Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-03-25 | Page 7 | Strike Issue is in the Balance

STRIKE ISSUE IS " IN THESE Thursday to Determine Whether Britain Will Face Upheaval. By HENRY M. HYDE. (ChlcaKo-Trlbuno Cable, Copvrltr'ii. l . , 1;0XDOX- Mah 21--The Bovcrnmenrs . .ftst word rogardlnK the rall'vay men's oemands was given at a meetln- at the , board of trade tonight between the raii-; raii-; way executives and the representatives ; of the National Union of Hallway Men j W hcthor or not the trainmen strike prob-; prob-; nhly will be decided at a metting of union delegates Thursday, and then England En-gland should know whether she is facing a combined strike of railway men, miners and transport workers. -Meanwhile, the workers' dissatisfaction with the conciliatory attitude of their leaders was further emphasized todav, when L'1.000 miners in the Rhondda dis-1 dis-1 trtct of Wnlos struck without union au- thorization because their .demands had j not hcen granted In full. In addition, the railway men of the Liverpool district last night passed a resolution demanding that the executive of the union call a strike thia week unless un-less their demands were fully granted. Chances Against Strike. Whether the strike of the triple alliance is finally averted or not, chances are today to-day that there will not be a strike, the situation is full of interest. If there Is no strike, it will be a victorv for the regularly elected leaders of the great labor unions. If there is a great national strike, it will be because the shop committees, which really correspond closely to Soviets, have defeated the constitutional con-stitutional leaders. Conditions differ from those in America because most of the leaders of the great labor unions are members of parliament. Tiie coal miners alone have some twenty members. In the present struggle, the recognized and old established leaders of union labor in Great Britain are fighting lor their official lives. They are fighting also the spirit of revolt if nut revolution which is too widespread to be comfortable. Win Concessions. Smillie, head of the coal miners, and Thomas of the railway men, backed by loyal and hard -fighting colleagues, have already won tremendous concessions for members of their unions. The coal miners' working hours have been cut down to seven hours, with a promise of a further reduction ' to six hours under certain conditions. At the same time they get an advance of 120 per- cent in wages, together -with other important advantages. The railway men have had their wages much more than doubled, as compared with wages before tiie war, and have a working day of eigiit hours. Yet. at a mass meeting uf rail wp y men Sunday night. Thomas was obliged almost to force his way to the stage in an efforr. to prevent the calling of an immediate strike. The situation is complicated. There are two unions among tiie railway worker?, for instance, and the rivalry between them is one important factor.