Engines and Men/Chapter 13
Chapter XIII
The crisis of 1907 passed without a strike, but it takes an important place in railway history, because it resulted in the establishment of the familiar machinery of the Conciliation Boards, and followed later by the Sectional Boards. When these latter started in 1908, it was decided to instruct delegates to refuse the offers of the companies to pay their expenses. The settlement secured in 1907 provided for an indirect sort of recognition, by the process of the Boards, and it was signed on November 6th by Messrs. A. Fox and J. M. Bliss, along with the solicitor. Mr. Tippetts, of London, for the A.S.L.E. & F. The records of the period are not ample, for great discussion and controversy seem to have eclipsed the chance of recording the events as they moved. Mr. Fox held in his speeches that recognition of itself was not worth fighting about, for it was only a means to an end, and not an end in itself. The Society was developing its national programme, and felt that if it were attached to the claim for recognition the cause would have been worth a fight.
Mr. Bell was out for recognition, and assured his members that nothing short of official recognition would be accepted. He was opposed ta Socialism, opposed to the nationalisation of railways, and declined to identify himself with the Labour Party. He did not get official recognition, he did not ask for the co-operation of the A.S.L.E. & F., and did his best to make his members believe that it hardly counted. It is very significant that while Mr. Bell was busy with this propaganda, fifteen new branches were opened in one month. Looking back now, it seems unfortunate that many members of the A.S.R.S. were deliberately taught to regard. A.S.L.E. & F. members as "blacklegs," and yet such slander must have been generally disbelieved, for the Society grew apace on such statements. Forty-one new branches were opened in that year, and the membership increased by 3,503. The Federation scheme was never properly observed, and, said Mr. Fox, "It is not even understood by those who intend to have amalgamation." Mr. Geo. Moore, who had been elected President of the Society in January, accompanied Mr. Fox on the platform at Gloucester and several other centres in England and Scotland. The organisers, too, were busy, and the Society's firm attitude had many able advocates.
In the middle of the crisis, on October 15th, in the same week as the Euston Theatre mass meeting, came the Shrewsbury disaster, in which a London & North Western train from Crewe approached Shrewsbury station at a high rate of speed instead of stopping, passed the signals at danger, and entered a sharp curve. The unavoidable happened, practically the whole train leaving the road, and all the leading coaches being smashed. Eighteen persons, including driver and fireman, were killed, and a large number injured. It was much like Grantham over again, except that the train was not turned into a fatal branch line, as at Grantham.
The Shrewsbury accident formed the subject of a very important debate between Mr. Bromley and Mr. Thomas at Tredegar Hall, Newport, on Sunday, June 14th, 1908. Enginemen were intensely concerned about vacuum brake failures, and while they associated Shrewsbury with such a failure, the Board of Trade Inspector, Col. Yorke, suggested in his report the terrible possibility of Driver Martin, the driver of the ill-fated train, being asleep at his post. Unfortunately, the possibility of this was accepted by Mr. Bell and his assistant secretary. Mr. Williams, and there was criticism of the attitude taken by Mr. Thomas at the Inquiry. The Railway Review" said: "Moreover, in ordinary life we are quite familiar with dozing and daydreaming as recognised failings of a few minutes." The debate in question turned upon the defence of Driver Martin, and it reviews the whole details of the tragedy. The Conciliation Board scheme was only the substitution of a new method of approach on questions of honest wages, providing for conciliation and arbitration on matters raised by either side, in the following manner:
Such, briefly stated, was the first Conciliation Scheme, and it should also be stated of the year 1907 that the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1906 came into operation on July 1st.
The Executive, at a meeting on November 8th, discussed matters connected with the railway crisis, and endorsed the action of its representatives in signing the agreement, "and desire to place on record our appreciation of the efforts of Mr. Lloyd George in bringing about a settlement amongst the railway workers. We recommend the members to give the settlement a fair trial."
Members were also urged to avail themselves of every possible opportunity to take full advantage of the Conciliation scheme, with a view to getting improved conditions for locomotive men generally. This they did, and quite a series of company and locomotive grade movements began. So much so that the 1908 Report says: "All branches have been busy with the National Programme and the so-called Conciliation Boards. Your General Secretary accepted on your behalf the scheme, but we are glad it is not of our manufacture, for a better name for it would be the Confiscation Board. We are pleased, however, that the G.W. and G.C. men have obtained considerable improvements. Other companies have also been somewhat successful, but we believe that the locomotive men's salvation lies in minding their own business, and dealing with employers direct, and that a wide berth for the Conciliation Scheme is the best advice we can give." These Boards, and the National Programme movement, proved very expensive, so that the sums spent by the Society in 1908 totalled £21,957. Amalgamation was completed with the Scottish Drivers' and Firemen's Friendly Society, which brought over funds of £3,628. At the Convention of the American Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, held at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in September of 1906. Mr. Fox had been elected an honorary member of that organisation, after friendly correspondence, and an invitation was conveyed to him to attend the next Biennial Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on September 14th of 1908. Mr. Fox was authorised to accept this invitation, and he went on that historic liner the "Lusitania," receiving a splendid reception by the American enginemen. The result of this was a return visit of a similar character in the following year, for the Triennial Conference of May, 1909, vociferously welcomed Bro. W. S. Carter, President of the American Brotherhood of Firemen and Enginemen, and Brother Patrick Fennell, of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen. The latter, as "Shandy Maguire," had won considerable repute as a railwayman poet, and had several times contributed to the "Journal." He recited several of his poems during this almost royal tour of England. A special Convention medal was struck, the bars bearing the names of the visitors and of Albert Fox, each delegate wearing one.
There was a reception for the visitors on May 15th at Liverpool, followed on May 16th by a mass meeting in the Picton Hall. They were received by the Lord Mayor, and entertained to tea by Messrs. Lever Bros. at Port Sunlight. On the 18th they came to Leeds, and on the 19th were received by the Conference. They visited various works, attended smoking concerts, and toured such resorts as Harewood Hall, Ilkley, Bolton Abbey, and York. They were presented with very handsome and specially designed albums, containing 210 photographs of scenes in Great Britain, and of the officers of the Society. When they left for London on May 22nd, Mr. Carter travelled on the G.N. engine No. 301, which made the journey of 185 miles in 3 hours and 30 minutes. They attended mass meetings in London, visited Woolwich, saw the King win the Derby race, travelled to Sheffield, Crewe, Stoke, and Cardiff, and finally left London for Southampton by special train. A special brochure was published, illustrating Leeds, and a special Convention Number of the "Journal" was issued. Every effort was made to give the visitors close attention and a happy time. Fennell, who was an honorary member of the Society, frequently contributed to the "Journal" until his death in 1917.
Mr. J. Bromley was elected Chairman of the Conference in question, and Mr. Geo. Moore, as Chairman of the Executive, welcomed the visitors. The other executive members at the time were Messrs. C. Shipley (Vice-Chairman), F. Robotham, R. Atkinson, F. Coombes, W. Clarken, D. Brodie, W. Clarke, W. Chapman, W. Stevenson, and G. Wride, with Messrs. M. J. Dickinson and R. T. Hatton, Trustees.
But it was not all jubilation that year. There were many fatal accidents to members, and the Secretary and four organisers were all busy running about to inquests and inquiries. The year 1906 had manifested weaknesses in the vacuum brake, and the Society had vigorously protested against the supine and, indeed, brutal custom of Local Government Board Inspectors to blame drivers for accidents they could not help. Grantham and Salisbury were painful examples, but later the facts were evidently realised privately, although the public had been prejudiced, for improvements were made to the vacuum. The facts are glaring now, for we got no more disasters of the same type. However, by 1909, attention was focussed on another type of accident, that to heavy, long trains, which the brake power could not hold. Engines were wilfully overloaded, and strong representations were made to Mr. G. R. Askwith at the Board of Trade on the matter.
There came to a head also, in the year 1909, a libel action which the Committee felt obliged to enter against Mr. T. T. Millman, in consequence of certain statements and circulars issued in respect to the Society. Towards the close of 1903, Mr. Millman became a member of the office staff, but three years later he assaulted the General Secretary, with whom he had never been very happy. For that offence he was instantly dismissed by the Executive, and then he seems to have had the encouragement of the A.S.R.S. to attack the Society. The action entered by Geo. Moore, M. J. Dickinson, and others of the Executive against Mr. Millman was heard in the King's Bench Division, November 2nd to 8th, 1909, by Mr. Justice Grantham and a special jury. They found that the charge made by the defendant was not true, that the circular issued was a libel, and that it was issued with malice, not with any sense of duty, but with a direct motive to injure the other Society. Judgment was therefore returned against Millman for £1,000 and costs.
A fraternal visit by Brother G. A. Allen, General Secretary of the Queensland Locomotive Enginemen, Firemen, and Cleaners' Association, caused Mr. Fox to proudly exclaim that they had cemented the whole of the English-speaking locomotivemen. Later in the year 1909, Messrs. D. Brodie (Scottish), C. Shipley (North), and R. Atkinson (Cheshire) retired from the Executive for re-election. Of the three retiring members, only Mr. Brodie returned, the newly-elected members being Mr. W. W. Cooke (Crewe) for Cheshire, and Mr. R. Hill (Bradford) for the North. Mr. Geo. Wride, of Cheltenham, was elected Chairman of the Executive, with Mr. W. Chapman, of Doncaster, as Vice-Chairman, and it was decided to issue ballot-papers to members, and to invite nominations for another organising secretary, the districts being arranged as follows:—Mr. Warwick, London; Mr. J. Drummond, Scottish; Mr. H. Parfitt, South Wales; with Manchester organiser to be appointed. The Executive met on April 4th, 1910, to count the votes recorded, and found Mr. J. Bromley elected with 4,350 votes, the next highest being Mr. R. Atkinson, of Liverpool, with 1,730. Amongst the candidates was the late Mr. John Hunter, of Southport, who subsequently became a valuable President of the Society. A little later, Mr. H. J. Oxlade, of Willesden, was elected to the Executive as North London representative. The Executive decided in 1910 to invite nominations for an Assistant Secretary to the Society, and thirteen names went to the ballot, Mr. Geo. Moore, the ex-President, being elected with 2,103 votes. This election caused other vacancies on the Executive, Mr. John Hunter being elected for Lancashire, Mr. D. Evans for South Wales, Mr. W. Clarken for the Midlands, and Mr. J. Healey for the North Midlands. Mr. Geo. Wride was re-elected Chairman, with Mr. R. Hill as Vice-Chairman.
The year, therefore, seemed to bring a new generation of responsible workers for the Society, and it is a fitting opportunity to recall the smallness of the Head Office at 44, Park Square, in 1903, the purchase of premises at 8, Park Square, in 1904, their renovation and alteration at a cost of £282, and the Centralisation of _(page_189_crop).jpg)
Visit of American Delegates to Society's Conference, 1909.
J. Bromley (President of Conference.)
G. Moore (President of A.S.L.E. & F.)
P. Fennell (B. of L. E.)
A. Fox (General Secretary A.S.L.E. & F.)
W. Carter (President B. of L.F. & B. Fraternal Delegate) Funds, which caused a considerable increase of office staff. In 1903 we had Messrs. Fox and Shuttleworth at headquarters, with Mr. Millman just starting, and Mr. Parfitt setting out as the first organiser. The following year we had Messrs. Fox, Shuttleworth, Millman, H. Saunders, A. E. Fox, and W. Parker. Then Mr. Millman passed out, Mr. Shuttleworth was put on a pension, Mr. Gregory came in, and in 1909 the staff consisted of Messrs. Fox, Shuttleworth (on the eve of retiring), Parker, Saunders, Gregory, Wheatley (killed in the European War after taking his commission and winning the Military Medal), and A. E. Fox, with Messrs. Parfitt, Drummond, and Warwick as organisers. In May of 1910 Mr. Fox sailed again for America and Canada, as fraternal delegate to the American Brotherhood's Convention at St. Paul's, and during his tour had a long conversation with Ex-President Roosevelt at New York. He had previously been decorated with the medal of honorary membership of the Federated Locomotive Enginemen's Association of Australia, being the first person outside Australia to receive that honour. A few months later Mr. Moore came in as Assistant Secretary to direct administration affairs.
In the year 1910, following on the Osborne Judgment, no delegates were sent to the Labour Party Conference at Newport, and contributions to the Political Fund fell tremendously. South Leeds was abandoned as a constituency, after a visit by Messrs. John Hodge, M.P., and Ben Turner to the Executive over the strained relations between the A.S.R.S. and the A.S.L.E. & F. A local joint conference was recommended, to leave local branches to choose the candidate, and it was resolved "that we fail to see the wisdom of spending our members' money in contesting South Leeds." The Osborne Judgment made political contributions entirely optional on the part of members, and dealt a sharp blow at direct Labour representation. It did, however, compel attention to the need for payment of members, and in 1911 that principle came into operation.
"We are fighting every inch of the way against opposition which is uncalled for and unfair," declared the Report of 1910, but it was a very successful fight, for the membership grew, and the total funds at the end of the year stood at £182,883. The movements of the year were in regard to eyesight and medical tests, a deputation to the Board of Trade having the support of Mr. Secker Walker, the eyesight specialist, who had testified to the value of corrective lenses for men on the footplate, both for security, protection, and comfort. These, and wages movements, and the slow reduction of hours, occupied attention until the opening of the crisis of 1911, when the Society, for the first time, sanctioned a national strike of all enginemen.
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