Page:The Social General Strike - Arnold Roller (1912).djvu/8

 never was anything else but a uniform vegetating between obtuse slumber and enervating labour, are now at once put on the street, facing the question "for or against," and they would instinctively feel themselves forced to take part in the movement.

It is an undisputed fact that a brave deed, be it one of a single individual or of an energetic, enthusiastic minority, arouses thousands from their slumber, and with one thrilling shock makes them desperate fighters for the good cause, while tens of years of theoretic agitation could not tear them away from their apathetic condition.

During the General Strikes in Barcelona in February, and in Belgium in April, 1903, furthermore in Bilbao in October, 1903, which were in reality only tests of strength and skirmishes of the real great General Strike of the future—like those 300 former revolts preceding the great French Revolution—there were various collisions between the people and the armed powers. But the picture of these struggles was entirely different from that of all earlier known revolts of the proletarians in the cities.

In spite of the gravity of the situation, the collisions were proportionately insignificant, because the working men did not endeavour so much to apply the useless and dangerous mode of fighting in vogue heretofore, to attack the soldiers themselves and the well-defended buildings, but applied their whole energy to stopping all production and communication, which the ruling classes, on the other hand, were determined to maintain by all possible means.

They applied the most unscrupulous measures: threatening, and hiring strike-breakers; and as all that was in vain, they put the soldiers in the workshops, mines, bakeries, etc. The working people now found themselves forced to give up their waiting position, and apply more energetically their strenuous will to prevent absolutely all production and communication.

Therefore, the first thought of the Belgian working men in the year 1893 was to cut off all means of communication and transportation, to prevent the passing of information between military and police authorities, as well as their concentration, and the supply of the troops with provisions. In this way it often happened that during the night telephone and telegraph wires were cut in all parts. It often happened that in desolate places the rails were torn away, and the switching apparatus demolished or set so that accidents would happen. The glass in switch lights was demolished, so that the conductors were unable to get their signals. In this manner communication was often made impossible for whole days.

During the street car strike in Nuremberg, 1902, the strikers drove pieces of iron into the frogs of the rails, and in this way obstructed the line.

In Barcelona and Belgium a few sympathisers of the General Strike forced all workers in factories to give up work by injuring the machinery, secretly throwing emery into the oil boxes of the machines, or by loosening or tightening a screw, thus causing the largest machinery to get out of order, or even to break. In machine shops pieces of iron were thrown in the cog-wheels, which were thus broken.