Page:Roads to freedom.djvu/92

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90
Roads to Freedom

that during a labour dispute the life and liberty of every man within the State would seem to be at the mercy of the Governor (p. 72), and the use of State troops in policing strikes (p. 298). At Ludlow (Colorado) in 1914 (April 20th) a battle of the Militia and the miners took place, in which, as the result of the fire of the Militia, a number of women and children were burnt to death.[1] Many other instances of pitched battles could be given, but enough has been said to show the peculiar character of labour disputes in the United States. It may, I fear, be presumed that this character will remain so long as a very large proportion of labour consists of recent immigrants. When these difficulties pass away, as they must sooner or later, labour will more and more find its place in the community, and will tend to feel and inspire less of the bitter hostility which renders the more extreme forms of class war possible. When that time comes, the labour movement in America will probably begin to take on forms similar to those of Europe.

Meanwhile, though the forms are different, the aims are very similar, and industrial unionism, spreading from America, has had a considerable influence in Great Britain—an influence naturally reinforced by that of French Syndicalism. It is clear, I think, that the adoption of industrial rather than craft union-

    the use of such power or any attempt to curtail it, except in Montana, where the conviction of a civilian by military commission was annulled" ("Final Report of the Commission on Industrial Relations (1915) appointed by the United States Congress," p. 58).

  1. Literary Digest, May 2 and May 16, 1914.