Page:William Z. Foster - The Revolutionary Crisis of 1918-1921 (1921).djvu/32

 tions be brought into active support of the miners. Numbers of them even went on strike. But it was of no use, the solidarity of the Triple Alliance was thoroughly broken. The unfortunate combination of right-wing officials at the head of a left-wing movement, of reformists trying to direct a revolutionary upheaval, had resulted in the usual, nay inevitable, tragedy. The miners were irretrievably left to fight on by themselves.

And a right gallant struggle they made. In the face of terrific difficulties, confronted by. a united and confident capitalist class, and with their own allies deserted, they battled on for 13 weeks. British industry became stricken with paralysis and the whole country was threatened with ruin. The final result was that the haughty employers were compelled to come to terms with their workers. The settlement was a compromise, with the employers getting rather the best of it. They carried their main point of district wage boards, but the miners were able to secure the establishment of a weak national board, which they hope to invigorate later into the kind they desire. The employers also secured the wages' cut, but it was not nearly so drastic as they had hoped for. The profits pool was completely lost, but the workers secured the limitation of the owners' profits to an amount equal to 17% of all wages paid, and the right to themselves share in the balance of the profits after operating costs, wages, and the owners' share of profits have been paid. Thus, in partial defeat for the miners and in disruption and discouragement for trade unionism in general, ended the great movement of the Triple Alliance which, but for the timidity of its leaders, would most certainly have resulted in a tremendous victory for the whole British working class.

Consequent upon the sad fiasco of the Triple Alliance, the militant elements throughout the trade union movement of Great Britain have launched a campaign to oust the men responsible for the defeat. Speaking of the breakdown of the great movement and its after effects, Herbert Tracy says: