Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/727

* STRIKES. 629 STRIKES. and in France until 18G4. In the Unitoil States strikes as such liave never been illegal, but until after 1830 it was not deliuitely settled that strikers could not be arraigned for civil and criminal damages under the conspiracy laws. W lien a strike represents a combination to injure property or a definite person it is illegal, and the same is true of acts of intimidation, the de- struction of property, or the forcible prevention of work. Some forms of sympathetic strikes and of the boyc(»tt have been held illegal. Riots are covered by the criminal law. In many States there are special statutes regarding strikes. Thus the connuon law' of conspiracy has been expressly repealed in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jer- sey, and several Western States, but the statutes usual]}' provide for punishment of the use of force or intimidation. Certain States have spe- cial laws regulating strikes on railways or in mines, a few make the municipality or county responsible for damages due to strikes, while Jlissouri and Wyoming forliid the emidoyment of private officers from without the State for the protection of the employer's property against vio- lence on the part of the strikers. The use of injunctions has been regulated by statute only in Kansas. A difficult question is often involved in determining how far workmen may go in per- suading others to join a strike. A leading case is that of the Northern Pacific Railroad (Arthur us. Oakes, 03 F. R., 310), in which the employees were enjoined from (1) intimidating, (-2) per- suading others to strike, or (3) combining to strike themselves in such manner as to cripple the railroad. On appeal, however, the second and third clauses were abolished. Since the passage of the Inter-State Commerce Act (1887) and the Anti-Trust Law (1890), the courts of equity have acquired enlarged powers. Interfer- ence with the United States mails or •n'ith inter- State connnerce (in railroad strikes) maj' be a serious offense. The United States can obtain an injunction against strikers, who, if they vio- late its provisions, may be summarily punished for contempt of court. In cases where railroads are under receivers the receiver is regarded as an official of the court, and a strike against the road ma}' be as such unlawful. The use of in- junctions in labor disputes is by no means new, but was brought into special prominence by the Chicago strike of 1894. As a method of dealing with strikes the injunction is prompt and ef- fective, but its execution practically involves arrest without indictment and trial without jury; it implies very great power in the hands of courts ; and its frequent employment, not al- ways in the wisest way, has created much bitter feeling and distrust of courts among working- men. History. In the United States there are a few records of strikes previous to 1800, such as those of the journeymen bakers in New York in 1741. and of the journevmen shoemakers in Philadelphia in 1796. 1798, 1799. and 1805. Something like a modern strike occurred in New York in 1802 among the sailors. They paraded the streets and compelled others to join them, but were dispersed by constables, and their lead- er was punished. From 1821 to 1834 there arc accounts of only a few strikes each year, the records being doubtless ver}' incomplete. These were generally among the building trades, hat- ters, tailors, shoemakers, and laborers on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, "In 1835," says llie report of the Commissioner of Labor (1901, p, 721), "strikes had become so niunerous as to call forth remonstrant comments from tlie public press," A number of strikes for a ten-hour day occurred in the thirties, while strikes for eight hours were general in 1872-73, From 18S1 to 1900, according to tlie Reports of the United States Department of Labor, there have been 22,793 strikes, involving 117,509 establishments and 0,105.094 employees thrown out of employ- ment. Of the latter 90 per cent, were males. The duration of strikes varies of course within wide limits, the average for twenty years being 23.8 days. The statistics of wage loss to employees (. $257. 000,000) and to employers ($122,000,000) have von' little significance. Jlore than $10,000,000 wa.s contributed by labor organizations (the figure is probably too low). Considered by States, 28 per cent, of all strikes occurred in New York, I2V2 per cent, in Penn- sylvania, 11.0 per cent, in Illinois, 7 V, per cent, in Massachusetts, and per cent, in Ohio. In New York City 5090 strikes are recorded, in Chicago 1737. Considered b}' industries lO^i per cent, of all strikes occurred in the building trades, 11 per cent, in coal and coke, 9 per cent, in the metal trades, 6.0 per cent, in tobacco, 5.6 per cent, in transportation. The largest strikes usually occur in mining and railroading, as is shown by the fact that of the total number of striking employees 31 per cent, were in coal and coke, 7.9 per cent, in transportation, and only 10.9 per cent, in the building trades. Labor organizations ordered 63.40 per cent, of the total strikes, and of these 52.86 per cent, (of establishments involved) were successful, 13.6 per cent, .succeeded partly, and 33,54 per cent, failed. The corresponding figures for strikes not ordered by organizations are 35.56 per cent., 9.05 per cent., and 55.39 per cent., this advantage of or- ganization appearing for each of the twenty years. As to cause, 28.7 per cent, of the strikes were for increase of wages, 11.23 per cent, for the same with reduction of hours, 11.16 per cent, for reduction of hours, 7.17 per cent, against reduction of wages, 3,47 per cent, in sympathy with a strike elsewhere, 2.34 per cent, against employment of non-union men, and 2.35 per cent, involving recognition of the union. Among historic American strikes have been the great strikes of 1S77 on the Baltimore and Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other railroads, in which much damage to property was done and troops were called out : the telegraph operators' strike in 1883; the strike on the Gould system in 1885; the Homestead strike at the Carnegie works in 1892. the bitterest in .American history and in- volving a sanguinary battle between Pinkerton detectives and unionists; the Chicago strike of 1894, which grew out of an effort of the newly organized American Railway Union to boycott Pullman cars in order to aid strikers at the Pullman works : the bituminous coal strike in the summer of 1894; street rail-«'ay strikes in several large cities (1900-01); the steel strike (1901) ; and the great anthracite coal strikes of 1900 and 1902. In England, strikes being illegal, vintil 1824 participants could be and were punished for con- spiracy. .-t that date the combination laws were repealed, and since then a number of statutes have defined the legal position and rights of