The London electric railway strike ended on Saturday last after
a aerie-comic rivalry between the two railwaymen's Unions. The smaller Union of drivers and firemen, which had followed the small minority of its members on the Tube railways and identified itself with their unofficial strike, agreed on Thursday week that the eight-hours day should not include an interval for meals, but that the companies should " offer all reasonable facilities to meet the ordinary physical needs of the men." In other words, the Union consented to respect the agreement which it had signed a week before and which a few hundreds of its members had broken. But the larger National Union of Rail- waymen, which had denounced the strike, suddenly veered round and authorized three of its members who had struck of their own accord to remain idle. As the N.U.R. men controlled the railway power-station, the members of the smaller Union could not resume work. This action, which was of course an open breach of the agreement of January 30th, was presumably taken to show the smaller Union that the N.U.R. was the mom powerful. The interests of the community were of course dia. regarded. Last Saturday, after much waste of time, the National Union accepted the same terms as the Associated Locomotive Engineers had accepted on Thursday week. Both Unions, that is to say, agreed to honour their written word, after London had been deprived for a weak of most of its electric services. The episode reflects no credit on the railwaymen.
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