THE NEW UNIONISM.* So far as the New Unionism, as
it is called, aims at organising the great masses of unskilled labourers, and so placing them in a position to make better terms with their employers, and improve the condition of their class by legitimate means, it deserves the sympathy of all who really take an interest in the well-being of the community. The Trade-Unions which have hitherto been prominently before the public have not shown any particular interest in those who are below their own membership in the social scale ; nor was it in their power to do much for the masses below them. While not forgetting the lawlessness in many forms that attended the operations of the earlier Unions, we heartily agree that, as Benefit Societies and as means of expressing the united wishes of their mem- bers, the Unions have proved themselves to be among the most important of our social institutions ; and if the new Unions are wisely guided, they may do much to improve the condition of the unskilled labourers.
But there is a difference between the means at the command of the old Unions and those available for the new, which may well cause grave anxiety. The older Unions fought their battles with their own resources. The men contributed the sinews of war from their own pockets. A species of private warfare went on between the employers and the Unions, and the latter, like the former, trusted to their own strength. The unskilled labourers have not money at their command to support a strike policy. Their duties are of such a kind that employers can with little difficulty supply their places from the great numbers of the unem- ployed who are always looking eagerly for any work that may offer. It is safe to say that the new Unions, if left to them- selves, could not carry to a successful issue the policy that was followed by their predecessors. On the other hand, they have what they consider a powerful weapon in the franchise. If they could so use it as to make the House of Commons their servant, their leaders are assuring them that the success of their cause will be certain. This is where the danger of the New Unionism crops up. The men have nothing but the franchise to operate with. An Act of Parliament passed in their favour would, as compared with a strike, save their pockets, and guard them against submergence in the mass of the unemployed. In these circumstances, there is a strong tendency towards State Socialism. Of course it is a mistake to suppose that the State can do fur them what their Unions have done for the trades. Even if the House of Commons were to become an obedient instrument in their
• Trad,e•Unioniem, New and Old. By George Howell, MX. London : TdethneD and Co.
hands, any endeavour it might make to settle by legislation matters which can be arranged only by the free movement of social forces, would certainly prove futile in the end. The recent decision of the Trade-Union Congress on the eight-hours day is a virtual confession that legislators cannot have in view all the circumstances which must be considered in deter- mining a general working-day. But the fact that any such action of Parliament would in the long-run end only in worse confusion than the present, will not prevent those who are unable to foresee that result from doing all they can to make Parliament subservient to their mistaken purposes. That is the danger which is menacing us from the New Unionism. It is avowed that the working man, having got political power, will use it to advance his own class interests ; and there is a possibility that by persons holding these views the larger interests of the country will not be sufficiently kept in view.
Mr. Howell in this volume, comments on the chief proposals of the New Unionists, which are a departure from the old lines of the Trade-Unions, and a considerable step in the direction of State Socialism. However, we do not think much fault need be found with the institution of Labour Bureaus under State or municipal control. The system works well in the United States, and one experiment which Ohio has made of a Free Public Employment Office in Cincinnati and other large cities of the State, is particularly deserving of attention. It is under the control of the State Commissioner of Labour Statistics, and is said to be of much use both to employers and to those seeking employment. More serious is the proposal to establish workshops and factories under municipal control, where work may be got by those who cannot otherwise find employment. Mr. Howell is careful to point out that Louis Blanc gave no countenance to the " most absurd and fatal establishment of national workshops" in France, although his name is usually associated with them ; and Mr. Howell argues forcibly that municipal workshops and Trade-Unions are incompatible. On the burning question of an eight-hours day he has much to say that deserves attention. We certainly do not anticipate that there will be any practical legislation on the lines laid down by the New Unionists ; but there may be much delay in carrying practicable measures for im- proving the condition of the people, owing to the awakening of desires which cannot be satisfied.
Then, too, the methods of the New Unionists have not been unaffected by proceedings which, to say the least, have been palliated by Gladstonian Liberals as natural, if not legitimate, when used by people discontented with the exist- ing state of the law. Individual freedom, unfortunately, is not much esteemed if it does not subserve the objects of the Unions. Coercion of workers outside the Unions is held to be a necessary accompaniment of trade warfare. This law- less spirit is not likely to grow weaker if the political influence of the New Unionists goes on increasing. It is not easy to steer safely through all these rocks ahead. One thing that can be done, is for those who are not too much narrowed by class prejudices of any kind, to search diligently for the causes of prevalent discontent, and to direct attention to the means most available to remove them, whether those means should prove to be Parliamentary interference or some form of private or associated effort. By all means let Parliament do what it can best do, but do not ask it to do what is beyond its power, for the attempt would cause waste of time and perhaps irreparable mischief.
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