The Betrayal of Trade Uniomsm. 



163 



issue of the orders to resume work. The Strike Com- 

 mittee issued its orders to end the strike with as 

 callous a disregard of the men's wishes as it had shown 

 in commencing the strike. The repudiation by the 

 rnen of the manifesto on the Sunday afternoon came 

 as no surprise to the sane union leaders, since the 

 men had had nothing e.xplained to them beforehand, 

 either by the Strike Committee or by the officials ol 

 their own unions. The strike had been brought on 

 without reference to their wishes, and it was now 

 called off in the same manner, and they p.iiturally 

 resented it. So much did the men resent it that 

 they insisted upon the rule of sane trade unionism 

 — that is, that they should be consulted. On the same 

 day Mr. Gosling had to acknowledge defeat, and to 

 say that the Strike Committee was in a tight corner, 

 and they proposed to take the men into their con- 

 fidence and talk to them ai their own trade union 

 meetings. This, however, was wisdom after the event, 

 and it is very much to be doubled whether it can 

 save the situation so far as the immediate strike is 

 concerned. It is true that the strike is ended, but it 

 has ended with no credit to the Strike Committee, and 

 with the net result that the only prominent man in 

 direct relation to the strike who has been a i^enefactor 

 to trade unions is Lord Devonport. Had he yielded 

 to the abuse and threats of the leaders of the strike, 

 who were not the leaders of the men, trade unionism 



would ha\e suffered a terrible blow. As it is, there is 

 no question that many men are lea\ing the unions, 

 and that many more are in a mutinous state against 

 trade unionism, and quite rightly. What shotild 

 have been from the men's point of view only a tem- 

 porary Federation defeat has, because of unconstitu- 

 tional action, become a trade urion rout. The greatest 

 hope *s that the rout may be transferred into a trade 

 union strike against their officials in every case in 

 which the rules of the union do not explicitly provide 

 for consultation with the men, or with the majority 

 of men available ; that all ballots shall be secret ; 

 and that a sufficient time shall elapse between the 

 announcement and taking of a ballot to allow the 

 men ample opportunity for reflection. Let all the 

 discontents in trade unions refuse to pay their con- 

 tributions to their unions until the organisation is 

 put upon a sane basis, and we shall have much fewer 

 strikes, and in a remarkably short space of time there 

 would be an acquisition of members to the trade 

 unions which would enable them to more adequately 

 carry out their part in national development. The 

 strike of 1912. with all its misery, with all its mistakes, 

 will not ha\e been wasted if it affords a base of attack 

 ujjon insane trade unionism ; and it behoves all 

 thinking men to encourage and assist this element 

 which makes for sanity in connection with trade 

 unionism. 



Peaceful Pickcliiic ' 

 It was largely iii oidci lu jcluic the tiglil of inliiiiidaliuii lluit llic bltikc woa p[oioiii;ciJ. 



