike, but though their efforts were nomin- ally accepted, Mr. Larkin showed them scant courtesy. I was very busily engaged in a successful attempt to avert an omnibus strike in London, which would infallibly have spread, if it had not been composed, to the tramways and tubes, when the Irish Government, after long con- sideration, and many suggestions from the Press, asked that my Department should endeavour to deal with the difficulty. It was with considerable hesitation that I approached the task, but proposed a Court of Inquiry as preferable to an attempt by a single Englishman to intervene in the welter 262 LARKIN, 1913 of a revolution. Sir Thomas Ratcliffe Ellis, secretary of the Mining Association of Great Britain and of the Con- ciliation Board of the coal trade of the Federated Area, and also a member of the Industrial Council, and Mr. J. R. Clynes, M.P., Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Gas Workers' and General Labourers' Union, were ap- pointed to join me in the effort, " an absolutely impossible effort," as Mr. Clynes subsequently wrote me. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. H. F. Wilson came with us to Dublin from my Department. Although neither party refused to come before the Court of Inquiry and make statements, we soon found that no settlement was meant. Mr. Murphy was out for a fight to the finish ; his counsel, Mr. Timothy Healy, did not cross-examine Mr. Larkin ; Mr. Larkin abused his best friends in Ireland, descending to person- alities which were at least unwise if he desired a settlement ; and even during the sittings of the Court sympathetic strikes continued to occur. The situation was not assisted, as I afterwards heard, by secret advices from Great Britain not to listen to the proposals of the Court, and by rumours that "blackleg" dockers were going to be imported. The only parties who would have liked to negotiate were the English transport leaders, but the employers would not listen to them, unless they could show more power of control over the Irish workers than the Irish workers would accept or they could promise ; and more guarantee that any agreement effected would be adequately maintained. Hence a conference or negotiation between the parties, though pressed by the English leaders, proved to be impracticable. " If the Transport Workers' Federation," it was said, " is not more fertile in resource and does not possess sanctions hitherto unsuspected, the inquiry must leave the position no better, if no worse, than it found it." The inquiry was open to the Press, and held at the Castle in public, but neither side would meet separately with the Court or carry on methods of conciliation or ascertainment of the real points at issue in a manner which had been found to be useful in other cases. The Court could only listen for four days to a tale of sympathetic strikes, on very flimsy grounds ; lack of control or attempts at control by labour leaders ; recriminatory accusations of breaches of agreement on both sides ; and a deplorable picture of Dublin as it was. Mr. Larkin in one speech managed faithfully to pronounce SYMPATHETIC STRIKES 268 equal criticism on the Government, the Catholic Church, Ulster, the Pope, and the Salvation Army. No institution or person seemed to be safe from denunciation. The Court came to a unanimous report in which it was pointed out that proposals for conciliation or avoidance of disputes had been fixed by agreement or arbitration or conferences time after time since 1908, without any effect being given to them. Nothing had been done. Although we agreed that events indicated that " grievances of considerable importance have existed," the Court spoke on the subject of the sympathetic strike in the following terms : " The sympathetic strike may be described as a refusal on the part of men who may have no complaint against their own conditions of employment to continue work, because in the ordinary course of their work they come in contact with goods in some way connected with firms whose employees have been locked out or are on strike. This practice has far-reaching results, as, for example, the refusal of porters at Kingstown to handle parcels of publications consigned from England to a firm of newsagents in Dublin, who had declined the request of the union that they should refuse to distribute newspapers printed by another firm whose dispatch hands were involved in a dispute. " In actual practice the ramifications of this method of industrial warfare have been shown to involve loss and suffering to large numbers of both employers and work- people who not only have no voice in the original dispute, but have no means of influencing those concerned in the original cause of difference. Even collective agreements, signed on behalf of employers and men's organisations, a provision of which was that no stoppage of work should take place without discussion and due notice, were entirely disregarded underthe influence of this ever-widening method of conducting disputes. The distinction between sjtrike and lockout became obscured, attacks on one side being met with reprisals on the other side in such rapid succession as completely to confuse the real issues. " No community could exist if resort to the ' sympathetic ' strike became the general policy of trade unionism, as, owing to the interdependence of different branches of industry, disputes affecting even a single individual would 18 264 LARKIN, 1913 spread indefinitely. If this should be the policy of trade unionism, it is easy to understand that it does not commend itself to the employers, but in our experience of the better- organised employers and workmen, the sympathetic strike or the sympathetic lockout is not a method which is recognised as a reasonable way of dealing with disputes." There followed a very adverse criticism of a document, which some firms had asked their employees to sign, with reference to obeying all the orders of the employers and not becoming members of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, as contrary to individual liberty and likely to create a maximum of ill-feeling ; and a statement of the imperative necessity for a truce. " We have given," the report said, " very careful consideration to the contention put forward that the labour conditions obtaining in Dublin required on the part of the workpeople action of the drastic character which seems to have been taken during the past few years, and, without attributing undue blame to those who considered that these conditions necessitated a resort to the methods which they adopted to remedy them, we think that the time has now come when a continuance of the same methods will be fraught with disastrous results to all concerned. Thousands of workers have now become associated with the Transport Workers' Union, and the workpeople in many of the industries of the city have shown, during the past few years, a determination to organise themselves under its officials. If this struggle is not adjusted by consent, rather than by resort to the extremes of force, the industries of Dublin will not, we think, be free from further serious troubles. Even if, after many weeks of suffering and loss of business, the resort to force should seem to be successful and result in a resumption of work, resentment and bitterness would remain, with a very probable recur- rence of the disputes. On the other hand, it cannot be expected that employers, many of whom have no grievance whatever with their employees, can continue their business if they are to be subjected, no matter what conciliatory steps they may themselves take to prevent it, to consent interruptions through the effects of the sympathetic and sudden strike. PROPOSALS FOR A BASIS 265 " All the great industries of every civilised country have long recognised that trade and manufacture can only be conducted by the practical acceptance on the part of both employers and employed of the fact that there is a mutual interest, and that such interest can only be adjusted satis- factorily by friendly discussion. Irish employers and Irish workers will find they can be no exception to this modern development. " We think, therefore, that this position should be frankly accepted by both sides ; and while we recognise that a uniform method of settling differences is impracticable, owing to the varying circumstances in different trades, we think that a method of settling differences that exist or may arise hereafter might well be accepted as a basis for dis- cussion." The method proposed by the Court, a scheme founded upon the Canadian plan, was set forth at length ; and its value indicated as a means " to remove the necessity for the sudden strike and for the sympathetic strike or lockout." There was also laid down a method, as proposed by the Industrial Council, for deciding, and dealing with, questions of breach of agreement ; and in view of the personal feelings and hostility engendered by the strike, a recommendation on the personal element. " We recognise that personal objections to individuals have entered into the disinclination on the part of some of those interested to negotiate, and difficult as this subject may be, we think it necessary to deal with it. " In ordinary business dealings, as well as in private matters, men have the right to decline to associate with people whom for one reason or another they prefer not to meet, but in a community such as the city of Dublin, with its interdependent interests, this right is necessarily subject to great limitation. This matter is, however, one for individual consideration and determination, and should not, in our opinion, influence any decision to discuss the pro- posals which we have made." The whole report, while expressing a clear opinion against the sympathetic strike and going beyond the final opinion of the Industrial Council, after an exhaustive inquiry, as 266 LARKIN, 1918 to the feasible methods for preventing or penalising breaches of agreement, indicated a method for avoidance of disputes in the future as a " basis of discussion." Dis- cussion was necessary, since amendments suitable to varying conditions might be necessary ; goodwill had to be, if possible, resuscitated ; the difficult and delicate question of reinstatement, which might vary in different trades and different firms, required negotiation i guarantees, if any could be suggested and accepted beyond the proposed terms, would also require negotiation. The English transport leaders accepted the report as a basis for discussion. The employers, through Mr. Healy, made a long statement that their evidence had not been disproved or proof offered to justify the strikes and intimidation by means of witnesses who could be cross-examined ; that Mr. Larkin failed in spite of his undertaking to go into the witness-box ; that he had made new imputations in a speech which was only listened to "on the basis that his allegations could be sifted by cross-examination " (a request which Mr. Healy could have made and did not make) " or would be sub- stantiated by evidence." The statement concluded with the words : " On the whole, therefore, we feel it would be unwise for our committee, without an opportunity of consultation with the general body of the employers, to proceed to the discussion of the details of the report. The elaborate machinery it provides will doubtless be submitted to careful examination on both sides ; but in our view it offers no effectual solution of the existing trouble. The employers are much more concerned to put an end to present difficulties than to consider problems relating to future unrest. Accordingly we feel that the failure of the report to touch on the question of guarantees for preventing further outbreaks affords proof that the Court has found itself unable to devise a remedy for the difficulty which led to the breakdown of the recent negotiations with the mem- bers of the English Trades Congress. This, we need hardly say, is to us a matter of deep regret." To this statement the Court made the announcement : " As there appears to be no immediate prospect of a ANCIENT RANCOUR 267 meeting of the parties as invited by our report, the pro- ceedings of the Court of Inquiry are now concluded. If, subsequently, a different opinion should prevail, the services of the Board of Trade will, of course, be at the disposal of the parties, should they desire to avail themselves of them." The fact was that the employers did not want discussion, and definitely, though politely, refused the invitation to follow the only method by which a settlement could be arrived at, both in the existing dispute and in future dis- putes. Although they spoke of guarantees, none of them suggested what guarantee they wanted or proposed. The guarantee they desired in actual fact was to show that they could beat both Larkinand "Larkinism." The feeling at the time was very bitter. " The task set the Court," it was remarked, " was almost impossible. It had to intervene in a dispute of long stand- ing, a dispute of wide scope, a dispute that had reached almost its fiercest point. Sir George Askwith received very little help from the parties concerned. Almost from the outset there was felt to be an atmosphere of rancour and bitterness. Consciously or unconsciously, those present seemed to allow personal animosity and the memory of ancient wrongs to unbalance their judgment and colour their assertions. The spirit was the spirit of the law court and not of the council cha-mber, the methods were those of partisan warfare and not of cool conference. Person- alities were common, the issues were confused and shifting, evidence was too obviously biased, eloquence too obviously heated. In such circumstances it would have been almost a miracle if Sir George Askwith's diplomacy had succeeded.' ' The strike continued, the hungry of Dublin receiving considerable aid both in food and money from the English unions, Mr. Larkin speaking in England of the leaders of the Labour Party being as " useful as mummies in a museum," and making the remark, " To hell with contracts ! " Taking up these speeches and the report of the Commission, the employers issued a long statement in the form of legal pleadings controverting the report, and after stating that they were in favour of trade unionism, said : 268 LARKIN, 1913 " While it is in no way the province of employers to interfere with the internal management of Trade Unions, and whilst not desiring to appear to dictate, they, in face of conclusions come to by the Court, regarding sympathetic strikes, broken agreements, and, further, the statements made since in public by the Secretary of the Irish Transport Union, including the declaration in London : ' To hell with contracts ! ' are compelled again to refuse to recognise this Union until — " (a) The Union be reorganised on proper lines. " (6) With new officials who have met with the approval of the British Joint Labour Board. " When this has been done the Executive Committee will recommend the employers to withdraw the ban on the Irish Transport Union, and to re-empldy their workers as far as vacancies and conditions permit ; but until then they regret that existing circumstances compel them to continue to insist on the undertaking referred to being signed. " Apart from any settlement that may be arrived at now, the different stages of the dispute have made it very clear that the difficulty in arriving at any form of guarantees for the keeping of agreements must be the subject of legis- lation, as it has become of universal importance to the whole trading community." The employers thus jointly adhered to the document condemned by the Commission, for the time being at least, and shelved their claims for guarantees upon the legislature, while the attitude of individual employers was expressed in a statement by one of them, who remarked : " Look how difficult Mr. Larkin makes it for both of us. The Askwith Report, which the men's representatives as a whole agreed to, was dead against the sympathetic strike. Yet Mr. Larkin, who was one of that body, makes a speech in London repudiating the whole thing. Had we agreed there and then to settle the strike on the basis of the Askwith Report, where would we be now ? My own opinion is that, whatever chance there was of a peaceable settlement, Larkin' s last speech has now made it im- possible. As long as the workers are content to have him to represent them nothing can be done." LARKIN'S ORATIONS 269 Mr. Larkin continued his orations, and at the end of October was sentenced in Dublin to seven months' imprisonment for seditious speaking, but acquitted on counts for incitement to revolt and incitement to larceny. On the ground of his acquittal on these two counts he was released in the middle of November, and meanwhile a war of argument went on in the Press, and a more active war by transport workers holding up the shipping in Dublin, responded to by importation of " free " labour. A Dublin Industrial Committee and the Archbishop of Dublin made no headway in proposals for a truce. Mr. Larkin started a " fiery cross " in England, appealing to the rank and file, calling the trade union leaders " fools who mask as leaders," and saying, " I never trust leaders, and I don't want you to trust leaders. Trust yourselves." On this the secretary of the Miners' Federation issued a statement, concluding : " A leader of men should be at the seat of war, and if Mr. Larkin would only consider the position from a common- sense point of view he would cease his ' fiery cross ' mission, which appears to be the trying to create strife and enmity be- tween the trade unionists of Great Britain and their leaders, and will go back to Dublin and use his energy and influence in trying to get a fair and honourable settlement of the dispute." Mr. W. Murphy also issued a pronouncement, which did nothing to assist the cause of peace. At last a special trade union congress was summoned, committees were appointed, " representatives of the whole might of British trade unionism proceeded to Dublin" and took up the threads of negotiation. For three days they conferred with employers, who seemed willing to withdraw the document which the Court of Inquiry had so criticised, saying that it had not been used by all the employers. It appeared at first to be possible that the principle of the report would be adopted, but the dispute by its very length was the cause of a breakdown, on the point of reinstatement. So many other workpeople had gone out that it was impractic- able to reinstate all who had been either on strike or locked out, at least within a short time. The old opinion that the employers would fail to reinstate those men who had been active in the strike came up. No form or method of getting 270 LARKIN, 1913 over this difficulty was devised. No provisional agreement was accepted by the employers or by the local trade unionists. The committee had to report failure. The congress began with some very moderate speeches. The speakers desired to maintain the principles of trade unionism, to continue aid to the women and children, and to avoid " petty personalities." The scene changed when one of the speakers brought forward a telegram sent by Mr. Larkin, in which he had denounced " the tactics of our false friends in the trade union movement," and Mr. Larkin replied in a long, rambling speech, hurling attacks right and left. Uproar and disorder followed ; Mr. Larkin hurt his own cause. In the afternoon the storm had passed. Renewed negotiations were proposed, an amend- ment for a general sympathetic strike was lost by a huge majority. The railwaymen would have none of it ; the miners, through Mr. Smillie, condemned it on the issue before them, and without reference to their constituents, in no sparing terms : " They had not come there that day Avith a mandate on the question of the extension of this fight to other trades. Neither were they in a position to vote on the question of a general stoppage. There might be a difference of opinion as to how best to fight the capitalists, whether by localising a strike or by extending it. That was a matter which would have to be seriously discussed in the future. It did not arise here and now, but when the time came either to face a general strike or to take action which the miners' organisation was tending in the direction of, that was the knitting together of the miners, the railway- men, and the transport workers for common action, it would not require to be done in a slipshod fashion. It would require to be done after full discussion and negotia- tion between the representatives and the rank and file of those organisations. So that, if such a step was taken, it would have to be the final step by which they would win." The delegates from the congress again reopened negotia- tions, but any chance of agreed terms once more broke down on the question of reinstatement. No aid was given to agreement when Mr. Larkin published a manifesto before the meeting, commencing, " Comrades, a foul and THE BIG UNION 2T1 black conspiracy is afoot here." The fact was that Mr. Larkin had promised so often that every man should regain his former place, and had buoyed up his followers with this hope through so many weeks, that he could not face a settlement. He preferred that there should be no settle- ment, and that he should be recognised as the man who would not yield, the inlransigeant ever ready to lead the' extreme left wing. The report and the conferences had, however, produced their effect. Everyone was weary of the dispute. The Catholic Bishops issued a pronouncement against it. The ban on trade unionism was practically withdrawn by the employers. Those who could be taken back were gradually absorbed ; and the strength of any united effort ceased. By the end of February 1914 the interest and present influence of this dispute melted away, but it must not be supposed that the aftermath of bitterness and resentment was not without effect during the War. Mr. Larkin had attempted more than he could achieve. On one occasion he called himself an Ishmael, popular and powerful owing to conditions which anyone who knows Dublin must recognise as a ripe field of work for a man who promised better things. The fervour of his nature probably led to some results, though at very heavy cost of suffering, but his scheme of organisation was not perfected, and connoted not only organisation of his own men, but counter-organisation of employers. In his own words when a witness before the Industrial Council, he advocated the Big Union : " All workers should be in one union, controlled by elected representatives from each section, and there should be no strike without the consent of all units to that affiliated body or organised body." " When- ever we find one of our friends attacked anywhere, we take up the fight, too." An experiment should be made in Ireland immediately. " The workers should elect those they have confidence in, and they might meet employers elected by the employers and try to come to a common understanding, and for those who break that agreement the punishment should be either to put them outside the country or put them inside a place where they would be quiet." Mr. Larkin had to leave the country at the beginning of the War. He has not since returned. CHAPTER XXVII LABOUR EXCHANGES The three disputes just described were the principal overt and cohesive acts prior to 1914, but before giving any estimate of the position immediately before the War, I would make allusion to some administrative institutions, some practices and theories, some economical factors, all of which had greater or less influence upon the industrial situation at the outbreak of war and at a later date. The list cannot be called exhaustive. Space alone forbids essays upon all points, but I have endeavoured to choose the most important subjects. It is not possible to confine the statements entirely to the period before 1914, since all the factors exist now, and frequently with increased influence and force. Consecutive narrative necessarily carries them through to the present time. The first administrative institution which perhaps is worthy of some mention is the system of Labour exchanges, now called Employment exchanges. On his advent to the office of President of the Board in 1908, Mr. Churchill is reported to have said, " There is nothing to do here. Lloyd George has taken all the plums " ; but there awaited him the scheme for labour exchanges, which at least afforded a subject for a legislative Bill. The presence of Labour Members in the House of Commons rendered their adhesion to any schemes a desirable factor. The adhesion, too, of the leaders of the principal trade unions could not be ignored. Discussion with these representa- tives was carried out with considerable skill, and in the result the Labour Exchange Bill passed through both Houses without division or amendment. It must be allowed that the Bill rested on high recom- mendation. The majority report of the Poor Law Com- mission had stated : " In the forefront of our proposals we 272 GERMAN REGISTRIES 278 place labour exchanges." The minority report used these words : " This national exchange, though in itself not an adequate remedy, is the foundation of all our proposals. It is in our view an indispensable condition of real reform." Acting upon this. Parliament passed the measure, and in 1909 and 1910 ninety exchanges were started in Great Britain. Five or six Irish exchanges were opened a month afterwards. The Bill itself was largely the work of Mr. W. H. (now Sir William) Beveridge, who had studied the unemployed question, chiefly in London. It was based partly upon his theories and practice, and the temporary work of the Central (Unemployed) Body in London, and partly on the systems used in Germany. Labour " registries " had been tried for some years in Belgium, Germany, France, and Switzerland, but had had their chief growth in Germany. A public registry had been established as long before as 1865 in Stuttgart, as 1874 in Cologne, and as 1883 in Berlin. In 1902 there were 136 German labour registries of various types. The earliest types seem to have started with the labour organisations, whose object was at first to keep the provision of labour in their own hands. Organisation of registries by the com- mune or by any public authority was opposed by labour organisations on principle. This position was gradually given up, " because for large masses of workmen the Trade Union Registry remained ineffective, and more than all because the employers converted the supply of labour into a monopoly." The employers, in fact, had produced a corresponding movement on their own side, under which registries were introduced as a means of controlling the labour market. One of their objects was to prevent the employment of workmen on their " black list," and the members of the masters' unions agreed together to use their own registries to supply their own wants, particularly in the metal trades, where the system was specially developed. Under these circumstances the State and municipalities stepped in with public registries, controlled by employers and representatives of employees, with some outside persons and officials representing the public authority. " In Germany," reported Mr. David Schloss in 1904, " where the systematic organisation of labour registries 274 LABOUR EXCHANGES has been carried to the highest pitch of perfection, we find arrangements which enable every workman, even if he be living in a remote village, as soon as he falls out of work, to ascertain the situations then open for men of his trade in the whole of an extensive section of the country, and, in case he is unable to obtain immediate employment in this manner, to put himself in communication with a labour registry in the nearest important town, through whose agency he may hope before long to hear of employ- ment available for him, either in that town or in some other place. For the operations of each of the public registries are not confined to the city in which the registry is established, but, by means of a carefully planned organi- sation of clearing houses — central registries, by which a great number of different local registries are linked up — cover a very large district, and in some cases extend to a still wider area, not alone with the German Empire, but even beyond its confines." It was this system, so suited to the German ideas of organisation and so useful to a nation which wanted to know where every man was and what every man could do, which was hastily imposed upon this country. It was received with some doubt, but at least without opposition, since it was advertised as a free gift from the State and as the basis on which further social reforms were to be built. Its suitability to the United Kingdom and the effects which it might have upon the relations of employers and em- ployed were not thought out. The example of German organisation cannot truthfully be said to have had no effect. After the passing of the Act and a hurried visit of officials to Germany (on which I went) in 1909, the new department was established in the course of the year 1910 and attached to my division of the Board of Trade, until, owing to pressure of work, it had to be separated off at the time when the Industrial Council was formed. In the first year of its existence more money had to be got from the Treasury, owing to wrong estimates of its cost. Since then, its cost has been increasing annually by leaps and bounds, until it is one of the expensive luxuries of the country. In 1910 I visited Ireland, going to Belfast, Dublin, Cork, and Waterford, with a view to explanation of the hopes and aims of the institution. The scheme was explained to EXPECTATIONS FROM EXCHANGES 275 be that the whole of the United Kingdom was now marked out in ten divisions, over each of which there was a divisional officer, with so many exchanges of the first, second, or third class, according to the number of big cities in the division. Those exchanges had managers, and sub-offices existed in minor towns, whilst there were waiting-rooms in the smaller towns, forming a network over the v/hole kingdom. The divisional officers were in close touch with the national clearing-houses in London, and from the central office directions and regulations were issued for the guidance of the officers all over the country. It was the intention of the Board of Trade to set up advisory commit- tees centred around the great areas, both with regard to the management of the labour exchanges and also with regard to juveniles. These committees would be composed half of employers and half of employees, the chairman, failing agreement, to be nominated by the Board of Trade. They would have certain functions handed over to them, but still more important would be the junior advisory committees. The country was getting more and more annoyed at the use which was being made of the juvenile, and it desired more and more that the children should not be put into " blind alley employments," but that capable children should have an opportunity of advancement or of getting into positions from which they might be able to rise. Without the assistance and the advice of people who knew business, it was scarcely possible to suppose that most children could do so, but with that assistance and care which many voluntary workers were willing to give, it might be possible, largely through the medium of the ex- changes, to organise the juvenile industry of the country so as to give the best chance to the children and the best advantage to the employer. For with all the vast sums spent on technical education, it was more a case of children trying to find employment than of employers who knew exactly where to find them. Any locality that wished to tackle a subject so important to future generations could from its own people find those who were best able to deal with the subject. It was a thorny and difficult subject, but unless it was tackled by localities, it was hard to see how it was to be dealt with. That hope has not been too well fulfilled. The exchanges have assisted the pool of casual labour by encouraging the 276 LABOUR EXCHANGES supply of juvenile labour rather than the training and right placing of the young. Other points were that the exchanges would be national, " a national market for deal- ing with labour " ; they would be free, " worked at the national expense, with no expenditure either by employer or employee " ; they should be impartial, " neither side should consider they were in the least favoured " ; they should be voluntary, as they aimed at bringing together employer and employee ; their object should be to send the best men on their lists, sift out the best, and, where possible, afford a selection ; there should be absence of delay, which was one of the most important factors with regard to these exchanges. " If there was delay in finding the right sort of men that were wanted, or if there was delay on behalf of the unem- ployed in finding the work that was being sought for, that delay must necessarily mean a wastage in the production of the goods or articles that were being made, or in the carrying out of the work that was in hand. Speed was what was wanted, and anything that caused an absence of waste between the bringing together of the employer and the unemployed must necessarily be of value to production. In big works that was of the utmost moment. It might in time become as natural and as usual for an employer to go to the exchange as it was for an ordinary householder to go to the servants' registry in order to obtain a domestic servant. In all ordinary commodities hawking had practi- cally gone to the wall, and there were regular places where a commodity was bought and sold. It seemedcurious that in this country up to so late a date the most important necessity of all — labour — should have remained without a definite place where it might be obtained. Other countries had for years had systems of labour exchanges — Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany. In establishing the labour exchanges as a national system in England, the endeavour had been made to see upon what points the Continental labour exchanges had achieved success, and upon what points they had been failures ; and so build up the system in these countries with the idea that successes might be followed, and failures as far as possible avoided. It might be said, and was said by some em- ployers, that it was much more easy for them to get their labour at their own gates than to get their supply from GROWING UNPOPULARITY 277 the labour exchange. It was so very often, but a large number of employers in Great Britain had already found a choice, and a much easier choice, in the labour exchange than they formerly had by going outside their gates and picking up Tom, Dick, and Harry, who were waiting there. From the working of the labour exchanges there would be prepared statistics which would help in dealing with other problems that may arise in the future, such as the decasual- isation of labour." With the beginning of the work under the new Act a fair start was made, although the civil servants were new to their work. The head officers had all been personally selected by Mr. Churchill with great care ; the minor officers were chosen by a committee, which endeavoured to judge the applicants upon their merits. A trial of the new system was made : some of the civil servants have worked hard, some employers and some employees have made use of the facilities given by the Government. In some cases a good advisory Committee has attempted developments, in some ports partial decasualisation has been effected by methods to which the exchanges were use- ful adjuncts, at some crises work has been found from other districts to meet the needs of employers, or men requiring work have been able to migrate. Nevertheless by 1911 and 1912 murmurs began to arise that the labour exchanges were not coming up to expectations. The trade unions, especially in the skilled trades, kept or reverted to former methods of dealing with their unemployed members. In spite of the requirements of the Insurance Act, which made it necessary for the insured to use the exchanges, they became more and more unpopular, particularly in Scotland and the North. During the War they were used for the transfer of labour, sometimes with ludicrous or lamentable results, sometimes with moderate success achieved at enormous cost. After the War they have been used for demobilisation purposes, practically with similar results. Though the name was changed to Employment Exchanges, as if a name would change the character, there is now a growing feeling against them, strongly developed in that great hive of industry, the North of England. The Ministry of Labour has had to appoint a Committee to inquire into their value, and, it may be 278 LABOUR EXCHANGES hoped, their cost — the cost per man and per woman and per child placed and kept in work in comparison with the cost of an army of officials, of a vast number of buildings, of a proposed huge expenditure upon new buildings, and the loss of the life-work of the officials if their efforts are directed to an unfruitful channel. Some members, at least, of the Committee will doubtless say all that can be said in their favour. Personally I feel that their cost is out of all pro- portion to their value. The test of results has not proved to be sufficient. The high hopes with which they were started, the possibilities which seemed to be feasible, have not ended, and do not show sign of ending, in practical and useful tendencies or a solution of any industrial difficulties. They were an interference by the State between employer and employed at the cost of the community, when the cost should have been borne by employers and employed in the industries concerned with the production of the required goods. Many of the general propositions mentioned in 1910 have not been developed or have not been reached. If they could be said to be opinions which should preclude any remarks against labour exchanges, I have changed my opinions. The course of events has proved different to wishes or expectations. The system, particularly in the North of England, does not bear the test of results, and by that test its ultimate continuance or failure must be settled. My main objection is not to the working of the exchanges or to the efforts of the staff, but to the result. The exchanges have been a disintegrating force. Instead of bringing classes together, they have served to emphasise the distinction of classes. As the employer in Germany tried to use exchanges to maintain his own monopolies and keep up his " black-lists," so the employer in England can use them for the purpose of discarding his men in times of scarcity, sending them to the exchanges, and taking men on from the exchanges when again he desires more labour. They tend against sympathy, fellow-feeling, and respon- sibility. They place upon others the cost of unemploy- ment. They afford no incentive for such regulation of production, time, and contracts as may mitigate the chances or the amount of unemployment. They tend to assist the division of classes into two camps, they form a prop to class war. In comparison with the number of applicants, real success from application has been the exception, not DISLIKE OF STATE LABOUR EXCHANGES 279 the rule. Those exceptions may be used as a defence to any criticism, but are they worth the cost which they have entailed ? The general result is that the working-classes dislike them, the trade unions are becoming more and more hostile, even though their expenses may have been lessened by their existence. The efforts of the trade unions over many years to assist and serve their members have been curtailed and impeded. The incentive to clear the books of the unemployed, and to work with the employers to reduce unemployment in a firm or in a trade, has been lessened. Division in place of co-opera- tion has been the principle which the system has aided. The Labour Exchange Act heralded a policy of State interference and expenditure with incommensurate results. The policy of allowing industry to solve its own problems gave place to a policy whereby the workers were encouraged by lavish expenditure to look to the State to find employment for them, and discouraged from reliance upon their own efforts. The principle should be recognised and supported that employers must accept some responsibility for their unemployed ; that every industry ought to regulate its business so as to reduce unemployment to a minimum, and that the cost of maintenance of those for whom no employment could be found should be a charge upon the industry. Adjustments should be made between industries for those workpeople changing from one to another industry, men on the border-line, and as in the case of trade boards special arrangements might be necessary for women. As I stated in The Times of October 28, 1919 : " Encouragement, even strong pressure, along the lines that employers should join with trade unionists to carry out this work — a work backed by an ideal and by incentive to all — might have had great results. Joint Industrial Councils might well have grown naturally in every trade, with mutual determination to regulate employment, solve unemployment, and assist those for whom employment could not be found. The problem would have been in the hands of those best fitted to deal with it. By extension of the principle of the necessity of united action and of the burden being carried by the industry concerned, the country would 19 280 LABOUR EXCHANGES not only have been freed from the weight of these costly labour exchanges, but the vast sums now expended on unemployment would have been placed where the weight should be borne. The amount would have been minimised by organisation on the part of those vitally interested in solving the problem and knowing the business ; not left to the discretion and efforts of officials who know little of industry and labour, and the direction of a Minister who generally knows less. " The working of the present system is in the result contrary not only to development and recognition of the duties of industry, but a direct incentive to unemployment. Employers are encouraged by the very system of labour exchanges to accept no responsibility for continuance of employment by the workmen in their^ndustry. Labour ex- changes encourage employers to cbme to them for workmen. As soon as it suits the employers' interests, the workers are thrown back upon the State, and the State maintains them until another employer finds it to his interest to seek their services. There is no collective responsibility by employers in a trade that every workman in that trade should have his share of employment, no arrangement of business so that exchange of workmen could easily take place as demand varied between one employer and another. Many are the cases in which, if a central exchange had existed in a district, managed by employers and the unions, and to which all employers and men, through their associ- ations, were attached, it would not have been difficult to transfer workmen from one employer who was slack to another who was busy ; and if work generally dropped below the normal, to reduce hours, so that all workmen could secure a share of the possible work. The joint effort, besides having a high aim, would be mutually helpful and lead to appreciation of views and difficulties in other matters. " Even now the necessity for lightening the ship of State makes it imperative that each industry, by its associations, trade unions, and councils, should take hold of this problem, establish the necessary simple organisations, and face such cost as may ensue. Let employers and workpeople get out of the hands of officials, of whom they are always complaining. The joint effort would tend to co-operation, not the array of class against class which, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR INDUSTRIES 281 in spite of the War and the soft words of those who do not know, is now so harmful and embittering. It would unite both in a great object, with incentives to efficient results, and tend seriously to lay the spectre of unemployment, which so continuously haunts the minds of an actual majority of workers." CHAPTER XXVIII TRADE BOARDS If the principle of the intervention of the State in industry was pressed upon industry in the case of labour exchanges for political purposes, and was copied partly from Germany by men who admired German organisation, with the idea that it would be suitable to this country, no similar causes operated to produce trade boards. They arose in this country from the energy of those who felt for poor workers. By persistent effort and proof of evils the Government were reluctantly induced to face the issue, and accept the argument that organisation of sweated trades could be effected and administratively worked with success, at small cost and with great advantage to persons unable to take action by themselves. With a few notable exceptions, the leaders of the large trade unions did not trouble much about the subject. The establishment of Trade Boards was not a plan pressed by the political power of the Labour Party in Parliament, although it endorsed the principle of a minimum wage, both for time- and piece-workers. In fact, there was necessity for a great deal of hard spade- work and some more or less sensational exhibitions and meetings before the Government or the public began to understand that something should be done. As long ago as 1890 a Select Committee of the House of Lords had reported that the evils of sweating could •' hardly be exaggerated." The Labour Commission of 1894 mentioned the subject and practically left it alone. They said : " The natural difficulty, in not highly skilled occupations, of organising persons who work at home, or are dispersed through numerous small workshops, even if it can be overcome in the case of men, would seem almost insuperable 282 EVILS OF SWEATING 283 in that of women. In the absence of organisation, and in the face of the unhmited competition for the cheaper and less skilled kind of sempstress and similar work, there seems to be little to prevent wages from sinking to the point at which, in the words of one witness, ' it is easier to starve without the work.' So long as there is abundance of cheap labour, without any minimum wage affixed by the action of trade organisations or otherwise, it seems to be beyond the power of small employers and contractors, wholly unorganised themselves, and keenly competing with each other for the custom of wholesale houses, and for small profits, to give women more for their work than the lowest pay at which it can be obtained." The minimum wage was indicated in this report as a possible remedy, but nothing had been done until The Daily News, Miss Gertrude Tuckwell, her uncle. Sir Charles Dilke, and a small band of keen persons, amongst whom Miss Mary Macarthur was noticeable, pressed for action. Some of the arguments used by their supporters may be indicated by passages from a magazine article I wrote upon the question, in which I said : " The subject seems at last to have struck the imagin- ation of the whole community, claimed its interest, and raised the desire to cure by close investigation and practical means. It is recognised that sweating hurts the trade of Great Britain. It hurts the people of Great Britain. It hurts the race, their happiness, their health, their progeny, so that effective steps should, if practicable, be taken speedily to restrict its dire influence. " The investigators have only needed encouragement to come forward and tell their tale. Those working amongst the poor in great towns, in slums and cottages, in the purlieus of docks and arsenals, knew many an instance of women and men living at the mercy of the sweater, if living it could reasonably be called. Cha;rity societies, ministers, sanitary inspectors, poor law officials, and many others, can tell of localities and trades where no fair wage for fair work is paid, where it is a case of ' take it or leave it ' at I the sole dictation of the ' master.' That ' master ' may have no regard to the condition of the workers, or no object save undercutting another tradesman, who would, 281 TRADE BOARDS if he dared, pay sufficient wage for reasonable subsistence. Yet neither the ' master's ' competitors nor his work- people have redress. The competitors cannot leave their shops or study social conditions. The workers are not organised, they have no spare time, they cannot tilt alone at a system, or hazard their work by complaint, or reproof, or even remark. They have to bear the load without being able to move, and without much hope of help, when hope is confined to little else than the chance of earning enough to keep body and soul together. " The social reformer who desires to deal with this system is at once met with an initial criticism — that, if the wages are raised, work will be driven from the country, foreign goods will come in, British trade will be injured, and the Empire will be ruined. It is not, indeed, a very strong argument that the British Empire's strength has been based upon the exploitation of slaves, but even if the criticism is not meant to go so far, it does seem to ignore certain his- torical and mercantile facts. Was the trade of the country seriously and irremediably injxired by raising the age of child-labour in the factories, or by regulating the work of women, or by insisting on sanitary requirements ? Are we to have the same howl if there be any interference with child-labour in button-making or with the making of clothes in fever-stricken dens ? Or, to take minor industries : has the pottery trade left the country because regulations were made as to the use of lead in glazing ? Has there been a fresh invasion of American boots because the minimum wages of clickers have been raised to thirty shillings a week ? Or has the tin-plate industry gone rapidly downhill because bar-cutters received at one time a heavy increase in their minimum wages ? Has the music hall industry ceased because some classes of scene-shifters or stage employees received a rise in wages and a minimum wage ? If this be the case, some arbitrators have a very serious indictment to answer, and many conferences of employers and employed in all parts of the country have a still heavier one to meet. " Persons who make these criticisms in good faith cannot have any real grasp of the huge size and extent of the mercantile interests of this country, or of the infinitesimal portion of goods which is made by the sweated in relation to the real trade of the United Kingdom. ARGUMENTS FOR A CHANGE 285 " When future difficulties are considered, are they great ? Take the employer. My experience is that the fair-minded employer is willing to pay a fair wage, if he can ; but if he is undercut by sweating employers, and does not know what his neighbour is doing, he is naturally suspicious, and obliged to take his tone or make his price by what he thinks his competitor is doing. If somebody else was not paying, or thought to be paying, a less price, many employers would be ready to pay higher wages. Get these men together, let them fight the sweater themselves and insist upon reasonable equalisation of minimum rates, and they will be able to fix a price for .their locality and possibly for the kingdom. Produce them from their shops, put them together, hear the prices, and then, in conjunction with the employees or representatives of the employees, let them consider whether it is fair and reasonable, and can be taken at least as a foundation on which payments can be based, without immediate and undue injury to the industrial conditions of the trade or locality. " The question will arise, whether by regulation of wages the price of articles would be materially raised to the community as a whole. I believe not. As one factor, it must always be remembered that sweating may only affect one part of a garment. The rich man's trousers may be cut by the most expensive tailor, the buttons on those trousers may be made by sweated industry. Higher pay- ment for those buttons would be a minute part of the cost of the whole article. As another factor, though the poor man's trousers might be imported from Germany, if there was a serious rise in their cost, does not experience show that the saving of freight, transhipment, middlemen, packing, and many other incidents, give some margin in favour of the industry on the spot ? And would they not be better made by better-paid workpeople ? And would the influx of foreign goods be easy when it is considered that Great Britain exported in 1906 nearly £5,500,000 in value of garments alone ? " Yet, though the movement on behalf of sweated industries is a movement partly on account of the whole community, it is chiefly on behalf of the employee. Will it better the condition of the employee ? " It may possibly be that some persons at first will be hurt. I am not prepared to urge that this result is 286 TRADE BOARDS impossible. Those desiring work at any cost and unable to get it, or too unskilful to do it, may be hampered, but the argument that hurt may result in some instances, and in some places, has always been an argument against every interference with the casual opportunities of the casual individual. It was advanced against every improvement in the Factory Acts, and every restriction upon the employ- ment of men, women, or children. It is the argument of the powerful individual against the right of less powerful individuals to combine, and to obtain greater strength by united effort. It is the argument which was put forward to stop, or at least to hinder, the trade unions. It proceeds upon the fallacy that all regulation is an interference with freedom of exchange. When it is advanced as a solid argument against those incapable of standing up alone, and notoriously incapable of organising, or ensuring real freedom of exchange, by lack of time, opportunity, know- ledge, money, or any ordinary attribute of strength, it is an argument which prima facie must excite suspicion, and cannot be accepted as conclusive by the mere statement of it. In answer to it, I would not prophesy the result of wages boards. I would prefer to say I admit the argu- ment, but that since it has so often been proved to be specious and bad, I would like to try this humble experi- ment, and see whether the argument can hold good in relation to those few industries, those weak people, this particular sore. The sore may yield only partially to the action of wages boards. Their action may require to be reinforced. In some trades, licensing, inspection, cleansing, etc., may have to be added to effect a cure, but that is no sufficient reason why the most adequate remedy as yet suggested should not be first applied. " Another important question will be this : Are you not going to swell the ranks of the unemployed by preventing people from getting work ? I think the answer to that is that the more labour and wages are reasonably organised, the better chance there is of the genuine unem- ployed getting work and of fair distribution of work, of not being sweated by oppression from above or by the undercutting of casual labour and uncertain influx of work, and of receiving more work and more regular work by better organisation of the so-called seasonal trades. The unemployed will be better known and better defined. UJNITY UF KMl'LOYJKKS AJNU EMPLOYED 287 The method of dealing with them will be brought more clearly into view. The limits of the assistance of the State, charity, and local authorities to the individual will be more easily determined. At present the State, charity, and rates are continually taxed to produce cheap goods, and in a manner and in directions unequal in incidence, unfair as between individual employers and workers, and harassing to the whole community. " Further, the more labour and wages are reasonably organised, the more chance there is that the worker gets fair pay, and, with fair pay, his standard of comfort and self-respect is raised. He becomes one of the community, anxious to work with and for the community, not against it, nor in continuous enmity to all that is and to all that have. Employers brought together on a wages board will go outside the narrow compass of one shop, one detail of trade ; employees brought together will learn each other's difficulties ; employers and employees brought together will better judge the capacity and possibilities of their joint enterprise. " One of the objects of the boards is to bring employers and employed together, to permit discussion over mutual interests, just as organised trades have formed voluntary boards and discussed disputes, wages, hours, etc., at those voluntary boards. True it is that direction is necessary, and official or voluntary aid must be given to effect a result which these workers themselves certainly cannot, and the employers probably would not, be able to accomplish by themselves. Hence legislation is necessary, because without legislation the proper machinery could not be set up, and when the machinery is set up, administration will be re- quired to make it work. " It may be said that in such trades as tailoring, shirt- making, buttons, cardboard-box making, fur-pulling, and other trades, piecework statements cannot be made; that the processes are too minute, the fashions change too rapidly. I can only say that piecework statements have been made in the Colonies for such trades, and in very complicated trades here, and that ' particulars lists ' already exist for some of those very trades in many districts in the country. " I am not afraid of the complexity of piecework state- ments. They may take a long time to make, and must be susceptible to variation, particularly in trades where 288 TRADE BOARDS fashion changes rapidly. But district copies from district, trade from trade, with variations suitable to district or trade. And in the same way as this process occurs, so an employer should be able to judge by analogy, without any infringe- ment of the minimum wage principle, what prices should be generally paid on the production of a new fashion or a new variation. He need not run risk of disclosing his invention or his market to competitors ; and if the change is one which is to be adopted by the trade generally, the wages board will be in existence to deal with it. The board will be a body meeting from time to time and dealing with changes in the same way as is now done in organised trades when new fashions and designs are continually being introduced. " In the boot trade, the lace trade, and many other trades, of which I have had personal experience — such as printing, tinplates, flax, coal, paper-making, building — questions of a minimum wage have come up over and over again. I have settled scores of minimum wages, without, as far as I am aware, having ruined any person or any industry, or ever seriously hampered any industry. If this has been the case within the experience of a single individual doing similar work to that which other individuals have done or are now doing, how can it be said that the fixing of a minimum wage is such a serious matter that it must endanger the trade bf Great Britain and the organis- ation of society ? The fear must surely be founded upon some popular fallacy of which it is difficult to judge the exact cause, and also upon ignorance of facts. Theo- retical difficulties seem to become less potent an objection to all minimum wages, when one knows that they exist on all sides, and in some measure in nearly every trade, not only in experimenting colonies, but here, in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales. " I am aware that Mr. Ramsay Macdonald, M.P., in an argument directed to show that a socialistic distribution of wealth is the only panacea for social ills, has cited New Zealand and Australia as examples of countries where arbitration courts and wages boards have not, in his opinion, produced the result he desires. Personally, I see small analogy between the present proposals and the com- pulsory arbitration courts of New Zealand, or experiments in a continent where the whole population is about equal to that of Glasgow and its suburbs. But, even in his NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION 289 article, he indicates that opinions flatly contradictory to his own are held by persons who have passed their lives in Australasia. He omits to mention the general benefit to the community which industrial peace, even for a few years, must have effected ; he gives scant credit to the facts that wages boards are not meant to be a sovereign remedy for all ills, or to exclude the use of other remedies ; and he seems to lament that sweating had not wholly disappeared in ten years. " Ten years ! It seems to me that Mr. Ramsay Mac- donald is not unlike those early Christians who believed that the end of the world must come within their lifetime, and took steps for the disposal of their days and goods in a manner which later generations have regarded as a marvellous example of the power of faith. A more cautious philanthropist might feel less confident of the power of any generation to obliterate so deep-seated an evil, but none the less would not lose heart in the opinion that each generation should do what it could to effect tangible results, within the limits of practical power, from which their supcessors could proceed to such better conditions as the course of time and experience might in- dicate. Wages or trade boards may not be, as a principle, wholly ideal, but I think they are possible, practicable, and likely to be advantageous to the people of this country." In preference to wages boards there were many people. who supported a system of licensing employers or con- tractors. When the Government appointed a Committee of the House of Commons, in 1908, under the chairmanship of Sir Thomas Whittaker, the two systems were con- sidered, the Committee finding in favour of the minimum wage. This Committee said : " If ' sweating ' is understood to mean that work is paid for at a rate which, in the conditions under which many of the workers do it, yields to them an income which is quite insufficient to enable an adult person to obtain anything like proper food, clothing, and house accommodation, there is no doubt that sweating does prevail extensively. We have had quite sufficient evidence to convince us (indeed, it is almost commion knowledge) that the earnings of a large number of people — ^mostly women who work in their homes 290 TRADE BOARDS — are so small as alone to be insufficient to sustain life in the most meagre manner, even when they toil hard for ex- tremely long hours. The consequence is that, when those earnings are their sole source of income, the conditions under which they live are often not only crowded and insanitary, but altogether pitiable and distressing ; and we have evidence that many are compelled to have recourse to Poor Law or charitable ' relief.' Lord Dunraven's Commit- tee, after hearing evidence from as many as 291 witnesses, drawn from many different trades and localities, recorded their opinion in 1890 that the evils of sweating ' can hardly be exaggerated.' In the almost complete absence of statistics on the subject, it is impossible for your Committee to decide whether the volume of sweating is at the present time more or less than in 1890, either actually or relatively to population, but sufficient evidence has been put before them to show that sweating still exists in such a degree as to call urgently for the interference of Parliament. While it is impossible to measure the number of sweated individuals, there is, unfortunately, no doubt whatever that it is very large, and that it is still true that the evils of sweating are very great. While our evidence has been chiefly concerned with home workers, it has been shown that very low rates of remuneration are by no means confined to them, but are not infrequently the lot of factory workers also in the trades in which home work is prevalent." Trade boards have had to deal with both home and fac- tory work, but initially the Committee said little or nothing about the factories ; and, in fact, confined their recommen- dation to wages boards for home workers. After discussing the difficulties of licensing, they stated : " In the opinion of your Committee, the second proposal — for the establishment of wages boards — 'goes to the root of the matter, in so far as the object aimed at is an increase in the wages of home workers. No proposals which fail to increase the income of these people can have any appre- ciable effect in ameliorating their condition. Improved sanitary conditions are important and necessary ; greater personal and domestic cleanliness in many cases is very desirable ; but the poverty, the miserably^inadequate income, of so many of the home workers^is the great HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMITTEE 291 difficulty of the situation. With the increase in their earnings many of the other undesirable conditions which intensify and in turn are aggravated by the ever-present burden of grinding poverty would be very appreciably modified and improved." This Committee, by condemning the policy of licensing, which would have established an inquisition, onerous to employers and still more so to employees, and an army of officials, rendered a great service. For my part, so far as I had influence in the movement, by speaking at the Mansion House, at Glasgow, and at the Albert Hall, writing the magazine article, and giving evidence before the Committee, I endorsed the wages board proposal. My opinion was that the minimum wages should be worked out by employers and employed, who knew the trades, with such aid from officials as might be actually necessary in view of the class of workpeople with whom it was intended to deal. I thought also that the chief difficulty of business men was to see how the principle could be applied to piece- work, and particularly concentrated on examples from the Nottingham lace trade and the boot and shoe trade, with the view of showing how it could be done. Nevertheless, the report of the Committee was very carefully guarded. The scheme was treated as an experi- ment, the result of which could scarcely be foreseen. " Your Committee are of the opinion," they said, " that, unless Parliament steps in and gives these workers the protection and support which legislation lalone can supply, the prospects of any real and substantial improvement in their position and condition being brought about are very small and remote. We are further of opinion that care- fully considered legislation would aid them materially ; and, that being so, we cannot doubt that it is desirable that an attempt should be made, and an experiment be tried. At the same time we recognise that legislation which will affect the well-being and may interfere to some extent with the livelihood of a number of extremely poor and helpless persons must be considered with the utmost care, and be entered upon with great caution. " Your Committee attach importance to the experience and opinion of Mr. Askwith, of the Board of Trade, who 292 TRADE BOARDS for many years has, from time to time, rendered most valuable service by acting as arbitrator and conciliator in trade disputes of various kinds. He has settled piece- work rates in industries where the complication and diversity of patterns, etc., is great, and the results have been arrived at without excessive difficulty, and afterwards have worked satisfactorily. He is of opinion that ' wages boards are workable and practicable, and would be bene- ficial, and ought to be tried.' After making full allowance for the fact that these settlements have been made in trades where the employees were organised and had trained members of their trade unions to represent them, and where the whole of the conditions were much more favour- able than would be the case when piecework rates for home workers had to be fixed, your Committee agree that the experiment ought to be tried. " In view of the fact that this proposal represents a very considerable new departure in industrial legislation, and fully realising the many difficulties that surroxmd it, your Committee are of opinion that it is desirable that Parliament should proceed at first somewhat experiment- ally, and apply the general principles to one or two trades, in which the necessity for some legislation is great, and where experience could be gained without running any serious risk of dislocating an important industry. " The conclusions at which your Committee have arrived are that it is desirable — " (1) That there should be legislation with regard to the rates of payment made to home workers who are employed in the production or preparation of articles for sale by other persons. " (2) That such legislation should at first be tentative and experimental, and be limited in its scope to home workers engaged in the tailoring, shirtmaking, under- clothing, and baby-linen trades, and in the finishing pro- cesses of machine-made lace. The Home Secretary should be empowered, after inquiry made, to establish wages boards for any other trades. " (3) That wages boards should be established in selected trades to fix minimum time and piece-rates of payment for home workers in those trades," etc. The resulting Bill became an Act, scheduling at first PRESENT RESULTS 293 industries such as chainmaking at Cradley Heath, card- board boxes, finishing in the lace trade, and wholesale tailoring. The administration was attached to my De- partment, and slowly made its way. As I remarked to Sir Charles Dilke, to whom the Parliamentary success of the Bill was almost wholly due, " This is a very delicate plant. It appears to offend the canons of many political economists. If it is to be allowed to live, its roots should get firm hold of the soil before many experiments are made." Sir Charles Dilke absolutely agreed, curbing enthusiasts who could not understand the saying, " More haste, less speed." What has been the result of this Act ? It has been extended, and is likely to be still more extended. Home workers and factory workers come within its scope. An Amending Act, giving large powers to the Ministry of Labour, was passed in 1918. If these Acts are used for the purposes for which they were intended, and not for pur- poses of unreasonable or transient advantages, their effects may be far-reaching. At present the tide runs in their favour. On May 19, 1920, the Minister of Labour stated in the House of Commons : " Steps are being taken to apply the Trade Boards Acts to a great number of trades in which it is desirable that legal minimum rates of wages should be fixed. Since the Amending Act of 1918 there have been established thirty-seven new trade boards, affecting 1,500,000 workers, and it is estimated that 2,000,000 workers are now covered by trade boards. I hope that during the next twelve months 2,500,000 more workers will be brought under the operation of the Acts." CHAPTER XXIX PROPAGANDA AND CA' CANNY Of all the causes of division of classes, it is possible that the employment of active propaganda has been the most important. Methods of propaganda are necessarily very varied in their form. The only unsuccessful method up to the beginning of the War which had been adopted by Labour in this country was a dominant Labour newspaper. Though many efforts were made, no newspaper achieved lasting success or commanded a wide number of readers. Since the War, one newspaper at least has gained a more powerful influence. But although ordinary daily newspapers often quote portions of speeches or arguments which may have some influence, there are other methods besides newspapers by which views may be communicated. In organised trades pamphlets or reports of union secretaries are circu- lated among, the members. In these trades, too, the meetings of lodges or branches give opportunity for speechi- fying as well as for more sober debate and discussion, for the budding orator and the skilled and trained lecturer. In unorganised trades and in time of disturbances in all trades, speeches outside, varying from wild tub-thumping to reasoned argument, command the attention of audiences. All have their influence, and there is very little answer or argument adduced on the other side of the case. Catch- words may have their effect, just as " liberty, equality, and fraternity " had a vogue during the French Revolu- tion and often since. The capitalist; the associations of shareholders, many with tiny holdings, who by union formed a capital aggre- gation ; the wage-payers generally, large and small, can be all compared together and equally denounced as capi- talist profit-makers, sucking the blood of the wage-earners. 294 METHODS OF PERSUASION 295 Everyone in a motor-car, every woman in a new dress, can be jumbled up in the generic term " the idle rich " ; jealousy, not co-operation, can be placed in the forefront. Appeal is made to those who have an interest in accept- ing the propositions, whether the methods of attain- ment be right or wrong. The case of objectors goes by default. Peaceful persuasion in all its forms, from the mildest type of information to the giving of information which may verge so close to coercion as practically to be indistinguish- able from it, is available under the express protection of the law. I heard a delegate, on one occasion, go up to a train full of labourers for the purpose of giving information. He said, " You , you ought to know there are between this station and the docks hundreds of men with stones and iron nuts. If that's not enough, the docks are pretty deep and not easy to get out of. The last lot didn't get to work. That's all I've got to say." Not a man left that train. In a court of law the delegate might reasonably have argued he had saved their lives by giving information, or, as a solitary individual, had peacefully suggested to them not to run the risk. " Stick to your union," or " your colleagues," or the cry of " No blacklegs ! " are quite enough for most men. Beyond this, at street corners, in parks, on market-places or the seashore, there is a vast amount of speechmaking, apart from processions or organised assemblies in any open places and along streets and roads. Very little attempt at counteracting influence seems to be sought by employers, or by any of those denounced without their knowledge in season and out of season ; and yet the doctrines and the leaflets command a large amount of belief. It may be true that Marx died in obscurity, and that his works were not generally known for many years ; but now Marxian doc- trines in various forms, some of which Marx would not have recognised as his own, are preached from end to end of the country, with more fervour than the doctrines of Henry George were preached to the last generation. The speeches and the literature are wont to bear a common stamp, that Capitalism is the enemy and that the present system must go. Bolshevism goes farther in saying that the system and everyone connected with it must be 20 296 PROPAGANDA AND CA' CANNY destroyed before the new era of reconstruction can even be entered. " Buy up and change the ownership," " Divide up and change the ownership," " Destroy and start again with a new form of ownership," " Take the ownership for the State," and many another shade of colour may be selected according to the taste of each listener and the amount of thought which each man can devote to his choice. New waves of opinion are natural to the human mind, and in times of quick change and great events and strain of body and nerves the waves gain movement and force, particularly when there has existed a feeling of discontent and possibly of injustice. That was the position of affairs before the War, when big movements were pending. Education and self-education had been going on more and more rapidly for years before. More and more young people were being turned out into the world with better knowledge of books and wider aspirations than their grandfathers had, but with no equal speed had a right start or opportunities for advancement or any system giving them a return for their efforts been opened up. Can anyone be surprised that the various forms of propaganda find adherents ? The seeds fall upon fertile soil in the sense that people are thirsty for endorse- ment of half-baked opinions or preconceived ideas. It says much for the general effect of our education and stan- dards of right and wrong that so little violence follows from wild statements. Remarks in the heat of an oration on Tower Hill that So-and-So should be shot lead to no result, while a similar suggestion, if only insinuated, has been known in Ireland to be taken as a hint upon which action will follow. So far as such incidents are connected with the actual work of conciliation, I have almost always had to treat any threats or acts of physical violence as matters outside the attempt to settle a dispute by argument or agreement. It is of no use to hold men who are debating in the council chamber responsible for speeches made out- side without their knowledge or authority, or for acts which can only hamper and retard the consent of the other side to negotiate, or which may even cause the breaking off of negotiations. There are occasions when attention may be called in pubUc or in private to sheaves of expostulation or serious breaches of the peace, but as a rule for practical purposes it is useless. Sometimes, too, the complaints AGGRESSIVE INFLUENCES 297 verge on the ludicrous. A high official once strongly complained to me that an agitator had called his wife an " idle, well-fed woman," with the remark that at any rate she was not idle, and asked me to stop him. In nine cases out of ten the messages are only an indication of the spread of a dispute or the commencement of sympathetic strikes. They may worry politicians, and if forwarded from a Minister may worry a negotiator, but the maintenance of the peace and acts of violence can as a rule only be left to the efforts of the police, except so far as quiet advice may be given. Such advice, as far as my experience goes, has generally, within their powers, been taken by the leaders to whom it has been given. An exception may be made in two classes of cases, both in South Wales. One was where, on the advice of leaders, subordinate leaders had agreed to accept and arranged to advise a provisional settlement to their followers, and next day, to the open disgust of the leaders, repudiated any agreement ever having been made by them, and produced a hostile meeting. The other was where an undertaking had been given by leaders to ballot on the terms of a pro- visional settlement, and perforated cards were printed with " Yes " in one half and " No " in the other. Any man who came out without the " Yes " fixed in his hat or pinned to his clothes, so as to show he had voted " No," was received with hostile demonstration as soon as he appeared. That was not a free ballot. How is the word passed round ? There is no doubt that there is often warm debate among the members of an executive or in the inside of a lodge. But even there the more enthusiastic and aggressive men have far more weight than their numbers justify. A cautious leader may some- times hold them in hand or advise tactics of delay, with a view to renewed debate after he has tried methods of his own with the employers. Yet if there is money to be drawn from the union purse, a grievance which can be magnified and exploited, the presence of a few hot-heads, then disputes may be brought about where no dispute ought reasonably to have been incurred. It is then that the mettle of a leader is put to the test. He may curb the trouble, if he knows it to be unwise, before it is too late, but if he cannot and will not do so, or if he serves but does not lead, he knows well that, when once a decision has been 298 PROPAGANDA AND CA' CANNY sent out by an executive or leaders, there is little chance of the movement being stopped. Any apparent reference to a ballot is coloured with a particular view in the form of the questions or the method of taking the ballot : and sometimes a storm may be created far larger than its originators may have intended or even desired. There is a great responsibility in reality attaching to men who launch a strike, and change or interfere with the lives and hopes of many a man, perhaps at a crisis in his career. It is the fate of almost every working man to have to learn that, whether he wills it or not, he is liable several times in his life, perhaps at moments which he, as an individual, might least choose, to be obliged to leave his work and his means of livelihood for an unknown period of time. At least the issue and the ballot should be fairly placed before him, and many men may well feel that a fair ballot, properly conducted and by secret and unbiased voting, would be the most reasonable method of obtaining the real opinion of the majority before so serious a step was taken. During the War the art of propaganda became very intensive. Literature could not be safely disseminated. Speeches of the kind which had been made before the War would not only have been dangerous from the point of infringement of the laws, but also from the temper of the audience. Some at least of those who had been wont to speak strong words occupied themselves, to my knowledge, in doing all they could to aid our men and our cause. There were others who did not. An emissary, generally a young man, could drop into a shop and get taken on, skilled or semi-skilled, stay a few weeks, grumble that it was no place for a decent workman, sow discontent, and move on to another factory. A few days later another similar man would appear. Apparently unconnected with the first, he would say the same things, or worse ; possibly a third or a fourth would follow. The seed thus sown was bound to bring forth some fruit. A strike ; a movement with intention to go to another place ; a circuit of factories on the suggestion that a rival paid more wages, would easily ensue . The Munitions of War Act did not act as a deterrent, when managers and foremen were anxious to let men go who would not work properly and were known or suspected to be causing trouble. " These are the devils of my works," said a manager to me, as we THE DISEASE OF CA' CANNY 299^ watched twenty or thirty young men dashing into their coats and rushing away on the stroke of the hour. " Where are they going ? " I said. " To hold a meeting and prepare an ultimatum," he replied. " Why don't you give them a football ? " I remarked. " They would make two teams and fight each other." Since the War, although the cessation of censorship does not require the use of swift cycle-riders to carry messages from Lancashire to Sheffield, or analogous subterfuges, plenty of discontent can be more openly promulgated. It may be well worth consider- ation whether facts, apart from arguments, the truth which it must be in the interest of man to know, cannot wisely be given in some form or other, so as to give a chance to young men for the exercise of judgment and brain upon the prob- lems of their life and future welfare. Propaganda at the present time is apt to be too one-sided. Following on the propaganda, that demoralising doctrine, so harmful to the State, the employer, and the man himself, commonly called by the name " Ca' canny," or " Go slow," to limit work to the level of the slowest man, to restrict production when the world is crying out for goods, has before, during, and after the War been a great influence in setting class against class. The interests of employer and employed become entirely adverse, when the employer is craving for production and the man will produce as little as he possibly can without losing his job. This disease, originating possibly in the innate pleasure of man in laziness, has also a certain measure of scientific interest as a practical method of protection by the man against exhaustion, the desire to retain a reserve of force against the continuously wearing effect of long hours, dull work, low wages or driving. Each factor might exist as a stimulant to a man's conscious or semiconscious objection to work. A man would not give more work than he could help for a very low wage, or he would not respond to con- tinual commands to speed up, or he got frankly bored with his work, or felt tired or unwell. No good example was set when employers might be seen to be slowing down with the object of lessening production and keeping up the prices of goods, or discharging men so that by scarcity the prices might be maintained and existing stocks got rid of. That policy was ca' canny by the employers. It often came to grief, because, even if groups of employers 300 PROPAGANDA AND CA' CANNY might decide to slow down, other employers or foreign countries might take a different view of the shortage, foresee a future demand, be able more cheaply to carry stocks, and get the orders in advance which the others could not fulfil. As an example, those firms in the cotton trade who, in spite of gloomy prophecies, bought material, carried stocks, and ran their mills in the winter of 1918-19 reaped a golden harvest. They, and the employees in their demand for better wages, which the employers would not give without the undesired dictation of the Prime Minister, had the imagination to foresee the world's shortage and the huge demand for goods which must arise from the fact that the War could not be renewed. In answer to the difficulty of overproduction where lessen- ing of supply might occasionally be necessary, or even actually justifiable, the cotton trade and also the woollen trade have from time to time, by joint arrangement between employers and employed, successfully provided by tempo- rary systems of short time. Discharge of operatives could thus be avoided. But in other trades short time has* not been often attempted, or could not easily be applied, particularly when the use of machinery made it difficult. Discharge and unemployment were accepted as the general practice of firms who, even if they retained a nucleus of skilled men, a commodity difficult to replace, ruthlessly dismissed semi-skilled or unskilled men with little or no compunction. It was against this system, this horror of unemployment at short notice for reasons over which they had no control, that men banded together and had their unemployment funds, their out-of-work donations, their insurance systems, until the State itself came in with compulsory insurance schemes and State contributions in the case of specified trades. These benefit systems have been of the essence of trade union policy ever since trade unions began, but they took time to organise, were im- perfect, and only applied to a minority of workpeople. The schemes did not cover the ground. Seeing this, workmen argued that, if production meant ultimately unemployment or the risk of discharge, they woiild mini- mise that risk by taking care that they would produce as little as possible. It would be the same type of thought which led the workmen in the early days of the nineteenth century to resent so strongly the introduction of machinery, THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE 301 on the ground that fewer men would be employed and that too much production would ensue from the use of machines. The argument might apply in certain cases to the single workman or to groups of workmen or to a whole trade union. It could be speciously defended by the plea that they wanted the work to go round and last longer, that there should be jobs for more men, that their comrades should have work to do, and, from the point of view of trade union secretaries, that the funds of the union should not be depleted by providing out-of-work pay. Instead of pressing the employers to unite with them in fixing joint schemes of insurance suitable for emergencies of trade, instead of the employers having the sense to see that spells of unemployment deteriorated the workers and the produce of their work, and that men required for an industry should be supported by that indxistry in good times and in bad, each went their own way, with disastrous results. The policy of the ports relying upon pools of casual and ineffective labour, or of getting semi-skilled or unskilled labour as and when wanted, was followed in almost every industry in the country in the same or minor degree. It was this policy which led certain unions to restrict their members and to demand that no non-union labour should be employed. As men, too, by the extension of the fran- chise, realised more political consciousness and power, and by extension of education widened their thoughts, it was this policy which led to increased embitterment between Capital and Labour. Labour followed its own plans for dealing with an accepted evil; Capital never united to plan out a joint method of dealing with it; the State crept in with its ineffectual and expensive labour exchanges, which could not cope with it and only led to worse estrangement. Meanwhile the canker of ca' canny spread, mitigated by the earnest desire of individuals to succeed, to get advancement in life, to have outlet for enterprise. Its evils are manifest in such trades as the moulders, who even during the War would not give up their methods of slow-time work lest the struggles of their unions in past years should be endangered : and now amongst the builders, who will not break away from the restricted amount of bricks to be laid within a given time. It was only the common purpose of the War which hindered its influence in many works, and 302 PROPAGANDA AND CA' CANNY showed what its absence might produce. It would be useless to calculate how much talent and how many rising hopes have been dashed down in the atmosphere of insis- tence on time-work with its watchword, " Keep your time by the slowest," or in the absolute command of foremen or colleagues that the number of rivets, the tale of bricks, the lasting of boots, the cuts of clothes, or the output of articles of every kind must be kept within or below the rule of the shop. As late as January 1918 Sir Lynden Macassey, who did arbitration work during the War, and became head of the shipyard Labour Department, published a few uncontra- dicted instances which will serve as illustrations. He said : " A discharged soldier who returned to work for a motor- car firm at Birmingham found that in turning cyhnders he could do a job in forty-three minutes, and he maintained this speed for three weeks. The man was warned that the official time was seventy minutes. The warning being ignored, on November 4 last the union stopped the shop until the man was moved to other work. The same kind of intervention seems to take place on most engineering work on which piece-rates are paid. " In the collieries the restriction is exercised indirectly. If a miner exceeds a certain output per day, varjdng from four to seven tons, he finds himself delayed by the ' shunt ' men, who cut down his supply of tubs and props. In South Wales and Lanarkshire the output laid down is a fixed number of tubs per day, called a ' stint,' and if this were regularly exceeded the pit would be stopped to enforce it. The same applies to the docks. Recently a ship dis- charging grain in bulk in Birkenhead was stopped because the union considered that 150 tons a day was an excessive rate, though the rate was laid down both in the ship's charter-party and the sale contract; the result is that the elevators are now running at 23 per cent, below full speed. In Cardiff and elsewhere carters are not now allowed to load more than one tier on team wagons. On November 10 last a team-lorry was stopped in Bute Street, Cardiff, by the union delegate, and the carter made to unload eight bags which were in a second tier. At Immingham a motor-lorry was stopped because it had a full six-ton load. EXAMPLES OF THE DISEASE 803 The driver asked the delegate what the Umit was, and he said : ' I don't know, but you have got too much on there, anyhow.' " Sometimes the restriction appears to be applied by the men more than by the unions. At the Cardiff coal-tips the men are turning over one truck every seven minutes, compared with two minutes before the War ; they will not keep their machines running at full speed. The ships' painters in Liverpool and Birkenhead are working 16 per cent, per hour below the pre-war rate. In leather- stamping at Leicester the men refuse to cut more than a certain number of pieces at a time, and this amounts to a loss of effort by the machine of 4 per cent. In bushel- ling wheat at Barrow, the men will not allow any more than two bushels to be made up every three minutes, and the unions have adopted this agreement among the men as a definite rule. In shipbuilding on the Clyde an attempt was made to limit the output of riveters by keeping the boy rivet-heaters to a set number. " The restriction is of special moment when we find it applied to house-building. At Huddersfield, during the building of an extension, four men were stopped by their union for three days because they laid 480 bricks in a day of eight hours. A slater was warned at the same place because he fixed a gutter— a plumber's job — in order that he might get on with his own work. Instances might be multiplied indefinitely." The few instances alone serve to show an amazing restriction on personal liberty, but no Acts of Parliament can cope with it. Even in the War the express provisions of the Munitions of War Acts enacting that " any rule, practice, or custom not having the force of law which tends to restrict production or employment shall be suspended, and if any person induces or attempts to induce any other person (whether any particular person or generally) to comply or continue to comply with such a rule, practice, or custom, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this Act " were flouted or set at naught. Arbitrators tried to enforce the enact- ment, but with little effect. The doctrine that it was not to be done for the employers' benefit fell in with the view that old custom or so-called privileges should continue. 304 PROPAGANDA AND CA' CANNY and counteracted the principle that a fair day's work should be given for a fair day's wage. Now, with the rise of wages and the reduction of hours, there is far less pith in the contentions which have been advanced in favour of ca' canny, but the preaching of slackness still continues, its practice is grievously general, and once again, unless a common purpose and better feeling can be and is obtained, with direct interest of a man in the result of his work, the blows which ca' canny has received will have no more effect upon its strength than the flip of a boxer's glove. CHAPTER XXX UNEMPLOYMENT It has been said that one defence of " ca' canny " is that it is a preventive of unemployment, by prolongation of the time taken on the work and delay in permitting supply to overtake demand. The general result must be that the cost of production is largely increased, and if the article is a necessary of life, or one of the articles known as an amenity of life, the increased cost affects the workpeople concerned as well as the majority of the community. Besides this drawback, no account is taken that, if production is increased, goods can be sold at a cheaper rate, demand is stimulated, articles become more and more required for the maintenance of a better standard, and far greater employment is apt to result than if goods are maintained as expensive luxuries for the few. The cycle, motor, sewing-machines, gas-stoves and fires, and soap trades might be cited as instances. If " ca' canny " could have held its own against new inventions or foreign com- petition, the hand-loom would be attempting to supply garments to the nation. Unemployment for a time might not have existed among hand-loom weavers, but the greater employment, if " ca' canny " could have won, would have been absent. There would have been no huge textile industries emplojdng hundreds of thousands of people ; clothing millions at a reasonable price ; increasing the demand almost always in advance of an increased supply ; and leading to the introduction or vast development of innumerable other industries — machine-making, building, agriculture, and all the industries concerned with the provision of wool, cotton, and every kind of textile. It seems sometimes to be assumed that unemployment can be stopped by Act of Parliament. Strikes and lockouts cannot be stopped by Act of Parliament. The most that an 305 806 UNEMPLOYMENT Act of Parliament could do would be to give privileges to persons who voluntarily agreed to defer the rights of freedom connoted by the power to lockout or strike, in return for delay in the exercise of the rights. So, too, unemployment cannot be stopped by Act of Parliament. The right of a person to live may be doubted, though in a civilised com- munity it is not desirable in the interests of the community that a person should starve. The right of a person to work may also be open to question. What work ? The special work which alone the individual can do. _ Is Parliament to keep on providing hand-looms and insisting that hand- loom weavers must be provided with hand-loom work ? In the United States, if a man cannot earn enough at one trade, his wife will tell him to seek elsewhere, that there is plenty of work to be found if he will use his brains or his hands. He can come back to his own trade when there is work available there. In this country the tendency is for a man to say he can do nothing else and will know nothing else than the particular trade he has chosen and of which he knows a little ; say, for example, joinery. Unless there is joinery to be got, he will remain idle, and suppose that somebody must provide joinery for him to do. Joinery may not be wanted by anyone. Scientific arrangement might have spread tihe joinery required in a district over a longer period, but it might have been extremely difficult for any person to judge the exact time or the exact amount of work required before the joinery demand of that district was entirely satisfied. He may seek joinery work elsewhere, possibly breaking up his home for that purpose ; he may rely on unemploy- ment insm-ance, which at least will tide over a period; but he cannot gain much by sitting still and ex- pecting that somebody will invent joinery work for him to do. Is it not the fact that in every trade, from time to time, there is slackness, not enough work for all who desire to do it ? or not enough to supply all the skilled or all the un- skilled workpeople who in times of great demand might be engaged in that trade ? Even the best and most scientific schemes could not accurately settle the exact amount of goods required, or the hour when supply begins to exceed the existing demand. Foresight in obtaining new markets, division of work by temporary short time, unemployment IMPORTANCE OF DECASUALISATION 807 insurance, emigration to new fields of work, may all assist to meet the difficulty, but the difficulty must remain unless the individual himself has brains to meet the emer- gency, education to turn his powers to another and, for the time being, more suitable method of earning a livelihood. The barrister without briefs and no resources will turn to writing or journalism, the clerk adds typewriting or stenography to his quaUfications, the shopkeeper tries an- other line of business. The unskilled men have not the brain or the initiative. In earlier chapters I have pointed out the urgency of training youths, so that brains may be brought out, and that if possible they should learn as much as practicable of several lines or divisions of business at which they would be capable of working, even if at times they had to take a lower place than that to which they had advanced. The fact remains that in any event and from time to time there will be seasons or periods when unemploy- ment looms up, unemplojnnent which, if continued, demoralises men and tends rapidly to make them as unemployable as those whom physical disability or mental tendency have brought to the same position. The number has been diminished, and should be dimin- ished by effort. Even in the London docks it was calcu- lated that in 1889 there were only 16 per cent, permanently employed, but that in 1911 the number had risen to 72 per cent. In times of bad trade and in seasonal trades, such as building, the unskilled and casuals are the first to be unemployed, and have nothing else, through lack of brains, to which they can turn their hands. When, in 1908, the unemployed were registered for relief, 53 per cent, were casuals and 19 per cent, in the building trade, that trade which now, for years and years, does not seem likely to cope with even the ordinary demands of the population for better housing. Laboxir colonies were tried, and found to be disastrous failures. The unemployed and unemployable could not work together. The colonies destroyed the self-respect of the honest worker, they were laughed at by the tramp who did not wish to work. As Mr. Burns truly said, in February 1911, relief works are like opiates, and the more you take the more you want. He added, "I know no more serious danger, morally, physically, and economically," Mr. Burns being a man who knew what he was saying and had headed the London dock strike 808 UNEMPLOYMENT on the principle of reducing casual labour. " You have no right to break the proud spirit of the poor. You have no right to undermine the sense of industry ... a disaster to the nation." The Reports of the Central Unemployed Body showed very clearly (1) that the vast majority of those applying had been casual labourers, and certainly not those for whom the Unemployed Workmen Act was intended ; (2) that the work provided had done nothing to permanently improve the position of those who had received it ; (3) that it had been impossible to provide work for more than a small proportion of ±hose who applied. Surely this is a very apt description of the work and tendency of labour exchanges, to which I have already alluded. The Poor Law Commission of 1832 denounced the abuse of outdoor relief to the able-bodied, a system which Sidney Smith said was " eating out the vitals of the nation." The Commissioners may have been stringent in their recommendations, which resulted in the Poor Law Act of 1834, but they exposed clearly diversion of funds : " it is our painful duty to report that the fund which was directed to be employed in the necessary relief of the im- potent is applied to purposes destructive of the morals of the most numerous class and to the welfare of all." Nearly a hundred years have passed, and the country has but recently ire verted to a system of " doles," and is still faced with the unemployment problem ; arising sometimes from lack of demand in the world at large, over which there is no practicable control, sometimes from local causes owing to the surplus of labour required in a particular locality for a particular trade. Are we again to revert to the pernicious and demoralising system of " doles," or " some- thing for nothing " ? or are we going to try to face the problem with energy ? There may be always required old-age pensions for aged persons who cannot work, though the question whether they should come from the State, the industry, the firm, the family, or thrift may be debated by persons according to their views. There may always be necessity for aid to the destitute, to whom in theory the Poor Laws applied and should apply, bringing in under certain circumstances the mother, the infant, the school- child, the sick, the mentally deficient, the aged and infirm, though with many of these, apart from Acts of Parliament IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTION 809 intended to be ameliorative, better economic status would permit better aid from the family. There may always be the tramp and vagrant, and those who love " the freedom of the road," as well as the habitual criminals, though every effort should be made to prevent children falling into these classes and adding to their numbers. Whatever may be the sources of the recruits to the un- employed and the ranks of the poor, it may be noted that in October 1919 there were, exclusive of vagrants, lunatics, and cases of outdoor medical relief, 130 paupers in every 10,000 of the population, or 238,563 paupers (109,816 in- door and 128,747 outdoor cases) in the United Kingdom, with London responsible for nearly 68,000 of them, at a time when the unemployment dole was still running. What would a business man do if his business was running down through lack of demand, and he saw before him diminished returns or the necessity of piling up stock ? He would try for fresh openings, new trade, increased activity from advertisement, agents, and customers, with a view to the maintenance of his business and increased prosperity. The more cheaply he could produce by elimination of waste, by consideration whether quantity would ensure less cost and more clients, by improved appliances, by better work, the more confident he would feel that he might keep or enlarge his market. At the present time, when the whole world is crying out for goods and the home market in many classes of goods is not nearly met ; when for years to come the demand seems bound to continue, production is the best panacea for unemployment, but with production continuous care to foresee the developments of the future and so widen the area of trade on every side. The last thing which the business man should think of doing is the creation of unemployment by the lack of assiduity on his part. In the long-run it will be harmful to him and the country. If development and continuous work is in sight, the work- man is less likely to have the fear of unemployment before his eyes. Such business care may, and would, largely tend to diminish any lack of demand from the world at large. It is our interest to stimulate demand ; to keep and enlarge our markets, to maintain our reputation as a nation of shopkeepers. There is a glorious opportunity as a nation of shopkeepers. There is a glorious opportunity for this country, if it chooses to take it, but without production, 310 UNEMPLOYMENT without work, opportunity may pass away and not again recur. However much the world-demand may be the principal factor for a great exporting country, only to be met by keen brains and good work, there remains the difficulty of unemployment at home, through trades chiefly concerned with the home market, or with seasonal trades, like the building trade, which now appears so seriously to hinder the welfare of the community. In some of these trades — though, as far as can be judged, not for a long time in the building trade — there is bound lo be fluctuating and sporadic unemployment, or at least such lack of demand as might lead to unemployment. Each instance of it is liable, like a sore hurtful to the whole body, to increase suspicion, distrust, continuance of " ca' canny," and demands for new social organisations which might in their attempted development lead to disturbance, certain to end either in a compromise or in bitter and unwanted strife, and equally certain to be harmful to our trading prosperity. How is this issue to be met ? It is not an issue that the State can meet suddenly, except by such an evil policy as doles. It is Unfair to the State, already overburdened, and to the general taxpayers, who have to subscribe to the State, that the burden of lack of vision or business qualities by employers, or " ca' canny" on the part of workpeople, in sections of industry, should be foisted upon them. It is a common interest of wage-payers and the majority of wage- earners, that the difficulty should be avoided, the hardship minimised. A solution cannot be effected'in a day. Every person who has dealt with the Poor Law, or any other administrative law or scheme which affects large numbers of individuals, knows that personal elements, individual examination, sympathetic feeling, the elimination of the unfit, and occasionally a hard rule, are necessary for the achievement of any success. Time and patience, often rendered nugatory by cross-currents of conflicting interests or different theories, are found to be essential for real results. It can only be by hard effort that the evil can be minimised. Even so, it is desirable that the right paths should be followed. With all diffidence I say, on this extremely difficult problem, that the right lines are (1) education, so that youth may have opportunity to obtain a fair chance of PALLIATIVES FOR UNEMPLOYMENT 311 advancement, and if obliged to take the position, through lack of opportunity, brain, or initiative, of a " hewer of wood and drawer of water," a fair chance of turning his physical strength fron one business to another ; (2) insurance against unemployment, so that during tem- porary slackness of trade there may be opportunity, without loss of all current income, for change of work or employer, or time to await renewed possibility ; (3) unity of purpose and co-operation between employer and employed in each trade, so that in time of prosperity mutual arrange- ments may be made to deal with persons engaged in the industry in times of adversity, each trade arriving at its own scheme. If any national insurance continues to exist, it ought to be treated as a minimum which has to be bettered or excluded. The Industrial Council of the building trade has set an ex- ample in this direction, though it is not very clear how the payment of contributions is brought home to individuals. They have recommended that, in cases of unavoidable unemployment, the maintenance of its unemployed mem- bers shall be undertaken by the industry through its employment committees, and that the necessary revenue shall be raised by means of a fixed percentage on the wages bills, and paid weekly to the employment committee by each employer on the joint certificate of himself and a shop steward or other accredited trade union representative. Any other system than a system of the responsibility of each trade must lead to doles or subsidies to a particular industry. Doles have been condemned over and over again, by generation after generation. Wherever they have been tried they have ultimately failed and been denor.nced. Subsidies are generally unfair, taxing other industries ; can only be excused for national reasons ; are subject to political influence, passing phases of sentiment, or the bias of personal judgment. It is the duty of an industry to main- tain its own reserves of labour. If reserves are required, it should pay for the reserve. If it is argued that the co- operation of employers and employed in an industry or in a firm (and wise is the firm which follows the principle) to provide for unemployment, sickness, or old age will lead to trusts and combines against the interest of the consumer, I can only give an opinion. That opinion is that the argu- ment is sheer nonsense. In these small islands, highly 21 312 UNEMPLOYMENT developed as they are even at the present time, with a watchful Press, a democratic franchise, and keen competi- tors, detrimental trusts can be defeated almost before they begin to exist. The scare of trusts is a hypothetical scare of the possible future. The problem of unemployment is a vital, immediate, and urgent question which cannot be ignored. CHAPTER XXXI SOCIALISM Prior to the War much was said and written from time to time on the value of co-partnership. The type of co- partnership proposed seems to have been an alliance between Capital and Labour in the sense of giving Labour an opportunity to take a share in the business. It was not the same principle as co-operative production. Co- operative production had led to small undertakings and numerous failures, as in the case of the quarries started after the PenrhjTi disputes. They lacked capital and skilled management, and failed to expand into large undertakings. It -was also not the same principle on which business was practised by those large co-operative distri- butive societies which have grown from small beginnings into immense industrial undertakings. Lord Robert Cecil was specially prominent in advocacy of co-partnership, saying that he was " convinced that the co- partnership system held the secret of the solution of our industrial problems, if any solution was to be found. Co- partnership was not merely profit-sharing ; it also repre- sented a sharing of the capital and a sharing of the respon- sibilities. It was by the adoption of that principle in the industrial life of this country that we might seek and hope to secure a peaceful issue of the present threatening condition of affairs." The co-partnership undertaking which is con- tinually cited as an example for others is the South Metro- politan Gas Company and the scheme of its chairman, the late Sir George Livesey. Lord Robert praised co-partner- ship at the unveiling of the Livesey statue. The scheme was unfortunate in its origin, being the outcome of a big strike in 1889, which has not endeared it to trade unions. The com- pany's principles are the payment of a percentage bonus, half 313 314 SOCIALISM in cash and half in shares, on all salaries and wages, varying in amount according to the price at which the gas is sold to the consumer. The principle has extended in the gas industry, thirty-four gas companies working on analogous co-partnership plans by 1912. It may be remarked that this industry, working under statutory obligations and possessing monopolies, would generally have no loss, and consequently a bonus is practically certain. Another salient example is that of Messrs. Lever Bros., at Port Sunlight, where partnership certificates are issued equal in amount annually to 10 per cent, of the salary or wages of those employees qualified to share under the scheme, the certificates participating pari passu with the ordinary share scrip, after 5 per cent, has been paid upon ordinary shares. But, however useful such schemes may be in special and profitable businesses, many of which might possibly under- take them with advantage, it cannot be said that they have had much influence on the general industrial conditions of the country. Only 298 schemes are reported to have been started between 1865 and 1912, and of these only 133 continued to exist in 1912, though they were spread over about sixty different trades and industries. The majority of them do not give the workpeople, particularly the un- skilled workpeople, whose share must be small, a sufficient interest in the business to ensure thrift or keen interest in the success of the business. The call of the trade unions and their rules are too strong a force on the opposite side, and the trade unions are generally hostile to any support of them. The schemes may coincide with other advantages which firms may start with a view to co-operation in inter- ests, but can seldom be the " end-all " or " be-all " which would allay unrest. It is certain that any conditions annexed to such schemes restricting freedom to join a union or tp strike, or which lead to the belief that the schemes may reduce the ordinary rates of wages, will be bound to lead to failmre. It should also be noted that co-partnership schemes must insist on a portion of the bonus payment being reserved for investment in the business, otherwise the recipient may be profit-sharing, but does not tend, however slowly, to become a co-partner. There may be future developments of co-partnership, but I should be loth to say that schemes as at present devised provide an example SCHEMES OF CO-PARTNERSHIP 315 which, if followed, would satisfy the relations of Capital and Labour. Some of the schemes by different firms do improve the chances of suitable men getting through by merit or initiative, on which I have laid stress, and in that sense and as some inducement to thrift cannot be ignored. They are examples of the various ideas which may be said to be fructifying in the silent ranks of employers with a view to meeting the theories and claims which are so prevalent in the ranks of employees, or at least in their speeches and writings. Although employers are now more and more alive to the value of co-operation, and as a whole i desire better feeling, they have been slow in taking steps to answer by argument, and to defend the cause of reward to individual exertion, and the value of initiative, and the greater causes of individual liberty and of ideals higher than the pursuit of mere material gain. As compared with these minor efforts, the exertions of many theorists and leaders of labour are in startling con- trast. The War seems to have acted as a forcing-house, and brought forward old and new plants with rapid growth, far more varied in number than any produced by the employers. Although the chief development has come since the War, they all claim to be the historical or natural result of causes or aims existing before the War. All have certain connecting-links, or may even be defined as varieties of a stock plant generally termed " Socialism," but in view of their variety it is difficult to prophesy which of them, if any, will have a governing influence on the industrial future of the country. If my account of the big disputes for the ten years previous to the War is correct, the reader may be able to exercise his judgement as to how far these strikes or lock- outs were commenced or carried forward with any idea or set purpose of gaining the acceptance of any particular ideal or theory by the country. That some of the persons engaged in them held one or other ideal or theory is certain. Such persons appeared in every strike, particu- larly in the Irish disputes, which most nearly approached, or were worked upon, demands for a complete change of social organisation. Mr. Larkin, backed by the clever brain of the late Mr. Conolly, did profess to have ideas, though he could not give them such clear expression as his tutor might have achieved. But Mr. Larkin only supported 316 SOCIALISM one theory, a theory which found little support in Great Britain. The trade unions of Great Britain did not aid Larkin or Larkinism, but assisted with food the hungry in Dublin, and sent their deputations to advise that trade union principles should be as far as possible asserted and not injured. There are many other forms of socialism which have been, and are still being, put forward, difficulty arising from their variety to such an extent that union on any common platform seems almost impossible. Some would leave each state as it is ; some would have one uniform type of state, e.g. a " democratic state " ; some advocate no separate states. Socialistic theories differ, again, in the extent to which they would bring corporate action to bear on the interests of individuals : some would leave a place for individual enterprise ; some would " socialise " all individual effort; some would " nationalise " all industry, others only some industries. Certain socialistic theories would confine corporate action to municipalities, others to political states. Others would concentrate attention on or even interpret the entire life of a community in terms of the economic conditions of a society ; others would socialise everything in a comnjiunity, including all the traditionally accepted " institutions." Certain socialists would secure their ends at once, or as soon as the power is in their hands ; other groups are prepared to wait and work gradually for a socialistic community of the future ; or, in other words, immediate revolution is the aim of one section ; progressive evolution of actual society to the ends of socialism appeals to another. In certain details, as in the acceptance of free education, everybody may have acquiesced in some socialistic views, but the ordinary individual is very perplexed with the many theories continuously advanced. It has been described as a " seething welter,' ' from which, as may be noted in any railway train, the young man takes refuge in Tit-bits or other amusing papers, or in the latest news of sport. This fact does not, however, preclude the existence of the position that on matters of business his faith has been made up for him or he has made up his faith, and does not want to worry himself any more upon the subject. If the results are variable in character, the sources from which the movements originate may also be said to INTENTION OF SOCIALISM 317 be very variable. Sometimes a theory can be traced to the philanthropic enthusiasm of its author; or, again, to an active personal hostility to existing governments; in an- other case to a deep sense of the misery endured by many under the prevailing industrial regime; sometimes to reaction against a previous theory ; or even to a vivid imagination of what society might be. But, though the " seething welter" be admitted, certain broad divisions are at least to be discerned; and if a general definition is possible, it may perhaps be said that the characteristic feature of socialism, whether as a theory or a practical attitude towards the problems of society, is the exclusive and unrestricted application of the power of the corporate action of the community as a whole to the solution of some or all of the questions which arise out of the conflicting interests, more especially the conflicting economic interests, of the individuals comprising a community. There is practical intention in socialism. It may be said that, with hardly any exception, all such theories are put forward, not in the interests of mere scientific knowledge of society, but with a view to the practical transformation of social and political life as it is. Even those theories which rest on a materialistic or mechanical conception of social evolution, and which maintain that the course of history is necessarily determined in the direction of socialism, assume that a theoretical statement of the inevitable trend of events will be of practical assistance in hastening or in guiding towards the desired end. There is doubtless an inconsistency in holding on the one hand that the course of history is necessitated, and on the other that human beings can hasten or retard, direct or misdirect, its course. But no socialist is restrained by theoretical inconsistency from giving practical indications how to reach the ends he has in mind, and urging their speedy realisation. It is the practical value of socialistic and communistic theories as guides to social and political action which is their main interest both for those who expound them and for those to whom they appeal. No one will understand the influence which socialistic theories have exerted in recent days who ignores this underlying conviction of the practical efficiency of socialism as a remedy for social and political ills. Without this assumption, socialism would have no hold on the practical 318 SOCIALISM conduct of the disaffected, the depressed, or the disinherited members of an industrial community. Its main interest is directed towards the transformation of the economic conditions of social life ; and its interest in political issues is entirely subordinate to the problem preserited by the present economic status of the worker, more especially the wage-earner. Indeed, every institution is regarded from the economic point of view. The whole present framework of society is looked upon as supporting the economic system which socialism seeks to alter. Thus certain social- ists manifest as much hostility to present political, educational, legal, and even ecclesiastical institutions as towards the prevailing industrial system, and would have these modified and if necessary abolished, if this is the only way to securing the economic ends they have in view. Their aim is material comfort or economic amelioration — everything else is secondary. Hence the so-called " materialistic " character of most socialistic theories, some of which, like those of Marx, explicitly rest on a materialistic conception of human society. In order to achieve this economic amelioration, it will, I think, be found that, whatever may be the particular origin of any given theory, socialism and communism have been based on three main considerations. The first is the glaring contrast between the lot of innumerable individuals under present social conditions and the claims of those individuals to their full measure of human happiness. The second is the proved capacity of human beings for joint action for social and political purposes, and the im- mense power both for good as well as evil which can be exerted by conmbined action for specified ends. The third is the conviction, resting partly on experience and partly on mere belief, that human society is essentially and almost indefinitely plastic, and can be moulded into any form to suit human needs. If these considerations are examined, it may be said that the first hardly requires comment and explanation. The history of industrial life during the last hundred years supplies sufficient evidence in support of the position, and provides abundant argument to the socialist for proposing some transformation of society. It may be said, in spite of the apparent paradox, that socialism is as a rule more concerned for individual happiness than for a social CORPORATE ACTION 819 order. The transformation of society is primarily a means ; individual human welfare, as understood by the socialist, is the real end in view. Whether or not it can be attained by socialism has not yet been proved by mankind. Without the second consideration it is safe to say socialism could never have been suggested as a cure for social and political evils. Corporate action for purposes deliberately adopted is a prominent and most distinctive feature of the life of a community. The pressure such action can bring to bear on individuals is irresistible when it is practically unanimous, and a powerful check to individual caprice even where it is not unanimous. It is argued, therefore, that all that is necessary to secure reforms or social changes of any sort is that the power latent in corporate life should be in the hands of those who have most to gain by social change ; and that since under present conditions the majority of individuals making up the community are workpeople who have ever)^hing to gain by the use of this power, the workpeople have but to stand and act together and their ends will be attained. The fact that power is not proportionate to numbers in the community is argued to be the precise cause of present evils, a grievance to those who suffer from it, a privilege to those who benefit by it, and an injustice in the con- stitution of society. Power, it is held, should be adequate to happiness, or at any rate to that form of happiness which consists in material comfort. A social situati')n in which those who are comfortable are numerically weak and those who are numerically strong have much less, a situation in which the few control the power of corporate action for their advantage and the many who create the resources of the community have no power to control its actions — such a situation, where it exists, is one which has only to be realised in order to be condemned or to demand alteration. The clear and conscious appreciation of this position is the driving force of the socialistic movement. The third consideration above mentioned is also most important. It is assumed, rightly or wrongly, that the individuals comprising a community can make of a com- munity what they please. This assumption is partly due to the fact that, historically, society, or at any rate political society, has appeared in many forms, and that types of or- ganisation have originated, developed, and passed away. In 320 SOCIALISM short, history shows that, while a human society may be relatively stable, its structure and composition may change indefinitely and are not rigidly fixed. The assumption is partly due to the everyday fact that men, by individual action, can and do change the life of a community for the better or for the worse. Human nature and human society are, in a word, plastic. Hence it is supposed there is no reason whatever for accepting any social condition as fatally unchangeable. With effort, more especially with combined effort, a society may be changed gradually or catastrophically, in a generation or in a single day. In that fact or in that conviction lies the hope and the inspiration of socialism. The critic of theoretical social- ism may see, in such a contention, paradox, inconsistency, or even absurdity; and in the practical development of socialistic movements he may find the refutation of the assumption on which socialistic proposals rest. Experience constantly reveals that human nature is not indefinitely plastic ; that its fundamental elements and instincts are apparently as unalterable as the stars in their courses, and are found alike in the socialists who condemn, and in those who uphold, the established order of society ; that human society cannot adopt any form we please, but must, if it is to subsist, follow certain rules, accept certain principles, and find room and place for all sorts and conditions of men. In following a theory the socialist may forget human nature. Experience tells me that the socialist often does forget human nature. I have said that socialism is, as a rule, really concerned with individual happiness. It might appear that certain socialists, more particularly State socialists, seem to regard the community in its corporate capacity as a kind of earthly providence, and to inculcate unquestioning service for the community as a supreme end of individual action. On the other hand, the majority of socialists seem to treat the community as a machine for obtaining the equalised well-being of individuals, for relieving them from the inequalities which are due to nature or circum- stance or chance, and for the prevention of the evils of individual self-seeking and individual competition. When certain socialists advocate the abolition of fixed boundaries between communities, the suppression of patriotic in- stincts and feelings, and the internationalisation of the EQUALITY OF INDIVIDUALS 321 interests of the workers, it is transparent that for them, at any rate, any community in its corporate action is a means to the ends of the individuals comprising man- kind. Socialism thus seems to speak with two voices. In the former case it advocates the subordination of the individual to the community ; in the latter case it desires the subordination of the community to its individual components. In either case it seeks to secure one result which is characteristic of most, if not of all, types of socialism — the equality of individuals relatively to one another. This is a necessary consequence, as it is the persistent claim of socialism that all individuals should be equal, not merely " before the law," but economically. By making the corporate will of the community alone supreme in power and authority over individuals, it abolishes at a stroke the superiority of one individual over another, which unfettered competition between individuals not only permits but encourages. The hostility of socialism to the capitalist system, and the economic equality of all individuals, are merely two sides of the same general policy. The settle- ment of the conflict with capitalism or between individual interests in society is not left to the competitive struggle of individuals, either singly or in groups, but would be undertaken by and directed from the corporate will of the whole community as such, purporting to act impartially for the uniform interests of all individuals. It is this corporate will of the whole community as the governing force which distinguishes socialistic action from trade union action, and from co-operative action, as also from State action in the ordinary traditional sense. A trade union may or may not be socialistic in its policy : but neither in principle nor in facts can socialism be identified with trade unionism. A trade union is a form of combination of individuals within a community for the special interest of the workmen in a particular trade or group of trades : it does not cover all the individuals even in the trade (for it excludes the employers) ; it does not embrace all the interests of all individuals in the com- munity ; and it exercises its functions by the sanction of and within the larger life of the community. It has been recognised that, while trade unions might prepare the way for and could promote socialistic action, they are 322 SOCIALISM not in a position to carry through a programme which covers the whole hfe of society. Similarly the operation of co-operative societies is distinct from socialism. They concern particular individuals within a community associated voluntarily for mutual benefit ; they have due regard to the varjdng interests and claims of each individual ; are subject to dissolution at the desire of an effective majority ; and require the sanction of the community for their operations. The only point of resemblance between socialism and co-operative associations is that both seek to secure a common simultaneous advan- tage for all individuals within the organisation by the distribution of the entire product of this joint effort among the producers. In other respects there is hardly any resemblance ; for example, a community is not a voluntary association, it requires no superior sanction for its action, and most socialistic theories would not allow " proportion- ate " participation, but would require " equal " participa- tion in the product. Socialism, again, is clearly distinguishable from State action in the ordinary sense. Every State takes some care of its component individuals, and decides between the conflicting interests of individuals in certain defined cases, and must do so for the sake of the order and unity of the community. But socialism holds that the community in its corporate capacity must directly impress its will upon individual interests, so as to secure that no individual shall pursue his advantage at the expense of that of others, that communal action shall take the place of competitive action between individuals, and that the economic resources of the community shall be managed on behalf of the common interest of all, be jointly produced by all, and be distributed on the principle of equality to all. It may be safely said that no historical State has acted on such a principle, and the action of the State on behalf of individuals, however closely allied in effect to certain aims of socialism, as in the cases of State education. State insurance, State inspection, etc., cannot, therefore, be compared with, and has never been accepted by socialists as equivalent to, the position of socialism. The above remarks tend to indicate the difference be- tween socialism on the one hand and the actions of trade unions, co-operative societies, and the ordinary State. COMMUNISM 823 The difference of socialism from communism and anarchism is much less ; in fact, all three are closely connected. The connection between socialism and communism is, indeed, so close that the terms are often used interchangeably both in ordinary speech and by writers on socialism. But there is an important difference. Socialism is concerned mainly with the economic, and secondarily with social and political inequalities between individuals — inequalities of opportunity, inequalities of station inherited or acquired, inequalities of natural endowments, inequalities of political power, inequalities of economic reward for labour. It seeks through the corporate action of the community to control all the powers and resources of society in such man- ner as to diminish or abolish all these inequalities, and in particular so to communise or nationalise all the industrial enterprises of the community as to produce in effect an equality of income or economic reward for all individuals. In a word, socialism seeks, by the agency of the community as a whole, to substitute unqualified individual equality for unqualified individual liberty, and to establish this principle of equality by a thoroughgoing system of communal control. It therefore shows no hostility to private property, provided this property, both in amount and kind, is regulated by the corporate will of the community. Strictly speaking, no doubt, it insists that there is only one proprietor — the community in its corporate capacity ; but by demanding that the entire wealth of the community shall be distributed equally amongst or shared equally by its component members, it tries to do justice to the fact and the need of private property. Communism, on the other hand, is actively hostile to private property, and is less interested in the distribution of public property to individuals for their private use than in the abolition of private property altogether. Doubtless the abolition of private property cannot be carried out without the abolition of other elements of the present economic regime : for example, property is bound up with contract. But the disappearance of other elements would be consequential on the abolition of private property. It is held that private property is the root evil, and the source of all or most of the inequalities with which socialism is concerned. Moreover, if it were abolished, there would be less need for the exercise of those powers vested by 324 SOCIALISM socialism in the corporate will of the community. Com- munism, therefore, presents two possible attitudes to the corporate action of the community : when private property is abolished, either all property would be held and used by all in common, the community deciding and distributing according to need, immediate or remote ; or there is no property in any sense at all, and each takes as he wants and what he wants without supervision : in other words, there is no corporate action on the part of the community required. The first comes very close to socialism in certain forms ; hence it is true to say that, while a socialist may be a communist, a communist is not necessarily a socialist. On the other hand, the second attitude comes very near to anarchism. The difference between socialism and communism re- garding the right to private property is thus one of principle. They doubtless may be said to agree that the individual shall be deprived of the unrestricted right to private property. But communism denies the individual's right to private property absolutely. Socialism admits a limited right to private property, subject to the collective will of the community. While socialism and communism, again, agree that the final authority in determining the individual's sphere of action and his share in the common good lies with the corporate will of the community, they differ in their con- ception of the kind of community which shall exercise this supreme authority. Socialism invariably understands by the community the whole body of a nation or a state, the community in its widest sense. Hence Socialism has been and is generally identified with social democracy in the political meaning of that term. Communism is not thus restricted. A communistic body may be large or small : it may be a state or a village commune, or even an artificially created combination of individuals acting communistically. Its attitude towards any large type of community like the State is suspicious and distrustful, or openly hostile, mainly because the larger the community, the more is the individual's interest beyond direct control. The last remark leads up to the anarchist conception of society. This seems at first glance quite alien in principle to either socialism or communism, for both the latter accept as final the authority of a common will, whereas anarchism ANARCHISM 325 appears to deny all such authority, or indeed authority of any kind. But such a view is merely a surface view of anarchism, a view which possibly gains much support from the methods of openly violent hostility to any govern- ment which have from time to time been adopted by par- ticular individuals claiming to be anarchists. There is no necessary connection between open violence and anarchism. Anarchism, as the term implies, means the rejection in principle of all right to rule or control over the individual by an agency alien to himself or not having his free assent to the exercise of such control. Just as socialism and com- munism lay emphasis solely or mainly on the principle of individual equality in the abstract sense of sameness of rights or privileges in a community, so anarchy lays exclusive emphasis on the principle of individual liberty. But as in the former case the maintenance of individual equality is held to be not at all inconsistent with the existence of a community, so in the case of anarchism the insistence on individual liberty is held to be quite consistent with a common social life. There is indeed a still closer connection between these three views. In the case of both socialism and communism, the corporate will of the community is brought into action primarily in the interest of the indi- vidual, to redress the present inequalities as between individuals and to give equality of status to all. Anarchism carries this concern for the individual to its utmost limit : it takes the individual's interest to be paramount even over any authority exerted by the community. Anarchism will allow no interference with individual liberty of any sort, and maintains that where the individual's welfare is concerned, the individual is the best and the final judge. The negative aspect of anarchism, which denies the right of interference with the individual by any alien authority, is only one side of the doctrine. The positive side rests on what may be called an optimistic assumption of the in- herent goodness of human nature. Anarchism maintains that individuals, left to themselves, will form communities based on mutual interests, mutual co-operation, or mutual affection. In other words, such communities would exist or be permitted under anarchism as the individuals freely establish for their specific individual benefit, and no others would be required. All the ills of society are held to arise from the force brought to bear on individuals by the 326 SOCIALISM organised agencies of government. Such organised agencies of force are as artificial as they are harmful. They create evils in their endeavour to prevent evil. A community is but a means to an end more important than the com- munity. The real end of government, it is maintained, is self-government, and the true form of self-government is one where the individual feels no constraint on his action for his own good other than his own will. Self-government at its best reduces to a minimum the pressure of govern- mental action on the individual ; the extreme limit is reached where there is no pressure exerted by government. Such a limit is found where no government exists ; and this is the ideal form of community which anarchism defends and inculcates. In short, anarchism carefully distinguishes, whereas historically existing communities always combine or even identify, authoritative government and the community. The latter anarchism accepts as natural ; the former anarchism rejects as artificial and unnecessary. The compulsion which anarchism resents and resists in the case of government is only one type of force — the most prominent, and therefore the most to be opposed. But any type of organised constraint of the individual's liberty is rejected. Thus individuals shall not be constrained to work except at what they like or when they like, or, indeed, shall not be constrained to work at all ; all imposed systems of ideas or institutions are to be set aside as illegitimate. Since educational and ecclesiastical institutions exist for the purpose of inculcating or impressing certain ideas on the minds of individuals, they are considered hostile to the individual's liberty. The resentment against authority even passes the bounds of the present world, and the anarchist frankly announces that God has no more authority over the individual than the State, and openly proclaims that anarchism must mean atheism. The three most influential forms of socialistic doctrines at the present time in this country are those advocated by the Marxian Socialists, by Syndicalism, and by Guild Socialism. A brief account of these may not be out of place. They are important subjects for the consideration of men and women, owing to the notoriety which various phases of them are wont from time to time to achieve. CHAPTER XXXII MARXISM — SYNDICALISM — GUILD SOCIALISM The theories covered by the terms of Marxism, Syndi- calism, and Guild Socialism have much in common, in spite of their differences. They make or have made a strong appeal to the labour world on the same general grounds ; for their purpose in each case is first to act as a solvent of the present industrial system, and, secondly, to guide society towards a new industrial order. All three make an attack on capitalism as currently in operation. All are hostile to the political and social conditions which tolerate and support the traditional economic regime of free industrial competition, the subordination of labour in industry, and the accepted "wages system." All are in favour of the transformation, if necessary the exploitation, of industry in the interests of the workers. They are all hostile to bourgeois supremacy. Apart from details, they differ in three essential respects : (1) in their view of the State and its relation to Labour ; (2) in their methods of securing their ends ; (3) in their specific interest in the economic situation. (1) Marxism is a thoroughgoing State socialism. It accepts the State as the necessary instrument for securing social and economic justice. Its function is so to control the instruments of production as at once to destroy capitalism and the capitalistic control of industry, and to give the worker unrestricted enjoyment of the whole product of his labour as his rightful reward. Syndicalism is hostile to the State, distrusts and resists the interference of all political government in industry, and will have nothing to do with socialism in any accepted sense, least of all with State socialism, which it regards as bourgeois control in another form. Guild socialism would separate off completely th§ ?2 327 ^ ' " 328 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM functions and operations of the State from all that speci- fically belongs to industry. It would make industrial or- ganisation in its comprehensive sense a self-contained whole, governing itself by its own regulations and assemblies, and uncontrolled by any interference or, apparently, any assistance from the State. The State is to form a distinct organisation by itself, equally self-governing, and equally independent in its action and procedure from the organis- ation of industry. These two organisations are to exist side by side within the community, each having sovereignty in its own domain, while the unity of the community's life as a whole is to be represented by and expressed through a congress or council whose business it will be to deal with matters affecting equally the above two primary and fundamental organisations into which the effective life of the community actually falls. (2) The method adopted by Marxism for securing the transformation of the present industrial regime is twofold. By a thoroughly critical analysis of the nature of Capital and its relation to Labour, Marx seeks to expose the injustice of the capitalist system, and to prove that in principle and in experience the real source of wealth is derived from the labour of the " working class." From this to the practical conclusion that the reward of labour should fall to the worker and not to the capitalist, the step is easy. The claim of socialism he thus maintains is scientifically de- monstrable. The second aspect of his method consists in the inculcation of the gradual and complete organisation of the proletariat, so that they shall be able to take supreme control over the instruments of production by the cen- tralised forces of the State. The process of assuming control is not that of sudden revolution, but gradual development of the principles inherent in the economic order, which, in his view, point to the socialistic industrial State as the final goal of human society. Syndicalism, on the other hand, seeks to realise its end catastrophically, without any appeal to or reliance on history and scientific economics, and without any State assistance. Their instruments of transformation are " direct action" and the "general strike," or, where the general strike is impracticable, sporadic and incessant strikes. Syndicalism relies on violence, using this term in a broad sense to cover any attack on the capitalist class, COMPARISON OF THREE THEORIES 329 from petty passive obstruction to widespread destruction. For this purpose it makes the utmost use of local and national trade unionism. Guild Socialism looks to propaganda and the gradual de- velopment of complete organisation of the whole industrial world to bring about peacefully but triumphantly the overthrow of the present industrial system. Organisation is to be by industry and not by craft or specialised trade, and the natxiral interlocking of industries is to be the effective means of securing and retaining possession and control of the sources, the resources, and the rewards of industry. The past and present development of trade unionism points the way to the final self-government in industry which is the aim of Guild Socialism. This will automatically separate the sphere of State control on the part of the territorial association from the control of all industry by those directly engaged in industry within the community. (3) Marxism as a form of collective or State socialism concentrates the problem of industrial transformation round the interests of the consumer. Its main concern is with the question of consumption, the ultimate issue of the industrial process. Society is to be changed and re- organised for the benefit of the consumer of the produce of industry. Hence trade unions must be superseded and State socialism installed. Syndicalism is primarily, indeed solely, concerned with the producer, the worker as the agent for producing wealth. Hence trade unionism is to be supreme and the State set aside. Guild Socialism lays exclusive stress neither on the consumer nor on the producer, but seeks to do justice to both. It is, therefore, opposed neither to the State as such nor to the trade unions as such. The consumer's interests are relegated to the care of the State as the supreme territorial association. The producer's interests as such are to be under the sole charge of the National Guild, the natural development of national trade unionism. By the two together, the State and the National Guild acting in complete and sovereign independence within their re- spective domains, the entire interests of the community — consumers and producers alike — will be conserved and secured. 330 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM While these three forms of social and political theory have exerted, and still exert, great influence on the labour world, the influence is not of the same kind. The significance of Marxism lies mainly in the region of political and economic theory ; its practical influence was possibly greater in the past generation than it is at present. Syndicalism directly controls large industrial movements at the present time. The era of Guild Socialism has still to come ; its hopes are fixed in the future. The first professes to have its roots in the past history of civilisation ; the second finds its inspiration in the present stage of industrial life ; the third in the community that is to be. Marxism The most vital and, for the labour world, the most effective doctrines of Marx are to be found in the vigorous and trenchant statement of the socialistic programme contained in his Communist Manifesto, first promulgated in 1848 ; and in the severely abstract quasi-scientific analysis of the relations of Labour and Capital elaborated in his work on Capital, the first volume of which appeared in 1867, the second in 1885, the third in 1894.^ The Communist Manifesto is a pronunciamento addressed to the proletariat. Holding as he does that the course of human history is necessitated and that civilisation must be interpreted materialistically, he maintains that the inevitable trend of modern social movements has been and is towards a revolutionary reconstruction of society. The first revolution was that of the bom-geoisie against mediaeval feudalism ; the second, still to come, is to be that of the wage-earning proletariat against the capitalist bourgeoisie. Liberation from the bondage of feudalism was brought about by an inevitable struggle between two divergent classes within the community ; another class war will be necessary, and will continue till the liberation or supremacy of the wage-earners is assured. This second war has been brought about by the bourgeoisie as a class. The modern factory system has at once created the power of Capital over Labour, and divided the employing class from the workers by 1 Marx died in 1883. The second and third volumes were edited and brought out by his friend, EngelB. THE ONE SOCIETY 881 the gulf which separates those who for their own ends can buy labour at a market price, and those whose sole function in industry is to be a means to the ends of others for a price which is a bare subsistence wage. The interests, aims, and persons of the two classes are thus in their natures antagonistic ; the employer despotically controls the whole machinery of industry primarily for his own benefit, the worker is but a living part of the machinery, and, in all except name, a slave to a system which he abhors in his heart. The antagonism is bound in time to take shape, and it begins as soon as the wage-earners can unite as a class sufficiently large and cohesive to make a stand against the capitalists. The sole power which the workers can exercise is by combination in their own interests, first for purely economic reasons, and secondly to secure by political means their proper economic status. The proletariat are without property ; they can only be supreme if they assail the foundations of all existing forms and conditions of appro- priation. " They have nothing of their own to secure and fortify : their mission is to destroy all previous securities for and insurances of individual property." " The theory of the communists may be summed up in the single sentence — abolition of private property." For this purpose they must obtain supreme political power. The battle for democracy, if won, means the supremacy of the proleta- riat ; for this will mean that all the instruments of pro- duction will be in the hands of the State as the organised body of the workers. Such a State will not be the State as it has hitherto existed, but it will be a State in the sense of a sovereign power in the community, exercising its will over all its members without division or distinction of class. The movement is not to be and cannot be confined to a particular State. The interests of all proletarians in every community are identical. The supremacy of economic democracy must mean the disappearance of present state boundaries and interstate conflicts. Socialistic democracy is thus international, not only in the sense that it is the same for all nations, but also in the sense that in the long-run there is but one society — the great society of the pro- letarian workers. With the establishment of such a society all the institutions which at present make up national States — their peculiar laws, ecclesiastical and 332 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM educational institutions, etc., — will forthwith disappear as being buttresses of the old regime and essentially alien to the progress of social democracy. Marx concludes his manifesto with the words, " Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution"; and to the proletarians he says, " They have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of all countries, unite 1 " The work entitled Capital may be regarded as an attempt to justify, in the sphere of scientific theory, the revolutionary social democracy which he considers to be at once historically inevitable and the deliberate aim of the wage-earners as a class. It is doubtless paradoxical to maintain, on the one hand, that a social movement is in fact a necessity which, being mechanically determined, will come about whether it is desired or not, and, on the other hand, to advance scientific reasons why the end should be sought. Men cannot help themselves if they are borne on the tide of destiny, and therefore need no assistance from scientific arguments ; if the change does require, for its initiation or for its success, scientific arguments, it cannot be inevitable. A movement which is necessary may be explained by science, but it cannot be promoted by scientific reasons or retarded for the lack of them. In estimating the con- sistency of Marx's position, this point is important. His doctrine throughout is a blend of revolutionary propaganda, enthusiasm for downtrodden humanity, a materialistic conception of human history, and abstract economic theory. It is needless to say that the assumptions and principles governing these various aspects of his position are radically inconsistent. It is not easy to state precisely what is the real aim of Marx's book on Capital, and quite impossible to condense his whole argument, which covers an immense field and is, at least in expression, highly abstract and formal. Not only his critics, but his sympathetic exponents, are at variance regarding the object of his analysis. But there can be no doubt that one essential purpose of the treatise is to provide a defence of revolutionary socialism by a scientific, or quasi-scientific, proof that, in the production of wealth in the economic sense. Labour is primary and Capital secondary. Labour is the essence and Capital a super- fluity, Labour is the only necessary and enduring substance, MARX'S BOOK and Capital a transitory historical accident.' It is this part of his doctrine which has attracted the labour world and given his theory so much influence on labour politics. No statement has become more familiar in labour circles in recent years than the proposition that " labour is the basis of all wealth." However understood or misunderstood as a Marxist doctrine, it is to Marx that it is primarily to be traced. If we ignore the highly technical language in which Marx pursues his arguments, his main contentions may be em- bodied in the following propositions. From the point of view of economics, the only value which commodities possess is that which they obtain by the exchange of one commodity for another. In the last resort this " exchange- value " of commodities depends not on the quality of the commodities themselves, but on what is common to the commodities exchanged, viz. the labour involved in their production. Since in the process of ex- change we take no account of the nature of the workman or the kind of work he does, the labour which is the basis of exchange is simply labour as such, labour in the abstract. Abstract labour cannot be estimated qualitatively, for it is the same throughout ; it can therefore only be estimated quantitatively, in terms of its amount. This amount is calculated by reference to the time taken to produce the commodity, and by the "time" is meant the "socially necessary " time or average time required to produce a commodity under average conditions by a labourer of average ability. Since the sole value of commodities, economically speaking, thus lies in the labour " congealed" within the commodities exchanged, it is transparent that the source of the worth of commodities, i.e. the source of all " wealth," lies in labour. How, then, does a person who is not a labourer, i.e. a capitalist, become possessed of wealth ? * His argiiment is thus rather a thesis which he set out to establish than a conclusion arrived at as the result of an impartial examination of all relevant historical facts. The Manifesto above referred to preceded his work on Capital, and may fairly be said to govern the direction of his thought in that work. What was a practical demand in the Manifesto was taken for granted as a fundamental assumption in his theory, viz. that Capitalism must be dethroned and Labour placed in its rightful position as the supreme power in industry. This assumption he tries in his theory to transform into the language of scientific principle. This can only be done either by a petiiio principii or by ignoring certain important elements in the economic situation. Hence the later contradiction of his theory which he himself admits and which has never been removed. 334 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM This can only be by intercepting a part of the total exchange value of the commodities and appropriating it to his own use. But how is this done ? The answer is that under the present wages system the labourer is paid for his work a wage determined solely by reference to his needs of subsistence, and not by reference to what the commodity he produces will bring when exchanged for other commo- dities. The difference between the price paid for the amount of labour put into the production of a commodity (including in this amount, of course, the labour " congealed" in the machinery or plant and in the " raw" material, etc.) and the amount of labour represented by the commodity for which the former commodity • is exchanged goes to the capitalist as his share of the undertaking. It is part of the " value," but a part not acquired by the actual labour of production. It is " surplus value," and it is obtained at the expense of, or in other words by deduction from, the true or total exchange value of the commodity produced by the labourer. " All surplus value is in substance the embodiment of unpaid working-time." It is, therefore, a form of legalised or customarily permitted spoliation. Marx elaborates his main thesis in great detail and with the utmost use of dialectical subtlety. He supports it by a skilful if arbitrary selection of historical illustrations ; and by abundant denunciation of the abuses under which the labourers suffer from the present industrial regime and the present wages system. But the main doctrine is the point which is now being considered. It may be remarked that the term " surplus value " is not fortunate. The term would imply value not derived from the actual exchange, but in excess of the exchange, whereas there can be no value except through exchange. What it means is "surplus" with reference to what the labourer actually receives by the exchange, i.e. a value not strictly expressed in terms of mere laboiu-. The purpose of using such a term is obviously to convey that the capitalist's share is illegiti- mate and unnecessary, and this is undoubtedly the sense in which the term has been adopted by those who applied the Marxian theory to practical labour problems. The purely theoretical and highly abstract character of his argument are apparent even from the above outline, 1 The exchange takes place generally through the medium of money — but this is irielevant to the issue. ELEMENTS OF EXCHANGE VALUES 885 and have often been exposed by his critics. It is plain, for example, that there is really no such thing as " abstract human labour " ; the only labour that has any significance is that of individual workers. Even if there were such a fact, it could not be calculated ; and even if it could be calculated, it could not form the basis for exchange. He states that it is the identity of the quantity of labour in two commodities which explains and makes possible the exchange, but if this were really the case there would be no exchange. People do not exchange on a basis of identity, but because of the difference of the commodities exchanged. If each already has what the other possesses, there is no need for exchanging at all. It is because each lacks and wants what the other possesses that exchange is possible. In a word, Marx confuses exchange with equivalence, and hence ignores the many other factors which bring about the transaction of an exchange. How, again, are we to estimate "socially necessary time" ? And what is the time taken by "an average worker " engaged in the production of a commodity ? Even if the quantity of time in this sense could be discovered, it is bound to vary from country to country, from locality to locality, and from decade to decade. Yet such variation may not in the least affect the actual quantity of com- modities exchanged. It is equally clear that exchange value is not in actual experience effected on the basis which Marx states. Other factors are involved and are of essential importance. Marx himself was constrained to admit this point when considering the relation of his theory of value to actual rate of profit on capital. On his theory, commodities always sold according to their values (i.e. exchange values), and profits vary not only with the capital (constant and variable), but with the special composition of the capital in each case. In actual fact, equal amounts of capital tend, through competition, to yield the same average rate of profit, regardless of the special "composition" of the capital (i.e. the proportion of constant to variable). His theory of value is thus admittedly " irreconcilable with the actual movement of things, irreconcilable with the actual pheno- mena of production." And no solution of this contradiction was supplied by Marx or by his followers.' Hence, either • See Bohm-Bawerk : Karl Marx and the Close of'hia System. 336 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM his theory of exchange value is unsound or, if it be true, it has not yet been proved. In the face of such an alter- native, it is certainly not possible to attach importance to his conception of " surplus value," or to suppose that the fortress of capitalism has been undermined by his analysis. It is remarkable that the significance of the operation of the elementary and universal economic factor of competi- tion should have been overlooked by Marx in determining his fundamental economic conception. In spite of this, his theory has exerted, and will doubtless continue to exert, much influence in labour circles, where consistency of reasoning is of less importance than practical tendencies and practical issues. Marx has much to say regarding the ways in which capital has been accumulated historically, the wages system, the effect of machinery on wages, and of the factory system on the workers. But with these it is not practicable to deal in this space. Syndicalism Syndicalism ' is in important respects a reaction against Marxism and the social democratic State which Marx sought to defend and establish. The reaction may perhaps best be expressed by saying that, whereas Marx sought to utilise the trade union movement to bring in the social democratic State, to sacrifice the independence of trade unions and the forces of trade unionism to the coUectivist community. Syndicalism seeks at all cost to maintain not only unimpaired but in increasing strength the economic forces of trade unionism, and if possible to overthrow the State (whether the traditional or the coUectivist State), in order to secure this supremacy of trade unionism in the community. Syndicalism claims to be revolutionary in its aims, and indeed, if we regard historical society as a relatively continuous constitutional order of mankind, there can be no doubt that the overthrow of society in this sense, which is the object of Syndicalism, must mean revolution. Syndicalism will have no superior force exerted over the individual worker by a central authority, whether that P ' The exposition and main defence of Syndicalism will be found in the volume by Oeorge Sorel, Biflexione aur la Violence. THE USES OF VIOLENCE 887 authority be exercised by an oligarchy of the bourgeoisie, by Parhament, or even by the collective proletariat. Hence Syndicalism is opposed to the mere " change of masters " which coUectivistic socialism of the proletariat would establish. " It cannot conceive why a revolution, even as far-reaching as that involved in the suppression of capitalism, should be attempted for a trifling and doubtful result, for the change of masters, to satisfy ' ideologues,' politicians, and speculators, who all of them adore and exploit the State." ' This is merely substituting the power of the proletariat for the bourgeoisie which it overthrows. Syndicalism does not, in fact, believe in the exercise of force in the proper sense at all. By force it understands the imposition, by a governing minority, of the organisation of a certain social order. Instead of force Syndicalism advocates " violence," and violence con- sists in " acts of revolt " (not in " acts of authority"), and the object of violence is to destroy any such order and any such " acts of authority " imposed by the governing body. Syndicalism claims that the course of history justifies the exercise of violence, and that, in fact, it is the proper outcome of the socialistic movement properly understood. Violence is the form assumed by the class war, the war of workers and employers who have nothing in common but their mutual hostility. The various forms of violence " can have value historically only as the brutal and frank ex- pression of the class war." It is not a struggle within any particular community : it transcends the boundaries of states and nations, for the division of classes is universal and common to all States as at present constituted. The employer is an adversary wherever found, and with such an adversary it is only possible to have dealings after a war, " There is no more a social duty than there is an inter- national duty."^ How, then, are the workers to be in a position to carry on the class war ? and by what method is it to be maintained ? The rallying centre for the worker is his trade union (syndicai),^ and the complete co-ordination of trade unions is the sole condition of maintaining effectively the battle with the employer. With State assistance or Parliamen- tary " constitutional " procedure the syndicalist will have ' Sorel, Sur la Violence, p. 266. " Ibid., p. 89. ' Syndieat means primarily a local union. 338 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM nothing to do. These are mere subterfuges or bourgeoisie ways of allaying the strife of conciliation. The business of the syndicalist is not to allay but to keep up the struggle, until he is completely victorious against all opposition. Violence has its own justification, and requires no assistance or support from morality or any established institution. It is almost an end in itself, so far at least as trade unionism is concernfej^. At any rate, it can only terminate when the employing class have capitulated and the " wages system" has disappeared. Trade unions must be federated or organised to the utmost extent possible in order to carry on the struggle success- fully. This organisation is brought about in different ways in different countries. In France the unit and the vital centre of the syndicalist is the local (and mainly craft) union ; the " general confederation of labour " (the C.G.T., as it is commonly called) is now the national organisation of all unions, but its operations are limited by the relative but effective autonomy maintained by the local union. ' In America, Syndicalism is the policy of the Industrial Workers of the World (the I.W.W.), whose organisation rests on industrial unionism, not craft unionism (which is the basis of the American Federation of Labour). It is in those two countries that Syndicalism has its strongest hold, and of the two the methods of violence have been more terrible and more thoroughgoing in America than in France. For the attainment of its goal Syndicalism has no belief in theory or argument, arbitration or conciliation. These are palliatives or anodynes, not radical cures for an evil situation which has to be rooted out. Its method is action, immediate and " direct," going straight at the destruction of the citadel of the enemy. That enemy is the capitalist regime which is buttressed by the present organisation of the State. Direct action is, therefore, necessarily political action, i.e. not action by political methods, but action which seeks to overthrow political authority in matters affecting industry and the producers of wealth. Strictly speaking, it would be better to describe direct action as anti-political action ; it is action by the industrial workers for their own ends, which are not political but purely economic. It is not reformist, but revolutionary; 1 The history of this movement will be found in Cole, World of Labour, chap. iii. THE COUNTRY OF THE WORKERS 339 not evolutionary, but catastrophic. The methods of political socialism retard and endanger the ultimate triumph of the workers. Even anarchist politics are rather a hind- rance than a help, just because, being " politics,' ' anarchism is occupied with political issues and Parliamentary action of a kind, and to that extent neglects the main object of Syndicalism, which is the organisation of the class war to be carried on solely by and in the interests of the trade union (syndicat). Syndicalism seeks simply to subordinate all unproductive social functions to the productive (i.e. industrial workers). It is, therefore, not in the least concerned with any existing party in the State, and is not concerned to form another party within the State ; in a word, it will have nothing to do with the State at all.' " Sjmdicalism recognises neither the elector of any party nor the believer in any religious or philosophical faith." It is for the same reason anti-militarist and anti-patriotic. It has no country, for " country " and " property " are inseparable. " The country of the workers is their own and their family's stomach. The country of the workers is their own class." Action, direct action, anti-political action, is the only sure method of the workers for securing their end. The end is twofold — to give due or complete power to the workers as a class, and to improve the lot of the workers as a class. It aims, therefore, at something more than reform and more than mere revolution. Reform alone would leave us with a mere democracy, revolution alone would be of no ultimate advantage to the workers. Direct action, then, is the method. It educates the workers in class-consciousness, and it brings about the destruction of capitalism. Its supreme expression is the general strike, a simultaneous strike of all workers, nation- ally and internationally. It is true the general strike cannot be at once effected ; it is a step to be taken " some day." But it is the supreme type and form of all strikes. Each particular or sectional strike is a step or instance of what can be done by the general strike ; it helps to teach the workers the power of their class ; for each strike is in a measure " general," and it trains them to effectuate the " social general strike " when this can be carried out. In every strike the great social revolution is foreshadowed and anticipated. ^ In that sense it has a certain affinity with anarchism, 340 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM In practice direct action and the theory of the general strike take various forms, from mere passive desistance (" the strike with folded arms ") to open and widespread violence. Many syndicalists advocate sabotage, a general expression which covers the use of any and every weapon to combat and overthrow capitalists. Any agreements may be broken, and moral considerations are of no importance : they are bourgeois rules of procedure, and do not concern the workers who are seeking to introduce a new moral code. Sabotage appears in the policy of " ca' canny," making an art of a craft without regard to the time and money of the master ; carrying out regulations so literally as to produce a stoppage ; petty irritations ; the boycott ; and at its worst wholesale wrecking of machinery. Sabotage is, however, not encouraged by all syndicalists ; for Syndi- calism seeks to make the worker fit to control industry, and that means the exercise of self-control. Syndicalists have not yet developed either a complete or an unanimously accepted conception of what is to be done, and what form society is to take after violence has success- fully destroyed the master-class. They even differ amongst themselves regarding the need for such a scheme for the future. On certain points, however, the French syndicalists seem agreed. Property is not to belong to the particular union, but to the collective body of all unions ; the local union is to be the unit, not the industrial federation ; decentrali- sation is to be preferred to centralisation. But these are French developments, and do not necessarily appeal to sjmdicalists in other countries. Nor is it clear what is to happen to the State and the non-labouring part of the community when Syndicalism has done its work. Guild Socialism Guild Socialism, like Marxism and Sjoidicalism, equally considers that its doctrine is the true expression of the general evolution of the previous movement of history. With the establishment of guilds on a national basis, the struggle between classes will disappear, and with that " social classes." Guild Socialism may be regarded either as a compromise between the rival extrem(es of Collectivism and Syndicalism, TWO IJNUEFifiNDJKJST BODIES 841 or as a combination of the principles on which each of them lays stress. Collectivism stands for the sovereignty of the State as the whole body of consumers ; Syndicalism stands for the sovereignty of the whole body of producers, regardless of the State ; Guild Socialism stands for the indissoluble unity of the community as consisting of both consumers and producers. Consumers and producers form together the whole community, but each group has its separate interests in the community ; and these interests can be, and in principle should be, separately organised and managed. These separate organisations can and should have separate functions assigned to them. Between them they exhaust the whole life and operations of the community. The organisation of the community in the interests of the consumers constitutes the purpose and nature of the State : that of the producers in their own interests, the purpose and function of national industrial guilds. This is, in brief, the main contention of Guild Socialists. The State is essentially a territorial association ; and all forms of State management and control — the devolution of its authority, etc., through county and municipality, etc. — rest ultimately on a territorial basis. The Guild is an industrial association or association of industrials which is not limited to or by territorial conditions, but is determined by reference to the economic fact of production alone. Each is intended to be independent and supreme in its own domain, with separate legislative and executive powers, the one exercised through political and Parliamentary procedure, the other through the Guild Congress or Feder- ation of Guilds. When the true democratic State arrives (and without this Guild Socialism cannot exist) the two will be on a level of complete equality of powers and functions relatively to one another : for then production will be organised by " democratic associations of all workers in each industry linked up in a body representing all industries," and the consumers will be organised into a democratic State operating through national and local governments. In such an ideal situation the State would own the means of production, and the Guild could control the work of pro- duction. The two would be in equal partnership for the well-being of the whole community. The Guild, then, is an industrial organisation whose func- 342 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM tion is to control production and " the producer's side of exchange " in the interests of the producers, and has to manage all matters concerned in the life and work of the producers as such. It has nothing to do with political questions as political. On the other hand, the State is to concern itself with the needs and desires common to individuals as " consumers or users " of the product of industry. It must not interfere with or control production or producers. Guild and State must recognise each other and each other's functions. It is not enough that trade unions should be accepted as the channel for the expression of the views and demands of the workers. They must as an organised body have complete control over their work and lives as producers, and must be in a position to recognise the State on the same terms and in the same sense as the State recognises the Guild, x Trade Unionism as it is to-day must advance to the higher \tage of the greater unionism which the Guild stands for. Craft must no longer be separated from craft nor industry from industry. Industrial Union- ism in the form of the Guild means the linking-up of all industries in one association of labour, and must exercise self-government in its own sphere as complete as the self- government exercised by the State in its sphere. In such a situation alone can the two bargain on equal terms. But it is clear that there cannot be two self-governing authorities in the community absolutely sundered and never co-operating. Mutual recognition implies that they may differ : and the unity of the community's life implies that they have interests in common and require an instru- ment of mediation. The Guild must favour the right to withdraw labour and lower production ; the State will have to check unjust demands and profiteering producers. The mediating agency between the two is supplied by the joint Congress of Guilds and the State. It will be called in where matters affecting both are concerned, and where the whole -interests of the community are involved. No doubt in the last resort the fact that the two organisations are absolutely equal may give rise to a deadlock at the Joint Congress. But "it is almost impossible to imagine such a deadlock arising in an equalitarian society." The normal situation will be a balance of power between the industrial organisation ^nd the political organisation, each possessing LINK BETWEEN GUILD AND STATE 843 in its one domain complete legislative and executive authority, and both being in that sense equal. But there is to be another link between the Guild and the State besides the Joint Congress. The individual, the unit of the community, would have vested rights in boththe indus- trial and the political organisation, and in his fundamental capacity of a member of the community would have duties in both spheres. No individual is wholly and solely in the producer Guild or in the consumer State : everyone is in both. Every individual need not be a member of a Guild, " but he will be a member of some form of a productive association in the widest sense of the word," i.e. an associ- ation based on some form of " social service." ' Thus the individual is a connecting-bond between the two equal complementary organisations, and the division of social authority between these organisations " preserves the integrity of the individual." One would rather say " the division of social authority " demands the integrity of the individual in order to make such a division workable. Moreover, the only security for the freedom of the individual is the balance of power between those two equal authorities, which with extreme optimism are supposed not to arrive at a deadlock. The Guild, as the organisation of an industry in such a way as to give to the producers complete control of all that concerns their life and work as producers, is held to be the natural and necessary development of the trade union movement. Trade Unionism cannot be a mere appanage of industrial activity, a mere instrument for the carrying out of certain temporary ends, however important, such as increasing wages and improving working conditions. It cannot exist naerely on sufferance, and have its powers limited by the State, whether the socialistic State or any other. It must advance to its ultimate goal, which is to secure direct and entire control of the industry from top to bottom, on a national scale and in the workshop. It cannot atop short of the possession of legislative and executive authority in the sphere of industry, free from State inter- ference and equal in power with the State. That must be the direction and the aim of trade unionism in the future. National Guildism is to be the historical issue of the trade ^ See Cole, Self-government in Industry , p. 92. This distinction is neither clear nor convincing. 23 344 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM union movement, and thus Guildism will supersede coUec- tivistic socialism and quasi-anarchic Syndicalism. Guildism is the only real democratisation of industry and the State. It is the modern representative of the mediaeval guildism, with this great difference, that, whereas mediaeval guilds were associations, generally localised associations, of masters and men in a particular craft, Guildism is an organisation of workers or producers alone, the power of the master or capitalist being eliminated as an industrial superfluity. In modern guildism, therefore, the " slavery " of the present "wages system" will disappear, and, with that, poverty, which is but the symptom, not the cause, of the present slavery of the wage-earning producer class. Guilds will be many in number, but they will be unified in the National Congress of Guilds, with which supreme legislative and executive authority in industry will lie. Its authority will be exercised through decentralisation, not overcentralisation. At present the Guild theory is a hope and an aspiration. It has not yet secured the assent and approval of trade unionists, but trade unionism is to be educated into gradual acceptance of the Guild principle. Methods have been sketched, by which the members of the Guild are to be elected so as to secure at once the free- dom of each Guild from the workshops upwards, and the complete democratic government of the industry through the Guild Congress. There is at first sight an appearance of artificiality in the division of organisation between the Guild and the State. It seems, indeed, prima facie impracticable to have two such equal authorities within the one life of the community. But such a separation of powers is by no means without historical parallel. We may not inaptly compare the Guild proposal with the view which has been often advanced in Western Europe regarding the relations which should subsist between Church and State. It has been maintained that the community in its religious aspeot can and should form the single autonomous organisation of the Chiu-ch, and the community in its secular aspect should form the single and equally autonomous organisation of the State, the connecting-link between the two being the individuals who are members of both organisations. These two organisations are considered to have equally INCHOATE SOURCES OF CONFLICT 345 legislative and executive authority within their separate and independent spheres ; and both are held to subserve fundamental and necessary interests of the community. Guildism is an application of this principle within the domain of the secular life of the community. The State and the Guild stand to one another in the secular life of society as the Church and State do when they divide between them the religious and secular interests of the community. This parallel, however, does not remove the objection to the Guild theory, but tends to bring out the difficulties which lie in the principle of divided authority. The division of powers between Church and State has been the cause of endless conflict in Western Europe, and that conflict is not yet allayed. If it has not made for peace where the interests are so divergent as those of religion and secular life, there is still less chance of peace in a community when we try to make a sharp division within a community in a sphere where the interests concerned are inseparably connected. If the division between Church and State seems natural, that between producers and consumers is wholly arbitrary. Production is but a stage in a single process which is continuous with that of consumption, and cannot be cut off from it. Moreover, production in one industry is consumption in another, as in the relation of iron ore to the steel industry. Consumption cannot be limited to the case of food-supplies. Again, if producers are to form a separate self-governing body, why should not other classes in the community equally do so ? In a democratically constituted com- munity individuals may be distinguished as at once making laws and obeying laws. Are these aspects to form the basis of separate self-governing organisations ? Where are we to stop in the process of separating funda- mental interests in the community ? Moreover, it is impossible to separate the State and industry into self- governing organisations without creating endless sources of conflict. The authority of the State in a community is comprehensive, and concerns itself with the formulation and maintenance of all the rights of all the individuals. It is the supreme arbiter as between persons, single and corporate. The individual will come to regard the final authority in his life to be either the State or the indus- trial organisation. One will be subordinated to the other. 346 MARXISM— SYNDICALISM— GUILD SOCIALISM They cannot be equal when the Hberty of the individual life is at stake. So far from the balance of power between Guild and State securing the liberty of the individual, it will tend to imperil his liberty at every step. And who will deter- mine the individual's liberty in Guild or State ? Not the individual himself, but the organisation. In a word, the only guarantee that the Guild and the State under such a scheme would promote liberty would be if the individual's liberty were seciu-ed independently of both. Between the two both liberty and individuality could be crushed beyond recognition. There is, again, no final authority or power vested in the Joint Congress to have its decisions either ratified or carried out. A Joint Congress has by hypothesis no power of legislation and no executive authority. It is a mere addendum to the Guild scheme, although the exercise of its functions might in the last resort be the sole guarantee for the liberty of individuals in both organisations. These are but a few of the objections and difficulties in the way of this hypothetical reconstruction of the life of the community. CHAPTER XXXIII THE POSITION BEFORE THE WAE, 1913-14 The year 1914 opened darkly. The official report of the preceding year said : " The year 1913 was remarkable for the number of disputes which occurred during its course, far exceeding the number recorded in any previous year. Practically all the main groups of trade were affected by the increase in the number of the disputes, notably the building, metal, engineering and shipbuilding, and textile trades " ; and yet no single dispute involving more than 50,000 work- people occurred in 1913. A leading journal stated : " A welter of movements is going on within the world of labour, and the only thing certain about them is that they will find some outlet. Perhaps the most salient feature of this turmoil at the moment is the general spirit of revolt, not only against employers of all kinds, but also against leaders and majorities, and Parliamentary or any kind of constitutional and orderly action. . . . There is sporadic action without any regular organisation or parade of principles." This summing up was, I think, fairly accurate. It was at least reflected in the work of my Department, at the close of 1913 and during the first six months of 1914. Day after day was taken up in travelling to all parts of Great Britain by my officers and myself to answer the numerous calls to preside at conferences, with a view to settlement of sporadic disputes. The coal-porters of London, the furniture-makers of High Wycombe, the London building trade, and the lace-makers of Ayrshire, were only instances of obstinate local disputes, taking up much time and care. In November 1913, at Bristol, I had endeavoured to 347 348 THE POSITION BEFORE THE WAR point out to members of the recently formed Cavendish Club some of the points in the position of affairs, which at the time occurred to me as being correct. I remarked : " There is a spirit abroad of unrest, of movement, a spirit and a desire of improvement, of alteration. We are in, perhaps, as quick an age of transition as there has been for many generations past. The causes of this are manifold. I am only going to indicate a few. One is that the school- master has been abroad in the land, and that, as education improves, the more a man wishes to get to a better and higher position. Another is that the competition in life increases, and must increase, year by year. . . . Again, every man, whatever the actual cost of his livelihood may be, if he has arrived at a particular standard of life, not only desires to improve it, but also would struggle hard before he would give it up. When you come to certain standards of wages and livelihood, and find that particular things that you particularly use rise greatly in price, it affects the amenities of life and the margin of life to such an extent that there is disenchantment and a desire to keep to the standard wliich may have been achieved. Then there is the spirit of movement throughout the world. We quicken day by day means of transport. You have your tramways, railways, motors, taxis, and fast ships ; and more and more a movement from place to place, and a movement that is taken advantage of by the people at large in increasing millions year by year. In addition to that you have in this country for some years past what I may call political equality. One man's vote is as good as another — sometimes better. If a man has got educated up to the view of considering himself politically equal to another man, he is far more anxious to achieve a greater amount of economic equality ; a desire to reach that economic equality must necessarily exist in his mind. Upon platform after platform there has been preached the doctrine of Imperial possessions and their importance, and men to whom these Imperial possessions have been given are not inclined to think they are nobody in the world. There is also a vast amount of going backwards and for- wards to dominions beyond the seas. Men come back from Canada and Australia, and come back imbued with ideas they find there ; and leaven the local feeling in particular UNDERSTANDING OR DIVISION 349 localities in this country. That, shortly, sums up some of the reasons why there is unrest, unrest that nobody can be surprised at, and which is bound to continue. Are men to remain in a backwater and do nothing, or to be cast out of the stream and remain as flotsam and jetsam on the bank ? If this unrest of every kind has to be taken ad- vantage of and properly directed, every man ought to put his hand to the helm and do what he can for the advantage of his country, the advantage of his fellow-countrymen, and see that the most economical force, the greatest advantage, should be got out of the movements which are existing. " The alternative of service by men like yourselves is an increased separation of the so-called classes, and increased want of understanding between man and man. Some men read newspapers that you never see, while you read news- papers that they never see. By newspapers, by magazines, by books, the workpeople are self -educating themselves far more than they ever did a score of years ago. There is the difference of the influence of class upon one side, and upon the other a feeling that education has been different, that there is no sympathy between person and person, that you are a set apart from them, and not of the same flesh and blood as they are ; that you are people whom they would like to overthrow, and of whom they are suspicious, while you stand aside not knowing of them, and enter not into their feelings. This view is fostered by theories of social changes largely imported from the Continent, but with the difference that the Englishman, while the Continent will often talk without translating the talk into actual and practical tests, is apt to prefer action to theory. At the present time there is not only an advisability, but almost a necessity, of campaigning for the better understanding of class and class. I have said we are in a period of transition ; it is a period in which the world is going very fast. That the present unrest will cease I do not believe for one moment ; it will increase, and probably increase with greater force. " Within a comparatively short time there may be movements in this country coming to a head of which recent events have been a small foreshadowing. There- fore it is no time for you to stand by and do little or nothing, and take no interest in these concerns. I do not 350 THE POSITION BEFORE THE WAR believe that any movements of the kind I have indicated can be stopped by force. What I do think is that they can be understood, and any harm to the community mitigated by a better understanding between person and person ; an understanding which young men and those who are coming forward as young men may be able to do much to assist. I do not wish to put forward any gloomy fore- bodings. Far from it. The world and its improvement are going on, and it is desirable that every man in the world should want to improve himself. The more education progresses, the more other factors progress, the more man desires improvement, and he will do his best to get it. But it would be well if he could do his best in the way that is of the greatest advantage to the community at large and himself in particular. As long years ago Sir Philip Sydney said : ' A man is on duty here, but knows not how or why and does not need to know. He knows not for what hire, and he must not ask. Somehow or other, though he does not know what goodness is, he must try to be good. Somehow or other, though he cannot tell what will do it, he must try to give happiness to others.' " From the description which I have endeavoured to give of actual strikes and lockouts, their course, and the issue arrived at, it may be gathered that the two principal causes of the disputes for the twelve years before the beginning of the War were either economic demands for better wages and conditions, or arose from the pressing for- ward of organisation too fast in the idea that organisation, however obtained, was necessary to obtain economic improvements. The workpeople wanted to " addle more brass," and no amount of philosophic discussion or philan- thropic sectional improvement could make up for the desire for more secure and better pay. The cost of living had either rapidly fluctuated or had gone up for prolonged periods at a time of increasing prosperity without quick resilience by the employing classes to the movements and the ensuing demands. In many cases there was complete ignorance that any change should advisably be made ; in other cases there was the contention that time fbr recovery from lean years was necessary ; in some cases an objection to pay out money which would otherwise come to the employers, or to give advances which other people had not CAUSES OF DISPUTES 351 given or might not be willing to give ; while in undertakings like the railways the argument of statutory restrictions and the impracticability of raising rates against competing lines and shipping, the merchants and manufacturers, or the public, was adduced. In addition, there was general lassitude upon the subject. In answer to this lack of quick resilience, the workpeople saw that organisation increased their power, and that unorganised trades could not hope to fight against employers who, with smaller numbers and larger resources, could combine more speedily. In their eagerness for organisation many trades, especially the miners, struck on the non-union question, which employers regarded as a question outside their scope of action and as one to be decided between workpeople ; or only within their scope of action if it was claimed that they were to be compelled to bring non-unionists into a union or not to be allowed to employ any suitable man offering himself for employment. In their eagerness, too, on the same principle, union fought union, while the employers had to suffer passively, in some instances at very heavy cost. These were the chief causes of strikes and lockouts. On the other hand, there was immense work being done by joint organisation of employers and employed ; conciliation boards increased continuously ; the conciliation work of the Board of Trade increased, particularly under Presidents who, like Mr. Buxton, aimed, as he himself said in November 1913, at keeping any question of conciliation out of politics, and as far as possible putting it upon a basis where there should not be Government interference from a political point of view, and where no suspicion of politics should attach to the Industrial Department. The number of disputes avoided or composed by these agencies was very large, and in comparison with the number of mistakes the number of successes was consider- able. Trade after trade was gradually being organised on bases of good relationship, so far as the leaders on both sides were concerned. A network of associated employers and of federated trade unions was spreading over the country. So far as the Government was concerned, Ministers were immersed in constitutional struggles. They had little or no labour policy. The Members of the Government were strangely outside and ignorant of the labour movements in the country ; or of any personal knowledge of the principal 352 THE POSITION BEFORE THE WAR labour leaders. The interference of politicians in labour disputes, much as many of them hankered to come in, was deleterious, and could be exposed far more strongly than I have mildly indicated. Their best Bill, the Trade Boards Act, was forced on them by a few enthusiasts and by Sir Charles Dilke. Their Labour Exchange Act I have already mentioned. The Trade Disputes Act was carried on grounds of political expediency and contrary to the express statements on certain clauses which the Attorney-General had made in the House of Commons. The Coal Mines Regulation (Eight Hours Act) of 1908 would never have got through if the Parliamentary representatives of labour in the House of Commons had been a negligible quantity. The Old Age Pensions Act and the Children's Act were long overdue. The National Insurance Act of 1911 was almost entirely due to the work of Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith. The Labour Party in the House of Commons, from 1906 onwards, was a force to be reckoned with, but they were not constructive. Their chief influence consisted in the desire which the Government had to bring in Bills which they would not oppose, or to carry on administration without being subjected to too many unpleasant questions. It might have been supposed that even under these conditions the proofs of gradual evolution would have appealed to the country at large and prevented useless disputes. There was a strong yearning for peace. The very praise given by the newspapers, in reflection of general opinion, to those striving to make peace and establish bases of future peace, indicated support of the principle of peace. The country was sick of strikes, but though in some senses it was tired, there were beneath the surface bubbles of excitement continuously forming and breaking out. The labour leaders who had got into Parliament lost touch with the rank and file in their own unions. Some of them were surprised at the outbreaks in the ports of the country. The fervour of organisation led to a desire to make use of the organisation. The collection of funds seemed to produce a purse whose contents should be dis- tributed. The more leisure an Eight-hour Act gave, the more education continuously poiu-ed out young men eager for advancement, so much the more time there was for meetings and for thought, the more recognition there was for GROWING EFFERVESCENCE 358 the conscious or subconscious knowledge that the paths of advancement were narrow, devious, and blocked. Sporadic disputes and " irritation " strikes were the order of the day. There was effervescence, and behind the effervescence there were movements growing, with demands for shorter working-hours, more pay and more power, both over in- dustry and in the government of the country. The young men were ready to move, and did move sporadically. They were also ready to move in support of any large movement, which, if they had realised it, their sporadic movements often endangered and hurt. They did not realise what their leaders knew or by experience slowly learned, that labour marches on its stomach, that large masses of men, particularly in unskilled trades, cannot support long stop- pages without privation, unless preparations have been made long before and with adequate foresight. Although the numerous small strikes seemed to be evi- dence that men were ready to cease work, workpeople in the more general sense seemed to have a growing feeling of that terrible danger to all workpeople, unemployment and its results. Memory recalled the slumps in the building trades, slackness of work at the docks, stagnation in shipbuilding and engineering. There may have been increase in savings, but the margin for saving in many trades was not sufficient to induce thrift. The atmosphere of thrift was not sufficiently widespread. The" amounts, where saving had been effected, were not sufficient to imply security. There was apparent a great growth of the policy of " ca' canny," and in some trades a dead set against piecework, fostered by the belief that the less work done the more employment there would be to go round, or by remembrance of piecework rates being cut if a man earned by his energy much more than his fellows. The margin of piecework rates over time rates was in many cases too small. Where the minimum rate was high and the margin too small, the tendency was to be satisfied with the mini- mum rate rather than to work much harder, possiWy at the cost of some physical efficiency, at the current piecework rates. In shops where the machinery or part of the machin- ery was out of date, men grumbled at rates which did not give them as much as other men with better machinery could speedily earn. Although there were many employers with vision, who consistently examined their stocks of machinery 354 THE POSITION BEFORE THE WAR and were continuously out for improvements and who thought of the welfare of their men in and out of the shops, and strove for good ventilation, cleanliness, amenities, and recreation, it cannot be said that the majority did more than comply with the bare necessities required by Factory Acts, or interested themselves much in extra amenities, the housing of their workpeople, or their social aims of all kinds. There were few who thought of business training of their foremen on lines that would interest them in the busi- ness, and make them in their turn better leaders or teachers of the men under them. The tendency to widen the gulf of classes was rapidly making headway on both sides. There was not enough human relationship between leaders of industry and the rank and file, particularly the young men. Coupled with zest for sport and amusement, and objection to any interference with time available for it, there was a strong and by no means unhealthy objection to overtime, though the objection was sometimes carried to extreme lengths. Where this occurred, there was irritation for the employer who, hampered by " ca' canny," could not get his proper or estimated production, could not fulfil his contracts, and found that his men were more and more unwilling, particularly if they belonged to unions with rigid rules, to give him assistance by overtime, even in instances of great stress. The difficulties were not due to one side only. Many employers were too fond of hand-to-mouth expedients, without careful thought of planning or of preparation, so that workers might have suitable conditions under which the best that was in them might have a chance of being brought out. If the heads of the firm followed such lines, the example surely spread through the whole firm, through the managers and the foremen, down to the workpeople. Friction, delay, muddle, only lead to waste, bad feeling, and slackness. I have already noticed the progress of self-education, by books, magazines, and newspapers. Some of them would speak of the power of the Labour Party in Parliament, and by the Trade Union Act of 1913, following upon the Osborne judgment, opportunity was given for subscriptions to be collected to finance elections and support Labour Members of Parliament, in addition to the assistance which payment GROWTH OF ORGANISATION 855 of Members by the State might afford. The sense of greater strength came, too, by the vast increase of member- ship in the unions specially dealing with the semi-skilled and unskilled workpeople, a result due partly to systematic organisation, partly to the requirement of the National Insurance Act that wage-earners should belong to an approved society. The Workers' Union alone had 111 branches in 1910, 567 in 1913, 750 in 1916, and 2,000 in 1920. At the same time small unions tended to unite, or to be affiliated to larger associations. Those larger associ- ations became more and more strict in insisting that all persons working in their industry should be members of trade unions. In the most powerful mining centres the federations aimed at the inclusion of all workpeople in the Miners' Federation, and the Miners' Federation only. The growing strength of the miners was proved by their power of enforcement of the Eight Hours Act in 1908, the improvements of the Mines Regulation Act in 1911, and the passing of the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act in 1912. Their intention of considering a triple alliance, miners, railwaymen, and transport workers, was strongly expressed by Mr. Smillie in December 1913. The young men were forcing the hands of the older leaders all over the country, especially in South Wales. They found leaders to their taste in the stern autocracy of Mr. Smillie and the advanced views of some of his chief lieutenants. Their strength was to be exhibited still further at a later date. The claims of Guild Socialism, Syndicalism, and Nationalisation were murmured from time to time, but did not seem within practical possibility so much as since the War, though nationalisation had for some years been regularly passed as a " hardy annual " at Trade Union Congresses. Neverthe- less the feeling and the preaching against capitalism grew daily, watered by plenty of literature and speeches to which no adequate answer was given. Capital offered in some disputes a passive resistance, but it made little sign of defence by argument or proof. It was not explained how the vast wealth of Great Britain had been built up by individual effort and energy ; nor why the system seemed to be failing in power to satisfy the needs of the time or to obtain better distribution of wealth. It seems to me that there was very great materialism, with few ideals of service or of anything else beyond materialism. CHAPTER XXXIV THE BEGINNING OF THE WAK The comparative placidity of the summer of 1914 seemed in a measure to be deceptive. It was known that the three years' agreement made in 1912 between the Engineering Employers' Association and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers was drawing to a close, and that claims were going to be advanced for shorter hours, increased wages, and improved conditions which might lead to great differences. Even if federated firms were prepared to make concessions, particularly with regard to hours, non- federated firms would certainly not take the same view with any unanimity. The mining industry was also preparing claims for the autumn. The transport industry had been steadily organising. Those unions, which were principally recruited from semi-skilled and unskilled workpeople, were adding daily to the numbers of their members. The cost of living appeared to be on the upward trend. There was a spirit of unrest which vaguely ex- pressed itself in an oft-heard phrase, "Wait till the autumn." I had decided to try for a long holiday, so as to get some rest before the strenuous time which promised to be forth- coming in the near future. At this juncture a curious dispute occurred. It must have been a cynical pleasure to those who took part in that meeting at Berlin on July 4, where it is said the decision was taken to give Austria a free hand in Serbia and to support her at all costs, when they heard that on that same day a deputation to the Chief Superintendent of the Ordnance Factories for the reinstatement of a dismissed workman at Woolwich Arsenal had failed, that tools had been thrown down, and that the whole Arsenal, two days later, was practically at a standstill. Prince Metternich had several times expressed a desire to hear opinions of labour difficulties at the house of a mutual friend, saying 366 WOOLWICH ARSENAL 857 that he had reported to his Government my views that the disputes so rife in 1911 and 1912 were economic in char- acter, were not anti-dynastic or anti-Governmental, and that the nation at heart was as sound as any nation had ever been. Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, the succeed- ing Ambassador, during his short term had tried to meet me twice without success, but one of his staff was deeply interested in the dockers' disputes. The next Ambassador, Prince Lichnowsky, did not mention the subject. This sudden outburst in Woolwich Arsenal itself, a Government Department, must have pleased those in Germany who may not have liked Ambassadors' reports contrary to their wishes, and to the theory that unity between Capital and Labour was impracticable in Great Britain. The Prime Minister sent for me about the dispute, and asked my view, agreeing to the suggestion of a court of inquiry of two employers, two leading labour representa- tives (Mr. Barnes and Mr. Clynes), with myself as chairman. A few days later, upon the appointment of the court, the men returned to work, which they had left without notice, and without representing their grievances through the proper channels. The strike was an attempt at direct action which had no sanction from the authorities of the trade union, but it presented some difficult features which it is unnecessary to give in detail. Suffice it to say a unanimous report, completed after several days of inquiry, was settled on Wednesday, July 29, but was not then pub- lished. That night I went to the country for a short rest, but by the last train a messenger arrived, with a letter saying the situation was grave, and I should return by the first train in the morning. On Tuesday, August 4, we were at war, and the situation had at once changed. At the beginning of August there were 100 disputes known to the Department to be in existence. At the end of the month there were twenty. The advantage of the principle of conciliation, and in a lesser degree of arbitra- tion, in trade disputes, the gradual work and the example of results during so many years, were in fact wonderfully vindicated at this time of crisis. Throughout the country, when war began, all the great organisations of employers and workpeople sank their domestic quarrels, and united in a concerted effort for the welfare and preservation of the nation. 358 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR The London building trade dispute and the threat of a national lockout closed by an agreement on certain points, and the reference of all remaining points to the National Conciliation Board for decision, with the suggestion made at the joint conference that all other disputes in the building trade ought to be settled as soon as possible ; the Marine Engineers' Union told their men to proclaim a truce by resuming work ; the electrical industry in London on both sides followed suit ; the shipbuilding and engineer- ing trades dropped their demands for an eight-hour day ; the ship-repairers laid aside disputes, and stated that their whole resources would be placed at the country's disposal ; the engineers and boilermakers withdrew their claims on the Great Western Railway ; the dock labourers and the General Labourers' Union took the same course with their employers. The Mersey Dock and Harbour dispute in Liverpool was settled after long conferences arranged by the Depart- ment. In the coal trade the trimmers and tippers inti- mated that they would work by the day or night ; the Scottish coalowners withdrew their demand for a reduction of wages ; in South Wales the Coal Conciliation Board had unanimously agreed that one hour extra work per day was to be given in all coal-pits producing coal for the navy, and a joint committee was established for the settlement of other disputes. Besides the general conciliation work by the great or- ganisations of the country and by the Department, and in addition to numerous arbitrations I was asked to take, with rapid journeys to Scotland and the North, an interest- ing feature of the first two months lay in the number of employers and of union leaders who called informally. Within a few hours of each other, and without each other's knowledge, representatives of both sides would come to request advice or intervention in disputes where a dead- lock or a difficult tangle had arisen. Disputes melted away as fast as the hours of the day, and often of the night, gave time for the hearing of diffi- culties. Efforts in all parts of the country were endorsed by the resolution of the Chief Committees of representatives of Labour " that an immediate effort be made to terminate all existing trade disputes, whether strikes or lockouts, and whenever new points of difficulty arise during the War DISLOCATIONS OF THE WAR 359 period, a serious attempt should be made by all concerned to reach an amicable settlement, before resorting to a strike or lockout." It seemed that the whole country rose to the height of the King's message of September 9 : " The calamitous conflict is not of my seeking. My voice has been cast throughout on the side of peace. My Ministers earnestly strove to allay the causes of strife and to appease differences with which my Empire was not concerned. Had I stood aside when, in defiance of pledges to which my kingdom was a party, the soil of Belgium was violated and her cities laid desolate, when the very life of the French nation was threatened with extinction, I should have sacrificed my honour and given to destruc- tion the liberties of my Empire and of mankind. I rejoice that every part of the Empire is with me in this decision." Yet, with the month of October, the results of the first half-million and then of the second half-million men being withdrawn from industries, the knowledge slowly beaten into some minds that the War would not end without a long and bitter struggle, the hope in other minds that it would soon end and business must be preserved, losses in one business, profits in another, competition for skilled men, efforts to fulfil contracts at any price, all the many dislocations of a sudden and great war, began to have effect. The cry, " Business as usual," which might have been useful in earlier days in preventing panic or calming men, was now out of date. There coiild not be business as usual, or the satisfaction of ordinary demands. Shortage of labour began to be acute. Contractors were not ful- filling their contracts or producing supplies in anything like the quantity laid down in their contracts, or desired by the continuously increasing clamour of the War Depart- ments for more and yet more material. The requirements of the army and navy were clashing. In their anxiety for labour, employers were bidding against each other to entice skilled labour to their works, or bribing men to remain in their employment. Labour was getting more and more unsettled, and at the same time was not abating the restrictions which kept certain men to certain work, and 24 360 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR prevented change of occupation, the entry of new workmen, or the abrogation of a thousand and one rules developed by hostility or in defence during the years of peace. Early in October the leather trades were in a state of turmoil. There had been depression in the trade after a period of prosperity during the Boer War ; new price- lists had been made in 1907 ; there were differences in systems and rates between Birmingham and Walsall ; the unions of these cities were not united, nor were the employers, and there was alleged competition from London. New designs, orders, and requirements poured in for every class of leather equipment. The lines between heavy, light, and fancy leather goods were not clearly defined ; the conditions were becoming obsolete ; the whole in- dustry required adjustment. As the majority of the work was piecework, adjustment meant revision of an immense list of piecework prices as well as of general conditions, time rates, rates for women who were rapidly diluting men's work, and, above all, uniformity between competing firms. There were long conferences with me over the difficulties, one of them lasting for twelve hours ; but it says much for the good feeling on both sides that ulti- mately an adjustment was made, which with minor changes lasted throughout the War. It may have been a blessing in disguise that this important industry recon- stituted itself so early in the War, though at the time the disputes were naturally a source of anxiety. If adjustments in the leather trade involved the question of smoothing the methods of supply, another problem was presented by the woollen trade — namely, shortage of supply for the requirements of the army. In the middle of November Lord Kitchener asked me to see him, and told me he had not enough khaki and other army cloth to clothe the troops ; he wanted more, and a great deal more. Could the production be increased by friendly arrangement ? Could cotton operatives be transferred ? Would I deal with this, and then he might want to see me on huts. Cotton had been hit by the War, as were some few other trades. The question of unemployment had arisen, and earnest consideration had had to be given to the form of Treasury grants, or, in other words, " doles," to such industries. An allowance had been given to the cotton industry. In spite of this there was threatened trouble WOOL AND COTTON 361 there, owing to difficulties of employment. The previous denunciation of the Brooklands Agreement had left the cotton trade without any authorised method of dealing with disputes ; a point on which I was already conversing with their leaders. I told Lord Kitchener I would inquire at once, and went to Manchester, Huddersfield, Blackburn, and Glasgow. This question of the use of wool involved in principle several cruxes of the War. There was the supply of cloth for the army and navy to which a proportion of the work was devoted. There was the supply of recruits for the army, denuding an important section of labour. There was also the question of home supply of cloth, and how far it should be diminished ; of export supply, by which the nation paid its commitments or obtained profits from which taxes could be obtained ; and of maintenance of supply in view of the growing shortage of labour. The facts came out in a simple manner. Manufacturers had no idea that sufficient khaki was not being produced, and at once agreed to turn their mills on to increased war production, but said they could not maintain supplies unless temporarily recruitment of great and little " piecers," the latter mostly young men, was restricted. Piecers required education. Cotton piecers were useless for wool. When more piecers were educated, the young men could be released. Lord Kitchener ordered the report to be carried out immediately, but by that lack of co-ordination which seems to beset Government Departments, the order, never shown to me, stopped recruitment of piecers in textile trades generally, not in wool only, and hindered the cotton trade from getting rid of their piecers, particularly in Oldham, just as young cotton piecers were being actively recruited in Lancashire. It took some time to get a change in the order, but its effect did not do much harm, because it roused the cotton trade in South Lancashire to quick action against the danger of sudden disturbance. The Manchester Courier of December 13, although it took no account of the hours of negotiation required to lead up to the result, summed up the position correctly when it stated : " A new agreement, to take the place of the former 862 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR Brooklands Agreement, was entered into yesterday in Manchester by the Master Cotton Spinners and the Lan- cashire Cardroom Amalgamation. " The meeting at which the agreement was reached only lasted twenty -five minutes. The text of the agree- ment is : " Notices to cease work shall not be posted UP IN A MILL until THE MATTER IN DISPUTE HAS BEEN CONSIDERED BY THE JOINT COMMITTEES OF THE TWO ORGANISATIONS, BOTH LOCALLY AND CENTRALLY. "It is doubtful if ever before an agreement between masters and men in the cotton world has been reached in so short a space of time. Both sides, however, felt the need for some such arrangement to take the place of the old Brooklands Agreement, and accepted the suggestion of Sir George Askwith that representatives of both sides should meet in conference, and, if possible, come to some arrangement that would obviate hasty strikes, with all their concurrent difficulties and hardships. The new agreement is on exactly the same principle as that on which the Brooklands measure was drafted, and its sim- plicity is not its least satisfactory feature." As the autumn progressed, hints of difficulty in various trades began to show themselves, particularly due to the growing shortage of labour. Rates for seamen on ships taken by the Admiralty, shortage of dockers at Glasgow, hutting disputes (on which I again saw Lord Kitchener) in the West of England, packing-case makers and shell- box makers in London, glass-makers in the North, seamen at Liverpool, printers, several air-craft disputes ; all claimed attention, but were more or less solved by con- ferences and conciliation. In the great armament depart- ments, lack of labour and shortage of production went band in hand. Additions were made, but in no commensu- rate proportion to the ever-growing demands and the new contracts ; skilled men were required everywhere, either to work or to teach. Many of the best men had gone. Works were disorganised by the loss of " pivotal men." At the same time the competing claims of the Admiralty and War Departments bewildered employers. The country had to meet the requirements of the services in regard to SHIPBUILDING AND ENGINEERING 368 recruits ; the requirements of our own country and in part of our allies in regard to munitions of war of every kind ; and the maintenance of trade and commerce in order to pay for food, provide finances for ourselves and other countries, keep in work the vast mass of people, and secure credit. It was a heavy burden, of which the adjustment was not assisted by the astounding lack of co-ordination between Departments, one of the chief evils, even in times of peace, of our system of government. As a Minister remarked to me in the middle of the War, " I would give a million pounds (if I had it) to invent a good system of co-ordination between Departments." As early as October, in the shipbuilding and engineering trades conferences between employers and unions on the subject of production, restrictions, and shortage of men had commenced, but they made little progress. In Decem- ber conferences between shipbuilders and the big unions in the shipping trade for amended rules broke down. There was a complete deadlock, and something like despair in the minds of those who had been most energetic in attempting to effect an agreement. In my opinion, if an opinion may be hazarded, the root difficulty was that very few individuals either in this country or in Europe expected the War to last ; and it was some time before the result of the first battle of Ypres and its frustration of a quick decision, at least on land, came home to the minds of the people. As one of my greatest friends, the late Dr. Page, the American Am- bassador, aptly said, " Who would have dreamed that all Europe could be divided into two camps and fix themselves on each side of a ditch from the British Channel to the Adriatic and beyond ? " It is no part of my purpose to enter into any general disquisition on the War or any general essay upon the many points arising in the relations of Capital and Labour, and the supply of munitions, goods, or workpeople. Remarks must be confined to the comparatively limited sphere coming within an individual's power of observation and special work — a minor scene in the enactment of a great drama. The line of thought directing my mind was that, whether the War was long or short, it was my business to compose differences, so far as practicable, between employers and employed. 364 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR It was quite evident to any observer that the armament firms were hampered by shortage of labour and the re- strictions preventing them from the best use of the labour still remaining to them ; they desired to acquire skilled labour from engineering or analogous firms ; the latter firms did not wish to hazard their future by parting with skilled workmen, and thought that some of the work should be given to them ; neither contractors nor sub- contractors could fulfil contracts or sub-contracts without more skilled labour ; the army did not like any hindrance to recruiting, and spoke of co-operation of employers and trade unions " to secure the employment of men ineligible, through age or other reasons, to become recruits, and of women in place of eligible men who may be taken as re- cruits " ; the navy took and kept skilled labour, particularly for such munitions as torpedoes, and was obliged to have a mobile and large reserve ready to repair damaged ships after any brush with the enemy, much more after any serious action ; the trade unions at the same time were not prepared to give up the position obtained after years of struggle, without being absolutely satisfied that adequate reason was shown. Men did not realise the coming long periods of difficulty ; the necessity was not explained to them, or so far as it was explained to leaders, those leaders were pledged not to divulge the position, lest it should help the enemy. The rank and file did not and could not know, except by instinct. The whole fabric of effort rested upon spirit and faith, and with the reaction from first efforts, the winter months, the lack of information, the lack of imagination or understanding of the necessity of a long pull and a pull all together, and many disinte- grating influences, faith began to fail, wrangles began, and, once beginning, gained force. The growing lack of faith seemed to me to arise from two main causes : (1) The lack of leadership and co-ordination between Departments, and (2) the lack of agreement be- tween employers and employed as to the necessity of avoiding disputes which hampered that production without which our men and women could not achieve success. The point within my province was principally the second, a very wide field ; but while considering with the parties the question of getting rid of the deadlock over amendment of rules which had arisen in December in the shipbuilding TRADE RESTRICTIONS 365 trades, urgent request was made by the Board of Trade that negotiations should be extended with a view to improve production of munitions of war generally, and the release of men for skilled work by change in the more restrictive rules of trade unions. The Board of Trade were practically at the end of their resources in the supply of skilled men, and with every effort could at most maintain a stationary number of men, although demands for greater production were increasing daily. " After the failure of the Sheffield Conference in the engineering trade," says an official report, " Mr. Allan Smith proposed that Lord Kitchener should be asked to make a personal appeal to the unions to suspend their restrictions. The suggestion was forwarded by the Board of Trade to the War Office. Lord Kitchener declined to intervene. He considered that the Board of Trade, as the Department to which the War Office had referred the question of labour supply for armament purposes, should communicate with the parties and seek a settlement. It was then decided (about January 19) that the whole range of questions in dispute with the engineers and with the shipwrights and boilermakers should be dealt with by the Chief Industrial Commissioner, Sir George Askwith." Faced by this problem, I pointed out that there was no use in one Ministry stepping in unless the army and navy were represented, and could have reported to them what steps were being taken, particularly as they were pulling different ways in the matter of contracts and priority. This proposition was agreed to. The general view was that it was absolutely necessary, in the interests of the nation, that changes should be made in the methods govern- ing the production of articles of war and the restrictions imposed by trade union rules ; but in the many inter- views held with a view to preparing associations and unions while the Government were deliberating, I was warned on all sides of the difficulties, and can still recall the face of the secretary of one of the chief Employers' Associations when I asked for his assistance, and his remark that the task was impossible. A subsequent official report in the History of the Ministry of Munitions, contains the statement that " it would be hard to name 866 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR a more perilous field for even the most delicate advance of Government interference." I can only say that it had to be attempted ; and at last, after some delay, shortened by urgent pressure from Lord Kitchener, the Government settled the reference, and the First Lord of the Treasury appointed a Committee on February 4, 1915, Sir Francis Hopwood (now Lord Southborough), as a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, being selected for the naval side, and Sir George Gibb, then recently made a civil member of the Army Council, for the military side of the Government Depart- ments, with mysfelf as chairman and Mr. H. J. Wilson, of my Department, as secretary. The Committee became well known under the name of the Conmiittee on Production, and initially received the wide reference " to inquire into and report forthwith, after consultation with the representatives of employers and workmen, upon the best steps to be taken to ensure that the productive powers of the employees in the engineering and ship- building establishments working for Government purposes shall be made fully available so as to meet the needs of the nation in the present emergency." Instructions were added that, failing agreement, the Committee should report to the Government, adding, if they pleased, statements of what they thought would be a satisfactory settlement. CHAPTER XXXV THE SPRING OF 1915 So far as the Committee on Production was concerned, the sphere of work was sufficiently clear. The Board of Trade were already taking up the question of distribution of work to engineering firms other than armament firms, and the release of skilled men, already recruited, from the army. The corollary of these plans was continuity of work and increase of production by removal of restrictions which should enable (1) the best use to be made of skilled men; (2) the utilisation of semi-skilled and unskilled men on such work as they were capable of doing or could be soon instructed to do. Accordingly the question of restrictions was taken up as it had been left by some of the parties in December, and by others in January, after nearly three months, as was stated, of negotiations without any pro- gress. The chief difficulties of the problem to be faced were : (1) to effect arrangements between employers and the trade union leaders, and (2) to ensure that those arrange- ments should be respected and have results in the shops and yards. It was not sufficient to overcome the first difficulty, because, however eager the officials on both sides might be to help in the national emergency, it was useless to have a paper agreement which was not endorsed and worked up to by the rank and file. The union leaders were hindered from accepting the removal of restrictions partly by distrust of the employers, partly by the fear that their own members would repudiate them. There was no time, nor were there sufficient leaders, to talk over and canvass every yard and every shop. The object in my mind was to effect such an agreement as would enable the leaders to tell their men that the trade union position was secured 367 368 THE SPRING OF 1915 and that any departure was only temporary. If this prin- cipal point was secured, then it would be possible for employers and workpeople, according to the requirements of each shop and each locality, without fear of disloyalty to their organisations, to make such changes as were most suitable to the shop and the locality. " Departures from present practice would cover the attendance on machines, overtime restriction, greater utilisation of semi-skilled, unskilled, or other labour," any differences being, if neces- sary, referred to the Board of Trade for settlement. If this plan could be carried out, the grave objection to Government interference and the imposition of terms from above would be avoided ; but if the agreements could not be made, and after the long and fruitless conferences the prospect seemed to be doubtful, it would be still open to the Government to " put a prepared scheme before both sides, hear, and if they chose adopt, any amendment suggested by either side, and then give a decision, inti- mating that the decision must be taken as a final settle- ment, at least until the parties could come to a satisfactory arrangement among themselves." My memorandum contained a long schedule of definite terms to be put before the parties, enumerating in detail the restrictions which it was desired to suspend on Government work, and a proposed undertaking by employers for restoration of conditions. The proposals were accepted by the Government and conferences at once began. There was some hitch owing to the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation objecting to a meeting as a Federation, but they forwarded a statement, and representatives came on behalf of the principal firms as firms. All parties agreed that the point was to go ahead on matters where agreement could be reached, with the result that on February 16 a report on " broken squads " in shipbuilding yards and improvement in methods of dealing with them in different yards was reached, the principle being that employers and employed should settle loyally in manner suitable to the varied local con- ditions. Four days later there was issued a second Report on Engineering, revising the proposals debated at Sheffield on January 13, and adding that they should apply to the industry as a whole and not to Government work only, and to workpeople employed in the shops or on board ships THE COMMITTEE ON PRODUCTION 869 or elsewhere away from the factory. The employment of female labour was to be extended. Piecework prices in firms producing shells and fuses were to give an under- taking to the Committee on behalf of the Government to the effect that, " in fixing piecework prices, the earnings of men during the period of the War shall not be con- sidered as a factor in the matter, and that no reduction in piece rate will be made, unless warranted by a change in the method of manufacture, e.g. by the introduction of a new type of machine." These proposals indicated that piece rates would not need to be protected by restriction of earnings and output, but by a definite engagement by the employers to the Government that any departure from practice should only be for the period of the War, and that rules and customs existing prior to the War should not be prejudiced after the War by any change in practice. The second division of the Report stated that : " During the present crisis nothing could justify a resort to strikes and lockouts which were likely to impair the productive power of establishments engaged on Govern- ment work and to diminish the output of ships, muni- tions, or other commodities required by the Government for war purposes. The Committee submitted for the consideration of the Government that the following recommendations to Government contractors and sub-contractors and to trade unions should be at once published, and their adhesion requested : " Avoidance of Stoppage of Work for Government Purposes " With a view to preventing loss of production caused by disputes between employers and workpeople, no stoppage of work by strike or lockout should take place on work for Government purposes. In the event of differences arising which fail to be settled by the parties directly concerned, or by their representatives, or under any existing agreements, the matter shall be referred to an impartial tribunal nominated by His Majesty's Govern- ment for immediate investigation and report to the Government with a view to a settlement." 370 THE SPRING OF 1916 I handed the Second Report to the Prime Minister on Saturday, February 20. On Sunday, February 21, the Government published it, expressing their concurrence, and extending the existing reference to the Committee by empowering them " to accept and deal with any cases arising under the above recommendation." Thus the Conunittee was established as the chief arbitration tri- bunal of the country, and remained so throughout the War. The extreme speed with which it was appointed as an arbitral tribunal was largely due to the outbreak on the Clyde which was just commencing. On Monday, February 22, with this new tribunal available for investi- gation and report, I had to meet the executive of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers upon this very serious matter. The first division of the Report had cleared up points of disagreement between employers and employed. It was decided that the parties themselves should continue technical negotiations on which they had already embarked, and embody themselves the whole of the different matters, technical and otherwise, in an agreement made by the trade itself. The result, delayed by the Clyde outbreak, emerged on March 3, in the " Shells and Fuses Agreement," between the Engineering Employers' Federation and the A.S.E. and allied organisations. There was, however, one point which could not be effected, and that was adherence to a settlement without a ballot. The A.S.E. ballot takes about twenty days, and has without doubt the advantage of getting the approval or disapproval of the rank and file to any proposals. In view of the extreme urgency of the case, and a confidential return from the War Office showing the condition of contracts for guns and shells, which was perfectly appalling in the proof it gave of shortage in amounts contracted for and the delays which had oc- curred and must continue before contracts could be com- pleted, I pressed with all the energy I could command that the proposals should be accepted by the executive, and then, if constitutionally necessary, a confirmatory ballot be taken. I had desired that some eloquent Member of the Government, or perhaps Lord Kitchener, should take up this task, but no one wished to do it, particularly under the circumstances that facts as to the position in the war areas were not permitted to be divulged. OUTBREAK ON THE CLYDE 871 Without facts, which I was not allowed to give, the executive were not satisfied ; they could not put before their constituents reasons for the extreme urgency ; they were impressed themselves, but there were the men outside ; the ordinary course of a ballot had to be taken. There was a third Report issued on March 8, after long conferences with the Emergency Committees of the Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades, dealing with the points on which the unions were specially concerned. This Report dealt at length with proposals for demarcation of work and the use of semi-skilled and unskilled labour. The decision how far to agree with the proposals and the best methods of carrying them out was deferred by the parties until the result of the engineers' ballot was known. If that was unfavourable, there would be no chance of effecting further changes ; but if favourable, the principle of every possible assistance would have been decided by the rank and file. The leaders were favourable, but they emphasised over and over again the necessity of the cordial co-operation of the men. Real acceleration could only take place if that was obtained. The ballot return was ultimately favourable, but before its result was out Mr. Lloyd George had come in with the Treasury Agreement, imposed without a ballot, but re- maining practically a dead letter until a ballot had been taken several months after a conclusion might possibly have been reached. As for suspension of restrictions, the Ministry of Munitions were pressing for changes a year afterwards, in a less satisfactory atmosphere, and did not appear to have made any progress. The two plans went upon different principles. My views were that the work- people, not the leaders by themselves, should be enlisted on the side of greater production, less restrictions, and im- provement of demarcation rules, even if a few days were necessary to let them know what was happening ; and that in the localities, by the people who knew the conditions, the changes suitable to the locality should be made. The other plans were directed to imposing, from above, rules, regulations, and orders, often with complete disregard of the persons in the locality and the character of the place. Although the discussion on the ballot had not deferred the holding of it, it had the good effect that the leaders of the A.S.E. were determined to do all they could to ensure 872 THE SPRING OF 1915 avoidance of stoppages, and hindrance of work from that cause, a point on which they had at once to suffer a severe test. In the week beginning Monday, February 22, the Clyde burst out into strikes, at the very time when the whole effort of the nation was required. The cost of living had been gradually rising, but general increase of wages had not been given to meet it. Forty- seven new disputes broke out in February, the largest increase since the beginning of the War. It seemed, too, that the faith to which I have alluded was beginning to wane, and no greater cause of that existed than the fact that it was seen that some people were making money out of the War, without any restraint upon their methods. Faith, or any great ideal, seems always to be hampered by the suspicion of mercenary motives on the part of individuals engaged in a cause. Profits may come, as in the case of armament firms, from the culminating result of the very work to which they have devoted years of preparation and low results. Profits may also come from the force of circumstances, where the shortage of supply,, as in the case of shipping, obliges the shipowner to take the highest bidder from a number of consignors competing for carriage of goods at almost any price. Profits may necessarily arise from many other causes, including in- dividual greed, but whatever may be the cause, it is not unnatural that those who do not get profits should wrangle with those who do, and should demand a share in the pro- fits. Wrangling is likely to be enhanced if those who make profits flaunt their profits or boast of their profits, an element not unknown in the autumn of 1914, and still better known since that period, when the word " pro- fiteer " has become so notorious: A shipowner who stated that he had made profits, was going to make profits, and had a right to make profits, did more harm than a great naval defeat would have done. To name " defeat " would rouse the nation to set their teeth and fight against an alien foe. The profiteer's statement would rouse class against class, and only tend to disruption within the nation itself. It was this question of profits which assumed a dangerous aspect in the first months of 1915. It caused discontent, and that discontent grew with the competition for skilled workmen, a competition bewildering to the men, and PROFITEERING 378 utterly beyond the efforts of labour exchanges, themselves hampered by the loss of their best men. Individual work- men might be receiving very high rates to keep them for particular work, and in that measure were making profits, but the rank and file were not getting increase of pay at a time when it was most apparent that some employers were beginning to make large profits. If the Government had made a pronouncement at the beginning of the War that nobody ought, or should be allowed, to make profits out of the War, or, as they were urged, had so acted even at a later date, or if one of their chief spokesmen, other than by half-hearted remarks, had boldly denounced undue profit-making, or profiteering, as it came to be dubbed, the trouble might have been lessened. When men saw that one class was gaining, and that they, as a whole, got no more pay in spite of increasing prices and cost of living, but were told it was unpatriotic to strike with a view to more pay, they objected. At a late date, Mr. I. H. Mitchell, reviewing this period, wrote : " I am quite satisfied that the labour difficulty has been largely caused by the men being of opinion that, while they were being called upon to be patriotic and refrain from using the strong economic position they occupied, employers, merchants, and traders were being allowed perfect freedom to exploit to the fullest the nation's needs. This view was frankly submitted to me by the leaders of the Clyde Engineers' strike in February last. As soon as Labour realised that nothing was being done to curtail and prevent this exploitation by employers, it let loose the pent-up desire to make the most it could in the general scramble. This has grown until now many unions are openly exploiting the needs of the nation. If the work is Government work, it is the signal for a demand for more money. Trade union leaders who, from August last year until February this year, loyally held their members back from making demands, are now with them in the rush to make the most of the opportunity." This was the situation to be faced in the coming months, and the prospect was not inviting. It may have been that on the Clyde, in addition to the 374 THE SPRING OF 1915 pressure of cost of living and the example of profit-making, other circumstances assisted, such as influence by men who afterwards became notorious as " deportees," a breaking away by the rank and file from leaders who were out of touch with them, a movement in the shops, or discontent from crowded housing. In any event, the workmen came out on strike without authority from their unions. At a conference at York, the North-East Coast employers had settled with the unions for a larger increase than had been given at one time, and to that extent met the rising feeling, but the executive union delegates from the Clyde did not at the same meeting agree to the proposal of the Clyde employers for an advance similar to that on the Tyne. The Clyde wages had for years been lower than the Tyne, and similar advances had been always given. The offer was taken back to Glasgow, and while a ballot was still pending, and without any authority from their union, a large number of men, estimated at 10,000, ceased work and demanded payment of the full claim. If the employers gave more, the Tyne would at once have demanded the extra amount. They adhered to their offer. The situation was extremely difficult. The whole scheme of the War might be hazarded unless the strikes stopped, and particularly if they spread. After some debate, the Government requested me to interview the leaders of the unions and tell them that they must get the men back by every effort which they could make. The leaders sent messages, without avail. Further em- phatic instructions came from the Government that they must be asked to go to Glasgow and put their whole in- fluence into stopping the strikes ; and, indeed, their own authority in the future depended upon their success in stopping an unauthorised strike, contrary to all the union rules. I was asked by them whether I could furnish a letter emphasising the insistence of the Government, in order to indicate the mission on which they were desired to go, and aid them in a difficult task. The official notice and letter was in the following terms : " The strike of engineers in the Clyde district has been under the consideration of His Majesty's Government, and by their direction the following letter has been sent to-day by Sir George Askwith, the Chief Industrial Commissioner, LETTER ON THE CLYDE OUTBREAK 375 to the Engineering Employers' Federation, on behalf of the employers, and to the Amalgamated Society of En- gineers, the Steam Engine Maker's Society, the United Machine Workers' Association, the Amalgamated Society of General Toolmakers, and the Scientific Instrument Makers' Trade Society, on behalf of the men : " ' Sm, " ' From inquiries which have been made as to the position of the disputes in the engineering trade in the Glas- gow district, it appears that the parties concerned have been unable to arrive at a settlement. In consequence of the delay, the requirements of the nation are being seriously endangered. " ' I am instructed by the Government that important munitions of war urgently required by the navy and the army are being held up by the present cessation of work, and that they must call for a resumption of work on Monday morning, March 1. " ' Immediately following resumption of work arrange- ments will be made for the representatives of the parties to meet the Committee on Production in Engineering and Shipbuilding establishments, for the purpose of the matters in dispute being referred for settlement to a Court of Arbitra- tion, who shall also have power to affix the date from which the settlement shall take effect. " ' I am, yours faithfully, " ' G. R. ASKWITH, " ' Chief Industrial Commissioner.^ " On receipt of Sir George Askwith's letter, several of the principal officials of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers left the London headquarters for Glasgow last night." There could be no doubt that the letter was in stiff terms, but the Government considered that they had to scotch this strike, and with the energetic help of the union leaders it was brought to a close. Whether there was any clear idea of the course to be pursued in the event of de- fiance it is difficult to say, but far stronger measures than a letter indicating that national necessity required re- sumption of work, were freely advocated. The claims 25 376 THE SPRING OF 1915 were heard with speed, after a large majority had by ballot agreed to abide by the decision. The award gave the same amount as the Tyne had agreed to, but also added sufficient to equalise the Tyne and Clyde rates. The award stated that the advances were " to be regarded as war wages, and recognised as due to and dependent on the existence of the abnormal conditions now prevailing in consequence of the War," a phrase which the committee adopted for all their later awards, and which soon became known. At first it caused some criticism, and the Clyde workpeople applied later for the advances to be made a permanent wage increase ; but they and others came to realise that no one could tell when the War would end, and what abnormal circumstances might arise, and what variations in cost of living might occur, so that a measure of elasticity was desirable. Acceptance was, I think, also helped by a message sent by the shipbuilding unions on the North-East Coast after they had received a similar award. This telegraphic message to me ran as follows : " At a conference of representatives of the Joint Ship- building and Iron and Steel Shipbuilding Societies the report and award of the Committee on Production in Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades was carefully con- sidered. It was unanimously decided to accept the same on behalf of the respective societies, and to urge our members to continue, and improve, where possible, on the timekeeping, and the production of ships, munitions of war, and everything necessary to our national welfare in this grave national emergency. " (Signed) John Hill {Gen. Secretary, Boilermakers' Society). " Alex Wilkie {Secretary, Standing Com- mittee of the Shipyard Trades). " Frank Smith {Chairman of the Standing Committee). " R. W. Lindsay {Member, Executive Council, Boilermakers' Society)." » While these troubles were occurring, the Government were pressing through Parliament the Defence of the Eealm (No. 2) Act of 1915, giving very extensive powers for ac- quiring various forms of control. There was much talk THE DANGER OF PROFITEERING 377 about " taking over," as if the Government could have possibly run the works by themselves, without the aid of skilled management by persons conversant with each business. Much time was lost in talking about " compensa- tion " on this assumed " taking over." It is a curious fact that the form of industry in this country, joint-stock com- panies, by which immense capital has been collected from many small streams, and which has allowed a strong river to run and fertilise industry throughout the world, proved a difficult problem in time of war. The legal relations of directors to their shareholders, the position of trustees, prevented them from doing acts which as individuals they might have been prepared to undertake. They required the protection of being able to say that they had to do things to which some shareholders might have objected, under the provisions of the law. Neither " taking over," nor " compensation " for such interference, was a feasible scheme. At the same time, and quite independently, it was being bitten into the minds of the members of the Committee on Production that this question of profits was one of the root difficulties of labour unrest, a view which led up to a Fourth Report, which the Government did not publish, although its publication was strongly and repeatedly urged. • The conditions under which this Report was made and its purport may be quoted from the official History of the Ministry of Munitions. It is there stated : " The emphasis is for the first time shifted from ' com- pensation ' to limitation of profits in a memorandum entitled A Note on Labour Unrest, which Sir George Askwith sent to Sir H. Llewellyn Smith on February 24. This document reflected the experience gained by the Committee on Production in its endeavours to secure the removal of restrictions on output. Sir George Askwith wrote that, throughout the country, labour men were interpreting the Prime Minister's speech of February 11, on the rise of food 1 The Eeport was sent to the Prime Minister on March 8 and printed as a Cabinet Memorandum. A note to the official History states : " It was decided to delay publication imtil aftei the Treasury Conference of March 17-19. Mr. Lloyd George then again postponed the publication. On April 15 the Committee on Production wrote to the Prime Minister recommending that the Report should be published. Sir George Gibb again recommended it in a Memorandum to Mr. Lloyd George on June 2. The Report, however, has never been published." 878 THE SPRING OF 1915 prices, as an intimation that little could be done to curtail the large profits which contractors were believed to be making. They were drawing the inference that labour was entitled to higher wages, which were, in fact, in many cases being received. Unless something were done to correct the view that contractors were entitled to un- limited profits, the workmen would claim corresponding freedom ; and they had never been in a stronger position to enforce their demands. They might lower their claim, if they could be satisfied that some control was being exercised over contractors to minimise their profits. " The same incidence of emphasis on the need for limiting profits is noticeable in the Fourth Report (March 5) of the Committee on Production, which is further remark- able in that it adumbrates the use which might be made of a Government pledge to limit profits in securing the con- sent of the unions to a suspension of their restrictive rules. It thus contains all the essentials of the bargain with labour which was to be made a fortnight later at the Treasury Conference. " The Committee proposed that the Government should assume control of the principal armament and shipbuilding firms. They pointed out that the general labour unrest of the previous few weeks was accompanied by a widespread belief among workpeople that abnormal profits were being made, particularly on Government contracts. There were consequent demands for higher wages. It seemed to be thought that limitation of profits might be decided to be impracticable, and the men were claiming the freedom to ask the maximum price for their labour. The unrest would prevail while these ideas were abroad. " They recommended that the Government should at once issue a pronouncement, stating clearly that they did not acquiesce in the view that employers and contractors must be left to secure maximum prices and profits. " The control of profits could be effected by the following means : that under the Defence of the Realm Act, with necessary amendments, ' the Government should assume control over the principal firms whose main o utput consists of ships, guns, equipment, or munitions of wa r, under such equitable financial arrangements as may be necessary to provide for the reasonable interests of proprietors, manage- ment, and staff." PROPOSALS FOR CONTROL 379 " An Executive Committee, on the lines of the Railway Executive Committee, should be established (a) to search for new sources of supply, and (b) to exercise continuous and responsible supervision with representatives of the firms concerned. The executive conduct of each business should be left to the existing management. " Besides the removal of the suspicion above indicated, other advantages would accrue : (1) trade union re- strictions might be more readily removed when it was known that the Government, not private employers, would benefit. (2) The existence of a central executive with wide authority over the sources of supply would make possible the control over the output of the various works, the supervision and co-ordination of sub-contractors' work according to relative urgency, and some general regard to efficient and co-ordinated utilisation of labour on private and Government work. (3) Some private establishments would spare labour, if assured that it would be for the direct benefit of the nation. " Such control would enable a confident appeal to be made to workpeople, and would restore national unanimity. It would also impress on the nation that the country was at war and industrial resources must be mobilised. " The recommendations of this Report were adopted by the Cabinet, and Mr. Runciman was entrusted with the task of opening negotiations with the chief contractors." In the discussionwhich tookplace about thesedocuments, it was verbally explained that it was not intended that the subjects dealt with should be co-ordinated or controlled by a Committee (or Committees, as Lord Kitchener in- sisted), but that a Cabinet Minister must be chairman, who, though not always presiding, would be a link with the Cabinet and give or obtain Cabinet decisions in the event of disagreement. Lord Kitchener for some time was doubtful, because he thought the plan might derogate from his position as Secretary of State for War, and his control of all War Departments — a policy on which he set great store, but which no one man could possibly carry out in detail. However, he agreed when the words " or Committees " were inserted, intending to have Committees confined to the War Office, where he wanted them to be so limited. Mr. Lloyd George may or may not have been 380 THE SPRING OF 1915 influenced by the plans for co-ordination outlined in these reports, but they at least fell in with his views of stepping forward, and that they were extremely useful to him is evidenced by the fact that their tenor and even their language were incorporated, word for word, in the agree- ment called the Treasury Agreement, and subsequently, again, incorporated in the Munitions of War Act. A memo- randum embodying all their points was handed to him by me on March 16, the day before the Conference on the Agreement commenced. Although the question of profits was the essential point which alone could cause any adequate sacrifice of restric- tion by the trade unions, and although hints were given in May and June that something was going to be done, nothing was done for several months, except so far as limitations of profits in controlled establishments was enacted by the Munitions of War Act in July. The result was distrust and suspicion. It is true that the Budget introduced in May by Mr. Lloyd George must have been prepared at an earlier date. It contained nothing on the subject of profits. The Coalition Government was formed at the end of May, and another Budget for the end of September was prepared, in which taxation of profits was included, but disclosure of the fact came very late. When a duty was imposed, it was in a form which did not appeal to the working man, who still saw instances of expenditure, evasion, and waste going on upon all sides of him. The tax became a necessity during the War, and had indeed to be increased. When enterprise was intended to be directed to the War, when there was no outlet for it in other countries, and when the tax served a purpose, in showing that all the profits did not go to one class, while other classes were restricted by compulsion, when the nation was absolutely obliged to divert every possible means of wealth into the national purse, the tax was defensible and not unwillingly received. It wears quite a different aspect when the channels of enterprise are open, and reconstruction, the opening of markets, and industrial progress are the first principles to be considered. In peace its continuance throttles industry, and falls most hardly on those persons by whom industrial progress can be best achieved. Meanwhile the effective influence which, in spite of the THE TREASURY AGREEMENT 381 intervening Clyde outbreak, was arising from the reports of the Committee and the intention of both employers and the principal leaders of the employed to work together on lines which continued to be practically agreed, and which would have improved, as soon as the engineeers' ballot was concluded, by means of the constitutional support of the rank and file, was modified by a new design. It was intimated that Mr. Lloyd George, after conversation with one or two labour leaders, more promi- nent for their interest in politics than in knowledge of the feeling and mind of Labour, proposed to come forward and deal with the trade union leaders. The Cabinet seems to have adopted the proposal on March 11, and letters were dispatched summoning a Conference on March 17 — " to consult with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the President of the Board of Trade on certain matters of importance to Labour arising out of the recent decision of the Government, embodied in the Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Act, to take further steps to organise the resources of the country to naeet naval and military re- quirements." After three days' debate, the agreement called the Treasury Agreement was effected. Whether it did in fact hurry matters forward by anticipating by a few days the resvilt of the ballot of the engineering trades and by obliging the leaders to dictate to the rank and file, instead of allowing the rank and file to vote in favour of the propositions put before them, no one can say. It laid the foundation for an Act of Parliament, the Munitions of War Act, passed in July ; and had the result of the taking over of the supply departments of the War Office by a new department. It may be noted that, contrary to the principles of agree- ment suggested by the Committee on Production, the employers were not invited or present, and had no prior knowledge of the proposals which were made. It may also be noted that certain trades not engaged in the supply of munitions of war were not present and were not parties to the agreement, although, with the interlocking of indus- tries and wage questions, they were or became vitally important in carrying out the successful working of those 382 THE SPRING OF 1915 industries which were parties. The Miners' Federation withdrew at the final meeting on March 19, and were not parties. No representatives from cotton, jute, wool, tramways and other important industries were brought in. On the final day the representative of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers intimated he was instructed not to sign any agreement or scheme until the Executive Council had considered and endorsed the whole report. Mr. Lloyd George had to hold another meeting with the Society on March 25, and was bluntly told that it was for the Government to prove that any further extension of the recent Shells and Fuses Memorandum was necessary, and that the definite terms of any agreement reached with the employers as to limitation of profits should be laid before them, ^nd the first of four points on which the A.S.E. made their assent conditional was the point of profits. The A.S.E. were tired of hints, and knew the feeling of the workpeople. They did not trust any longer to vague statements, and demanded a definite undertaking in writing. Even then Mr. Lloyd George could not avoid a ballot. The agreement was indeed confirmed by 18,000 to 4,000, but confirmation was not obtained before June 16. The unions had reciprocated the delay in the fulfil- ment of the Government pledge, which was only partially given in the Munitions of War Act on July 2, by delay on their side. It was reported on June 9 that in the ship- building trade the workmen's organisations represented at the Treasury Conference " had not approached their mem- bers in the matter at all," and that there were numerous complaints from all quarters. In fact, the leaders had purported to suspend restrictions, but the rank and file were scarcely touched by the bargain. On paper the agreement looked well ; in practical result it did not come up to the claims made for it, for the simple reason that the rank and file had not been reached. CHAPTER XXXVI THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 Thk Treasury Agreement being only an expression of opinion which had designated the Committee of Production and other forms of arbitration attached to the Chief In- dustrial Commissioner's Department as suitable means for settling disputes, no more power or authority, perhaps less power, appertained to the Committee and the Department than before the Agreement was made. The Committee on Production was named as the chief arbitral tribunal. It dropped naturally, as I intimated to the Prime Minister on April 1, further work on withdrawal of restrictions and rules for organisation of production, which now rested on the terms of the Treasury Agreement and the approach- ing advent of the Ministry of Munitions. It had a new and engrossing work assigned to it, developed from its appointment as arbitral tribunal on February 21, but it had no power, except moral influence and consent of the parties, to carry out its supposed functions. All those persons, whether within or without the Agree- ment, who objected to a semblance of compulsory arbi- tration had to be convinced that the tribunals were fair, at a time when the leaders of unions were finding the situ- ation more and more difficult through the restlessness of the rank and file. Many trades preferred conciliation meetings, which occupied much time. Those trades outside the agreement would still come to the Chief In- dustrial Commissioner, but did not wish to range themselves as having anything to do with the munitions side of pro- duction or disputes. And yet they might be closely interlocked with those trades by the effect which their disputes might have on the convenience of munition workers, as in tramway disputes, or by example owing to proximity in the same town or district. There were also workpeople employed by Departments, such as the Royal Dockyards, where Departments had to be consulted 383 884 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 before existing methods, far too slow for rapidly changing circumstances, could be altered. Other trades, such as the ship-repairing industry of South Wales, had been accustomed to deal port by port, and section by section, with the engineering and allied trades. The trade had now become, by the course of war, an active and quickly developing industry. The old sectional method became hopelessly obsolete. Agreements had to be effected to consolidate claims and unify representatives on both sides for the purpose of dealing with them. Each trade, district, town, firm, and often each union, wanted separate inter- views, hearings, arbitrators, or conciliators. It was only the general goodwill, in spite of sections of persons, often through ignorance, getting out of hand, which enabled the work to be got through with comparatively little real friction. The country, both employers and employed, seemed to desire that differences should be settled, and accorded trust which in time of peace would have been difficult to maintain. Perhaps one may add that many years of work by the Department, which had afforded insight into many trades, and established acquaintance or friendship with many representatives of employers and employed, the element of personal touch, was not without value. " You know all our little tricks," an eminent trade union leader genially remarked to me. It is not necessary to deal with the separate cases brought to the Department ; indeed, they were far too many to mention separately. ^ By June 1 the Committee on Pro- ductions alone had given nearly forty decisions on wages questions, covering directly over 750,000 workpeople, and there were a large number of other cases. There was, in fact, a wage readjustment, directly or indirectly, for the whole country. The variety may be illustrated by mere mention of a few cases, ranging in intricacy from a simple change in wages to a code of conditions, rules, or amalgamation. Such cases, taken at random, were Woolwich Arsenal, Pimlico clothing, the Royal Dockyards, • The awards of the Committee on Production and of the arbitrators appointed by the Chief Industrial Commissioner from 1914 to 1918 are all printed as Appendices I- VIII of the Twelfth Report of Proceedings under the Conciliation Act 1896, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on October 22, 1919, in two volumes, each exceeding 900 pages. They will be invaluable material for any historian who may write on the conditions of industry diiring the War and the questions affecting every section of work. THE FIRST CYCLE UE^^WAGES 385 the Post Office, the cotton trade, Bristol Channel en- gineering and ship-repairing, moulders and brassworkers in many districts, railway shops, Walsall casting, the saddlery trade, the leather trade, many building cases, tramways, coal-tippers, chain-cable and anchor manu- facturers, Thames lightermen. Midland sheet-metal workers, the Scottish steel trades, London carters, army boots, Scottish smiths and strikers, Drogheda steam-boats, cement companies, coppersmiths, rope-makers, pitwood-workers, explosive works, furnishing trades, Leicester hosiery, etc., and also an award in the Scottish coal trade Conciliation Board, of which I had been elected umpire. As the course of increased arbitration proceeded, it became apparent that Labour desired equality of treatment, with some bias in favour of the " under-dog." That principle was consistently followed throughout the War by the Committee on Production, and by my Department, grievously hampered as they were by the action of Ministers and other Departments acting on their own. It has formed, too, the basis on which all the subsequent action of the Courts and Councils seems to have been based. It was a case of equal suffering, equal relief, " owing to the abnormal circumstances due to and caused by the War," if one may quote the phrase we invented and which appeared in most of the awards of the Committee on Production. The difficulty in practice proved to be the mass of cases which were brought forward, and the application of the principle to the varied circumstances of each trade and each firm that came forward to arbitration. There were employers who would never give an increase, although it was known almost to a certainty what the sum would be, without a formal award. There were employers who had arguments, some good, some bad, why an increase should not be general to all their employees, or who had par- ticular circumstances which they desired to bring forward. On the other hand, there were employees taking for granted the general advance likely to be received, but pressing for special advances owing to the alleged position of their trade (iron-naoulders, for instance, asking for special treatment), or for the settlement of claims they had been unsuccess- fully demanding for a quarter of a century. It appeared to the Committee to be more satisfactory to build upon the arrangements effected up to the outbreak of war than 386 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 to attempt philanthropic reconstruction or embark on unknown contingencies in the middle of the War. The work of the Board of Trade and other Departments in dealing with transfers, badges, and diffusion of contracts, and of the Armaments Committees and local organisations, in increasing output during the summer, as well as the start of the Ministry of Munitions* in June 1915, are outside the scope of this work. It is sufficient to say that the Government found that they could not get on without more power, with the result that the Munitions of War Act was enacted " to organise the skilled labour of the country for the production of munitions of war." The Defence of the Realm Acts were not sufficient. Amongst the provisions of the new Act, not the least important were those relating to labour disputes. Up to its passing there were no compulsory limits on freedom to stop working by a strike pending settlement of a dispute, nor on the maintenance of restrictive rules. An attempt was made to deal with both, but particularly with the limitation of freedom to stop work. These conditions and the Act were a novelty. Compul- sory arbitration was an extreme novelty, which had not only to be swallowed by employers, but by trade union leaders, some of whom had been consistently opposed to it, and by the rank and file, to whom those very leaders had to explain that they must conform to the decisions of three persons in London, whose names they might never have heard, but whose decision was final. It was a strong order, but acceptance of it was, taking it as a whole, wonderful. Men seemed to desire a composing element which would give a measure of finality, be a hindrance to sudden stoppages, prevent long and tedious negotiations with employers, and bring the majority of employers into line. In 1913 the number of cases referred to arbitration was about forty-five. In 1918, the figures having increased by hundreds every year, the number referred to the Committee on Production and other arbitrators was more than 3,500. During the five years of its existence, either with three members or, latterly, with several courts, the total nearly reached 8,000 cases ; and, says the Twelfth Report under the Conciliation Act, " the awards were almost universally accepted." The terms of the Act itself were a sort of compromise THE BEGINNING OF COMPULSION 387 between pure ' compulsory arbitration and arbitration if recognised methods, inquiry, and conciliation failed. A difference existing or apprehended, if not determined by the parties directly concerned, or their representatives, or under existing agreements, might be reported to the Board of Trade. The Board of Trade had to consider any differences so reported, and take any steps which seemed to them expedient to promote a settlement of the difference : " and in any case in which they think fit, may refer the matter for settlement either in accordance with the pro- visions of the First Schedule or, if in their opinion suitable means for settlement already exist in pursuance of any agreement between employers and persons employed, for settlement in accordance with those means." The Act added : " The award in any such settlement shall be binding both on employers and employed, and may be retrospec- tive ; and if any employer, or person employed, thereafter acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, the award, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act." The principal clause for delaying a lockout or strike enacted that : " An employer shall not declare, cause, or take part in a lockout, and a person employed shall not take part in a strike, in connection with any difference to which this part of this Act applies, unless the difference has been reported to the Board of Trade, and twenty-one days have elapsed since the date of the report, and the difference has not during that time been referred by the Board of Trade for settlement in accordance with this Act." The provisions of the First Schedule were that differences referred for settlement were to go before tribunals deter- mined by agreement between the parties, or in default of agreement by the Board of Trade. These tribunals were : (a) The Committee appointed by the First Lord of the Treasury, known as the Committee on Production ; or (i) A single arbitrator, to be agreed upon by the parties, or in default of agreement appointed by the Board of Trade ; or 388 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 (c) A court of arbitration consisting of an equal number of persons representing employers and persons representing workmen with a chairman appointed by the Board of Trade. The differences they were entitled to settle were stated to be — " differences as to rates of wages, hours of work, or other- wise as to terms or conditions of or affecting employment on the manufacture or repair of arms, ammunition, ships, vehicles, aircraft, or any other articles required for use in war, or of the metals, machines, or tools required for that manufacture or repair (in this Act referred to as munitions work) ; and also any differences as to rates of wages, hours of work, or otherwise as to terms or conditions of or affecting employment on any other work of any descrip- tion, if this part of this Act is applied to such a difference by His Majesty by Proclamation on the ground that in the opinion of His Majesty the existence or continuance of the difference is directly or indirectly prejudicial to the manufacture, transport, or supply of Munitions of War." It was soon found by some trades, especially the engin- eering trades, that their pre-war methods of district and central conferences occupied too much time. With the quick changes which became necessary, the rank and file would not wait, the representatives of unions and employers were too busy in war-work to devote the necessary time, and the speedier methods of a report, reference, and hearing seemed more conducive to the interests of business. The pre-war methods were suspended. The parties by districts or firms demanded arbitration, and in almost every case settled upon the Committee on Production as the arbitral tribunal. This practice tended greatly to co-ordination, but, at the beginning of the War, every single district and often every firm, particularly if it was a limited liability company whose shareholders had to be taken into account, demanded a separate hearing and a separate award. There was necessarily always a long list of cases to be arranged, parties to be communicated with, dates of hearing fixed, and time given for a patient hearing. The Committee on Production worked as hard as time allowed, but it was difficult to keep the lists within bounds. With regard to other trades, a great many had to be TYPES OF ARBITRATION 389 heard by single arbitrators. Nobody seemed to want a court under subsection (c). Very few were either asked for or appointed. For these courts arbitrators had to be collected ; refusals on the ground of other work made nominations most difficult ; delay was sure to ensue. The other two types of court were evidently preferred. The difficulty which arose with them was that, although most single arbitrators followed the governing cases settled by the Comrhittee on Production, where such precedents existed, strict co-ordination was not practicable. The tribunals were alternative tribunals. If one arbitrator made a mistake, through lack of knowledge of the inter- locking of trades or the intricacy of technicalities, the effects and ensuing discontent might be widespread. Although my predecessor, Mr. Wilson Fox, had been wont to say that only one man in a million made a good arbi- trator, the result showed that arbitrators, improving by practice and exercising care and patience, could avoid grave mistakes, and, generally speaking, give awards satis- factory to the parties coming before them. In some cases there were errors, chiefly arising from want of attention to the minute detail which many industrial settlements require, but the appointments being under the Department, complaints were soon heard. The system of appointment being elastic, no arbitrator had a vested interest or had to be employed, if it was found that he could not manage the work of arbitration. The time allowed for investigation and inquiry before reference to arbitration was short. In a subsequent Act it was reduced from twenty-one to fourteen days, but by that time a shorter period was more feasible. At first there was little consolidation between groups of employers. Correspondence had to take place, posts were delayed, individuals or firms did not answer, or their representatives were absent. Claims sent to the Department had often not even been sent to the persons most intimately concerned. Bogus or absurd claims were not wanting. Conciliation was frequently proposed in preference to arbitration. Evidence had to be collected. In other cases the parties had been negotiating for some time, failed to agree, and at the last moment a claim was sent to London, and then all the blame of the delay previous to the claim being lodged put upon the Department, though they might in no way 390 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 be responsible. Some absurd instances were proved when complaint was made, the delay being due to the lack of organisation in the offices of the parties themselves, particularly when separate individuals seemed to deal with bundles of letters without knowledge of letters re- ceived or previous correspondence. Owing to the shortage and changes of clerical assistance in almost every office in the country, employers and their associations, work- people and trade unions, as well as Government offices, suffered in greater or less degree. The Act did not cover all workpeople, but only those engaged in munitions of war as defined by the Act. The miners had been represented for two days at the Treasury Conference, but withdrew on the third. They were not a party to the Agreement, and obtained exclusion from the Act by an undertaking to settle all disputes by arrange- ment with the owners, or, failing that, to call in an indepen- dent chairman with full power to settle. This guarantee proved to be of little practical value. The cotton operatives were also excluded, on their plea that their industry was too well organised to require the Act, under which sections of the trade had subsequently to be brought by Proclamation. Instead of all trades being brought in, freedom to strike continued for all workpeople other than those defined by the Act. Numbers of strikes occurred in these industries, often stopping supplies to munition workers or showing an example in interlocked industries which necessarily reacted. In the following year a wider ex- tension had to be given, but much time and trouble would have been saved if it had been realised how closely every industry is connected with other industries. It is true that other industries could be brought in by Royal Proclamation, a cumbrous method only mitigated by the courtesy of the officers of the Privy Council. Some wiseacre had propounded that this procedure would be' impressive, and it was adopted in the Act ; but it proved to be troublesome, caused dangerous delay, and had to be used with caution lest the King's name should be brought without effect into the settlement of trade disputes. In the second part of the Act there was a provision that an appeal could be made from the decision of the Minister of Munitions in the event of dissatisfaction with decisions he might make on proposed increases in controlled estab- TRADE UNION RESTRICTIONS 391 lishments, but this provision was not satisfactory in its working. There was also a provision intended to stop restrictions, drastic in form, but soon found to be of small value. The words ran : " Any rule, practice, or custom not having the force of law which tends to restrict production or employment shall be suspended in the establishment, and if any person induces or attempts to induce any other person (whether any particular person or generally) to comply, or continue to comply, with such a rule, practice, or custom, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. " If any question arises whether any rule, practice, or custom is a rule, practice, or custom which tends to restrict production or employment, that question shall be referred to the Board of Trade, and the Board of Trade shall either determine the question themselves, or, if they think it expedient, or either party requires it, refer the question for settlement in accordance with the provisions contained in the First Schedule to this Act. The decision of the Board of Trade or arbitration tribunal, as the case may be, shall be conclusive for all purposes." In practice employers tried to make use of this section, but they pressed too much. Ca' canny practices and shop rules could not be abrogated by a stroke of the pen. The rank and file could evade the strict letter of the law or decisions, and their leaders could not compel them. Some attempts were made, but conciliation meetings and consent of the rank and file proved to be the only safe chance of arriving at any satisfactory conclusions. Among the criticisms which may be made is that the effect of the Munitions of War Act, and the importance which should have been attached to it, were initially discounted by the Minister of Munitions himself. The occasion arose during the preparation of the Act and immediately after it had been passed. It has been mentioned that the miners withdrew from the Treasury Agreement. There was pending at the time a general claim on behalf of all ininers for a war bonus of 25 per cent, on earnings. On this matter the Prime Minister, Mr. Asquith, adhered to the principle of the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act, and insisted that the 26 892 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 claim must be settled by agreement or arbitration in districts. In South Wales, Lord St. Aldwyn acted as arbitrator, and granted an advance of 17^ per cent, in addition to the 60 per cent, above the 1879 standard at which the wages then stood. As the maximum was 60 per cent., this decision practically abolished the maxi- mum, without interference with the technical terms of the agreement. Coincidently with this general claim, the Welsh miners, on March 3, had given notice to termin- ate on June 30 the agreement which had governed the coal-field since March 1910. They demanded a new agree- ment, with a new standard of wages 50 per cent, above the previous standard of 1879, the abolition of the maximum, which had been already reached, and the fixing of a new minimum 10 per cent, above the new standard, to be paid when the average selling price of large coal was at or below 155. 6d. a ton, or, in effect, no limit to advances if the selling price of coal rose, a greater limitation of declines if the selling price fell, and a higher basis on which advances should be calculated. Their plain object was to ensure a high wage in the event of a slump after the War, and rapid advances during the War. It was a heavy demand, to which the owners replied on March 9 by asking them to continue the old agreement and offering 10 per cent, bonus on standard rates. Although Lord St. Aldwyn awarded 17| per cent, on March 12, the Welsh miners continued to press their original claim, and late in June refused arbitration. As the old agreement was due to end on June 30, chaos was imminent. The Government decided to press for arbitration in accordance with the miners' undertaking when they withdrew from the Treasury Agreement, but the most that Mr. Runciman could effect, on Saturday, June 26, was a consent to allow a report to be made by me, by June 29, into the whole circumstances of the miners' demand. I was summoned in haste on Sunday, June 27, to hear the Welsh miners, prior to hurrying North to act as agreed umpire for the Scottish miners in accordance with their constitution and agreements. My report set forth the facts, and tentatively imade suggestions amount- ing to abolition of maximum and present minimum, but the fixing of a new minimum before any proposal to reduce wages below Lord St. Aldwyn's 77^ per cent, was obtained ; THE WELSH COAL STRIKE 893 and that the rest of the details requisite in a new agree- ment would be so different during and for some time after the War that a wage agreement, admittedly intended to apply to peace conditions, should properly be deferred. While I had to be absent, these suggestions were taken up by Mr. Brace, then Under-Secretary of the Home Office, and previously a Welsh miners' leader, who stated, on inquiries he had made, that with certain amendments he was certain the strike could be averted. He proposed abolition of maximum and minimum, but fixing of a new minimum at once, at 50 per cent, over the standard of 1879, with extension of equivalent advantages to surface-men, nightmen, and hauliers. Mr. Henderson, Mr. Brace, and Mr. Roberts, all Labour leaders, went to Wales on July 1, and by a narrow majority, through the recommendation of the Miners' Council, obtained adhesion to treatment of the general proposals of the Government as the basis " for a settlement. On the same day the coal-owners very reluctantly accepted the terms at the express wish of Mr. Runciman. The Council and its more moderate leaders had so far maintained authority, but immediately afterwards the less moderate men further demianded concessions in the form of interpretations, with the intimation that, unless they were granted, work would be stopped. Mr. Runciman would not give way any farther. He wrote on July 7 to Mr. Lloyd George : " As the interpretations the men want are really in the nature of a demand for further concessions, and as I have gone very far in compelling the owners to accept conditions which are very distasteful to them, and as my proposals on June 80 were definitely made for acceptance or rejec- tion without alteration, I feel it extremely difficult to reopen the matter." At first the Minister of Munitions backed up his colleague. On July 8 he replied that he would not hesitate to advise a Royal Proclamation bringing the difference under the Munitions of War Act. When, on July 12, a conference of delegates resolved " that we do not accept anything less than our original proposals, and that we stop the collieries on Thursday next until these demands are con- 894 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 ceded," the direct challenge was answered on July 13 by a Koyal Proclamation, making it an offence punishable under the Munitions of War Act to take part in a strike in the South Wales coal-mining industry ; a General Munitions Tribunal was set up for South Wales ; and the Proclamation was posted throughout the coal-field. On Thursday, July 15, about 200,000 men stopped work, and the Miners' Council promptly recommended that work should be resumed the following day, although the Miners' Conference took an opposite view. It became a question between the effects of a Royal Proclamation in terms of the recently passed Munitions of War Act, the Ministers of the Crown, and the recommendation of the Welsh authority, the Miners' Council on the one hand, and the limited number of strikers on the other, who, I was con- fidently informed, would be back at work on the Wednesday or Thursday following at latest. " Don't touch it. Sir George," I was told in answer to inquiry whether anything should be done. " Go away into the country, if you can." And yet the strikers won. At the beginning of the week, while settling a dispute in the Barnsley coal-field, I was told that Mr. Lloyd George had suddenly gone down by special train to Cardiff, taking Mr. Runciman and many secretaries with him. It was said he had been impressed by the feeling of both French and British in France against the continuance of the strike. If so, he settled it by a complete volte-face and yielding to the strikers. After hasty interviews, he gave way on all the main claims, and even on new claims just advanced at the interviews, only deferring for arbitration some very technical points which possibly were difficult to understand on the explanation of one side only. There was a story that one of the miners woke up a comrade in the middle of the night and said, " I am going to ask George for so- and-so " ; and the other replied, " No, you can't have the face to do that. It is a bit too thick " ; to which the other said, " Oh, yes, I will, and you will see he will give it us " ; and he did. Whether this story be true or not, I am not prepared to say, but it indicates exactly the effect of the settlement. In the result all the difficult technical ques- tions were left over for Mr. Runciman, the Minister whose actions and opinions had been completely put aside ; men EFFECTS OF THE WELSH COAL STRIKE 395 had won a victory by a strike which their principal autho- rities told them ought not to be continued ; the example was set to strike first and apply to Mr. Lloyd George, whatever Ministers, officials, employers, or union leaders might say, with a view to allowance of all claims as the reward of violence or pressure. It was almost a farce to the Minister to wire to Mr. Asquith that " the solution of the deadlock was rendered possible on the lines of agreement rather than of coercion by the public-spirited action of the coal-owners, who placed themselves unreservedly in the Government's hands, for the purpose of securing a peaceful and reason- able settlement immediately." The so-called settlement did more to cause unrest during the succeeding years than almost any other factor in the War, and to lessen hopes of establishing a sane method of settlement of labour disputes. Since the War the same policy has from time to time been followed, the sole restraint being whether the trade is important enough or the unions powerful enough to gain access to Downing Street. The above points indicate some of the difficulties in working the disputes sections of the Munitions of War Act, but, on the other hand, some trades, although not specifically within its scope, followed its principles and settled disputes by requests for arbitration. The woollen industry followed the principle by taking me, practically as sole arbitrator, to settle the whole basis of the many sections of the trade, both in Yorkshire and Lancashire, during the greater part of the War. The boot trade, after many conciliation meetings, formed a constitution of its own, very similar to the subsequent Industrial Councils, with final reference to arbitration through the Depart- ment. During the whole of the autumn the Committee on Production, with the addition of Sir David Harrel, owing to the necessary absence of Sir F. Hopwood upon other work, developed into the principal arbitration tribunal, while there was scarcely a trade in the country which in some form or another did not come before the Department. Almost all these cases were concerned with demands for increase of wages, the adjustment of different trades and firms to the general advances, or the establish- ment of bases of settlement which could cover wide areas of country or industry. 896 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 In October a case at Southampton requires more special notice, as the principles of the decision were largely followed during the War. It concerned the employment of men released from the colours for service in shipbuilding yards. The boilermakers particularly objected to men who were non-unionists working with men who, according to rules of the Boilermakers' Society, must be unionists, but at the same time were very loth to admit new men to their ranks. The crisis became acute when a man sent from a regiment as a riveter not only would not say whether he would join the union, but was reported to have dropped his tools into the sea and to know nothing about riveting, thus throwing out other men working with or near him. Men had been fined for leaving their work, and were very angry, a serious dispute being threatened. Apart from the particular case, I was asked to give a general ruling on the principles, as other cases were occurring daily. As publicity was of importance, I went to Southampton to examine into the matter, and heard evidence and argu- ments before a large number of boilermakers, to whom, for the sake of future peace, it was also advisable that the firm should explain that, under the Munitions of War Act, they were obliged to take and keep men sent to them, except by special leave of the Ministry of Munitions. In the particular case, it turned out the poor fellow had been an orange-seller on Tower Hill, had been got rid of by a sergeant who, wishing to lose him, accepted his own statement that he was a riveter, and was evidently wrong in his head, probably from shell-shock. The boiler- makers themselves saw the uselessness of troubling about him, and dropped any further pressure, while the man was, of course, withdrawn. The storm being over, the decision was well received. Its principle was that in time of war conflicting rights must be subordinated to the major issue of the war, and methods must be used for preventing conflict being brought to determination by strikes for the time being. The decision was to the effect that arrangements had been made for the transfer to this " controlled establish- ment " of additional workpeople under two schemes : (1) Volunteer munition workers enrolled under the auspices of the Ministry of Munitions, and (2) men released from the colours. SOUTHAMPTON BOILERMAKERS 397 Considerable numbers of men were sent to the firm under both schemes. Exception was taken more than once by boilermakers to the employment of men who were not members of the Boilermakers' and Iron and Steel Ship- builders' Society. In one case members of the society left their work without notice in protest against the employment of a man released from the colours who was not a member of the union. Proceedings under the Munitions of War Act were taken by the Ministry of Munitions against fifty of the strikers. The case was tried before a general tribunal under the Act on October 2, and the men concerned were fined. Work was after- wards resumed, and the difference was referred to arbitra- tion in accordance with the Act. The award continued : " The right of workpeople to combine and to press for inclusion in their union of all the workpeople engaged in the particular craft is admitted. It is equally admitted that an individual workman has a right to object to belong to the union. The right of employers to decline to dis- criminate in any way between unionists and non-unionists is unquestioned. In times of peace there are methods by which these respective rights, if they are all insisted upon and if they come in conflict, may be tested. The results of such a test in the case of an establishment such as the one in question, where the men are members of a highly organised and powerful trade union, can readily be estimated. But the country is at war, and whatever may be the rights of individuals or firms or unions, such rights cannot be freely exercised if by such exercise the production of munitions of war essential to the safety of the nation is delayed, hindered, or restricted. . . . The differences in this case do not appear to be in fact differ- ences between the firm and their workpeople, but are differences between various classes of employees. Where, as in this case, an exclusively ' union shop ' is concerned, the individual should not object to forgo his principles for the time being, to the extent required to maintain harmonious relationship with the remainder of the work- people, and he can follow this course entirely without prejudice to a reversion to the status quo in times of peace. " It is, however, regarded as a necessary qualification of 398 THE MUNITIONS OF WAR ACT, 1915 membership of the Boilermakers' Society that the candi- date should ordinarily have served an apprenticeship to the trade of some years' duration. It is obvious that, if the efforts that are being made to increase the amount of labour available for the production of munitions of war are to be successful, a rule of this kind cannot at present be insisted upon. Workmen who are competent workmen and eligible should in my opinion be admitted as members of the society, either in the ordinary way or, if the society so determine, as temporary miembers. If the society is not prepared to admit workmen who are con- sidered by the employers to be capable of useful employ- ment, they must not during the War be precluded from such employment by any objection on the part of the union or of its members. If in the case of a particular individual the society object to his joining the union, he should be allowed to work freely and without interference or molesta- tion." As the year drew to a close, signs of the increasing cost of living were apparent in demands being put forward for general increases before the close of the first cycle of wage advances, as it may be called, was yet complete. Claim began to overlap claim. Restiveness in uncontrolled trades, such as cotton, where a strike was with difl&culty averted, jute in Dundee, and dyes in Huddersfield, became apparent. Special demands were being made by com- paratively new industries, such as aircraft workers, whose rates had been governed by the rates of the craft to which each worker belonged. Co-operative assistants in Lan- cashire and Edinburgh pressed forward claims on their societies.. Some sections of employers holding contracts and afraid of disputes or loss of men began to give advances beyond the standard amounts which others, not so ad- vantageously placed, already had difficulty in meeting. Two commissioners were sent to Glasgow " to inquire into the cause and the circumstances of the apprehended differences affecting munition workers in the Clyde district." Clearance or leaving certificates being denied to men ; raising of rents for houses ; jealousy between union and union ; lack of belief in union leaders ; influx of women and fear of cheap labour ; ignorance of the provisions of the Munitions Act, and alleged harsh and unjust administra- FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES 399 tion of the Munitions Act, or the " Slavery Act," as it was dubbed ; fines on three shipwrights who left work without authority or notice ; irregular increases granted by certain employers, a fruitful source of discontent on the Clyde ; and propaganda, were all cumulative causes of discontent in the Clyde district, while many of them applied to other districts. The non-union question broke out again both in Derby- shire and Lanarkshire. The building trade, denuded of men by recruiting and with building generally at a discount, professed to be unable to grant increases while other trades were getting them. Last, but not least, the example of the Welsh miners was continually mentioned, and became more and more a covert threat. At the same time the Government were in considerable difficulty about finance. On November 18, Mr. Bonar Law in the House of Commons said " that those who represented the working classes, as well as the commercial classes, should set their forces resolutely against any increased pay by the Government in any shape or form for anything that had to be got in connection with the War." When the Government were informed of the growth of applications for new advances, they as chief employers were alarmed. A memorandum was issued to the Committee on Production, stating that His Majesty's Government " have come to the conclusion that, in view of the present emergency, any further advances of wages (other than advances following automatically from existing agree- ments) should be strictly confined to the adjustment of local conditions where such adjustments are proved necessary." This emergency and solemn statement was a necessary factor in considering some premature demands for a second general rise in wages, but could only delay claims tainted with this defect. The rise in the cost of living necessitated consideration of a new cycle. Legitimate claimants pressed that free arbitration granted by the Munitions Act must not be hampered. The Prime Minister had to mininjise its intended effect by a statement in the House of Commons, and finally it was formally withdrawn. The year ended with a difficult situation in which the chance of maintaining industrial peace was shadowed by dark clouds. CHAPTER XXXVII 1916 It had become evident, soon after the passing of the; Munitions of War Act, 1915, that it would have to be amended. There were omissions in it ; the Act caused confusion and some hardship. As far as arbitration was concerned, the very existence of the Ministry of Munitions caused delay in arbitration by the applications being sometimes matters for the Ministry, sometimes for the Board of Trade, and sometimes for the Ministry first and the Board of Trade afterwards. The absence of co- ordination, which became so accentuated when new Ministers and controllers were appointed by the score, and which at all times is the curse of efficient administra- tion, increased rapidly. Changes in arbitration procedure were but a small part, however, of the reasons for an amending Act, for which the questions of the inclusion of Government undertakings, leaving certificates, dilution, increased employment of women, and the necessity of a wider definition of munitions of war, were mainly responsible. Discussion on the pro- posed Act was quickened by the hostile reception given to the Minister of Munitions at the close of the year at Glasgow, and the remarks he heard in that city on the working of the Act, although his appeals urged them to " rise to the height of a great opportunity," when they would " emerge after this War is over into a future which has been the dream of many a great leader." The Bill passed quickly through Parliament, and became an Act on January 27, 1916. The building and repair of merchant ships, many classes of material, works of construction in any manner connected with munition work, public utility services, the supply of light and power, tramway facilities, a,nd fire engines, were 400 A NEW MUJNITIOJNS ACT 401 all, subject to certificates in certain cases from the Ministry, brought under the provisions of the Act. The inter- locking of industries had been better realised by practice, and, owing to shortage of men, it became urgent that some protection against loss of men should be available for such essential services. This extension brought more cases by enactment of law under the Arbitration Courts, while at the same time, with a view to expedition, instead of the Board of Trade having discretion to refer a question to arbitration " in any case in which they think fit," it was made obligatory to refer within twenty-one days any difference which appeared to be a bona fide difference. This provision enabled the Department to impress on any party who delayed answers, would not attend meetings, or pursued dilatory tactics, that time was running and reference to arbitration would certainly be made before its expiry gave free permission to lock out or strike. So far as arbitration was concerned, other important clauses referred to women. In the early days of the War rates for women and juveniles almost automatically followed the usual practice of advancement in recognised proportions to the rates given to men. As women in trades, like the woollen and cotton trades, where this practice did not rule, got large advances, other women moved for increased rates. As, too, men decreased, women began to take their places. The necessity for workers obliged the Govern- ment to make every effort for dilution in trade after trade. The conditions under which they should work or enter the places vacated by men, without exploitation either of their own or the contiguous male conditions, became an important problem. The subject had been mooted as early as July 1915, after some arrangement by Mr. Lloyd George with Mrs. Pankhurst. It was debated, - so far as munition workers were concerned, during the whole of the autumn. Administrative steps were taken by the Ministry of Munitions by means of circulars known as L2 and L8, applicable to certain classes of munition workers. These circulars had no compulsory effect, and not being compulsorily applicable, penalised firms adopting them as compared with firms ignoring them. The new Bill proposed to give power to the Minister to give enforce- able "directions." There was supposed to be an appeal 402 1916 to arbitration from his directions, particularly if the direc- tions were not properly applicable to any particular workpeople or firms. There were numerous cases where it was a question whether the work was munition work or not, and as to how the difficulties of women in the same factory wholly or partly engaged on munitions, and women not engaged on munitions, could be adjusted. There was also the question of a proper minimum, if such was to be fixed, and whether it ought to be fixed nationally, by districts, by trades or by firms, or sometimes by one method and sometimes by another. Such matters, with others, came within the orbit of arbitration, if differences arose or both sides were to be heard ; or they might come within the orbit of command, if legislation permitted it. At the time the Bill was being discussed, a Committee made some recommendations which the Ministry were requested to endorse. Committees in other parts of the country were also making agreements which they considered suitable to their districts. Officials of the Ministry of Munitions took other varying views. The Minister of Munitions desired to endorse the recom- mendations of the first Committee, and that the arbitration tribunal should accept it, or similar recommendations, and apply it or them to cases coming before them. My ex- pressed view was that, if such a course was to be followed, • it must be made known ; arbitration should be unfettered, or must be known to be fettered by instructions ; the recommendations would affect the great industries which had not been heard ; an appearance of impartial judgment, when restrictions unknown to the parties directly or in- directly affected the court, was not an impartial judgment and would be misleading. The Minister of Munitions endeavoured to get round the difficulties by establishing two special arbitration tribunals attached to the Ministry of Munitions, and in fact he altered, with that object, the draft Bill on the -Treasury Bench. As was remarked, " The Amendment has now been rapidly changed by the Minister of Munitions." It will easily be seen that this improvised expedient tended to establish dual authority. The clause stated that : " (1) The Minister of Munitions may constitute special arbitration tribunals to deal with differences reported under NEW TRIBUNALS 408 Part I of the principal Act which relate to matters on which the Minister of Munitions has given or is empowered to give directions under the two preceding sections, and the Board of Trade may refer any such difference for settle- ment to such tribunal in lieu of referring it for settlement in accordance with the First Schedule to the principal Act. " (2) The Minister of Munitions may also refer to a special arbitration tribunal so constituted, for advice, any question as to what directions are to be given by him under the said sections. " (8) The tribunal to which matters and questions relating to female workers are to be referred under this section shall include one or more women." The new proposals caused the establishment of two new tribunals, the first for women, the second for certain classes of semi-skilled and unskilled men; but the first tribunal was the most important. Its functions were both advisory and judicial, and in the first capacity it had much investigation and statistical work of a difficult character to do. This work was increased by the number of women flocking into industry, the number in July 1918 being estimated to be 7| millions, as compared with about 6 millions in July 1914. As an arbitration tribunal, on the other hand, it had scarcely been established before it was confronted with the exact difficulty I have mentioned, and requested that recommendations put forward by other committees and laid before the Minister should not be published, as they must interfere with its judicial work and position. Although every possible case affecting women was referred to the new tribunal, and co-ordination was carried out with fair success, the existence of the two bodies, the Special Tribunal and the Committee on Production, in different buildings, with different officials, necessarily caused difficulties. Trades where both men and women were employed objected to two hearings. Some demanded that the Committee on Production should deal with all the workpeople, on the ground that the interests of men and women interlocked, and that a case must be dealt with as a whole, and not by pieces. Cases governing each other came up at different times, awards could not be held back till one tribunal had expressed an opinion. 404 1916 and it was undesirable that either tribunal should be placed in the position of merely registering the decisions of the other. The effect of the new Act, owing to the necessity of reference within a specified period, was an increase of the number of claims which had to be referred to arbitra- tion, in place of the more lasting settlements which usually resultfrom conciliation and agreements between the parties. Arbitration was more speedy, gave greater uniformity, and affected more people, but it imposed orders and com- pulsion, principles never generally acceptable to the British race. It was only recognition of the supreme importance of the War which effected such general ad- herence to the final decisions of the various courts. An arbitrator is in a very different position to a con- ciliator. He sits as a judge, and as a rule the less he says the better, provided that the questions and issues debated before him are clear to him. If he pleads judicial ignorance and asks foolish questions in a trade dispute, he is done. The flow of speech is interrupted to explain an elementary point, and any listeners knowing the trade will regret that so ignorant a man has to decide fateful questions. If he does not understand, it is nearly certain that, before the arguments are finished, trade terms, trade issues, the exact difficulties, will be clearly elucidated without an intervening debacle. A conciliator has to go through the same process, but he must be far more quick at getting at the real point, the real kernel of the dispute, and con- centrating upon that, with a view to seeing how it can be dealt with. If the parties crystallise in hopeless opposition, a settlement is doubtful. Unless the parties continue to negotiate, either together or with the conciliator accurately ascertaining and weighing the arguments of each party and conferring separately with them, a breakdown is certain. It is vital to continue negotiations, or, as is usually said, to keep the parties together. Negotiations may continue for hours, and then for the time being resolve themselves for further hours into plans for preventing a rupture. It is impossible for outside people to come in with platitudinous remarks or easily given advice, but without knowledge of the concentrated purpose of the man who has to succeed or fail by his view of all the cir- cumstances of the case, and the personalities of the people ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION 405 with whom he is negotiating, and has to intervene with suggestions at the exact psychological moment. It is easy to see, if these points are considered, that in conciliation the main point is to get the parties together and to keep them together ; and that this main point requires patience as the first, second, and third qualification, and, in a minor degree, tact, judgment of men, ingenuity, courtesy, power of interpretation of the wishes of the parties, and an utter absence of exhibitions of partisan feelings. Irony, in- vective, or eloquence are unwise weapons to use. They are liable to be misunderstood. Anger on rare, but only very rare, occasions may be justifiable. Its strength lies in unexpectedness. Emotion is out of place ; imagination must be sternly curbed, though it may frequently be a stepping-stone to the sure ground of practical suggestion. If the conciliator is asked for his view, let him give it without fear or favour ; but it is at least unwise to take sides, as so many people do, before all arguments have been heard or before every aggrieved person has had a chance of saying what he thinks, whether his point is good or bad. The whole picture must be before the conciliator, but he must be very quick in judging the salient features and continuously keeping those features before his mind, even if many irrelevant matters are introduced. The more experience he has, the greater knowledge of trades, prece- dents, and personalities will be at his command, and the greater will be the influence of common sense or brain- power, particularly when it is applied at the proper time, at the psychological moment. That common sense, brain- power, or magnetism, as some people allege, is directed to one object, which initially, perhaps, nobody else in the meeting may desire or contemplate ; that object is peace, and, as far as possible, a durable peace. It will be recognised that this procedure requires time, and although the more haste the worse speed may be nor- mally the best course in difficult cases, it is impracticable when speed, as in time of war, is essential for the further- ance of greater interests than a lasting settlement of the local struggle. The remarkable feature was the general acquiescence or acceptance, when the disciplinary command or decision came from third parties who could only act upon arguments put before them in London or in Glasgow, after a comparatively brief hearing. 406 1916 There were necessarily all types of representatives of employers and employed appearing before the arbitrators. At a later date, in a lecture, I mentioned some of the qualities useful to men who might achieve a position, either as employers or trade union leaders, in which they would influence or govern others and have to appear before arbitrators or conciliators. My suggestions were that they should have acquired as thorough a knowledge as possible of the men or women for whom they were working and whom they were representing, and an absolutely thorough knowledge of what their real aims and desires were, so as not to put forward aims which, even if granted, would not satisfy their constituents. They should know the work they were talking about, and not go with ignorance, which could only cause contempt on the other side and difficulty to the outsider. They should try to put their statements as succinctly and relevantly as possible ; show as much courtesy and tact as possible ; and not ask too much, but what they thought was within the obtain- able. They should take with them, where possible, some of their colleagues, who could listen to what they said and be able to enforce their opinion of what occurred in the council chamber on the large outside constituency to whom they were responsible. If any of them became conciliators or arbitrators, and sat in the chair, the most important point of any to follow was patience, and if they could combine patience with coolness, it would go far to reduce angry passions and bring an atmosphere of calm into the proceedings. It had to be recognised most carefully by arbitrators and conciliators that they were dealing with men and women with like passions as them- selves, and that the note of human sympathy, the note of humour, the note at one time of repressing frothy or irrelevant remarks, and at another time of trying to help a little in getting out of a man what he failed to express himself, were all valuable points for an arbitrator. Although, as has been said, the effect of the new Act was to necessitate arbitration in cases where conciliation might otherwise have been used, there were cases in which conciliation alone could have been employed, notably in the unionist and non-unionist agreement in the South Wales coal-field. This very difficult question had caused innumerable strikes in South Wales for a score of years. JNON-UNIONIST AGREEMENT 407 loss of millions of pounds to employers, and bitter strikes and losses to employees. Employers had taken the view that the question had nothing to do with them ; the work- people must decide, they could not dictate. In the old days they were not hostile to the view that the non- unionists were an antidote to the unions, but for years they had dealt, not with individual men, but with organisa- tions which purported to speak on behalf of all the miners. All agreements, wages, conditions, and mutual questions were settled with these organisations, except the question of non-unionism, which the employers would not admit to be a mutual question. It is not necessary to discuss the obvious reasons for the antagonism and hatred of unionists to the presence of non-union men in such a stronghold of unionism as the Welsh coal-field. The trouble increased during the War, when new men were drafted into the mines. Local strike succeeded local strike unless and until these men agreed to j oin the union, while managers or foremen, in the desire to get men, could not exercise judgement in tactful avoidance of men who were not already in the union, and whose presence as non-unionists they knew would be certain to lead to trouble. The situation became a national danger, particularly when at many collieries, including the Admiralty steam-coal area, notices were being sent in to leave work unless the non- unionists joined up. Under these circumstances I asked the parties to meet me, when they effected an agreement which most certainly obviated and still obviates a vast number of stoppages. The agreement stated that : " The coal-owners agree that an intimation of the fact that the workmen employed at the collieries are required to become members of one or other of the recog- nised trade unions shall be made throughout the coal-field generally, and at the several collieries. If, notwithstanding such intimation, workmen fail to become members, or cease to be members, and it becomes necessary to take special steps to deal with such men at any colliery or collieries, the Miners' Federation are to be at liberty to apply to the Coal Owners' Association for assistance in carrying out the terms of the requirement at the collieries in question. 27 408 1916 " In the event of difficulties arising at any colliery in connection with this question, which cannot be amicably settled by the co-operation of the coal-owners and miners' representatives, it is agreed that notices to cease work shall not be tendered, nor shall any stoppage of work take place, but that the difference shall be reported to the Chief Industrial Commissioner for action by his Depart- ment. " On the understanding that the owners agree to supply the local agents of the Miners' Federation with a list of the workmen at present employed, and also to supply a list once a fortnight of workmen who have left the colliery, and of new workmen who have been employed, the Miners' Federation agree that show-cards shall be suspended during the War, without prejudice to their position after the War. " In this agreement the term ' workmen ' does not include colliery officials." This agreement prevented many stoppages, but, re- markable document as it was, its complete effect was lessened by the subsequent desire of the Miners' Federation that members of other unions, such as the Colliery En- gineers, who for many years had had a foothold in some of the Welsh districts, ought to belong to the Miners' Union, when working under ground, and also, in a number of districts, whether working above or under ground. The difficulty of settling these disputes, often centering round the position of one man, or of arriving at the correct facts, was greatly enhanced by the parties being so far apart that the union leaders would not meet each other. South Wales was, however, again the storm-centre on a claim for increase of wages, and on disputes which had been left over from the ill-starred settlement of 1915. A difficulty on the claim arose over the supposed action of an independent chairman in pre-judging the claim before all arguments had been heard, and on the disputes because neither side would agree to a settlement. Under instructions I had to give a 15 per cent, advance, which in fact was not very different from the amounts being received in other trades, though the owners disliked the speed with which the claim was dealt with. Bound up with it was an agreement by the parties to obtain the THE SECOND CYCLE OF WAGES 409 nomination of a new independent chairman, and a consent that the outstanding disputes should be referred to an arbitrator. For the time being quiet was restored, but the frequent troubles in Wales, the growing failure of the parties to reach agreements, the impossibility of inter- ference by dictation to an uncontrolled industry, and the necessity of continuous production of coal, were largely the causes which led the Government to assume control of all the coal-fields. As the summer advanced, and the cost of living increased, there were in addition to the vast number of arbitrations in trades under the Munitions of War Acts, often amounting to five or six a day for days together, disputes in many trades outside that Act. The woollen trade, after an obstinate strike of wool-combers, practically arranged that I should take case after case, either as arbitrator or con- ciliator. The Federated Cotton trade was more difficult. They did agree finally, after a long meeting, to leave the question to my decision. The operatives were not pleased with the percentage awarded, chiefly because the card- room operatives wanted more than the other branches. If they had known the great difficulty I had in getting the employers to agree to a decision being given on the length of time the award should last, which I pointed out must be far less than the long periods customary to the trade, and the bitter objections and fears of some sections of the employers at the chance of any increase, they would have realised they had been within an ace of a most dis- astrous lockout. Conditions were very fluctuating, many businesses had poor financial results, and cotton had been badly affected by the War. Other cases, brought from Ireland, reminded me of 1918, particularly when a spokesman would appear under escort from internment in prison after the Easter disturbances, and with brief instruction proceed very temperately to argue a wages claim. The second cycle of wage advances, as it may be called, began about the end of June. The time for adjustment of anomalies had passed. An enormous number of adjust- ments had been made, and as far as possible that policy of equal treatment, which in face of a common difficulty the Department had been endeavouring to give, had been so effected that, when once a figure had been fixed, general 410 1916 advances to large trades or sections of trades could be qjiickly settled. The increase in the cost of living, with the result of a widening gap between the value of actual and real wages, justified a new general advance. Although such a vast quantity of work was unproductive work, and the supply of goods ordinarily required for the use of men was going down without any decrease in the demand, the country generally would have to face a considerable increase in the wages to be paid. In the middle of June, I wrote a memorandum to the Cabinet on the subject of rises of wages, and intimated the opinion of the Committee on Production. The diffi- culty of trying to prevent unrest would increase from day to day, and unless there was grave reason to the contrary, which would have to be published, the Committee intended to meet the situation by further increases, which were bound to be general. Quickness was to a certain extent forced by an extraordinarily large grant allowed to work- people at Coventry by the Ministry of Munitions, without any apparent reference to the interlocking of trades or to other advances, or for any other reason than the chance of a strike, and without consultation with or notice to other Departments. The Admiralty, on the other hand, were straining the dockyards to breaking-point. They would not say whether they meant to adhere to pre-war procedure, give an advance, or leave the question to the tribunals under the Munitions Acts. If other cases had been heard and decided before these long-expressed demands were dealt with, trouble was practically certain. The position became acute, but thanks to the common sense of Mr. Harcourt, who was acting President of the Board of Trade, the Government decided that the dockyards' case should be referred to arbitration, and it was at once heard, to be followed imrnediately by cases from the Clyde, where the Commissioners engaged on dilution (Sir L. Macassey, Sir T. Munro, and Mr. I. H. Mitchell) had been pressing for wages claims to be dealt with. As soon as it was seen that new advances were forthcoming, an avalanche of cases came from all parts of the country, of which the North-East Coast, Lancashire, South Wales, and Scotland were the most important. The awards of the Committee dealt chiefly with time-work increases, so that workers engaged on time-work, who had not such oppor- SCOTTISH NATIONAL BUILDING CODE 411 tunity as men on piecework to get payment by results, might be able to meet the cost of living. At the same time, relieving the monotony of claims for the general advance, many cases arose where efforts were being made by em- ployers to introduce piecework in branches of trade where piecework had not been generally employed, and where the conditions were disputed. In other trades various schemes of premium bonus and payment by results were being tried, some with success, some in forms which led to disputes. The claims of the Ministry of Munitions for iron ore led to an interesting case in Glasgow, where the trial of a tonnage rate to dockers unloading the ore, instead of a day rate, at once led to large acceleration in supply. This hearing took place on the Clyde in one of a series of visits to Scotland which it seemed desirable for me to take on behalf of the Committee on Production, when quickening of decisions continued to be necessary, and the difficulties of railway travel hindered journeys to London by deputations of employers and employed. The hearings involved every class of trade and every kind of technicality, from the building of submarines to the heeling of boots, and from instrument-makers to the unloading of iron ore ; from cases of a few individuals to general advances involving thousands of men. In the brief intervals which the other Scottish claims allowed, it may be mentioned that there was gradually settled during the War, under my chairmanship, a National Building Code for Scotland. Its beginnings arose from an obstinate dispute of the master-builders with the architects and surveyors as to the mode of measurement for joiners' work. The dispute, which existed in the early days of the War, was so keenly conducted that it was bound to affect other industries, but none of the parties desired such a result, and agreed to meet. After long conferences they also agreed to my final decision as an arbiter. A scheme of measurement for joiners' work, largely due to the able assistance of Mr. Herbert Ryle, of the Scottish Office of Works, was laid before them, and after discussion settled. This scheme led to other modes in the varied branches of the building trade, together with a model contract and regulations, the whole forming a National Building Code. The better feeling, saving of expense 'and time, regulation of a great and very technical industry, and lasting results 412 1916 engendered by the existence of this code, the first National Building Code produced by any country, is, I think, not the least of the many achievements produced in Scotland during the War. It may be said that the period from August to November 1916 was probably the period during the War when the least difficulty arose in the settlement of differences ; but the plans for equable adjustment were soon cut across. It was perhaps to be supposed that interference would arise. The activity of the Ministry of Munitions probably appeared in its most unfortunate form in its dealings with Labour. Its Labour Department was very badly organised, or not organised at all in its initial stages, but that fact did not prevent it, under the guise of efforts towards control and dilution, from constant interference in labour differences or quarrels. Numbers of young men, without the least knowledge or experience, were scattered over the country, without defined authority, or under any definite or adequate leadership. They gave orders, proposed pr required changes of wages, and by ignorance, or in some cases lack of judgement, created a great deal of trouble. Their action led to much of the dislike of officials and official interference which is still so prevalent. In time some of them gained experience and became good officers ; others who showed themselves unfitted and incompetent were weeded out. They ought never to have been appointed, and much less allowed to exercise the harmful influence which they had in so many parts of the country. In the autumn, too, the Government, unable to find a fixed office for one of its Members, Mr. Arthur Henderson, appointed him its " Labour Adviser." Instead of dealing with broad matters of policy, he issued a statement, quite incorrect, that the Board of Trade only dealt with cases after a dispute had arisen, but he would deal with them in anticipation. He called himself a Department " with a future." This pronouncement at once led to claims by sections who had not got as much as they desired from the Arbitration Courts or by conciliation, and a reopening of cases. He practically made the employers in the aircraft industry yield to demands, and under a statement, called an award, gave to the workpeople a special status and wages beyond what they had actually sought. This THE FIRST MINISTER OF LABOUR 413 procedure at once raised claims from classes of workers of the same category, such as carpenters and joiners, who were engaged in other industries and possibly more onerous work. The work of arbitration was not rendered more easy by such uncertain actions. The same result followed when, at the close of the year, Mr. Asquith went out and Mr. Lloyd George came in. A Ministry of Labour was suddenly established. The new Minister, Mr. Hodge, also issued a statement to the effect that he was personally available for hearing all grievances. Every disgruntled person at once flooded him with complaints and demands. Old claims which had been practically forgotten were revived. A decision was given at Manchester to boilermakers which affected the whole trade ; and finally, so heavy were the efforts for personal interference, that he had in defence to say that all cases must be referred to the courts constituted by law and the Department authorised to deal with disputes. CHAPTER XXXVIII NEW MINISTRIES, 1917 The Ministry of Labour was settled in a few minutes, or even less, when Mr. Lloyd George heard the conditions under which the Labour Party would be prepared to sup- port him politically. No details were arranged, but it was evident that this new departure would mean the trans- fer of Departments specially involving labour questions from the Board of Trade to a new Ministry. At the time when assent was given to the proposal for the Ministry there existed a difficult dispute concerning the lightermen in London ; the South Lancashire cotton trade had to be proclaimed under the Munitions of War Acts, owing to the desire of the leaders of cardroom hands to anticipate the termination of my award of the summer ; a move was being made for an agreement in the engineering trades in favour of consolidation of general demands and periodical hearings ; the question of coal control was being debated, owing to fresh demands by the miners ; the subject of premium bonus and piecework was being seriously pressed in Glasgow and other places ; and the whole of the first week in December was spent by me in settling a very large number of disputes in Scotland. There was plenty of effervescing disturbance in the country, and the situation was not free from serious causes of anxiety. The letter of Mr. Hodge, the new Minister, to which allusion has been made, the resulting predicament in which he found himself, and his effort to exercise a dispensing power in Manchester, did not alleviate matters. It was only the beginning of the era, already commenced by the Ministry of Munitions, when new authorities, new Departments, new Ministries, vied with each other in seeking control over any labour questions affecting them, with little or no regard to each other's vagaries. The system spelt lack of co-ordination. 414 LACK OF SYSTEM 415 If the Government had had any labour pohcy, it ceased from December 1916. No Minister of Labour could have had success when hampered by this absence of policy, the force of disintegration resulting from the maze of authori- ties, and the opportunist arrangements one or other authority continuously made. Each new Ministry or Department seemed to desire to start out on its own ideas for dealing with labour. The Ministry of Munitions, almost before the new Minister was supplied with offices at Montagu House, pressed him into adhesion to their young men being authorised to deal with labour disputes in controlled establishments. The Coal Controller followed with the contention that he must deal with the wages and conditions in the coal-fields, as Mr. Smillie and other miners' leaders so desired. With the results the whole country is acquainted, and how the Coal Controller, with an appeal always pending to the Prime Minister, was forced from pillar to post and com- pelled to give amounts which reflected upon other trades. The Ministry of Shipping followed suit, and within a few months set up a shipping board, which also determined wages without much regard to any other Department. The railwaymen, too, watched events and negotiated with the Railway Executive, again with an appeal always pending to the Prime Minister, having precedents in these other trades or setting precedents without cohesion with other trades. The Air Ministry " out-Heroded Herod," and with astonishing lack of control or system brought the building trade and many sections of workpeople into a state of unrest which has left a lasting mark. The loathing with which bureaucracy has been tarred has been much helped by the development of this bad system. The chaos thus produced was serious, and it put the Minister of Labour in a difficult position, which was not rendered more easy by the general situation, many people making prophecies that Mr. Lloyd George's Government could not last. Neither did Mr. Hodge receive any par- ticular help from the Labour Party. They had put him there, but some of them seemed to be anxious to use him as their tool. This procedure he resented, and when he tried to be fair, was accused of leaning to the side of the employers. It is not, however, my purpose to deal with the action 416 NEW MINISTRIES, 1917 of individuals. In addition to the disintegrating elements fostered by the Ministry of Munitions and soon to be imitated by other Departments, there were, at the time of the formation of the Ministry of Labour, the two questions of consolidation of labour demands and the growing pressure for systems of payment by results which had demanded attention during the autumn, before the Ministry of Labour was thought of. To these questions I continued to direct effort. The Government, owing to the pressure of overlapping claims, had wisely decided, through Mr. George Barnes, that awards, agreements, and decisions must be upheld, and should not be reopened before a reasonable period had elapsed. In view of the rapid changes in cost of living, a reasonable period, it was suggested, should be short. Four months was proposed. As the second cycle of wage demands was now almost closed, and further claims were continuously being forwarded, it was apparent there would be a block of claims to be heard if each district, union, trade, and association, as well as many separate firms, desired separate awards. No single court could cope with such a number, particularly as decisions by the Committee on Production were being demanded in prefer- ence to awards by single arbitrators. At the same time, such anomalies as the Committee intended to deal with had been settled. Demands became more and more confined to changes of wages, with a view to obtaining equality of treatment under the common trouble of increase in the cost of living. Parties themselves had begun to recognise, largely owing to difficulties of travelling, the value of grouping. Employers were sending two or three persons as spokesmen for a whole group of firms, or as representatives of a big association ; and the same reduction of spokesmen was being followed by trade unions, who often waited until a number of claims in their districts were ready. Speed in dealing with the general claims could possibly be effected if there were more courts, closely co-ordinated together and working as branches of the Committee on Production, which experience from visits to Scotland indicated as a proved advantage, and if the hearing of the general claims could be consolidated. The formation of new courts and the establishment of increased staff, which had been THE ENGINEERING AGREEMENT 417 consistently and unreasonably kept at starvation level, were matters for the Government and the Minister. Con- solidation of claims might be a matter which could be effected by agreement. The attempt was first made with the engineering industry. After consultation with the leaders of the Engineering Employers' Federation and of some principal unions, the idea seemed to be feasible. A large conference was summoned, at which a draft agreement was put forward for consideration. The parties discussed these proposals by themselves, and after some hours effected an agreement, twelve or more trade unions adhering at once, and others deciding to consult their members. By the end of January, general adherence had been obtained, and an agreement signed in the following terms : Memorandum of Agreement between the Engineering Employers' Federation and the Unions con- nected with the Engineering and Foundry Trades arrived at in February 1917. " It is agreed that, having regard to the special circum- stances of the War, the following shall be the principles upon which wages changes shall be arranged for the period of the War : " (1) That existing agreements or practice under which applications for general alteration in wages are dealt with shall to that extent be suspended until the termination of the War, or for such further period as may be agreed upon by the parties thereto. This shall not refer to agreements or practices whereby the wages of any trades in any district or department rise or fall with the fluctu- ations in another district or industry not covered by this agreement. " Nor shall it prevent the unions bringing forward for special consideration at the hearings referred to in paragraph 2 (a) the case of any district in which they claim that the rates of wages are unduly low, or that the total amount of war advances is not adequate. " On the other hand, the Federation shall be entitled to bring forward for similar consideration any special cases they desire. " (2) During such period of suspension, the following 418 NEW MINISTRIES, 1917 procedure shall be observed, provided the consent of the Committee on Production is obtained : " (a) The Committee on Production shall, in the months of February, June, and October, after hearing parties, consider what general alteration in wages, if any, is warranted by the abnormal conditions then existing and due to the War. " (6) The award of the Committee on Production shall be an award under the Munitions of War Acts, and shall be of national application to all federated firms in the branch of trade concerned. " (c) The first award shall take effect in all districts on first full pay in April, and the altered rate shall continue until amended by a further award in accord- ance with provisions hereof. Subsequent awards shall specify the date upon which the alteration awarded shall take effect." The following memorandum was also agreed between the parties : " The Engineering Employers' Federation and the Unions whose signatures are appended hereto recommend to His Majesty's Government that arrangements should be made whereby all employers in the trade or trades affected should be subject to the awards which may be made by the Committee on Production in virtue of the agreement hereto attached." It will be seen that the agreement provided for periodical hearings every four months, by the Committee on Pro- duction, in regard to claims for general advances of wages and also in regard to district claims, and that existing agreements or practices for the determination of such claims were meanwhile suspended. By the end of the year fifty-two trade unions signed this agreement. Agreements on the same lines were subsequently made by the Mersey Ship Repairers' Association and the Em- ployers' Association of the Port of Liverpool on the one hand, and the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades (Mersey District Committee) and the Liverpool District Joint Committee of Engineering Societies on the other ; the National Association of Master Heating and ADOPTION BY OTHER TRADES 419 Domestic Engineers and the National Union of Operative Heating and Domestic Engineers ; the Chemical Em- ployers' Federation and the National Federation of General Workers, etc., and the Joint Committee of Salt and Chemical Workers ; the Soap and Candle Trades Em- ployers' Federation and the National Federation of General Workers and the Joint Committee of Salt and Chemical Workers ; the Wages Committee of Explosives Manu- facturers and the National Federation of General Workers ; the Drug and Fine Chemical Manufacturers' Association and the National Warehouse and General Workers' Union and others ; the Scottish Building Trades (Employers) Wages Board and the Building Trades of Scotland Standing Committee ; and the Employers' and Operatives' Associ- ations and Federations connected with the Building Trades of England and Wales. In the case of a number of other trades — for example, Shipbuilding, Scottish Iron and Steel Trades, Dockers (Great Britain), Carters (Great Britain), Clay Industry (Great Britain), Railway Shopmen, and the London County Coimcil — ^the principle of a four-monthly revision of wages by the Committee on Production, without the other clauses of the agreement, was adopted. In fact, the main agreement and its various branches form possibly the most far-extending single agreement which has ever been made or obtained force between employers and employed in this, or indeed in any, country. Although specified to be a war agreement, the agreement remained intact till the ironfounders gave notice to secede in August 1919, with an ensuing strike lasting for four months, but the system was continued by the other unions. Dealing with general advances, its chief foundation was to give general advances to meet the increases in cost of living, which, when Germany proclaimed unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917, was likely to increase, and did increase, by leaps and bounds. It came Just in the nick of time to combat these advances, so far as increase of wages could do it, in a manner which was generally understood and accepted throughout the country. It gave certainty instead of uncertainty, treated most classes of workers with equality, and, being followed by the mass of the people, tended to general absence of unrest. After the War, the Industrial Courts slightly altered the 420 NEW MINISTRIES, 1917 principle of their advances. In 1919 they took into account the claim that workpeople should be in a better position than before the War, but at a later date, in 1920, they refused an advance on the ground of condition of trade. In some senses, an observer might think that the two principles had been found to be incompatible, that the awards cancelled each other, and that the workpeople could not be in a better position unless the conditions of trade warranted it. Be that as it may, the workpeople found themselves in the position that they would either have to endeavour to retain the system of equal advances throughout the industry, which socialist theory might deem to be desirable, or to resume the pre-war system of district and general conferences without finality of decision, which would allow different claims to be made in different districts, with some regard to the conditions of trade in each district, and the presumed profits of employers in that district. The executive of such an important union as the Engineers could not come to a decision by themselves, without consulting the rank and file, and accordingly, in July 1920, proceeded to a ballot on the subject, under which the war practice has been dropped. This decision would not prevent the courts being used under new agree- ments suitable for a period of peace. The first award given under the new system, and the last wide-extending award issued while I was Chairman of the Committee on Production, was published on March 1, 1917. The award gave to the engineering and foundry trades an advance of 5s. per full ordinary week to all classes of workers, and also decided that, where the general advances given in any federated district since the beginning of the War (exclusive of advances granted before August 4, 1914, but coming into operation after that date), amounted to less than 75. per week on time rates, the men concerned should receive such further advances as would make their total advances (apart from the general advance of 5*. now awarded) 7*. per week on time rates. The award was deemed by some to be a generous award, but later events, due to the submarine successes and the rapid rise in cost of living, proved its justification. It was given to all the workpeople concerned in face of a trouble common to them all, and was at once extended by the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation to the shipyards, NEW TRIBUNALS 421 and adopted by trade after trade, although some writers proceeded to discern socialistic tendencies in it. " This award," a critic said, " is in many ways a * record ' in wage arbitrations. For the first time, a uniform advance of wages has been given to the whole of the men in the engineering workshops of Great Britain, nearly a million in number, they and their families representing one-tenth of the whole population ; for the first time, the advance is simultaneously accorded, not only to all the sectional crafts, but also to all the labourers in the shops, of equal and identical amount to all grades (55. per week) ; for the first time the labourers' unions were admitted to the negotia- tions and dealt with on equal and identical terms with those of the craftsmen ; for the first time the same advance is made to all pieceworkers by an addition of 55. to their earnings on an unchanged scale. Moreover, the award is notable in respect of the magnitude of the sum involved. It necessitates an additional payment to the workmen during the ensuing year of between £12,000,000 and £13,000,000." The formation of more courts was the corresponding factor to agreements for consolidation of claims. The very acceptance of consolidation demanded speedy hearing of claims in different trades within the shortest practicable time. The Committee on Production was simply over- whelmed with the number of cases, each of which required a large amount of correspondence. Its staff was ludicrously small. Visits to the North and Scotland by a single member could only alleviate, not meet, the number of pressing claims. A glut of cases was dealt with as speedily as possible, not helped by a premature announcement that there were to be new courts of unspecified constitution, until finally, in the middle of May, the Minister of Labour was able to announce the appointment of two, and afterwards three, courts, including representatives of employers and em- ployed, with neutral chairmen. Sir George Gibb and Sir David Harrel, with the later addition of Sir W. Mackenzie, a successful arbitrator, continued as chairmen, and the three courts had a common secretariat. With additions and variations in personnel, these courts continued the work and principles founded by the first Committee on 422 NEW MINISTRIES, 1917 Production, and in the course of the year gave two further general awards for the engineering and foundry trades, one of 3s. per week on July 14, and another of 5s. per week on November 6, to both time- and piece-workers. Upon the question of systems for payment by results no success attended the Minister's proposals. In the maze of conflicting opinions, it appeared to me to be desirable that the subject should be examined. The point was to get at the truth in a number of industries, whose circum- stances would vary. If an impartial inquiry was held, objections or fancies might be clearly seen, and if invalid, overcome. The value of different systems might be appraised, or their faults and their consequences discovered. It was, in any event, important that the best advice should be given at a time when the fate of the whole country might depend upon the largest possible production. In February, representatives of all the principal trade unions were convened at a Conference, but the Minister of Labour made no headway. He was too blunt. Instead of pro- posing an inquiry, he spoke from his own experience of steel, and practically intimated that no other system but that which had succeeded in the steel trade was worth anything. He told the whole of the delegates that they must have payment by results. The usual objection against appearance of dictation at once came to the front from trades such as carpenters and joiners, and the iron- founders. They would not admit the contention. What did a man connected with steel know about wood ? etc, etc. The same objections are rife now, particularly in the building and moulding trades. No proper inquiry has been held up to the present day, and yet it is a matter which is worthy of close examination in all its ramifica- tions, and by many said to be vital to the interests of the country. Following upon the revision of arbitration procedure, some of my oflBcers transferred with me to Montagu House, Whitehall, where the Ministry of Labour was located, but still had to deal with the heavy work of preparation and reference of cases to the arbitral tribunals, as well as with the conciliation cases and the many causes of dissatisfaction arising from the conflicting action of the new Departments. Very important conciliation cases, as soon as I had left the dull work of arbitration, came from CONFLICT OF NEW DEPARTMENTS 428 the manufacturing section of the cotton trade in North Lancashire, the woollen and worsted trades in Yorkshire, the dyeing trade, the flint-glass trade, and London omni- buses over the employment of women. It may be remarked that the midday air-raids of June 13 settled one dispute quickly, owing to the parties being anxious to leave such an unpleasant place as London by the afternoon train. The work continuously grew during the rest of the summer. As to the conflicting action of new Departments, complaints came in from every side. Dissatisfaction arose with awards when they did not come up to such amount as had been conceded by one or other Government Department. Appeals were rife, first to one Minister and then to another, and finally to the War Cabinet or the Prime Minister. The situation was brought before the Minister of Labour, but he could do little, and indeed had to concede the requirements of the Coal Controller, himself acting under pressure. Following upon a strong letter of complaint from the Engineering Employers' Federation, the situation was also brought by me, early in April, before the Prime Minister, who agreed it was most important, and proposed to hold an immediate meeting of the War Cabinet to discuss it, but a call to Italy stopped this, and the proposal lapsed. My memorandum upon the subject at that time con- tained the following remarks : " The Engineering Employers' Federation have formally complained to the Prime Minister of the lack of co-ordina- tion and the necessity of one authority on labour matters. This is not the first occasion on which such complaint has been put forward. It is known that the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation hold the same view. Trade unions and employers everywhere are in uncertainty and con- fusion, and are unable to look to any one central or respon- sible authority in the number of overlapping Government Departments. " The prestige and influence of existing Departments are being seriously impaired, and no responsibility is practicable where no finality exists or is even attempted, iand where new officers are permitted at will to interfere with the work of existing Departments. The Ministry of Munitions has established a Disputes Department. The 28 424 NEW MINISTRIES, 1917 Admiralty has at least two. There is nothing to prevent officei:s of the Board of Agriculture, the Shipping Controller, the Controller of Mines following the same course. The Ministry of Labour is itself divided. " Under the plea of being the employers, some of these Departments are seriously impairing the relations and responsibility of actual employers and workpeople to settle their own differences ; are causing unrest in the ranks of labour ; are weakening the authority of trade union leaders ; are spreading bureaucracy throughout the country ; are pitting one Department against another ; and are impeding unanimity and the progress of the War. " With a view to remedy of this position, it is sub- mitted that : "1. One Government authority be solely and entirely responsible for dealing with labour matters. "2. Any representations other Departments may wish to make respecting delays in the execution of work, the transference of workmen, the substitution of semi-skilled and unskilled for skilled men, the introduction of new methods of production, or the remuneration of labour by payment by results, when the workmen decline to adopt it, should be at once reported to that authority. "3. All appointments of Trade Unionists, Advisers, Labour Committees, and the convening of Labour Con- ferences should be arranged by or through the Ministry of Labour. "4. The settlement of conditions of labour should be left to employers and their workpeople or their represen- tatives, and action by the Ministry of Munitions should be confined to simple approval or disapproval. " 5. As to labour differences, the main producing Departments would be strengthened by rigid refusal to be implicated in such differences. The Ministers respon- sible should be in a position to say, ' My Department has nothing to do with differences, but the work must proceed as it is.' Ministers are continuously involved in hundreds of petty squabbles. Labour differences should be handled by one Department only. This of itself would reduce the differences at present existing, by the creation of an atmosphere of greater stability and security. Where differences do arise, both parties jointly, employers and workmen, should understand that they must make PROPOSAL FOR ONE AUTHORITY 425 every effort to settle without delay and without friction. Where they fail to be so settled, both parties should join in referring them to the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Department, and take this course, if at all possible, before they come to a head. " The authority of that Department should be made known to the country. The Department should be as free as possible from all political influence. If it is necessary for the Department to have support from His Majesty's Government, it should be effected by the appeal of the Chief Industrial Commissioner direct to the Minister of Labour, or to the Prime Minister, or by means of a Parlia- mentary Secretary representing the Department. " So far as the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Depart- ment is concerned, unless it is put in a position of full responsibility in the handling of labour differences, it cannot be blamed for any disputes that may arise." CHAPTER XXXIX TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. As the spring and summer of 1917 passed, the evil of lack of co-ordination became aggravated, but received culminating proof of its bad effect in the well-known grant of the 12^ per cent. That event was a strange comment on a series of reports by hastily improvised Industrial Commissions appointed by the Prime Minister in June, to inquire and report within a fortnight upon the causes of industrial unrest. These Commissions were to use any means for ascertaining the facts, were to see for themselves, make inquiries for themselves, get to know what was happening, why it was happening, and report in fourteen days. With the exception of a report on South Wales, none of the reports were much more than a re-hash of known points or of stale complaints. There was no cohesion between them, as the Commissions had no time. They were not summoned to meet and compare notes or to formulate any considered report. Every conceivable ex parte complaint and opinion had been invited and heard without check, hindrance to misstatement, or explanation of facts or circumstances. Some of thei chairmen asked leave to apply to different Departments to hear their answers to or explanations of various complaints made about them, but met with refusal on the score of time, the reports being published without any Department being given an opportunity of being heard or knowing what statements had been made about them. The reports bore the mark of a " stopgap " expedient with a view of indicating that something was being done, or that complaints woiUd be heard by new authorities. There were two points, however, on which all the Com- missions laid stress : the objection to the leaving certi- ficate regulations, which prevented men from moving 426 SKILLED TIME-WORKERS 427 from one firm to another, and the difference in earnings between skilled men (such as skilled tool-makers, mill- wrights, setters-up, etc.) and semi-skilled or unskilled workers who had been enabled, owing to the undertakings not to cut piece prices if output increased, the improvement of repetition work, and their own enhanced skill, to earn in some firms more than the skilled men on time-work. If the leaving certificate regulations were removed, such skilled men would be likely to leave time-work for which they were required, and go upon shell work or the easier pro- duction work. The Commissions were generally in favour of a system whereby skilled supervisors and others on time rates should receive a bonus. It was only one of the minor recommendations, and they may not have be- come aware, after so brief an inquiry, how largely the diffi- culty had been met by special grants to these men in the majority of firms, whose vital interest it was to keep them contented. The question had several times come up in arbitrations before the Committee on Production, who had made suggestions to that effect and indicated that it had best be dealt with locally and according to the exigencies of each case, possibly of each man. It had been agreed always by the representatives of the unions concerned that no general award and no general bonus would meet the very varied classes of workers concerned. The whole question resolved itself into a succession of special cases, and could only be specially dealt with. It was at this juncture that Mr. Churchill, lately returned to the ranks of Ministers, gave a pledge, or used words which, if not a pledge, as was afterwards said, were certainly interpreted to be a pledge. He proposed to abolish leaving certificates, and to effect equalisation of earnings by favour to skilled time-workers. It was an indication of a sectional advance which was bound to react, just as all other sectional advances of the kind must react, upon surrounding sections and thence to trade after trade. Powers for giving greater authority to the Minister of Munitions to carry out any plan which might be formed were given by a third Munitions of War Act, passed on August 21, 1917. This Act authorised the Minister of Munitions to give directions with respect to the remunera- tion to be paid for work paid at time rates, being munitions work or work in connection therewith, or work in any 428 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. controlled establishment. It was provided that, where a difference arose respecting matters in which the Minister of Munitions had given directions, the difference should be referred to a special arbitration tribunal. It may be added that this Act also authorised a Govern- ment Department to report a difference, provided that arbitration tribunals should make awards without delay and, where practicable, within fourteen days from the date of reference, and empowered the Minister of Munitions in certain cases to make awards binding upon minorities, by the extension of awards or agreements made by em- ployers employing the majority of persons engaged on or in connection with munitions work in any trade or branch of a trade. This last section recalled the proposals made by the Industrial Council in 1913 in reference to extension of agreements, but did not allude to the quid pro, quo in the shape of agreement to delay strikes which was an essential part of the opinion tendered by the Industrial Council. Mr. Churchill appointed a small committee of officials under a political chairman, who could not have known anything of the subject, with instructions to find a way of fulfilling his undertaking, not of considering whether the plan was wise or not. They reported in favour of a bonus of 12 J per cent, on earnings to certain categories of fully skilled time-workers in the engineering and, later, the foundry trades. An officer of the Ministry of Labour was a member of this Committee, but an early protest by him to Mr. Churchill and to the Minister of Labour was never sent forward. He was never consulted by the chairman or shown the report before it was issued. As soon as the proposals happened to come to me in October, I wrote a strong minute that they ought to be stopped. The evils of a sectional advance or of one trade in advance of another had been quite recently exhibited, at the beginning of September. The Coal Controller, apparently without any consultation with the Ministry of Labour or the War Cabinet, had allowed himself to be forced into a large advance to the miners. He excused part of it on the ground that back allowance was due, the miners not having had increases at the same time as other workpeople, owing to the delays consequent on the estabhshment of THE COAL CONTROLLER 429 control. This argument was not apparent to, and did not impress, other workpeople, who saw a flat-rate war grant of 1*. 6d. a day given to one particular trade in September, and compared it with the advance of 3s. per week given by the new Committee on Production in the middle of July, an advance due to stand till the month of November. It interfered seriously with the allowances agreed to in the railway service and in the transport trades. It was evident that unrest must arise from unequal advances both in amount and date of allowance to one class of workpeople. A member of the War Cabinet and the new Minister of Labour, Mr. G. H. Roberts, had had a warm interview with the Coal Controller on this appli- cation of a principle of control without co-ordination, which he had forced from the outgoing Minister of Labour. They had insisted that the Controller must not go so far again without the approval of the Government at earlier stages. Now the Minister of Labour became alive to the fact that another sectional advance was in immediate prospect, of which he had heard little or nothing, and of which the effect was obvious. During my absence in the North, Mr. Mitchell sent to him some prescient remarks upon the subject. He said : " While the Ministry of Labour is putting up for the regularisation of wages movements a uniform policy, and the observance of awards and decisions, the spending Departments are openly pursuing a policy of generous wage advances regardless alike of the effect these con- cessions have upon their own Department or others. The first-fruits of the Coal Controller's concessions to the miners is the demand of the railwaymen for £1 per week advance, in addition to the 15s. already received. The Scottish Colliery Enginemen were told by the Coal Con- troller on August 10 that, in his opinion, no case for a present increase in enginemen's wages had been made out. A week or two later, on threat of a strike, he offered them Is. 3d. per shift advance, totalling 29s. 9d. per week advance since the War began. Now that the miners have received Is. 6d. per shift advance, it may be confidently expected that the enginemen will demand a like sum. " The line followed by the Ministry of Munitions is quite as serious. I understand the recommendation of 430 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT, the Majority Report of the Skilled Day-Workers Committee has been endorsed. This is the more extraordinary in view of the fact that the Admiralty quite recently decided to abolish the ' lieu payment.' The lieu payment was an enhanced time rate paid on jobs where piecework could not be applied. Its abolition was necessitated by the discovery that the system was vicious, retarded output, and was abused ; it had, however, the semblance of an excuse, inasmuch as the men were supposed to make extra effort. Now we have the Ministry of Munitions introducing a system which frankly abandons all pretence of extra efforts, rejects the conditional ' payment by result ' clause, and offers from 10 per cent, to 15 per cent, advance to skilled time-work engineers. Accompanying this is the abolition of the leaving certificate, which in itself will result in an additional upward jump in wages. To these two concessions is also added an extension of the subsis- tence allowance. In competition against all this, the Admiralty must, of course, proceed to bid up to the attractions set by the Ministry of Munitions, otherwise they cannot hope to retain their men. The immediate result will, of course, be not only claims for similar treat- ment by all other time-workers on munition-work, but an agitation amongst the lower-paid pieceworkers, where the piecework balance is small, for similar concessions. " The chaotic, individual, and competitive handling of labour pursued by the various Departments has resulted in fostering the spirit of unrest : harassing and rendering impotent the employers or management : in addition to vastly adding to the cost of the War and hindering output. The only argument advanced to defend this triumph of the competitive system is that the various Ministers and Controllers entrusted with these Departments are the virtual employers, and are therefore entitled to settle the disputes which arise in the works over which they exercise control. Admitting this for the moment, surely the first duty of modern management is to unite with kindred employers so as to ensure economic working." The leaving certificate regulations were to die, in accordance with the promise of the Minister of Munitions, on Monday, October 15. The proposals of the report on the 12| per cent, had already leaked out. If it was to be WAR CABINET DECISION 481 established, the Ministry were anxious to publish their adhesion before October 15, It was for that reason that on Friday, October 12, the War Cabinet held a full meeting, and finally, after the Prime Minister had remarked that he did not see how they could go back on what would be said to be a Parliamentary pledge, referred the detail of incidence to a Committee of the Cabinet which met in the afternoon. At that meeting. Lord Milner at once remarked that, after the statements about the pledge, the 12^ per cent, was past praying for ; there only remained the incidence, and the question where, if at all, it could be stopped. Formal protest by Sir Lynden Macassey, head of the Shipyard Labour Department, and myself were entered on the War Cabinet minutes. As to incidence the foundry trade, on the advice of Mr. Barnes, was even at this early stage added to the classes supposed to be covered by the loosely worded order. That order came out on Sunday. October 14, the day before the abolition of leaving certificates, and was known as Statutory Rules and Orders 1917, No. 1061. Its effect was absolutely immediate. On Monday, October 15, representatives of the railways came to see me, to ask what they were to do. Their agreements and arrangements were all upset. It would certainly be claimed in the railway shops, and must spread to the working of the lines. Representatives of the Electrical Union also came, telling me that they would never be able to hold their workpeople in the electrical power-stations, with whose managements I had been endeavouring for a month to arrange a joint scheme of equal treatment within the industry, and of advances equivalent to those granted to analogous workpeople in allied industries. All through the next weeks, trade union leader after trade union leader came for advice under the difficult circumstances in which they were placed, some of their members receiving the bonus and others being excluded from it. Officials of the Ministry of Munitions found themselves immersed in the same difficulties. They were flooded with demands for extension, and it seemed an ironical comment on the scores of millions to be annually then and now expended on the 12| per cent, bonus that, on October 22, four War Cabinet Ministers made moving appeals to the country to invest in War Savings. 432 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT, An official account states : " It was found impracticable in the face of agitation to restrict the advance to the original categories, and on December 11, further Orders 1301 and 1308 were issued, giving the advance to other grades of time-workers em- ployed in engineering and foundry, and in shipbuilding and ship-repairing establishments. The agitation for the 12 J per cent, bonus spread to all trades, and by January it had been secured by workmen employed on munitions work, and paid as plain time-workers in engineering shops, boiler-shops, foundries, shipbuilding and ship-repairing establishments, iron and steel trades, electricity generating stations and electrical contracting trades, nut and bolt trades, brass foundries and brass-works, bridge-building and constructional engineering, hollow-ware trade, spring- making works, hot stamping works, tube works, and wagon-building works. In January, by which time con- siderable unrest had arisen among pieceworkers, who were not eligible for the bonus, the War Cabinet decided, after obtaining the advice of the Committee on Production, to grant a bonus of 7| per cent, to pieceworkers and other men on systems of payment by results. Before many months, practically every trade had secured either the bonus or an equivalent. The bonus, intended originally as a compensation to certain skilled men on munition work, failed entirely in its original purpose, and merely became an advance of wages which all trades claimed and many secured. Designed in the first place to allay unrest, this disturbance of comparative rates was a principal cause of much labour unrest." Another account may be taken as an example of the criticism levelled at the new Order. It stated : " If the purpose which led to the Order was, as we presume it was, no broader in intention than to level up the time-rate of the supervising craftsmen, it is regrettable that this has not been made plain. The Order ostensibly applies to time-rated ' engineers and moulders,' but these crafts do not comprise all the varieties of munitions work in which dilution has been adopted, and much dubiety exists as to whom exactly the Order covers. Already a CRITICISM OF THE ORDER 433 circular has been issued, indicating certain trades which were intended to be included, but this, it is to be feared, has not improved, but only still further confused, the situation. There may be also a question upon the inter- pretation of ' earnings,' upon which the Order allows the 12^ per cent, bonus to be paid. But all these matters pale before the graver question of the seriousness of the new departure in principle. Criticism of the arbitration scheme of the Munitions Act has not been wanting ; but the scheme has at least the merit of being a system which aims at co-ordinating and proportioning increases of wages. If the Minister of a Department is suddenly, off his own bat, to make wages Orders, what effect is that to have upon the statutory scheme, which, if it has not pleased both parties — as no arbitration scheme probably ever did, or ever will — has at least ensured that all parties interested have been heard, and that the award is the only thing the parties have, to respond to ? " The Committee on Production's national awards of April and August covered the same class of men as this Order does. Under the trade agreement, the national award falls to be periodically revised, and, in the recent third revision, an additional war advance of 5s. was being decreed, just at the very moment this Order was being issued. We do not know what this new departure por- tends ; we sincerely trust it does not mean the introduction of the politician element in departmental administration ; but even if it does, there seems nothing to be gained, and much to be lost, by departure from existing methods, which, upon the whole, have worked satisfactorily. If the Minister thought that he was bound to fulfil his promise to remedy the anomaly of the disproportionate remunera- tion of skilled and unskilled labour, he rnight still have recollected that the Munitions Act had, by an amendment on the original Act, expressly included a Government Department amongst those who may invoke the aid of the arbitration scheme. The principle of removing the disproportion of pay grievance by a uniform percentage bonus is dangerous, and possibly unfair, for there may be many varieties and grades, in different trades, or in different establishments in the same trade, of this dis- proportion between skilled and unskilled remuneration. The existing arbitration scheme afforded ready machinery 484 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. for inquiry and discussion and adjustment in each set of circumstances, and to have resorted to it would have prevented the possibihty of overlapping and ensured a fair hearing for all interested, and, whether it pleased them or not, employers and workmen alike would have known exactly where they were under an award. Nevertheless, any Order may be amended, or may be cancelled. We venture to hope — and we quite believe — ^that the Minister of Munitions, if he finds, as he probably will, that this Order has missed its mark, will have the courage to cancel it, and, after conference probably with employers and workmen's representatives, find a workable method of effecting the remedy of an anomaly which everybody wants to see remedied without resorting to a method so foreign to the spirit, and the letter, of the Munitions Acts." On November 9 a conference representing half a million unskilled munition-workers in the engineering trades was held at York, and they demanded the bonus. The piece- workers began to move, and say that an equivalent should be given to them. Strikes were beginning all over the country. Each attempt to confine it, or each extension, only led to more unrest and more claims. So beset were other Departments by the claims made upon them, at a time when they were ignorant what the Ministry of Muni- tions were from day to day doing, that I called together, after consulting the Minister of Labour, representatives of all the chief Departments, and suggested a plan of a joint consultative or co-ordinating Committee, which should consider questions affecting all the Departments, and that a smaller Committee of the Labour and Munitions Depart- ments should especially deal with the pending demands for extensions of the 12 J per cent., and that nothing should be done by any Department without the knowledge of this Committee, which could speedily circulate opinions or advice. It was once more an attempt at some form of co-ordination, and some method also in dealing with the 12^ per cent. The Departments almost wholly supported the suggestions. They had suffered too much by the absence of any principle enabling them to deal with wages, and the want of knowledge of action taken by other Departments. The question of this Committee came before the War Cabinet at the end of November. Mr. Churchill GOVERNMENT LABOUR COMMITTEE 435 still wanted to keep the control, and said, if he was allowed, he could by drastic action, but at the risk of many dis- turbances, still keep the 12^ per cent, within certain bounds. Every Department and Minister was against him, and the Committee was established, not as I wished it, in close connection with the Consultative Committee of Depart- ments, and equally with it under the control of the Ministry of Labour as a neutral authority, with, if desired, a Cabinet Minister as chairman, who could carry important points of principle to the Cabinet, should that be necessary, but under a Cabinet Minister (Mr. Barnes) as chairman, and the Minister of the National Service (Sir Auckland Geddes), who was admittedly unversed in the intricacies of British labour, as vice-chairman. Under these circumstances, involving that lack of co-ordination which it was expressly intended that the Committees should prevent, if use could be made of the Ministry of Labour as the connecting-link, I would fain have been relieved from serving, but was curtly told to remain as a member. . The reference settled by the War Cabinet to this " Government Labour Committee " was " to deal with questions of wages (including interpretation of the Orders relating to the increase of 12^ per cent, recently granted to plain time-workers in certain industries), and to co- ordinate the settlement of labour questions affecting Government Departments." It would "confer with a consultative Committee consisting of representatives of principal Government Departments concerned with in- dustrial questions," but not supersede the functions of the arbitration tribunals set up under the Munitions of War Acts by the Ministry of Labour. The Committee held eight meetings between December 5 and 17, but made little progress. Its work seemed to consist chiefly in the registration of demands, which only emphasised more and more the difficulty of finding any ditch at which a line could be drawn, beyond which the 12J per cent, ought not to be extended. The chairman, Mr. George Barnes, complained that he found deputations waiting in his ante-chamber when he arrived, and on the doorstep when he left. At an early meeting I appealed with some fervour to Mr. Churchill, even at this hour, while there was time, to withdraw the 12| per cent, altogether, and tell the country plainly there had been a 436 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. mistake. Although he considered the view carefully, he judged it could not be stopped now, a point of policy to which the Treasury reluctantly agreed. He thought he might confine it in certain cases, but no satisfactory reports came of his efforts in that direction. An attempted settlement at Sheffield only lasted for a few days. The majority of the Committee thought that a broad scheme with clear notification to the country involving a state- ment of war aims, the necessity of more men, further action against excess profits and against the increasing cost of food, together with intimation that no advances except for cost of living could be afforded, and that the 12 J per cent, must stop, might cause a better feeling and meet pending difficulties. Various drafts were pre- pared on these lines, but, in spite of many further meetings, the year came to an end without any decision by the War Cabinet. Decision was being hotly demanded by em- ployers. The engineering employers said they must have finality. The Clyde was nearly going up. Sheffield was in a state of disturbance. It was absolutely necessary to clear the air in order to give any chance to the proposed campaign for more recruits. Gloomy accounts were given of the feeling in France and Italy, if the British efforts for increased assistance were not apparent. On December 31 the situation was further complicated by the complaint of the railway executive that the National Maritime Board, without notice to any other department, had largely increased the wages of seamen and firemen, and had not defined the classes to which the increase should be given. If extended to railway-owned boats, it must spread to coasting vessels, dredgers, tug-boats, estuary boats, etc., some of them manned by men who slept at home nearly every night and were in no danger. Thence it would effect railway wages and agreements of which the National Board seemed to be entirely ignorant. At the beginning of the new year it was reported, on Friday, January 4, that men on the Clyde were all going on time- instead of piece-work, owing to the pieceworkers having had no grant. The work took twice as long and was twice as costly as if a grant was made. On the follow- ing Monday the employers, decision or no decision, were intending to give a flat increase to pieceworkers. On January 5 the railway executive complained again that ELECTRICIANS 437 they must know how to deal with their running-sheds. The men were out on the Great Central Railway, and were coming out that evening on the Great Western and London and North-Western . It was felt that the railways were under the control of the Government, and that in this case there was no logical reason for refusing the grant of the bonus. The decision in this case prevented serious strikes at the eleventh hour. Contrary to custom, I kept daily notes of the proceedings of this anxious month, but details of the choppings and changes would be of little value now, except as an example of how we are governed. Among them I find two remarks in a lighter vein : recording how Sir Auckland Geddes, new to administration, came out with the correct soliloquy that " no department cares a tinker's curse for any other department, but goes on its own " ; and how Sir Edward Carson, in the middle of a long and fluent speech by Mr. Churchill on the importance of getting a good atmosphere for Sir A. Geddes' National Service Scheme, and that he must have " a free field," quietly asked, " Do you expect them to go better to the services if they are paid 2s. 6d. in the pound (12^ per cent.) more to work at home ? " The railways and the clamour of employers for finality were not the only signs that a decision of some kind must be given. A concession to pieceworkers had already been promised in Belfast, and though there were exceptional circumstances there, the employers demanded that their action should be endorsed. On Friday, January 4, I had pointed out that telegrams had come in saying that the electricians would wait no longer, and were going out at once unless they/got the 12j per cent. Having arranged a meeting with them at Leeds on Friday, January 11, on travelling allowances, I had wired suggesting discussion of the 12| per cent., but I must know what powers I had ; in actual fact it was more than doubtful if any delay was feasible. The Government Labour Committee were all of opinion that this matter must be settled, and should be referred to me to act with utmosif speed, but their decision was not a decision by the Government, and without the authority of the War Cabinet any action could be questioned as imposing charges on undertakings which were not under the Munitions of War Acts, and whose representatives could not even be got together without days of delay. 488 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT, The position with regard to these ' workpeople was extremely difficult. For weeks past the Electrical Trades Union, or E.T.U., had pressed for revision of wages and conditions, and advances, after much discussion, had been granted as from September 1, and again from December 1, without any dispute coming to a head, although active negotiations had been necessary. Two or more unions with rival claims were concerned in the industry. The principal union had its headquarters at Manchester, whence no effective control was exercised over London and other big cities. The employers themselves were divided into three principal sections with divergent views and interests. These were the great power companies, municipal and private employers, and the electrical contractors. Some of them were under the Munitions of War Acts, some were not. Some were reimbursed by the Government for extra expenditure, others would not be reimbursed. In addition the managers and chief officers of all these undertakings were paid on no organised scale. Some of them received very low salaries. Borough and city councils gave them most varied remuneration. They, too, were moving for increased emoluments. The delays had driven nearly all the men into the principal union, and that union, under energetic leaders, particularly in London, was proceeding to use methods of pressure to bring in all non-unionists and the adherence of members of the rival unions. Again and again I had got their consent to the avoidance of a strike, but such influence could not be exercised indefinitely. On the top of this situation came the 12^ per cent. Electri- cians might reasonably have been included in one of the Orders of the Ministry of Munitions, but the Order made dealt with the engineering trade, and it was held that only electricians engaged in the repair-shops were covered, and not the electricians in the generating stations or on tram- ways. Many of these were not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Munitions, and no order or decision of the Government had been given. During the whole of Decem- ber, while a decision had been awaited, the men had beei^ kept, as it were, tugging at a leash. Now they were breaking away. On the Saturday morning, Jianuary 5, the position was found to be more than acute. The Office of Works tele- phoned that all their men were going out at noon. The CLAIM BY THE ELECTRICIANS 489 officer in command at Woolwich stated that all the electri- cians in the controlled works in the neighbourhood and at Woolwich were leaving work, which would stop the Arsenal. The same wail came from Enfield and Waltham and from the great power stations. Sir George Riddell called to say the newspapers were holding conferences and all the newspaper electricians were going out. It was of no use to await an endorsement from the War Cabinet, which did not meet till the afternoon. I could only obtain the undertaking of Mr. George Barnes that he would press for endorsement of full powers. Mr. Webb, the district secretary for London, was asked to call, and confirmed the rumours. He said that, even if he wished, he could not have held his men. When the strike began in London that night, all the electricians everywhere would cease work. It would spread like wildfire over the country. " Mr. Webb," I said, " you have got to stop these men. The Government will give me full powers to-day. A conference will be held on Monday, when the question will be decided one way or the other." " Well," he said, " it can't be done. It is just on twelve now. I can't get to Woolwich in time." " Use my telephone," I replied. I have heard uncomplimentajfy remarks about Mr. Webb, who sometimes may be brusque, but he acts with decision. He rang up his delegate at Woolwich, who said the men were putting their coats on, and some had left, with no intention of coming back. There followed instructions to send men right and left and get them back, iwith some re- marks about the heads of Government Departments which would not have pleased them. " Tell the lads I'm sitting at Sir George's desk now, and he's to have the whole show. No more of the others." All that afternoon and evening the wire« were kept busy, telling men to resume work at once, notifying the London County Council, the borough councils, the power companies, the electrical contractors, and the union offices, summoning a confer- ence for Monday, wiring to branches in the big cities that work must continue, and preparing Press notices. In the afternoon a full Cabinet met, but after long discussion came to no general decision, though they did formally agree that the electricians' difficulty was to be referred to me with full powers to decide. It was well 29 440 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. that it was so. If the men had been put off again, all munition works would have stopped, and a general up- heaval might have been the result. The crux was that it was certain that the 12^ per cent, would have to be given ; there was no logical reason against it ; but that it would have to go back to the date in October when the electricians were not included in the Ministry of Munitions Order. This retro-action would affect authorities who would not have come under an Order, and who could not recover the money from their consumers on bills already paid. Had the Government any intention of giving recoupment if by their order such payment was made, and what would happen if the companies refused to pay without it ? The Chancellor of the Exchequer absolutely refused to pay from the Treasury, but after long debate it was passed that the Treasury, if there was difficulty, would be prepared to advance loans and the Government would support any necessary bills for future higher rates in Parliament. With these powers, whether strictly legal or not it is difficult to say, I met the London employers and the representatives of the two unions. It was impossible to warn the provincial employers or to get them up in time, but several of the big London companies had im- portant branches in the country. Two hours were wasted over the quarrels of two unions, who would not meet each other, or accept the result of the negotiations conducted by one of them. It became necessary to settle the case of the E.T.U. with the employers, and then either to persuade the other union, before a decision was signed, that their points had been fully brought up, or to hear their argu- ments independently. In all, nine hours were occupied in discussion and technical points before a practically agreed award could be made. It was only just completed in time. Mr. Webb dashed off with it to a mass meeting in Holborn Hall which had already been waiting for two hours, and copies were rapidly circulated throughout the country. Some few works did indeed stop, but resumed within a few hours. After stating that it was given under powers from the War Cabinet, the decision ran that : "All plain time-working employees in generating AWARD TO ELECTRICIANS 441 stations, sub-stations, and on mains directly concerned in the generation and distribution of electrical energy, including the technical staff and, in the case of electrical contractors, employees engaged on munitions work, in- cluding the technical staff, shall receive a bonus as follows : " (1) All workers who have received not more than 20s. war advance, the equivalent of 12^ per cent, on earn- ings ; any advance given l^y a pending decision of the Committee on Production or any advance given by agree- ment or otherwise, equivalent to the advance of 5s. granted by the Committee on Production to certain trades from the first full pay-day in December, to be added as a war ad- vance to the advance already given, and to count as part of the earnings from the date of such advance. " (2) All workers who have received over 20s. war advance sufficient to produce the equivalent of the 20s. plus 12 J per cent, on earnings — that is to say, any excess in war advances over 20s. shall merge in the 12^ per cent, on earnings. " (3) Workmen who have received the equivalent of 20s. war advance plus 12^ per cent, on earnings, or more, are not affected by this settlement. In calculating whether 20s. has been received, it shall be taken as 20s. for the normal week as recognised in the district. " (4) Basis rates of wages and conditions of labour shall remain as at present until the withdrawal of war wages and war bonuses. This clause is without prejudice to pending negotiations, if any, which may have commenced. " (5) This decision shall take effect as from the be- ginning of the first full pay the next after October 13, 1917." Discussion arose in many cases how the decision was to be applied in the varying circumstances of different undertakings, when, with the consent of all parties, an interpreting note was added. The decision was that all such questions, including the question of application to technical staffs, must be settled in the locality of the parties concerned, and only in the event of any serious difficulty should the difference be referred for settlement. It speaks well for the understanding of employers that the 12 J per cent, for electricians could not be avoided under the cir- cumstances which had arisen, that, with the exception of a few queries, the decision was accepted throughout the whole 442 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. country. The decision was accepted, even though repre- sentatives from the Provinces had not been able to be present at the hearing and had not known of the difficulties which had occurred. On the following day I heard that, while I was engaged with electricians, the Cabinet had sat for hours, and finally come to a decision to refer the whole question of the 12| per cent, to the Ministry of Labour to settle. Mr. Barnes had explained that for five weeks two Cabinet Ministers con- tinuously, and others from time to time, many heads of Departments, a large number of officials and other admini- strative officers, had been absorbed in this question. They could not go on with it. Time was urgent, and with the New Year, turmoil was sure to ensue. It was therefore got rid of by the simple process of delegating it to some- body else, the resolution being so worded that it swept away the Government Labour Committee and the annexed consultative or co-ordinating Committee. It is possible that all of this was not intended, but neither the chair- man nor the vice-chairman called either of these bodies together, and no orders were given for the continuance of either of them. Co-ordination continued to cease to exist. It is, of course, true that administration should not be centralised, but policy can. Owing to the complexity of business and the relation of employers and employed on the spot, administration, including settlement of trivial or management disputes, must be handled by the persons chiefly and closely concerned. A central authority cannot possibly deal with all such disputes. The delay alone would allow minor difficulties to become great difficulties. The perpetual intervention of a third party would be intolerable. Intervention by the emissaries of the con- trolling authority, under whom employers were no longer free agents, had caused trouble even in minor disputes. But when employers belong to an association, it is not in order for members to deal with difficulties in a manner alien to the interests and policy of other members of the association, without warning or consulting them. Simi- larly, trade union officials are continuously urging their members that sectional disputes or cessation of work for which other members have to pay must not take place without the knowledge and the authority of the officials EXTENSION TO PIECEWORKERS 443 who are placed in that position for the purpose of rectifying grievances, settling unnecessary disputes, and deciding whether the interests and funds of the union are to be put forward for the furtherance of sectional claims. This inter- locking of interests is the main object why in a great trade, like the engineers, elaborate machinery of district and general conferences has been established. The same course is pursued in all the large and organised industries, with varying machinery according to the needs of the industry. When the Government comes in, even in war-time, and becomes a large employer it should at least conform to the rules which bind other employers in the industry on which the Government has impinged, or in self-protection, when it is a great employer or controls employers, in a vast number of industries — railways, coal, shipping, muni- tions, chemicals, dyes, etc. — should follow in its different Departments the policy of the supreme authority, if that authority has a policy. It should act in concert with and at least inform other Departments in all cases where changes, disputes, or settlements must affect those other Departments, possibly in the most vital manner. My view is that in labour matters the Government had no policy, never gave signs of having a policy, and could not be induced to have a policy. My view also is, and these notes have failed of their purpose if they do not show, that the Departments never followed any policy in labour matters, except a policy of disintegration ; did not act in concert ; did not even inform other Departments of the most vital decisions ; and went on their own way in a manner which cost or lost hundreds of millions of money, precious time, and urgently needed supplies. The Cabinet, on January 7, also intimated that a per- centage grant would have to be given to pieceworkers, but instead of butting in with a random guess at the amount which they were inclined to give, were induced to take the advice of the Committee on Production. They issued as their decision a document stating that : " As from the beginning of the first full pay week which followed January 1, 1918, a bonus of 7^ per cent, on their earnings shall be paid to all workmen of twenty-one years of age and over, employed in establishments or trades (other than the iron and steel trades) covered by the existing 444 TWELVE AND A HALF PER CENT. Orders relating to plain time-workers or extensions thereof, and engaged in munitions work as defined in the Munitions of War Acts, who are pieceworkers or are paid on a premium bonus system, or any mixed system of time and piece or any system of payment by results, including men working at augmented time rates fixed in lieu of piece rates, or by reference to results or to output of work." There followed provisions for merger, or special confer- ence in the iron and steel trades, and reference of the claims not dealt with to the Committee on Production for settle- ment. This document did not end the episode of the 12^ per cent. The matter having been handed over to the Ministry of Labour, the Minister and myself had to ask the principal leaders of the trade unions to urge restraint upon their members, in order to gain time for the many claims to be dealt with, and to give the Ministry of Labour a chance. There were only two methods by which the Ministry could deal with the subject — arbitration or conciliation. Arbi- tration was possible in those trades where it was a question whether and to whom the 12^ per cent, or 7| per cent, should be given. Many of these trades had to be inter- viewed, and, wherever possible, a legal decision was asked for, upon a reference, from the Committee on Production. Some employers recognised that the percentage must come in, others demurred and did not like a reference where they considered the scales were weighted against them. The majority recognised that the percentage or its equiva- lent had to extend not only to munition workers and con- trolled firms, but to others. It might be true that the principle was wrong ; the advantage went to the higher- paid and not to the lower-paid workers ; the expenditure was unknown, uncertain, and vast ; its cost was not limited to the Government, but extended to industries and em- ployers of all kinds. In cases where a percentage was given, it could not act as a cost of living advance, as its application was quite unequal, but it was causing trouble alike to employers and to trade union leaders, who had first of all been told to say that it did not apply to their trades, and then found that the pressure of their men obtained it over their heads. Then they had to press in trades where they knew it had not been meant to apply. FINAL SETTLEMENTS 445 One could only put the position before them, that this thing had happened, and they had better make the best of it. Their arguments might be quite correct and might be entirely logical ; to discuss whether or not Mr. Churchill or anyone else was right or wrong did not assist the practical position in which they were placed ; the intention of confining the grant had not resulted in the grant being kept within narrow limits ; trade after trade, firm after firm, had had to admit this result, and they must exercise their own judgement whether it was possible for them to stand out. Their position could be legalised, and whatever arguments they thought best for any differentiation or special limitations could be considered before an arbitral tribunal. It may be noted that the officers of the Department, especially Mr. Cummings, were kept very busy for months with preparation for arbitrations, and another chairman, Judge Walworth Roberts, had to be added to the Com- mittee on Production, in order to cope with the work. In other trades there were specially difficult questions over the best method of liquidating back pay without re- opening vast details of accounts, or where a percentage advance was not desired by one or other party. These points were best dealt with by conciliation. On the first the Ministry of Munitions produced a scheme which could be generally accepted, after explanation ; on the second long conferences were necessary. At these conferences the chief difficulty was to get the adherence of outstanding sections to consent to a national advance, and to estimate in each trade what the fair equivalent of the percentage might be. The various claims were gradually liquidated, but it was not till April 11, 1918, that, with the exception of the build- ing trade, the last claims by workpeople who deemed themselves to be entitled to claim the percentage of 12 J per cent, in some form or another were finally closed. CHAPTER XL 1918 The general settlements required by the 12^ per cent., including a most difficult conciliation case in the tramway and omnibus services, where a general strike was narrowly avoided, had closed by about the middle of April, but the aftermath of the percentage was yet to cause trouble in the building trade. This trade had been very hard hit during the War. Private building and repairs had practically ceased. Almost all the work was Government work. The priority of that work was dealt with by a small departmental Committee arranged by General Smuts, of which I was a member for a short time at the close of the War. There was a second Committee of the Ministry of National Service purporting to deal with the supply of labour. Their efforts were greatly hampered by the number of men who had gone into the services, or drifted into munition work or the shipyards, where there existed a continuous demand for carpenters, joiners, etc. It was not easy, with growing shortage of men, to obtain recruits for remote aerodromes, poison-gas and explosive factories, camps, etc., nor to settle the rates at which they were to be paid. There was also a third Committee, comprising officials of the Ministries of Munitions, National Service, and various other Departments, which worked at finding out the building rates, etc., in districts where the building trade was organised ; settling the rates to be offered, by analogy with neighbouring districts, in places where there was no real rate or an entire absence of rates ; and either composing disputes or sending them to arbitration. The difficulties of this Committee were many, because large contractors moving with their special men from 446 THE BUILDING TRADE 447 district to district would not comply with the local rates or the instructions of the Committee. Government Departments, especially the Air Ministry, also failed to comply. The efforts of the building trade itself, not well organised in large parts of the country, were becoming useless through the rates being continuously changed or set at naught by these offenders. Extraordinary disloca- tion resulted. An application was made to the Ministry of Labour to assist, with the result that a scheme was pre- pared by which the building trade, as on the North-East Coast, was to settle its own rates, with the understanding that the Government, acting through the Committee, would see that the rates settled were the rates to be paid by its own Departments, but, as the chief employer in the country, would have a voice in approving or objecting to the rates proposed prior to their final acceptance. An Order, known as Order 742, was to be issued by the Ministry of Munitions, embodying the conditions. Any difference not adjusted by agreement was to be referred to the arbitration tribunals for settlement. The scheme was generally welcomed as at least some attempt to obtain order, was signed by the building trades and the Govern- ment, and lasted to December 1919, when, on the passing of the Industrial Courts Bill, arbitration became voluntary, and the treatment of the building trade as an industry subject to the Munitions of War Acts, even though such a result only came from the agreement of the trade, ceased. The difficulty over the 12 J per cent, arose while I was endeavouring, on becoming chairman of the third Com- mittee, {a) to effect co-ordination between the three Committees, and (b) to draw up the general scheme and secure assent to its provisions. The Government had been obliged to give the 12^ per cent, on the top of the existing rate in many branches of the building trade. The local builders were naturally pressed by their employees to give the same percentage, or its equivalent in an extra payment per hour. So much was the 12J per cent, disliked that, in most cases, an equivalent was given in the shape of a flat advance, but it was stated to be an equivalent, and not deemed to be the rate of the district except for those who merged their 12 J per cent, in it. Men could have the old rate plus the 12| per cent., or the new rate 448 1918 without the 12| per cent. If this procedure had not been followed, employers who were sometimes doing Govern- ment work and sometimes private work would have been paying their men different rates according to the job of the moment, or high rates to Government workmen and lower rates to private workmen in the same shop ; and such form of payment would have produced once again the disparity which the increase was intended to prevent. This plan, leading at least towards equality and the avoid- ance of a vicious circle, was generally accepted everywhere ; but at Liverpool a local conciliation board of small builders, not one of whom had any Government work, chose to raise nominally the Liverpool rates as high as London, always the highest rate in the country, and in raising the rate said not a word about the 12^ per cent., although Manchester and neighbouring cities had accepted the plan. The decision was only reached by two employers voting with the men in favour of the increase, the decisions at these boards being by a bare majority. Of these two, the chairman stated he had voted on the wrong side by mistake, the other kept his identity concealed and never disclosed it. The matter was brought before the North- western District Board, who could only say it was a decision according to the rule that a majority decided, but entered a strong protest. The National Board, however, as well as other district boards, complained that the result would upset the whole of the rates in the country by the extension from one district to another which would certainly result. The shipbuilders and other Liverpool trades also complained, and la^t but not least the Government, if they accepted the new rate when it was claimed by their employees, as it was claimed, with the 12 J per cent, upon the top of it, put themselves in the position of allowing one unknown voter to dictate a rise which would upset the whole country and cost huge sums. Payment was refused, and arbitration offered, or the opportunity of the Liverpool Board saying how much they allocated to the 12^ per cent, out of the new rate, if it was to stand as a rate. The case led to long discussions and conferences, some of the Liverpool people arguing they would not have any mention made of the 12^ per cent., they had nothing to do with it, the Government could do whatthey liked, etc. It was at length settled, with a METROPOLITAN POLICE AND FIRE BRIGADE 449 few minor stoppages, which generally ended on explanation, the Government adhering to their position. This case serves as an instance of the lack of cohesion and order existing in trades, the importance of the Govern- ment having a part in the wage arrangements when the Government is practically the only employer, the danger of snatch settlements or changes made by irresponsible persons affecting other districts and other trades, and the continued effect of past mistakes, such as the 12| per cent. In no trade at the present time is it more important to have care exercised than in the building trade. On that trade the nation have to rely for the provision of needed houses at a reasonable rate, and it is now subsidised by the Government. Absence of organisation in any one district may have serious consequences, but how far the Govern- ment at the present time is keeping watch over its own interests and the interests of country in this matter, I am unable definitely to say. So far as disputes went, a number of conferences were held in the building trade between May and September. There were also visits to Ireland to establish schemes for the collection and preparation of the flax crop in Ireland, where strikes were threatened and Proclamations under the Munitions of War Acts were issued ; dock disputes at Belfast and Dublin ; a bus and tram stoppage in London and some other towns on the question of the wages of women conductors ; a strike of municipal employees at Cardiff, and adjustment of various minor disputes. Larger and more important disputes paused in their incidence. Personally, I doubt whether the fluctuations of the War generally had direct effect upon the number or importance of disputes, but at this period I think the commencement of the Battle of the Somme on May 27, and the German offensive near Rheims on July 15, did directly affect disputes. From May to September there was much greater peace throughout Great Britain. The minds of men were concentrated on the dangers of the War. Con- sequently, it was with surprise that the country heard, early in September, that the Metropolitan Police had struck. As a great employer in the North remarked to me, " It gave me a blow as if the Bank of England had stopped^ payment. That and the Metropolitan Police seemed to be pillars of the Constitution." The strike was 450 1918 speedily followed by a threatened strike of the London firemen, a serious strike of Co-operative Wholesale employees, and many other disputes. It was correctly remarked at the time that "an epidemic of strikes and threats of strikes seems to have commenced. Three essential services have been stopped — the Yorkshire coal-field, the London passenger traffic (partially), and the Metropolitan police service — and until September 11 an extensive district of London was gravely inconvenienced by a strike of gasworks employees. Now the Lancashire cotton operatives threaten to cease work on September 14, the London Fire Brigade service is in the mood of revolt, the South Wales miners are menacing, the employees of the Co-operative Wholesale Society are strenuously urging their claims upon Sir George Askwith, the municipal workers in eight London Corporations are loudly proclaiming their grievances, prison workers are unrestful, the temporary postal workers in London are threatening determinedly, and railwaymen are pressing claims with some display of temper. It is a prospect which might afford some comfort and encouragement to the enemy, if the position in France had not so greatly improved." The subject of the Metropolitan Police was dealt with by the Home Office. The other two principal disputes, in the Fire Brigade and the Co-operative Wholesale Society, chiefly turned on the question of recognition of unions. In the former the C.W.S. had been accustomed to deal with craft unions, but the A.U.C.E. (Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees), comprising employees of different branches of trade, had for some time been moving for higher wages and other conditions on behalf of their members. A dispute began with printing employees at two works in the North, and rapidly spread to flour-mills, soap-works, margarine works, hide and skin departments ; bacon, grocery, packing, jam, biscuit, and tea departments. Long conferences with the parties were necessary, and as delay hazarded supplies of food, the strike had to be proclaimed and referred to arbitration under the Munitions of War Acts. The firemen's dispute was, by consent of the parties. LONDON FIRE BRIGADE AWARD 451 referred to me for arbitration. Preliminary to wages questions, which the Fire Brigade Committee of the London County Council was prepared to settle, the whole point turned on the extent to which any union should be per- mitted in the brigade, or how far officials of a union other than firemen might represent the men. Almost all the men had, during the last few years, joined the National Union of Corporation Workers. The objection of the majority, at least, of the London County Council was that an outside union or anyone connected with any outside union, of which men in the brigade might be members, should have anything to do with a body where discipline was essential, and on whose skill and discipline the safety of London from fires might depend. The men contended that they belonged to a union, should have recognition of a union, and had no intention of interfering with discipline or managenient. The decision was not easy, because the Provinces were bound to follow the principles accepted in London, and because the attitude of the Home Office with regard to the police had not been announced. The arguments were heard, the award drafted, its terms shown to Sir George Cave, the Home Secretary, in order that one Department should not settle without the knowledge of another Department engaged on work possibly similar in character, and publication made on September 23. The terms of the award were : " There has been referred to me, the undersigned, by both parties, under the terms of a resolution unani- mously passed at a conference held between the parties on September 13, 1918, the final decision on a scheme as to the relations between the London County Council and the uniformed staff below the rank of station officer of the London Fire Brigade. Having heard the parties, and considered their verbal and written statements, my decision is : " 1. The present rule 512 (which permitted complaints by individuals) in favour of any individual member of the Fire Brigade who may desire to avail himself of it, shall continue in force. " 2. A collective body, consisting of members of the 452 1918 Fire Brigade only, who are desirous of bringing under the notice of the Council, or of the Fire Brigade Committee, matters connected with their conditions of service and general welfare other than questions of discipline or methods of management, may also do so through the Chief Officer, who will, if desired, afford them an opportunity of seeing the Committee. "3. Representations may be made by a committee of such collective body, provided such 'committee consists of, and is chosen by, men who are members of the uniformed staff of the London Fire Brigade. " 4. The committee, or members of the committee delegated by the committee, may be accompanied on depu- tations by a ' spokesman,' chosen by the committee, who need not be a member of the London Fire Brigade. Letters sent by the ' spokesman,' if expressed to be by order of the committee, shall be received as communications made by the committee. " 6. The collective body, as a condition of collective representation, shall not — " (a) Take part in any labour or industrial dispute, or under any circumstances induce members of the Brigade to withhold their services, but only concern themselves with differences strictly relating to the conditions of their service and welfare in the London Fire Brigade. " (6) Interfere in any way with the regulations and dis- cipline of the service or methods of management, with the sole exception of cases of alleged injustice. The committee may bring such an alleged case before the Chief Officer, but shall forward full particulars by writing prior to asking for any interview. The Chief Officer may refuse in writing such interview on the grounds that the particulars disclose interference with the regulations and discipline of the service and methods of management. " (c) Bring forward any complaints before they have been first examined and considered by the members of the committee. " And, further, the collective body shall in the first in- stance, without any stoppage of work, bring any com- plaints, with which the collective body or the committee are entitled to deal, before the Chief Officer. In the event of a difference arising upon such complaints and no settle- ment between the London County Council and the collective LONDON FIRE BRIGADE AWARD 458 body being reached, such differences shall be referred to an agreed tribunal. If the tribunal and form of tribunal is not agreed, the tribunal shall be appointed by the Min- istry of Labour. The decision of the tribunal shall be final and binding. In the event of a breach of the above con- ditions, members of the Brigade may be called upon to sever their connection with any union to which they may belong. " 6. The London County Council have indicated, and I decide, that it shall be permissible for the members of the London Fire Brigade to form a London Fire Brigade Union composed of firemen only, to be embodied with the above conditions laid down in its rules, or with such modifications of the above conditions as, after conference with the Fire Brigade Committee, and with me, are admitted to be suit- able to the service. Such London Fire Brigade Union, if formed, shall be deemed to be a union with which the London County Council can make agreements, and its union secretary, if acting as secretary for such union only, shall be entitled to act on their behalf without further proof of his authority. " No further proof of the authority of such union to represent the majority of the London Fire Brigade shall be required other than a list of members to be furnished upon request to the Chairman of the London County Coun- cil for the time being. The chairman shall decide whether he is satisfied that the union sufficiently represents the Brigade, or if he thinks fit may refer the matter to arbitration. " 7. This decision shall continue, as agreed by the parties, for three years from its date, and thereafter subject to three months' notice by either side. No notice shall be given prior to June 20, 1921. " 8. Any question of interpretation shall, as agreed by the parties, be referred to me for decision. " As witness my hand this 23rd day of September, 1918. "G. R. ASKWITH." These terms were loyally accepted by both parties, and I have not heard of subsequent difficulties. A short time, too, before the Armistice, Mr. J. H. Thomas, largely by his personal influence, averted a railway strike, and it may be mentioned, in view of the public criticism which has been levelled at Mr. Churchill, that over a 454 1918 difficult question whether a special supply of poison-gas was to be delivered in time by the easy method of yielding to a strike and abnormal demands in two factories, or his con- sent refused to payments demanded by force and likely to ensure far-reaching and bad effects, Mr. Churchill took the risk of handing over the whole case to my Department. His letter of thanks and relief, when a constitutional settle- ment was effected, is dated October 3. Notice may also be taken of two Committees, one under Lord Sunmer, appointed in the spring, and another under Lord Justice Atkin, appointed in the autumn of 1918. Both were singularly belated, and for that reason their conclusions lost influence and effect. Lord Sumner's Committee dealt with the cost of living, producing a report which might have been invaluable at an earlier date. Al- though the cost and character of living had varied so greatly during the War, no Government inquiry or authori- tative examination had been held. The Board of Trade statistics, useful for statistical purposes, but comparing prices paid for articles in times of peace with prices paid for the same articles, some of them practically unobtainable, in times of war, were used in argument as the real reflex of the increase in the cost of living. They were fallacious for that purpose. In 1914 I had suggested they should be suppressed as useless for the purposes to which they were being put. This suggestion was not accepted, on the ground that it might cause alarm, and interfere too much with the appearance of business as usual. The Committee on Production had to make the best estimates they could on piecemeal argument and data put before them. Repre- sentations at length caused explanatory memoranda to be added to the statistical returns, pointing out the limitations affecting the flgures and the comparison of conditions, but in every argument and claim the figures alone were put forward, the limitations were passed over. It was not until 1918 that Lord Sumner's Committee made an investi- gation, and by that time the trade unions had become so accustomed to make use of the ordinary statistical figures in their arguments that they ignored new returns, and par- ticularly a smaller figure. Lord Justice Atkin's Committee arose from questions affecting the wages of women, orders by the Ministry of Munitions, and the relations between the wages to be paid to women and men respectively. Con- THE WHITLEY COMMITTEE 455 nected with these subjects was a contention by the Ministry of Munitions that orders by the Minister todk precedence of or could override decisions of the arbitration courts, a point on which the Law Officers decided that the Ministry was wrong. If these questions affecting women had been previously so important as they became at the time of the bus and tram strikes in August, it was rather late in the day to inquire into^them two months before the Armistice. As regards awards, the Committee on Production, in dealing with the periodical hearing under the special agree- ment between the Engineering Employers' Federation and the trade unions connected with it, decided on March 5 that " conditions at the present time do not warrant any further general alteration of wages." By that date the effect of awards had been to establish for the engineering and foundry trades a general advance, as compared with pre-war rates, of not less than 20s. per week on time rates, the corresponding figure in the case of pieceworkers being 13s. per week as a supplement to earnings, in addition to previous advances generally amounting to 10 per cent, or upwards on piece rates. These amounts were exclusive of the bonus of 12 J per cent, on earnings in the case of plain time-workers, and 7| per cent, in the case of pieceworkers and other workmen not paid at plain time rates. On July 24 the Committee gave a further advance of 3s. 6d. per week, a decision hampered by the action of the Coal Controller in doubling the flat rate advances given to miners as from the end of June. On November 9, two days before the Armistice, an advance of 5s. per week was awarded to the same workpeople. These advances were generally followed by other trades throughout the country. Some Ministers had a passion for committees, the number of which greatly occupied the time of hard worked employers and trade union leaders. The Minister of Reconstruction was said to have arranged more than two score. It is not my purpose to criticise the results, but one committee, known as the Whitley Committee, from the name of its chairman, did produce some important reports, and should be mentioned. The Committee had been appointed as early as October 1916, Mr. H. J. Wilson, of my Department, acting as secretary, its reference being : (1) To make and consider suggestions for securing a 30 456 1918 permanent improvement in the relations between em- ployers and workmen. (2) To recommend means for securing that industrial conditions affecting the relations between employers and workmen shall be systematically reviewed by those con- cerned, with a view to improving conditions in the future. An official account states : " The Committee issued reports of which the best known are those in which they recommend the establishment in suitable cases of voluntary Joint Standing Industrial Councils, consisting of representatives of the Employers' Associations and the Trade Unions, for the purpose of securing the largest possible development of the industry as a part of national life and for the improvement of the conditions of all engaged in that industry. ... In con- nection with their inquiry, the Committee also thought it necessary to give some attention to cases in which parties might desire voluntarily to refer some difference that had arisen to arbitration or conciliation, and they issued a re- port on this subject in January 1918. The Committee expressed themselves as opposed to any system of compul- sory arbitration, and emphasised the advisability of a con- tinuance, as far as possible, of the existing system whereby industries made their own agreements and settled their dif- ferences themselves. The Committee's conclusions were : " (a) Whilst we are opposed to any systeni of Compul- sory Arbitration, we are in favour of an extension of voluntary machinery for the adjustment of disputes. Where the parties are unable to adjust their differences, we think that there should be means by which an inde- pendent inquiry may be made into the facts and circum- stances of a dispute, and an authoritative pronouncement made thereon, though we do not think that there should be any compulsory power of delaying strikes and lockouts. " (6) We further recommend that there should be estab- lished a Standing Arbitration Council for cases where the parties wish to refer any dispute to arbitration, though it is desirable that suitable single arbitrators should be avail- able, where the parties so desire." Joint Industrial Councils have been established in a number of industries, and in some industries District JOINT INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS 457 Councils and Works Committees, both of them integral parts of the Whitley scheme, have also been formed. The scheme has not been adopted by the industries of coal- mining, cotton, engineering, shipbuilding, iron and steel, and railways. The great industries standing outside the scheme prefer to follow their own lines of agreement or arrangements. Efforts to obtain force of law for the de- cisions of Industrial Councils have been advocated in some cases, but have as yet not succeeded. As an example of the objects of the councils, notice may be taken of a council which was alleged to be a success. The Pottery Industry agreed to establish a National Council, giving as their objects : " The advancement of the Pottery Industry and of all connected with it by the association in its government of all engaged in the industry. " It will be open to the Council to take any action that falls within the scope of its general object. Its chief work will, however, fall under the following heads : " (a) The consideration of means whereby all manu- facturers and operatives shall be brought within their respective associations. " (b) Regular consideration of wages, piecework rates, and conditions, with a view to establishing and main- taining equitable conditions throughout the industry. " (c) To assist the respective associations in the main- tenance of such selling prices as will afford a reasonable remuneration to both employers and employed. " (d) The consideration and settlement of all disputes between different parties in the industry which it may not have been possible to settle by the existing machinery, and the establishment of the machinery for dealing with disputes where adequate machinery does not exist. " (e) The regularisation of production and employment as a means of insuring to the workpeople the greatest possible security of earnings. "(f) Improvement in conditions with a view to removing all danger to health in the industry. " (g) The study of processes, the encouragement of research, and the full utilisation of their results. " (h) The provision of facilities for the full consideration and utilisation of inventions and improvements designed 458 1918 by workpeople and for the adequate safeguarding of the rights of the designers of such improvements. " (i) Education in all its branches for the industry. " (j) The collection of full statistics on wages, making and selling prices, and average percentages of profits on turnover, and on materials, markets, costs, etc., and the study and promotion of scientific and practical systems of costings to this end. " All statistics shall, where necessary, be verified by Chartered Accountants, who shall make a statutory dec- laration as to secrecy prior to any investigation, and no particulars of individual firms or operatives shall be dis- closed to anyone. " (k) Inquiries into problems of the industry, and where desirable the publication of reports. " (Z) Representation of the needs and opinions of the industry to Government authorities, central and local, and to the community generally." These objects appear excellent on paper, and in this in- dustry are reported to have produced some good results. The joint education of representative employers and work- people by meetings and common objects must be valuable. If a criticism is made, the whole chance of the success of Industrial Councils lies in the way in which they are worked. If the aim is mutual co-operation and joint effort, and that aim is continuously kept in sight and broadly interpreted, an industry in one way or another may be improved by the existence of a council. If the council is Used to maintain two camps, and during a period of advancing wages and prosperity only employed for purposes of pressure, with an inevitable deadlock so soon as the demands become greater than the trade can bear, then ultimate disintegra- tion will ensue, and possibly a worse position than before the advent of a council. This position, according to recent accounts, was nearly reached in the pottery industry, for which so much success has been claimed. It will be the spirit which counts, and I do not agree with the criticism that the councils may form combinations to mulct the consumer and hurt the public at large ; but many employers will prefer to stand outside the councils and deal with their workpeople on methods which will give opportunity for individual advancement, initiative, and reward, without FUTURE OF INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS 459 the possible restrictions which associations are apt to imply. In the foregoing sketch, partly of an historical character, many important phases and matters have necessarily been omitted. The sketch only purports to deal with the efforts to maintain or restore industrial peace — chiefly so far as they came within the purview of one Department during the changing movements inseparable from a time of great stress, anxiety, and effort. Some of the lessons to be deduced from such a history may be useful if the nation again unites for the achievement of any common purpose. CHAPTER XLI THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, November 11, 1918, the Armistice was suddenly proclaimed. The industrial world, or at least some sections of it, were taken by surprise. It was after a meeting held on Novem- ber 13 at Caxton Hall, where employers and trade unions had been convened to hear speeches from Ministers on the subjects of stabilisation of wages and the restoration of pre-war practices, that I met the Presidents of the .Federa- tion of Cotton-Spinners' and Manufacturers' Association and the Northern Counties Textile Association in a com- plete quandary as to the course to follow over an imminent dispute in the weavers' section of the North Lancashire cotton trade. The Prime Minister had talked of com- mittees of employers and employed, and had indicated that the Munitions of War Acts, which would include the pro- visions for proclaiming a strike, would soon be repealed, but they had no knowledge when these steps would be taken and whether any new provisions would meet their case. Meanwhile there was certain to be trouble, unless some settlement could be reached. After discussion, it was agreed that I should act as chairman at meetings in Manchester, in order to attempt a settlement, and with that view conferences were held there on November 20 and 21, and between December 3 and 7. The settlement was by no means easy, and would not have been effected but for the good-will shown by both parties, men well known to me in previous disputes. The last settlement during the War had been made in June. Large profits had been made by employers up to September, but during the next two or three months trade prospects had worsened, and prices of yarn and cloth had fallen. As 460 COTTON TRADE DISPUTES 461 soon as the Armistice came, employers deemed the future to be very uncertain, and shrank from the concession of a large advance until the course of the markets became more clear, while the leaders of the operatives contended that their members had not received an adequate share of past gains or sufficient consideration for the increased cost of living. They demanded in the weavers' section an advance of 50 per cent, on current wages, and also a " fall back " or mini- mum wage in cases where operatives were unable to work, or, in technical parlance, had to " play," owing to shortage of raw material. Both Associations eventually agreed that the wage claim should be referred to the new Interim Court, which had been meanwhile established to take the place of the Com- mittee on Production, and that the " fall back " question should be examined by a strong committee of both parties with a view to seeing if an arrangement could be made, the matter to be referred to arbitration, if necessary, after a period of months. It was not till December 3, on the eve of meeting with the weavers, that a mass of papers were sent to me from other officials who purported to have the matter in hand, with the intimation that, even if the weavers' difficulty was settled, the spinners and cardroom operatives were coming out on December 7, and in a short time would hold up the trade. Action — or inaction, because nothing had been done — had broken down. It was suggested I should try to effect a settlement at the eleventh hour, when it ought to have been dealt with days before, the whole case being a curious instance of the lack of co-ordination in Departments, of failure to estimate the right time for inter- vention, and of the ill effects of unnecessary delay and division of authority. There was literally only jusf enough time to induce the parties to hold one meeting on December 6, the notices of 100,000 operatives maturing next day. It appeared that the employers in this section had made an offer of 40 per cent, on standard rates upon November 1, and had re- luctantly agreed to renew their proposal, although the Armistice was said to have stopped large profits and there was a fear of industrial confusion. They were not inclined to increase this offer, owing to the uncertainty, and some may have thought a stoppage might steady the market. On 462 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION the other hand, the workpeople wanted a share of the back profits, and objected to arbitration because a tribunal had endorsed orders of the Cotton Control Board (a) for re- duction of hours from 55J to 40, without compensation for the lesser hours in the American mills, where cotton supplies were short ; and (b) for abolition of a " rota " system of unemployment established under the restriction of output system. The history of the case was that in June an application for an increase of 30 per cent, on list rates had been com- promised by an agreement to pay 25 per cent, increase from June 15, but the rates of wages to remain unchanged up to and including the week ending December 7. This con- cession had been materially affected in the American mills by the shortening of hours during which wages could be earned. Although these workpeople had secured an ad- vance on list rates of 25 per cent., their actual wages, as a result of working shorter hours, were smaller than they had been before the rise just secured, and yet they were committed till December to the agreement of June. The tribunal, while endorsing the orders of the Cotton Control Board, expressed an opinion that, owing to a change of con- ditions, there were good grounds for a modification of the wages agreement, which had two months to run, and that, in the circumstances, it would be well if employers and employees were invited to meet, to see if some arrange- ment could be made. For some reason or other this suggestion was not acted upon by the officials dealing with the matter. The oper- atives, particularly the shop stewards and young men, pressed forward and put in notices for cessation of work on December 7, the last day of the agreement, unless their demands were accepted. All negotiations were broken off. No notice was taken of this in London until Decem- ber 3, when the papers were forwarded to me. On Decem- ber 6 the parties had the meeting which I had managed to arrange, but failed to settle, and also refused, in spite of argument, to hold any further debates, breaking oft with an employers' proposal that : " In view of the fact that the situation in the trade has changed very unfavourably for the employers since November 1, when their offer of 40 per cent, on list wages, WAGES (TEMPORARY REGULATION) ACT 463 together with other conditions, was made, the employers, although of opinion that they would be entitled on the present state of trade to reduce that offer, are willing, in order to arrive at a settlement, to allow the offer of 40 per cent, on list rates for six months for acceptance to-day. Failing acceptance of this offer it is hereby withdrawn, but the employers are willing that the matter in dispute should be settled by arbitration." The operatives briefly replied " We cannot agree to the acceptance of your offer, and in view of our past experience we cannot agree to arbitration." All that I could deduce was that the employers, had there been time, might have advanced their offer by 10 per cent, if they could be sure that the operatives would agree, and that both parties would take note of the amount received by the weavers. All that could be done was to hurry the issue of an award to the weavers, and in the result the same percentage for spinners and the cardroom workers was forced on the employers, after an unnecessary strike had commenced, by Mr. Lloyd George in the following week. A cotton strike in the middle of a General Election was not to be regarded with equanimity, as the complaints of the Parliamentary candidates in Lancashire showed. It was while I was engrossed in the cotton difficulty that the Wages (Temporary Regulation) Act 1918 passed through Parliament and became law on November 21. It was based on a report produced for some reason or other by the Ministry of Reconstruction and not by the Ministry of Labour, and on which the principal Departments concerned with awards and agreements had not even been consulted. This Act was intended to be a temporary measure lasting for six months, with a view to preventing a sudden fall in wages during the change over from munitions to civil work, but was subsequently extended for a further six months. During this period employers were to pay rates not less than prescribed rates (corresponding approxi- mately to the standard rates existing at the date of the Armistice) or such other rates as might be substituted by an award of the Interim Court of Arbitration established 464 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION under the Act, or by an agreement or settlement approved by the Ministry of Labour. The Interim Court of Arbi- tration established under the Act was in effect the Com- mittee on Production with certain additional members to meet the altered circumstances. The clauses of the Munitions of War Acts relating to the prohibition of strikes and lockouts were repealed, as also were the clauses relating to compulsory arbitration, except a difference " as to whether a workman is a workman of a class to which a prescribed rate of wages is applicable, or what is the prescribed rate of wages, or whether any rate should be substituted for the prescribed rate, or what is the substituted rate of wages." Any difference on these points could be reported to the Minister by or on behalf of either of the parties concerned, and the Minister was required to consider the difference and to take any steps that seemed to him expedient to promote a settlement of the difference, and, where the Minister failed to effect a settlement by such means, he was required to refer the difference to the Interim Court of Arbitration for settlement, or if, in his opinion, suitable means for settlement already existed in pursuance of agreements made between employers and employed, for settlement in accordance with those means. There were numerous other clauses on powers of exami- nation and inquiry at the premises of any establishment, proceedings for offences before munitions tribunals, and fines upon employers for any contravention of the Act. At a later date the Act, which affected one side only so far as fines went, and confirmed bureaucratic interference, was superseded by the Industrial Courts Act, under which permanent Courts of Arbitration were established for those who might desire to use them. At the same time, during my absence in Lancashire, internal changes were made in the Ministry of Labour upon which I was not consulted. Officials poured in from the Labour department of the Ministry of Munitions and the Admiralty. A Wages and Arbitration Department to administer the Wages Act and the Conciliation Act was established, and other changes were made, which involved the creation of a huge staff. The results have yet to be awaited. My own connection with the Ministry practically closed with the end of December, when His THE EIGHT-HOUR DAY 465 Majesty was graciously pleased to confer upon me the dignity of a peerage. Of more general interest, a very important step was the concession of the Eight -Hour Day, or the reduction of hours from 54 to 47 hours per week, by the Engineering Employers' Federation. This step anticipated the revival of trouble which had been suspended by the War, although the speed with which it was granted caused difficulties in the shipbuilding yards and on the railways, where the principle had to come into force before the mode of applica- tion had been considered. The tendency towards reduction had been often manifested. Arbitrators and conciliators had generally favoured, and I had frequently urged, the full Saturday half-holiday, and, where practicable, some reduction in hours. My own view had always been that eight hours a day continuous work, particularly monotonous work, was as much as men and women could well bear ; but there is no doubt so drastic a change affected machine production and caused difficulties of adjustment. It was a concession which necessarily spread to other in- dustries, and will have a , great and lasting result, by its developments and effects, upon the industrial life of the nation. In other directions, out-of-work donations or " doles " were introduced for the purpose of dealing with unemploy- ment, feared in anticipation, but not then occurring in actual result. Committees were started on the subject of restoration of pre-war practices in accordance with the pledge of 1915 ; the Ministry of Health Bill went forward ; demobilisation, resettlement of soldiers and sailors, and of workers in national factories, controlled establishments, and firms engaged on Government contracts, were referred to Committees ; a very large number of other plans and schemes came into more or less active operation ; and the year 1918 ended with a General Parliamentary Election. At the time, the Ministry of Reconstruction claimed to have played its part " in the practical realisation of an idea fraught with infinite possibilities for the future of the nation— the idea of organised thinking and common thinking, as applied dispassionately to the complex prob- lems of social progress and national development in this country." The proofs of its success or the reverse must be judged by later results and opinions. If " organised 466 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION thinking " could produce i^othing better than the payment of doles to workpeople in the manner in which they were distributed, its power of anticipation and skill in meeting contingencies were not creditably illustrated. The very officials dispensing doles confessed that the people were settling down to live on them. Payment to persons who could claim one week's work since 1915 and produce an insurance book to show it, wasted money and endowed the most incapable workpeople. The system as worked was demoralising and unfair. It encouraged the belief that anything could be got from the public purse, and that little or no work, small or no results, entitled men and women to be maintained at the expense of others. With the opening of the New Year of 1919, a new Minister of Labour, Sir Robert Home, succeeded Mr. Roberts, who moved to the Ministry of Pensions ; but as my official work practically ceased before Sir R. Home entered the Ministry, concluding remarks must be of more general character than when one was intimately acquainted with the details of disputes during the periods of his pre- decessors. In the propositions put forward at this time by statesmen there does not appear to have been uttered, as far as I can trace, any word of warning for the future, with one notable exception. Mr. J. R. Clynes, on January 24, is reported to have said : " In the main, there was a tendency amongst trade unionists to make demands and to press them, which the trades could not very well afford to meet, and which the country, he feared, would not for some time to come be able to bear. He said this because we had lost so much wealth, and got into such a state of disrepair during the period of the War, that all the energy that we could bring into industry was required for the purpose of enormously increasing the output of our products, and thereby adding immensely to the aggregate wealth of this and other coun- tries. That great increase in production could take place, he was convinced, without any injustice to the masses of workmen, without the application of any tyrannical instrument on the part of employers ; it could take place by man making a more successful use of the thing that he could conquer and control — the machine. It could come REVIVAL OF LABOUR CLAIMS 467 by better arrangements ; by a more successful subdivision of work ; by overthrowing those old trade customs and conditions which belonged to the past, and which should be left to the past ; by accepting and welcoming the higher and better forms of management that the modern- minded and more capable business men could apply to their interests. In short, it could come by organisation and skill." With the exception of this one Labour leader, no states- man had the vision to see or raised his voice to point out that before the final coming of peace there must be delay and uncertainty, but that from the moment of cessation of fighting, reaction must begin ; that scarcity existed in the world, and that a devastated and wounded Europe required economy, work, production, and security before it could recover. No warning of shortage of material and food, of the weight of national debt, of the evils of inflated currency due to borrowings by the Government, and the long row to hoe before valid recovery could be achieved, came from the Government. Unemployment " doles," distributed with amazing laxity, discouraged work and thrift. A state of unpreparedness, lack of leadership, and the example of state extravagance were to lead up to the " land fit for heroes to live in." The actual result was that, after the first days of holiday, the Parliamentary Election, and a brief period of reaction. Labour began, with added factors, to resume the claims and movements suspended by the War. The aim of the extremists miay be taken from their expressed views at the Election : " The whole capitalist class stands united in their common desire to exploit Labour. Under capitalism the freedom of the working class consists in the freedom to starve or accept such conditions as are imposed upon them by the employing class. The freedom of the master class consists in their untrammelled freedom to buy Labour to create profit. Thus the workers are not free. Neither owning nor controlling the means of life, they are wage- slaves of their employers, and are but mere commodities. . . . The best Defence is Offensive, and as a consequence the workers must build up their industrial organisation 468 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION to obtain control over the means of production and destroy the State institution of the master class." Two main points were put forward among professed aims, viz. : " (1) In home affairs we affirm that all land, railways, mines, factories, means of production, and all other instruments of Social Service shall become the communal property of the people. (2) Social classes thus being abolished, no person shall have the power to employ another person for private profit." Below these drastic aims there were naturally any number of grades. In times of discontent, or unsatisfied desire, particularly when unfulfilled promises appeared to have been made, men were apt to unite in pressing claims which individually they might not seek or even deem to be feasible. The power of unity had been shown by the War. Organisations had been improved and per- fected during the War. Mental unrest had been engendered by the War. By the end of January disputes began to be apparent. The very 47 -hour week, which had been put forward by one section of employers without co-ordination with other trades, proved an early difficulty. Dealing with the situation over the 47-hour week, Mr. Clynes very truly said : " Here we had an instance, a very outstanding instance, of what at least might be called a great inadvertence, if not a very great blunder. We could not detach any one great trade from the rest of the businesses and the industries of the country, and set up something totally new in that trade in regard to working hours, wages, or conditions of labour. The influence of example was strong, and as soon as a great change took place in any one trade, it was natural that millions of people in other occupations should ask, Why should they not enjoy this benefit too ? The engineering employers and the associations in that trade rather suddenly agreed to make a change in the working hours. It only knocked off half an hour a day in the working time, and yet it was beset with all manner of difficulties. The men themselves very soon found out that, in respect of many homes, it did not quite fit in with the domestic conditions, and employers of labour also NATURE OF THE DISPUTES 469 found that the change was not the perfect thing they thought it would be. " The troubles which sprang into light at the beginning of the week could be traced, he believed, to certain em- ployers having put up notices announcing the withdrawal of certain privileges that the men had actually enjoyed in their different workshops. There was a misunder- standing on a point of interpretation. The employers naturally concluded that the 47 hours meant 47 hours' actual work ; the men concluded that it meant something else, and before there was an opportunity for the two sides to come together calmly to solve these differences of interpretation, notices were put up, shop meetings were held, growing into larger mass meetings, resolutions passed, and strikes at one or two places, or threats of strikes, with the now usual declaration that, if the men were called out at one place, they would be followed by all others. That was the wrong way to do business. Business men in any one trade should be careful of what they were doing, and the associations of workmen should be equally careful, because of the influence of example." In the first week in February, an official report indicated the nature of some of the disputes which had then com- menced to burst out. It said : " The most serious strike now in progress is that of the motormen on the London Tubes, who are demanding that the thirty minutes' break for a morning meal, which they have been accustomed to under the 9-hour day, shall be retained under the 8-hour day. The Metro- politan Railwaymen came out in sympathy on February 4. An agreement has been made, which it is hoped will result in a resumption of work. The strike on the Clyde continues, although a number of men are already returning to work. In Belfast the situation is still grave. The strikes of boilermakers on the North-East Coast and of ship-repairers on the Thames continue. There are a number of strikes in progress in South Wales, in almost every branch of industry. These include a strike of practically the whole of the South Wales members of the Electrical Trades Union, which began on February 3 in support of their demand for a 47-hour week and a basis wage of 2s. and Is. 9d. per hour for the various grades. Strikes involving 470 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION several thousand men occurred during the week at collieries in the Amman Valley (Anthracite District), Llanbradach, and Landore, etc. The Dowlais miners resumed work on January 28, the management having granted all their demands. " At Barrow, on January 30, about 300 carpenters and joiners were out as a protest against the existence of a premium bonus system. At Birkenhead about 400 riveters, shipwrights, and caulkers struck on January 28 at Messrs. Cammell Laird's. A large number of smelters are out in Lanark. There has been no indication that the strike of the 4,000 boilermakers in the Bristol Channel shipyards has been settled. " The London electricians threatened to strike in London on February 6 unless the Government brings in a Bill for a national 40-hour week and sets free the Clyde strike leaders. Certain sections of the National Union of Rail- waymen, notably London and Liverpool, threaten to strike on February 9 as a protest against the Government's alleged dilatory method of dealing with their national programme." The burst-out over the 47-hour week, with the subse- quent demands for a 44-hour or a 40-hour week in some trades, was only the preliminary to disturbance throughout the country, first of one industry, and then of another. If the general position is considered, it may be deduced that the War had tended to equality in rationing, equality in conscription, and equality in the general advances of war wages to different sections of the community. The War had also tended towards big organisations in both Capital and Labour. In the one case big organisations had been effected by Government action, in the railways, mines, etc., and by control of shipping, engineering, national factories, etc. They had also been effected by voluntary action, with a view to economy of production and greater efficiency, or by the limitations imposed through shortage of managerial power. In the other case, the equality of wage demands had brought unions together, insurance through approved societies and other agencies already acting before the War had increased theirstrength,dilutionor interchangeability had brought trades into close relation; This was one side of the picture. On the other was the NATURE OF THE DISPUTES 4,71 fact that many of the older trade union leaders, largely through their perpetual work in London, had lost in- fluence, and could not control the huge bodies of which they were the leaders. Sporadic strikes of sections were apt to arise. The rank and file would not submit to discipline. In individual works they aimed at power within the shop without reference to leaders, whom they seldom saw and who were continually busy on other matters. The workshop committees became during the War a real force and had to be reckoned with. Since the War they have become still more powerful, particularly as they afford a mode of expression to the young men. A disquieting effect of the strikes upon the country was due to the fact that disputes in certain industries — mines, transport, railways — bound more or less closely together under the name of the Triple Alliance, particularly affected the comfort and well-being of the community at large. The common factor noticeable in all of them was the rest- less pressure and support of the young men in favour of a strike on almost any pretext, until it became almost a farce in the recent voting of the Yorkshire " nippers " in the coal dispute. The stirring of the War, the success of mass effort, the insistent claim and proof by their leaders that the Government could be made to yield, induced large numbers of men in every case to support demands against employers largely without regard to the possibilities of the future of industry. The lavish expenditure and grandiose schemes of the Government could only add fuel to the flame. Men desired to have a share in the assumed millions, which did not appear to be used to reduce the cost of living. At the same time, many of the young men were deter- mined to have a better time and more of the amenities of life, as they had been vaguely promised, without more work, often with less work, and without production even equivalent to the amount produced per head in the years previous to the War. They desired more pay, less work, a better standard, and more openings, openings which were crystallised in the phrase of more control, or a share in the management of the conditions under which they lived. On these natural desires there was built the ideal by some of their leaders, particularly the coal-miners' leaders, that both material gain and control could be got by service to the State, and not to private owners. The 31 472 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION private owner, as the capitalist, was to be ousted. The advantages of the incentive of personal gain and work, the fact that Capital is generally the aggregation of a vast number of small savings entrusted to a few people, either for investment or speculative purposes, were passed over in favour of a phrase, " nationalization," which has never been clearly explained. In fact, one of the miners' leaders has written that it was not a good word, and that some word like " socialisation " might be more suitable. The damning effect of bureaucratic action was also disowned, but it had never been explained how the State could manage mines without the employment of bureaucracy, nor that any enterprise, development, or cessation from strikes would be more likely to be obtainable under the State than when the mines were worked by an extended unification of the interests of coal-owners and coal-miners. The aim of nationalization was and is quite sincerely held by one of the miners' leaders, Mr. Smillie, himself one of the strongest individualists in the country, and possibly would be claimed by him as an extension of liberty, leading to collective liberty in work through self-government, and individual liberty outside work through the shortening of hours. Another element in Mr. Smillie's opinions may have been correctly described by his lieutenant, Mr. Frank Hodges, who wrote in March 1920 : " The end he (Mr. Smillie) had in view was service to the bottom dog, and the great thing that he wished to see accomplished was the nationalization of the mining in- dustry, not so much because he felt, as the younger school of advocates feel, that it would bring increased freedom and status to the workmen engaged in the industry, but because of the very concrete issue of increased safety to life and limb, improved housing in mining villages, pit-head baths, and other amenities in the life of a miner. It is a source of great pain to him now that the work of the Coal Industry Conmiission has not resulted in a single additional working-class home being erected in a mining village, or a pit-head bath being constructed, and that the accident rate in mines has not been diminished." For the time being, at a time when the consumption of coal had had to be restricted, and when the recruitment of NECESSITY FOR EXPLANATION 473 miners after the German advance in 1918, the necessity of export to France owing to the loss of output from the French mines in the Pas de Calais, and influenza epidemics, heavily reduced the available supply from British mines, the movement of the miners, with claims for nationaliza- tion, wages, and shorter hours, was very serious. Mr. Smillie was too able a tactician not to realise that force, if it is to be effectual, must be used in a manner which will ultimately persuade, not in a manner which will alienate, the ordinary citizen. He consented to Mr. Lloyd George's proposal for a Commission, of which he became a member, under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice Sankey, and that the strike should be called oft. The re- ports of the Sankey Commission are well known, but the manner of appointment of this Commission, its constituent parts, its method of business, and the subsequent working of the mines, failed to convert the ordinary citizen, or all the miners, or to convince the Government of the necessity of ' accepting the majority report. To the ordinary man nationalization was nothing more than a word, or a cry. It was not understood. Its results had not been explained. Its method of working was not shown. Without any clear facts upon which judgement might be exercised, the people were faced with a demand when their burdens were very heavy, aAd when they did not wish to be hustled into another huge national undertaking. The miners brought up the question before the Trade Union Congress in September, which endorsed previous annual resolutions in favour of nationalization, but shelved the main question of direct action, and deferred the subject for a special congress in December. It has again been alleged to have come to the front, after a declaration by the Government against it, under the guise of a demand for increased wages and the reduction of the price of coal to the home consumer, which would absorb the Govern- ment profits on export coal, and in fact, if not in theory, go far to hand over the mines to the miners. It appeared to me that, whatever the proposed scheme might be, the nation must receive education on the subject andbepreparedto exercise judgement with some knowledge, a view which the miners seemed themselves to take, as they started an educational campaign. With this view in my mind, I wrote, in the interval between September and 474 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION December, some remarks in The Times upon the position, from which the following passages may be taken : " Resolutions upon nationalization of industries had become recurrent at Trade Union Congresses in the past, but little result had been attempted or achieved. Owing to circumstances known to the whole country, a call this year has been made upon their colleagues by the powerful mining unions, to put an opinion into force and make it a tangible reality. Their claim is backed by an argument which they know must appeal to many. They allege that they have been let in by the Prime Minister, that at least an implied pledge should oblige the Government to support the findings of the majority of a Government Committee. " The Trade Union Congress could hardly take any other course than that of support to its previous abstract views. Nobody suggested it should oppose either its own expressed opinion or the demand made by its most powerful section. It may seem futile, under such conditions, to appeal for further consideration before a bitter campaign is launched, or to suggest that a war between nationalizers and anti- nationalizers is unwise, and perhaps unnecessary. " But there are strong reasons why further consideration should be given to an issue so vitally important to the country as a whole, and why the subject should be ap- proached without temper or recrimination. . . . " There are two points which beset the minds of ordinary men on this subject of coal. The first is a strong desire for a cheap, plentiful, and regular supply of coal. A man desires warmth and comfort in his home, and facility for maintaining, improving, and enlarging the business or in- dustry in which he is engaged. The second is growing annoyance, even anger, at the perpetual quarrels reported in one or other coal-field, culminating from time to time in national quarrels which upset the plans and livelihood of everyone in the country. The public, if convinced, would accept any reasonable scheme which would relieve their minds of anxiety upon these two points. Other points are subsidiary. " The miners' leaders appear to say that the course which they are proposing will satisfy these two points, and that in addition the system will ensure the best con- ditions for the coal-workers. Obviously, unless the country OBJECTIONS TO THE MINERS' PLAN 475 is prosperous, no system will ensxire to the miners or any- other workers good and improving conditions. " I have been present at the Trade Union Congress and have heard the speeches made upon the subject. The strong impression left upon my mind by the speeches, and by the opinions everywhere expressed by members of the public, is that the miners, although they claim to advocate a plan which will suit the public, have not taken nearly enough trouble to prove the value of their plan, and have not convinced the public either of the value of their plan or that they mean well by the community. Consequently the issue is serious. . . . There will be worse friction than was even known in the past if nationalization is carried through by the force of one section of the community. A retrocession from the step, once taken, is likely to be im- practicable. A reasonable majority of the people ought to be convinced, and those who advocate so far-reaching a plan ought to be able to convince them. There should be time for the nation to examine, criticise, and understand so large a movement. At present little beyond a word is placed before it. " The miners may contend that resolutions have already been passed by Labour, and that a Government Committee has reported in favour of nationalization and produced a scheme. I sympathise with the miners. A Government Commission should have great weight in guiding statesmen towards a correct course in legislation, but for that pur- pose it must be a Commission in which the country has complete confidence, particularly on questions vital to the whole community. Rightly or wrongly, the nation has not been convinced by the report of the Coal Com- mission. . . . " I do not seriously blame the miners for this develop- ment, but, remembering their frequent expression of lack of confidence in the Government, they might wisely have taken great care that any inquiry affecting their industry should have been conducted with the aim of convincing the public that their views are sound, their claims just, that there is no packed jury, nor any feeling that immense power is being used to rush a position for selfish ends. If there is intention to rush the position and press the vague report of this Commission at all costs, if a campaign such as is foreshadowed prior to further consideration is 476 THE ARMISTICE AND NATIONALIZATION going to be started, it will be taken as an attempt to stampede the people, it will be contrary to the principles of intelligent democracy, and it will create a bitterness absolutely inimical to any co-operation, any unity, or that rest which the majority of the nation so much desire. . . . " Among other matters, the question of the workers having ' a voice in the management ' looms large in the present controversy. It is quite obvious what the extreme labour men intend by this ' voice in the management.' They mean the whole voice. It is equally clear what the mine-owners mean when they object to any interference with management. It is not clear what the Coal Com- mission Report means or the Whitley Councils mean by the same phrase. Management is a highly specialised business ; it is, in fact, the most highly specialised part of any business. Consider the resentment of a skilled miner or mechanic if he was informed of a proposal that someone who knew nothing of the intricacy of his business was to be appointed to have a say as to how the coal was to be got, or how the mechanism of a machine was to be assembled. A skilled workman is supposed to know his business, and no such workman worthy of the name would stand interference. Similarly a manager should know his business, part of which is to keep in close touch with the desires of his workmen and do his best to make their work as attractive as possible. If he fails in this, he fails as a manager. He is, in fact, the connecting-link between the workmen and the employer, a leg of the three-legged stool, and, if he is worthy of the position, would, like his best workmen, resent any interference with his duties. The best managers, while alive to the desires of both employers and men, are as little inclined to submit to officious interference of their directors as to factious interference of the employees. I have in mind many such managers whose success in municipal under- takings or private concerns has been due as much to confidence in their power to prevent such interference as to technical knowledge of their business. Imagine the position of such managers when called upon to consult a workman or a committee of their own workmen elected, not because of the ability he or they have shown in the expert business of management, but because a man has succeeded in securing election by his fellows. Popular ILL-CONSIDERED SCHEMES VALUELESS 477 election is the worst type of recommendation for such a position. A delegate so elected will sooner or later find himself in the position of losing the confidence of his fellows or supporting proposals for the management of the business which he knows to be wrong. Ill-considered schemes which can lead to such a result are valueless. They are harmful — very pleasing to the theorist, but not practical in their working. " In order to avoid such schemes and to convince the country as to the best course to be followed, it is necessary that the country should understand the question. The issue is wide and national, the Commission was largely partisan. It is a plain necessity that the country should have far more information upon the subject and proof in support of assertion." CHAPTER XLII GOVERNMENT METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS The coal-miners were not alone in pressing forward demands. Once again the system of sectional settlement, without any co-ordination, by different Ministers, had full sway. On the railways, in answer to large claims, the locomotive men and firemen obtained advances which only served as an inducement to the other grades to press forward demands for themselves on the same principles, although the locomotive men had pressed for special treatment on the ground of skill. The unrest grew, section after section in different trades demanding more wages and new conditions : and as each section advanced, a patchwork settlement was effected, first by one Depart- ment, then by anojher, with the chance, in every case, of carrying an appeal from one Department to another Department, from one Minister to another Minister, and when the union was powerful enough to cause much trouble, from minor Ministers to the Prime Minister. Co-ordination and system were ignored at a time when peace and rest was of the utmost importance to the welfare of the country. Finally, a petty strike led by one man who could not or would not follow the general, though temporary, settlement in the coal trade, led to a supreme instance of the result of these methods, and illustrated the state of turmoil into which the country was drifting. The whole condition of affairs and the policy which was being followed so moved me that I could not refrain from writing a letter, published by The Times on July 30, in heartfelt denunciation of a system, not, as some chose to think, for any political purpose against a party or an individual. A portion of this letter stated : " Strikes have arisen from the ill-defined recommenda- 478 THE COAL COMMISSION 479 tions of an opportunist Commission. As a result, the spectacle is afforded of the Prime Minister of the United Kirigdom of Great Britain and Ireland coming back, from acting as the representative of the greatest Empire known in history at Conferences designed to settle the most awful war of all known wars and the whole future of the world, to sit surrounded by subordinate Ministers and high officials from many Departments in the famous Cabinet- room of Downing Street for the purpose of arranging the meaning of a report and the piecework rates of one of the Yorkshire coal-fields. It is a spectacle analogous to that of five Cabinet Ministers, with the same man as their leader, wrangling unsuccessfully in 1912 between the parties in a London dock strike. Verily 'a degradation of Government.' And there are many disputes equally big going on, or just coming on, and many far bigger disputes looming in the future. Are there to be more opportunist Commissions and more and more contentious matters drifting to Downing Street, with the chance of an opportunist settlement dictated by the supposed need of the moment and the sturdiness of ' audacious ' demands ? Why is it ? Is there no policy ? Has there ever been any industrial policy ? " Meanwhile the burden of the long War is upon us, and with huge debts, restricted exports, swingeing taxation, and continued borrowing, we listen to speeches urging production on those who will not hearken, and work on those who either cannot get it or do as little and spend as much as they can. Demands are made more and more, prices rise as the supplies decrease, efforts to maintain or increase supplies are half-hearted, futile, or purposely not intended, and an orgy of expenditure is the fashion. In this whirl of insecurity and uncertainty profiteering stands out with ugly insistence ; there is restlessness and dis- content ; beneath the surface those with small or fixed incomes form a body filled with ominous and growing anger. The cry is ever, ' Give ! give ! ' to which the Gov- ernment replies, not by economy or urging restriction of wasteful outlays, but by borrowing more money, ladling out more doles, proposing more place-men, continuing vast subsidies, not even making a pronouncement against profiteering. There is a continuous scramble for money, and more money, at any cost to the nation. The inevitable 480 GOVERNMENT METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS disturbance results and grows from the least hitch, after a vague settlement of the recent industrial trouble. Is it remarkable that the Prime Minister has to settle piece- work rates of Yorkshire mines at 10 Downing Street ? " The Prime Minister has brought it on himself by a system of opportunism and political interference in industrial business. He is the victim of his own method. From the time when he entered the Board of Trade, through the time when he established and carried on the most lavishly run Department the world has ever seen, down to the present moment, he has been a spending Minister, utterly i^egardless of economy, guided only by opportunism, and with no Labour policy except political interference for political aggrandisement at the expense of the country. Opportunism has been coupled with spectacular displays, such as the supersession of the responsible Minister in the South Wales mining difficulty of 1915. In that case he left Mr. Runciman to wipe up a maze of vague clauses, and impressed every trade, some- times employers and more often the employed, with the belief that they had only to push hard enough to receive their demands from the bottomless purse of the nation. Now the nation is reaping the results. " Again and again the Government was warned, verbally and in writing, that the splendid response of Labour to the War, the abnegation of self, the sacrifice of war, would be swamped if profiteering was not denounced and a lead given which would make those who were living more or less safely at home realise the supreme sacrifice which the flower and youth of the nation were daily incurring for others. They were told, in a report submitted early in the War by the Committee on Production, ' that the needs of the nation in time of war must not be made the means of undue private gain.' That was the only report which was suppressed. That principle has never been adequately acted upon, is not acted upon now, and is flouted by most men who have a chance of flouting it. I venture to say this flouting is loathsome to all the best men and women in the nation, and particularly to those who have risked or lost in the War those who are nearest and dearest to them, even though some in self-protection have had to join in the rush for profits. " As for Labour, they see the profits, they see the NO UNITY OF PURPOSE 481 extravagance. They ask for more. Taking any one of the numerous demands now being made, the employers in one district might be able to meet it out of Government contract prices. If they did, they know that it would spread to every district in the country ; and if given in one trade, leap like a prairie fire from trade to trade. They refuse, and a strike results. One Department, out of the many overlapping Departments which have been estabUshed by the Prime Minister, comes in. Their official says, ' Give it '■ — regardless of the efforts of arbi- tration tribunals, ignorant of the interlocking of trade with trade, ignorant of the ABC of the question, or, if not ignorant, careless. . . . Hundreds of millions of pounds have been thrown away in this manner, the worst instances being the 12^ per cent, and various efforts of the Ministry of Munitions and the Air Ministry, and, in addition, the seeds of future trouble have been continu- ously laid. Another official in a similar case says : ' No. This involves issues too serious. You cannot give it.' The men's leader says : ' We see the profits ; they can pay, and they shall pay. They get it from the Government. We insist upon our share. It does not matter to us if the rise spreads to other places. So much the better for our men there. We want our bit, and the cost of living justifies us. If the employers take big profits, we will too.' " The Civil servant who takes a wide outlook and is more anxious to maintain a sound policy in the matter of advances than to secure temporary peace by opportunist concessions, risks and frequently receives blame. He is discredited by his opportunist political chief. The old Civil Service and its great traditions have been nearly swamped by the influx of new Departments and politicians holding office for a few months, during which they can gain no knowledge of their business, but, following the example of others, see that grandiose plans, vast expendi- ture, and an army of new men commend them for pro- motion. The new men imitate their chiefs ; the Civil servants, both new and old, find themselves at the mercy of transitory leaders ; claims for salaries are based on the size of Departments ; the pursuance of any considered plan or policy is rendered abortive ; if a line of patience or considered work is attempted, it is ridiculed. . . . " It is time that some sane lead should be given to the 482 GOVERNMENT METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS country. Patience has been preached, but nothing has been done. There is no unity of purpose, no real lead, no thrift in administration or private expenditure, no hin- drance to the scramble for money and the continuance of profiteering. War is a time of sacrifice. Many have made it a source of gain, and flaunt their ill-gotten wealth before the eyes of those who risked life on their behalf. "I have accused the Prime Minister of opportunist prodigality, with which principle he has imbued the colossal staffs surrounding himself and his Ministers ; of interfering with good government in the country, and particularly with the moral of the Civil Service ; of entering into and supporting a systematic interference of the politician in industrial disputes, and thereby achieving the double result of fomenting trouble and degrading Government ; and of promoting and condoning lavish waste and ex- penditure. A system of doles and political bribery for the maintenance of political power can never last, but it may irretrievably injure this country before it comes to a dishonourable end. The Prime Minister has been neces- sarily absent. He has been weighted with many cares ; but the task of pulling the country together and changing the system will brook no delay. Let him tell the people the real situation and preach to them the necessity of economy and thrift, and, above all, act upon it himself. Let him put the settlement of industrial disputes on a sound basis, to be dealt with between employers and employed, only lending, if necessary, outside aid in the event of a dead- lock. Let that aid be the one authority whose action shall be final, without interference by politicians and Downing Street, and continuous and uncertain cutting across of its actions. Let him denounce the profiteer, whether he be employer, middleman, or employee, and take steps to stop their profits and nefarious methods. Let him insist on an example being set by all Government Departments, ruthlessly cut down unnecessary place-men, and demand on every side a cessation of extravagance and waste. The country is looking for a lead, craving a lead ; and there is yet time to give it a lead. All sane men will wish him God-speed if he will take his chance and act quickly. Failing that ! " My theory was and is in favour of an avoidance of CRITICISM OF METHODS 483 disputes by all honourable means, and a just and equitable composing of difficulties when they arise, a policy entirely contrary to the use of the political machine in industrial matters, where its interference has continually wrought harm. The letter only anticipated the storm by a few hours. During the early days of August the pent-up anger of many men broke out. The Press reflected the opinion of thinking men and cried loudly against extravagance and waste. An official announcement was made that the Ministry of Labour would return to the pre-war method of settling disputes, an announcement which has not been followed. The Presi- dent of the Board of Trade (Sir Auckland Geddes) intro- duced an ineffective Profiteering Bill, which the Government stated to be urgent and necessary to carry through at once. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Austen Chamber- lain) painted in a gloomy speech the state of debt, and called loudly for economy, hinting that the country was on the straight road to bankruptcy. The Government De- partments were told by the Prime Minister that staffs must be cut down immediately. A storm of criticism on ex- penditure and waste ran through the country, but criticism had never come from the Government, or any important Member of it. The feeling was reflected in the Trade Union Congress. Although " direct " action as a means of forcing political ends was shelved, at least for the time, the mere fact that resolutions in the country had caused it to be discussed formally at the Congress indicated discontent, and the Congress also passed strong economic resolutions on such subjects as a levy on capital, as well as for national- ization of mines. Then there was a lull, broken only by a " Foreword " by the Prime Minister to a new paper called Future, which led me to write again to The Times a series of letters about this hypothetical " New World." It seemed so absurd to speak of the " new world " when storms were actually gathering, almost immediately to burst out into the railway strike, a case of " direct action " to force the Government to yield to a section of the com- munity, though the Government were the real employers, and a curious comment upon the claims of the miners that service to a Government would be more respected than service to other employers. The same procedure which had now become so common 484 GOVERNMENT METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS was carried out, squeezing the railway executive to get near an agreement, and then standing out for more ; squeezing the Minister, this time the new Minister of Trans- port (Sir Eric Geddes), on the first day of his entry into office, and then in this case striking ; and eventually squeez- ing the Prime Minister to yield still more. The same pro- cess, without the strike, was followed on the subject of standard rates in the following December. Whether the claims were good or bad, such a system of settlement seems to me to be thoroughly bad, and brings Ministers, and par- ticularly the Prime Minister, continuously into a false position. This railway strike, coming quite unexpectedly after the public had been told all was going well, in answer to a promise of a considerable advance, and apparently largely out of pique with a particular Minister, annoyed the public. It was the beginning of winter, when people generally de- sired some peace in the industrial world. The public did what they could to assist themselves, and the Government obtained their support. It was a very unpopular strike. It was an unwise strike, if the Labour Party, as it was said, desired to achieve political success, because it threw them back for the time being. It did not lead the people to be- lieve in their sense of responsibility. The object lesson was not thrown away upon the transport workers, who agreed to refer their claims to a court of inquiry, or upon the miners, who started the campaign of education which has been men- tioned. In addition, during the autumn, a sectional strike of iron- moulders, refusing to work on piece-work, demanding more for time-work than any allied sections, turning deaf ears to the interests and advice of the many trades dependent upon castings, hindered then, and as an aftermath for many months, that production in the engineering trades which was so necessary to the welfare of the nation. Thus closed the year 1919, with a general feeling that some trade unions were being worked for political rather than industrial ends, and despair at the absence of stability and security in obtaining production or the establishment of efficiency in production when employers and employed were not adequately united in the same object. In this present year of 1920 it may be noted that an international sense, in a mild form, has been cultivated by DIRECT ACTION 485 the meetings and advisory decisions reached at Washing- ton by delegates united under the fiat of the Treaty of Versailles. This movement may acquire force in the future. At present, so far as this country is concerned, the efforts bring forward no points of great novelty. Great Britain, comparatively speaking, takes the lead, but the importance and success of the proposals depend in other countries entirely upon administration, the most necessary require- ment to give effect to paper promises. It is also to be hoped that, under the system of voting, the immense maritime interests of Great Britain will not be hazarded by equality of voting power being given to countries like Switzerland, Czecho-Slovakia, and Poland, whose interests do not lie in the possession of ships. Equality of power seems to have been allowed at the recent international conference at Genoa. International sense has, however, been followed up in a far more extreme form by the renewal of threats of " direct action " for political ends, and claims that the Government in international politics should follow the decisions of a few Labour leaders. The future of such action it is not possible to predict, but up to the present all the claims for direct action have been characterised by speeches and action so astonishing in the sum of ignorance which they display that Ministers have had small difficulty in meeting the criticism. Understanding of foreign affairs does not come from the mere fact that a man is a successful Labour leader, or thinks that he can stop transport, or has influence to hindey by strikes international undertakings of which he has th^most rudimentary knowledge. It is, nevertheless, important to recognise that the real measure of support given to such claims is the firm desire on the part of the whole nation to have peace, and not to be embroiled in war, unless the nation has full cognisance and an opportunity of judging the reasons which may lead to war. With that ideal put before the people, much might happen. In conclusion, the few months since the Armistice, a brief period in the history of a nation, have been undoubtedly marked by reaction after the War, the desire to have a good time, to relax the tension and the continuity of work. There has been the high price of food and all necessaries of life, continuously rising, with wages not covering in all cases the demands made by increasing costs. There has 486 GOVERNMENT METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS been the fear of higher prices, the fear of unemployment, and the fear of competition by the influx of more workers and the effects of demobihsation. The better feeling among employers generally was not recognised sufficiently, while, on the other hand, strong dislike of profiteers continued to exist, and the belief that Capital would dominate, with resentment against such a possibility. New men had arisen in the course of the years, who threw over old methods and thought that, by combination of demands and organisation of workers and by strikes, they could force from employers, or if not from them, from the Government, the chief con- trolling employer, a concession of their demands. Propa- ganda ceaselessly pressed for a change of social life, a better position for the workers, and more control. Behind all these causes writers and speakers have revived or pressed idealistic views, which now or never it seemed possible to obtain, and which were often held without realisation of the tragedy of the times, the ravages of the War, or the grim results and further strife which might follow by push- ing forward doctrines the results of which they could not control. It is easy to be a revolutionist ; it is not easy to be a revolutionist who sees where he is drifting or being led. The freedom not to exercise toleration may be a defensible theory, but may also become selfish indi- vidualism. In some districts of the country, particularly large cities, the housing difficulty aided discontent. Men cannot work properly if their homes are thoroughly uncomfortable or crowded, and yet if they go farther away from their work, every increase of tramway or railway fares diminishes earnings, and may even cancel the gain of their own ad- vances in wages. Instead of more amenities in life or the hopes of home which might have been cherished, the fruition, in spite of lavish promise, continued and con- tinues to be lamentably meagre. The sense of proportion must be exercised when dealing with the views and opinions of large masses of people. Elements of discontent are cumulative. One man is chiefly guided by one reason, another by a different reason, but the result may be the same. The absence of logical reasons is generally more noticeable than their presence. It is probable that the majority of people want to be left alone, and not to have their lives interfered with, particularly PRESENT POSITION 487 by officials : people want to do things on their own, and not in manner prescribed by agents, however benevolent their views of uplifting and improvement may appear to be. In the case of lockouts and strikes, it must always be remembered that the percentage of persons in dispute at any particular time is very small relatively to the large numbers of people steadily working, and not interested in the least in the dispute unless it happens to impinge on their own interests, work, or enjoyment. It is, however, disconcerting to the majority of people, who desire to settle down and live in peace, when an epidemic of strikes, or " a strike fever," as one politician complacently called it, is reported in the Press, and fuel, travel, or supplies of food and articles required in every household are gravely inter- fered with. Before settling down again into complacency, the public, of whom the majority are other working men and women, want to know the reason, and may feel the direct effects. There are also serious after-effects in re- striction of trade and export, increased taxation and increased cost, which they do not fully realise, though they are there, and must affect the wealth of the nation available for distribution among the people, generally out of all proportion to the value obtained by the immediate protago- nists in the dispute. The effect, too, on the mental and moral nature of men is bad. All this hatred, bitterness, and jealousy cannot be good. Divergent interests and suspicion and intent almost always arise or remain after these struggles, even though men may shake hands over the particular dispute. It would be better if they did not arise. Then how is that result to be obtained ? It would be use- less to say that the waves of the sea are always to be still, or that the movements of ambition, greed, and interests will not lead to clashing from which struggles of strength will arise. The small minority actively engaged in promoting complete changes of society, followed all the more easily by the masses as organisations are enlarged or more closely knit in discipline, would alone be sufficient to prevent such a millennium. The example of other nations, either in political, industrial, or revolutionary movements, is not to be left out of account, although often magnified into undue importance, and although unity at home is surely of more value than a vague alliance with contemptuous 82 488 GOVERNMENT METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS and foreign dictators of illegal violence. The preachings of publicists, and one-sided propaganda by enthusiasts urging what they would destroy but not thinking what they would retain, the very workings of the minds of men, must prevent placid contentment. It is vain to think that peace can be got by Acts of Parliament, however orderly the ar- rangements they propose or the benevolence they breathe, or by pensions, insurance, maximum prices, town-planning, public works, or multifarious devices resulting in heavy and ever-increasing taxation. I find no answer in the interference of the politician in the struggles arising in industry, and in my opinion such interference should be rigidly curtailed. Let me return to the first pages of this book. If the orderly advance of peaceful development is to be obtained, in place of the surging storms of hatred and strife, there must be more knowledge, so that men should not blindly follow guides who may be blind. There must be simple and plain modes of bringing forward grievances and avoid- ing disputes by all honourable means, and of composing difficulties when they arise, justly and equitably. There must be efforts to improve the comfort of the workshop and its surroundings, reduce the monotony of work, and by all possible means obviate the fear of unemployment. There ought to be a strong effort by each industry to deal with the question of unemployment within that industry, a difficult but vital task. There must be an attempt at better personal understanding, and chances given to the young to make use of their education, and by means of their brains and energy to have opportunity of service to others and to themselves. There must be desire of common interest, and if possible of unifying common interest, partly by the touch of human and personal sympathy, partly by the joint interest of material gain, with the ideal of joint service. It is the spirit, not paper systems, which alone can prevent war and reduce the reasons for industrial strife. My work and the work of a zealous Department, fighting through times of sporadic disputes, times of revolution in 1911 and 1912, and times of war, will have been mainly thrown away if it has not shown that bitter disputes can be settled by understanding, that employers and employed can work together, that united effort produces great THE AIM OF CONCILIATION 489 results and lays the seeds of greater results, and that the peace of the kingdom as a whole is of greater value than success in a petty squabble or the encouragement of hatred between man and man. Peace and good-will apiong men may have been too high an ideal to obtain, but in the seeking of it it has been possible, sometimes, to lay the seeds of future understanding and a living growth of unity and unified effort between man and man, beyond the material settlement, important though that be, of the wages between employerand employed. "I see two classes," says Margaret Hale, in Mrs. Gaskell's North and South, " dependent on each other in every possible way, yet each evidently regarding the interests of the other as opposed to their own." That is the position of the two camps. The unity of the camps is the aim of conciliation. INDEX Abnormal plcices, 204 Agreements, referred to Industrial Council, chap, xxiii Ainsworth, Mr. G., 185 Aircraft disputes, 362 Air Ministry, 418, 447 Amalgamated Society of Engineers, 370, 375, 382, 417 Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, 115, 119 Anarchism, 323, 325 Arbitration, formerly refused, 72 ; suggestions by Committee on pro- duction, 369 ; points of, 405 ; difference from conciliation, 405 Arbitrators, panels of, 127 Army boots, chap, x Ashton, Mr. T., 185 Asquith, Bt. Hon. H. H., 163, 168, 204, 209, 211, 215, 377, 391, 399, 413 Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers, 122 Atkin, Lord Justice, 454 Barnes, Rt. Hon. George, 357, 431, 435, 439, 442 Barring clauses, 106 Beasley, Mr. A., 88, 115 Bell, Mr. Richard, 78, 89, 90, 115, 119 Bell, Sir Hugh, 185 Beveridge, Sir William, 273 Bieberstein, Baron Marschall von, 357 Birmingham, 30, 32, 119, 252, 261 Blind alley work, 8 Board of Trade, Railway Depart- ment, 110, 116 Boilermakers, 37, 141, 252, 358, 396, 413, 469 Bolshevism, 295 Bonar Law, Rt. Hon. A., 216, 399, 440 Bookbinding, 48, 97 Boot and shoe trade, 130, 133, 395 490 Botha, General, 258 Bowerman, Rt. Hon. C. W., 186 Brace, Rt. Hon. W., 393 Brooklands Agreement, 137, 138, 139, 362 Buckmaster, Lord, 350 Building trade, branches of, 47, 301, 310, 311, 347, 358, 384, 400,419, chap, xl Burhtred, King, 98 Burnett, Mr. John, 80 Bums, Rt. Hon. John, 73, 75, 155, 230, 307 Burt, Rt. Hon. Thomas, 185 Butt, Sir Alfred, 108 Buxton, Viscount, 141, 161, 179, 182, 209, 229, 230, 231, 361 " Ca' canny," chap, xxix Cambrian strike, 143 Canada, chap, xxiv Capital and Labour, chap, vi ; effect of dock strike on, 74 Cardboard-box trade, 287 Cardroom operatives, 137, 188, 362, 409, 413 Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir E., 437 Carters, at Majichester, 152, 170, 173 ; in London, 223 Casual labour, 73, 307 Cavendish Club, 348 Cecil, Lord R., 313 Central Unemployed Body, 308 Certificate, abolition of leaving, 426, 430 Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. A., 483 Chandler, Mr. F., 186 Charting boys, 33 China clay dispute, 258 Churchill, Rt. Hon. Winston, 127, 131, 155, 162, 272, 277, 427, 428, 434, 453, 454 Clarke, Sir Edward, 222 Claughton, Sir G., 166, 185 Clemart, Mr., 108 Clowes, Mr. W. A., 185 INDEX 491 Clyde strikers, letter to, 374 Clyde wages, comparison with Tyne, 374, 376 Clynes, Rt. Hon. J. R., 186, 262, 357, 466, 468 Coal Controller, 428 Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act, 215, 355 Coal Mines Regulation Act, 135 Coal, Northumberland, 134 Coal, South Wales, 84, 134 Coal trade, effects of strike, 217 ; at beginning of war, 358 Cohen, Mr. Arthur, 94 Cole, Mr. G., 338 Colliery engineers, 429 Committee on Production, 366, 375, 376, 377, 383, 384, 420, 480 Communism, chap, xxxii, 323 Communist manifesto, 330 Compositors, London, 85 Conciliation Act, chap, viii ; terms of, 77 Conciliator, points of », 129, 405 ; anxieties of, 159 Connolly, Mr. J., 109, 315 Co-operative societies, 450 Co-ordination, lack of, 363, 434 ; attempts at, 416, 423 Co-partnership, 313 Cost of living, at beginning of War, 356 Cotton, cost of cotton strike, 192 ; non-unionist dispute in, chap, xx ; not in Treasury Agreement, 360 ; agreement in, 362 ; not under Munitions Acts, 390 ; pieoers in, 361; arbitration in, 409, 460; cardroom dispute proclaimed, 413 Coventry, advance at, 410 Crockett, Mr. J. H. C, 185 Cummings, Mr. D. C, 253, 446 Cutlers' feast, Sheffield, 175 Daily News, 283 Davis, Mr. F. L., 185 Devitt, Sir T., 185 Devonport, Lord, 227, 228 Dilke, Sir Charles, 283, 293, 352 Direct action, 219, 339 Distributive trades, branches of, 51 Dockers' dispute, 1889, chap, vii Dockers, Glasgow, 193, 411 Dock labourers, at beginning of War, 358 Dockyards, 384 Doles, 308, 310, 311 Dublin, 119, 260, 261, 274, 449 Dudley, girls of, 73 Dimdee, strike at, 149, 193 Dunedin, Lord, 94 Dunraven, Lord, 290 Education, chap, iv ; progress of, 18; difference of school and trade, 19 ; methods in a good firm, 20 ; completion of, 21 ; tests of, 39 Eight-hovir day, claim suspended, 358 ; granted, 465 Electricians, at beginning of War, 358; 12J per cent., 431, 437, 440, 470 Ellis, Sir T. R., 185, 261 Ely pit, 143 Employers, opposition to, 11 ; posi- tion of, chap, iii ; aims of, 14 ; ties surrounding, 16 ; specialised work required, 21 Engels, 330 Engineering, diagram of work, 57 ; ways of entering, 59 ; mechanical engineering, 61, 358 - Engineering Employers' Federation, 375, 417, 423 Engineers, Amalgamated Society of, 370, 375, 382 Excess Profits Duty, 380 Farwell, Mr. Justice, 93 Federated Shipyards, lockout, 252 Federation of Master Cotton Spin- ners, 137 Federation ticket, 221 Fern Mill, 137, 140 Firebrick trade, 253, 255 Firemen's dispute, 461 Fisher Education Act, 28, 39 Flax disputes, 449 Forster, Mr. Arnold, 97 Foundry trade, 301 ; 12J per cent., 419, 420, 428, 431 Fox, Arthur WiUon, 79, 128, 389 Fry, Sir Edward, 84 Furniture makers, 347 Fur-pulling trade, 287 Garston, strike at, 172 Geddes, Rt. Hon. Sir A., 435, 483 Geddes, Rt. Hon. Sir E., 484 Gee, Mr. Alderman, 109 General Railway Workers' Union, 122 George, Henry, 295 Gibb, Sir George, 78, 366, 421 492 INDEX Gibbins, Mr. F. W., 185 Glasgow, 119, 132, 193, 290 Glasgow dockers, 193 Glassmakers, 362 Gompers, Mr., 243 Goole, strike at, 148 Gosling, Mr. H., 186 Government Labour Committee, 435, 437 Granet, Sir G., 166 Great Northern Railway carters, 153 Grey, Sir E., 209, 215 Gribble, Mr., 98 Grocery trade, branches, 53 ; ad- vantages, 54 Guelph, Trade Union congress at, 243 Guild Socialism, chap, xxxii Haldane, Lord, 222 Haroourt, Rt. Hon. L., 230, 410 Barrel, Rt. Hon. Sir D., 395, 421 Healy, Mr. T.,"262, 266 Henderson, Rt. Hon. A., 186, 198, 393 412 Hill, Mr. John, 376 Hodge, Rt. Hon. J., 186, 413, 414, 422 Hodges, Mr. Frank, 472 Holmes, Mr., 90 Hopwood, Rt. Hon. Sir F., 90, 366, 395 Howe, George, 137, 138, 139, 140 Huddersfield, disputes at, 137, 302 Hull, strike at, 148, 149, 151 Independent workers of the world, 177, 243, 338 Industrial agreements, chap, xxiii Industrial oommissions, 426, 427 Industrial Council, chap, xix, 226 Industrial Council of building trade, 311, 456 Industrial Courts Act, 447 Industrial training, 5, 9 Insurance office, methods of enter- ing, 62 ; diagrams of, 63 ; ex- aminations for, 64 Ireland, labour exchanges, 275; Belfast, 109, 113, 437 ; Larkin, chap, xxvi Jacobs, Messrs., 260 James of Hereford, Lord, 78, 79, 133 Joint stock companies, effect of, 16 Jute strike, chap, xviii, 381, 398 Keir Hardie, Mr. J., 216 King's message, 359 Kitchener, Earl, 360, 361, 362, 365, 366, 370, 379 Labour exchanges, chap, xxvii Lace trade, chap, x, 288, 347 Lads, chap, v ; early ambitions, 1 ; anxieties of parents, 2 ; ignorance of careers, 3 ; importance of knowledge of careers, 4 ; occupa- tions for, 4 ; questions for, 5 ; in employment, chap, v ; disillu- sionment, 8 ; trade teaching, 9 ; trade chances, 10 ; later educa- tion, 13 ; expectations of, 25 ; classes of aid to, 29 ; careers for, 42 Larkin, Mr. James, chap, xxvi, 109, 110, HI, 112, 113, 164, 259 Leather trades, 315, 360, 384 Leeds, strike at, 154 Lemieux Act, 242, 244, 246 Letchworth, dispute at, 252 Lever Bros., 314 Lewis, Sir W. T., 91, 94 Lichnowsky, Prince, 357 Lightermen, 221, 385 Lindsay, Mr. R. W., 376 Liverpool, transport workers, 160 ; tramwajonen, 170, 261 ; build- ing, 448 Livesey, Sir G., 313 Llewellyn, Mr. D., 144 Llewellyn Smith, Sir H., 122, 161, 352, 377 Lloyd George, Rt. Hon. D., 110, 119, 126, 138, 164, 209, 224, 234. 272, 371, 379, 381, 382, 393, 394, 401, 413, 414, 460, 463, 473, 480 London and North-Western Rail- way, 88, 437 London, boys in, 35 London County Council, 130, 419 Longuet, Mons., 133 Lords, Conamittee on trade boards, 282 Lushington, Sir G., 94 " Maban," 131 Macara, Sir Charles, 161, 178, 182, 185 Macarthur, Miss M., 283 Maoassey, Sir L., 302, 410, 431 McCosh, Mr., 133 Macdonald, Mr. Ramsay, 165, 288, 299 Macdonnell, Lord, 110 INDEX 498 McDowell, Mr. A., Ill Mackenzie-King, Rt. Hon., W., 244 McKinley Tariff, 87 Maolay, Sir J., 196 Maonamara, Et. Hon. T., 293 Manchester, strikes at, 152, 170 Mann, Mr. Tom, 73 Marine Engineers' Union, 388 Marx, 318, 327 et aeq. Marxism, chap, xxxii Master cotton-spinners, agreement by, 362 Master lightermen, 221 Maugham, Mr. S., 104 Mersey Dock and Harbour Board, 3S8 Mersey, Viscount, 198 Mersey, boys' club on the, 34, 37 Metropolitan Police, 449, 450 Metternioh, Prince, 356 Midland Employers' Federation, 253 Midlands, strikes in, chap, xxv Milner, Viscount, 431 Miners' Federation, 135, 143, 381 Miners' strike, 1912, chap, xxi Mines, at beginning of War, 358 Mines Regulation Act, 355 Minister of Munitions, appeal from, 390 Ministry of Labour, beginning of, 413, 414 Mitchell, Mr. I. Haig, 109, 110, 135, 149, 193, 242, 244, 251, 262, 373, 410, 429 Morley, strike at, 252 Mosses, Mr. W., 186 Moulders, 301, 384 Mullin, Mr. W., 186 Munitions of War Acts, effect of, 298 ; object of, 386, 427 ; limita- tions of, 389 Munro, Sir T., 410 Murphy, Mr. W., 259, 262, 269 Music halls, chap, xi, 252 National Building Code, Scotland, 411 National Federation of Transport Workers, 221, 261 Nationalization, chap, xli National Maritime Board, 436 Newport, disputes at, 136, 181 New Zealand, arbitration courts, 285 Non-union disputes, in coal, 407 ; in cotton, chap, xx, 188; decisions on, 192, 396 North-Eastem Railway, 145, 167 Northumberland coal, 134 Nottingham lace trade, chap, x Occupations of the world, 5 ; questions on, 6 O'Connor, Mr. T. P., 170 Osborne judgment, 354 Oxford, Conference at, 35 Page, Dr. W. H., 363 Panels of arbitrators, 127 Pankhurst, Mrs., 401 " Panther," incident of, 166 Parents, anxieties of, 2 ; influenc* in trade selection, 24 Paupers, number of, 30, 309 Payment by results, 422 Peaceful persuasion, 295 Penrhyn quarry dispute, 80, 81 Pieceworkers and 12A per cent., 436, 443 Pink list, 158 Poor Law Commission, 308 Port of London, 220, 227 Position before the War, chap. xxxiii Pottery industry, 456 Poulton, Mr. E. L., 186 Prefect system in boys' clubs, 32 Printing trade, branches, 49, 362 Profiteers, disUke of, 372, 378 Propaganda, chap, xxix, 399 Railways, 1907, chap, xiii ; con- ciliation scheme, 123 ; 1911, all grades programme, 117; agree ment, 122 ; ultimatum of, 160 : effect of coal strike on, 218 ; sympathetic strikes, 261 ; 12^%, 437 Recognition, question on railways, 121 Reports of Committee on Produc- tion, chap. XXXV Restrictions, proposed removal of, 379 ; Mimitions of War Act on, 391 Ritchie, Rt. Hon. C. T., 80, 81 Riveters, clubs for, 37 Roberts, Mr. Arthur, 105 Roberts, Rt. Hon. J., 393, 429, 444, 466 Roberts, Judge W., 445 Rosebery, Lord, 74 Royal Proclamations, 388, 390 ; coal, 394 ; cotton, 413 ; flax, 449 Runciman, Rt. Hon. W., 230, 379, 392, 394, 479 Ryle, Mr. Herbert, 411 494 INDEX Sabotage, 340 Sailing barges, 158 St. Aldwyn, Lord, 392 Sankey, Mr. Justice, 473 Schloss, Mr. D., 273 Scotland, National Building Code of, 411 Scottish miners, chap, xiv Seamen and firemen, national pro- gramme, 148 Sexton, Mr. James, 109, 112 Shaughnessy, Lord, 243 Sheffield, speech at, 175 ; sheet metal workers, 261, 436 ; con- ference, 365, 368 Shells and fuses agreement, 370, 382 Shipbuilding, at beginning of War, 358 Shipbuilding Employers' Federa- tion, 368, 423 Ship-repairing, 384 Shop assistants, 50 Siemens, Mr. Alexander, 185 Smillie, Mr. E., 131, 132, 133, 135, 270, 355, 415, 472 Smith, Mr. Frank, 376 Smith, Mr. Thomas, 98 Smith, Sir Allan, 365 Snowden, Mr. P., 145, 260 Socialism, chap, xxxi Sorel, 336, 337 Southampton, transport strike, 148; boilermakers, 396 South Metropolitan Gas Company, 313, 314 Southport, miners' meeting, 206 South Wales coal strike, 136 South Wales, 297 ; non-union question, 407 ; 15 per cent, advance, 408 ; report of Com- mission on, 426 Special arbitration tribunals, 402 Stoll, Sir Oswald, 108 Sumner, Lord, 434 Sweating, 282 Sykes, Sir Mark, 150 Syndicalism, chap, xxxii Taff Vale Railway, 88, 115 The lad ; see Lad Theatres of varieties, chap, xi Thomas, Mr. D. A. (Lord Bhondda), 144 Thomas, Bt. Hon. J. H., 453 Thompson, Mr. Robert, 185 Tillett, Mr. Ben, 222, 232 Tinplate Industry, 87, 217, 284 Trade Boards, chap, xxviii Trade Disputes Act, 95, 115 Tramways, London, 130, 449; Leeds, 154 ; Liverpool, 171 ; not in Treasury Agreement, 381 Transport workers, at beginning of War, 358 ; in 1911, chap, xvi ; in 1912, chap, xxii, 379, 381, 383 Twelve and a half per cent., chap, xxxix, 481; in railways, 437; for electricians, 439, 440 Treasury Agreement, 371 Tuckwell, Miss Gertrude, 283 Unemployment, chap, xxx Vancouver, 243 Vocation, guidance to, 24 Wage advances, second cycle, 399, 409 Wages (Temporary Regulation)Aot, 463 War Cabinet, 439, 443 Webb, Mr. S 94 Webb, Mr., 439, 440 White, Mr. J. W., 185 Whitley Committee, 250, 455 Whittaker, Sir Thomas, 289 Wilkie, Mr. Alexander, 186, 376 Williams, Mr. J. E., 186 Williams, Mr. S. A., 38 Wills, Mr. Justice, 94 Wilson, Mr. H. J., 186, 262, 366, 455 Women, wages of, 289, 401 Wool, piecers in, 361 ; arbitrations, 409, 422 Woolwich, strike at, 356, 384; electricians, 439 Workers' Union, 355 York, conference at, 374, 434 Y.M.C.A. Red Triangle clubs, 29 Printed hy Bazell, Watson & Viney, Ld,, London and AyUslmry, England. Cornell University Library HD 8390.A8 Industrial problems and disputes, 3 1924 002 253 130 DATE DUE mftpi fmr JHTT^SL i CAVI.ORO pmNTeoiNu.ft.A.