THE OLDHAM STRIKE.
IT would probably be "an absurd work of supererogation," as Mr. Bright once said when he was accused of trying to bring the aristocracy into contempt, to ask the spinners and
operatives of Oldham whether they cannot hit upon some less calamitous way of settling their differences than by a proceed- ing which throws twenty thousand people out of work, and causes a loss in wages alone of £20,000 a week. To say that a strike is as stupid as a duel is to repeat a truism, for it does not decide which party is in the right, but which is the stronger. Few strikes, as it seems to outsiders, had ever less warrant than that which is now in progress at Oldham. Here are the facts :—The cotton trade is admittedly bad ; very few mill-owners are making money ; the great majority are working at a loss, as can be vouched for not alone by the statements of individual spinners, but by the published balance-sheets of the joint-stock companies and the price of their shares on the local Stock Exchange. In
those circumstances, master-spinners propose to reduce wages by 10 per cent., alleging that they must either materially diminish working expenses, or stop working altogether. The operatives, on their part, do not dispute the facts, for in these days of popular enlightenment they know quite as well as the employers how much it costs to turn a pound of cotton into yarn, and their excellent organ, the Cotton Factory Times, keeps them thoroughly informed as to the fluctuations of the market ; but their ideas of a remedy do not harmonise with those of the masters. They will accept a reduction of 5 per cent., provided the time of working be limited to four days a week, yet only while it is thus limited. That is to say, the moment the mills go on full time, owners must pay the old rate of wages. The reason assigned by the hands for making this proposal, is that a curtailment in the pro- duction of yarn would bring up prices—" increase the mar- gin "—as they say at Oldham—to a paying rate. To this the masters (the word is convenient, though not very accurate, "masters," especially at Oldham, being an almost extinct class) object on the ground that acceptance of the proposal (their fixed expenses remaining the same) would make their second condition worse than their first. Their losses, instead of being lessened, would be increased. Of this the hands are fully aware, and it is either an illusory offer, made to put the masters apparently in the wrong, or because they know that short time could not be continued more than a few weeks, probably not more than a few days. In no other way can their inconsistency be explained ; they resist a proposal to lower wages by 10 per cent, on the plea that they are suffi- ciently low already, yet make a counter-proposal which, if it were acted upon, would reduce their earnings by 38 per cent.! It is only fair to say, however, that if we are to believe the Cotton Factory Times, the operative might not improbably be persuaded to compromise the matter by accepting an uncon- ditional redaction of 5 per cent. But this compromise does not commend itself to the employers, who aver that a less reduction than 5 per cent. will not suit their purpose. So the question at issue is really whether wages shall be lowered 5 per cent. or 10, and as it is clearly as little worth the while of the hands to strike as for the masters to close their mills for so trifling a difference,—practically no more than 5 per cent., —we are driven to the conclusion that both sides are actuated by some other motives than those which they have chosen to avow. The employers, most of whom are joint-stock com- panies, believe that a temporary cessation of production will " mend trade," and it is a significant fact that when the strike was decided the share market rallied, and prices went up ; and the margin (between cotton and yarn) has already so much improved that, according to a statement in a local paper, a well- managed concern capable of turning out 50,000 lb. of yarn a week, can make thereon a profit of £130, equal to a dividend of from 12 to 15 per cent. per annum. The operatives on their part resist the proposed drop, because they are convinced that if they do not there will soon be another ; and they are so well supported and so well off that a strike has no terrors for
them. The officials of the Operative Cotton Spinners' Association, we are told, apprehend no difficulty in raising funds for their members, who number altogether in the Oldham district a little more than 5,000 (besides "young persons" and card-room hands, who have their own organisation). Loans can also, if required, be obtained from other branches of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Spinners, " the wealthier members of which have also offered to lend money to the (Oldham) Association," secured, we believe, by promissory notes, and bearing 5 per cent. interest.
This strike, in fact, presents many peculiar features, and the way in which it is being conducted confirms all we have heard about the prosperity and energy of Oldham operatives.
It is carried on, says the Cotton Factory Times, in the best possible spirit. So far from ill-temper being exhibited, the
enforced holiday is being turned into a time of merry-making. Holiday club-money, usually spent at the wakes, is being drawn out for the purpose of paying expenses to Blackpool, the Isle of Man, and elsewhere, whither many operatives have already betaken themselves ; and so many of the strikers are out of town that it has been found expedient to dispense with the hitherto imperative formality of signing the "strike sheet" as a condition of receiving "strike money."
These facts go far to confirm the prevalent opinion that the working-classes, as a body, are suffering less from the depres- sion of trade than merchants and manufacturers. The very abundance of capital, while it brings down the rate of interest, and, therefore, of profit, to an abnormally low point, tends to keep up and even to increase the rewards of labour. When it was easy to place money on good security at 5 per cent., capitalists would probably have hesitated to lend it to Oldham Companies at 6 or 7; but Oldham Companies, in fair credit, get as much deposit money as they can use at 4 and 44 per cent., without security. In an address to his "Brethren and Fellow Workers," the secretary of the Oldham Card and Blowing Room Operatives' Association ascribes the unsatisfactory condition of the cotton trade "to the con- tinually increasing and apparently indiscriminate investment of capital in the production of a particular commodity with- out a corresponding increase in the purchasing power of the community," and says that, in the opinion of his committee, "if facilities were given for the more judicious distribu- tion and employment of capital our present social evils would be things of the past." But it is this very in- vestment of capital in Oldham mills which has made Oldham operatives so prosperous, and enabled them to resist so firmly, and not without hope of success, the present attempt to reduce the price of their labour. If capitalists were in a position to demand higher rates of interest, wage-earners —other things being equal—would have to accept a lower rate of remuneration. In proof of this, it may be pointed out that in the halcyon days of manufacturing (for masters), when profits were far higher than they are now, wages were far lower, both relatively as touching their purchasing power, and absolutely as touching their amount. And the process is likely to go on, for, in the absence of war and other capital- destroying calamities, the rate of interest must continue to tend downwards. In the opinion of more than one eminent economist, if it had not been for the wars of the present century, the normal rate of interest would now be 1 per cent. ; and though the outlook, as thus regarded, may not be deemed altogether satisfactory by those who live, or expect to live, on the interest of their investments, it cannot be considered as other than encouraging for the great multitude who earn their bread by the work of their hands.
As for the strike, we scarcely think it is likely to be of long duration. If, as seems probable, the " margin " should improve by a farthing or a halfpenny per pound, the joint- stock mills, which must pay interest on their loan capital, whether they go on or stand still, would find themselves con- strained to resume work. But in the event of the margin not improving, the hands are too clear-sighted to persist in a course which, by forcing the " Co-ops" into liquidation, could end only in their common ruin. The operatives have no objection to a holiday this fine summer-time, and employers think it would be to their advantage to curtail production,—this is the secret of the Oldham strike.
Previous page
