Page:William Z. Foster - The Revolutionary Crisis of 1918-1921 (1921).djvu/29

 ers, realizing the advantage given them, arrogantly sharpened their demands, which the workers as abruptly rejected. A deadlock ensued, practically amounting to a cessation of negotiations. In the midst of this the owners posted wage scales which the workers were ordered to accept before April 1st or the mines should be closed. The miners stood firm, and on the date specified the lock-out automatically began. The greatest labor struggle in British history was on.

Conditions were most unfavorable for the miners to make a successful fight alone. Many thousands of them had walked the streets for months, unemployed. Moreover the unions' funds were depleted from the strike of the year before. In this crisis, faced by a hostile Government and the militant employers, and with their own forces greatly weakened, the beleaguered miners called for assistance to their partners in the Triple Alliance the railwaymen and the transport workers.

With quite manifest reluctance, the leaders of the latter responded and entered into the negotiations. But this intervention did no good: evidently the ruling class were determined to smash the Miners' Federation, backbone of the British labor movement. The conferences came to naught; the rank and file of the workers demanded action; so finally, on April 8th, the heads of the Triple Alliance were compelled to set Tuesday, April 12th, as the definite date when their immense organization should enter upon a strike.

This action at once threw the country into intense excitement. The militant workers were jubilant—at last, with their great Triple Alliance, they would teach the arrogant employers an unforgettable lesson. A panicky fear seized the ruling class. The usually sedate British press broke forth into screaming headlines, warning the people against the impending revolution; whilst the Government