RAILWAY STRIKES. To THE EDITOR 07 THE "SPECTATOR. " ] Sut,—Being asked
to speak at a recent meeting of strikers on the announcement of the recent railway strike being termi- nated, I said:— "Every man who has a head to think, a heart to feel, and a stomach to stiffer must rejoice at the termination of the strike. Let us therefore first express our feelings by giving three cheers for the men who have been loyal to the trade unions called strikers' and for the men who have been loyal to the railway companies called `blacklegs.' In each case the men have been loyal to their sense of duty.'
Now for the future : how to prevent both lock-outs and strikes.
An amalgamation of the northern lines would prove an immense saving and enable the railway union to add to the men's wages and shorten their hours. This would be the first step, and should be carried out as soon as possible. For a final settlement arrange the finances so that after a fair rate of interest is paid to shareholders a division of surplus profit should be made so that all employees would become share- holders, dislocation of trade and the scaring of capital would be put an end to, and the depreciation of railway stock would not continue. The alternative of Government control is net desirable, as it has proved to be an utter failure in France, and
would be here.—I am, Sir, &o., VLLTOR.
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