Engines and Men/Chapter 6
Chapter VI
"The claims of the Society upon enginemen and firemen are becoming more fully recognised year by year," said the seventh annual balance sheet, which covered the year up to December 31st, 1886. It had appeared in pamphlet form for the first time, looking much more substantial than the former single quarto sheet, but still only a ghost of the substances of later years, "The day is not far distant," it proceeded confidently, "when the majority of enginemen and firemen will have recognised the fact that to be successful they must join an organisation composed of men of their own calling." The members then numbered 1,593, and the reserve funds stood at £8,961 8s. 3d,
Nearly a third of this total were to be involved in the calamitous Midland strike before another year had passed. In earlier years, conditions on the Midland had not been so bad as under same other lines, but irritation was expressed in January of 1886, when it was, declared of a foreman at Nottingham "that his actions are very strange for a sane man." Special meetings were held on Good Fridays and Sundays owing to severe penalties for small offences. A driver was suspended for twelve days for causing a train to be delayed three minutes at Trent; another was suspended for twelve days for a broken cast-iron eccentric; there were fines for passing a danger signal, and fines equally heavy for refusing to pass a danger signal. There were fines and suspensions for running into stop-blocks, for hot axles, for bent stays, for being called off the engine, for coal falling in front of the brake, and for all sorts of things too trivial to detail. It was all very irksome, and a storm was evidently brewing.
These real grievances must not trail us from a correct sequence of the events of the years. In 1885 the first exclusively postal train had started running on the North Western, the Hull & Barnsley line had started, and the first train passed through the Mersey railway tunnel. In June of 1886 members of the Society were suggesting revisions of the rules, and the investment of funds in railway shares, along with provision for the return of a member to Parliament. The password and the oath were introduced as ritual safeguards against intrusion at branch meetings, but they were never generally observed. It was decided to secure model engines for the instruction of members, although they were not obtainable until greater efforts were made somewhat later. The formation of an agency was mooted for the assistance of members going abroad. A very curious inquiry was addressed to Swindon to ask how it was that the name of the Secretary and Treasurer did not appear in the list of members. In June of 1886 Mr. Storey accompanied the General Secretary to London to open the King's Cross branch.
October of 1886 brought a storm over the dismissal at Bow of Driver James Bowen, who was alleged to have over-run the signals set at danger. Contact was established with societies of Locomotive Engineers started in America and India, and the General Secretary was instructed to correspond "in a friendly and brotherly manner" with the general secretaries of those organisations. There are indications that even so soon the executive became reminiscent of its early years, for on October 31st of 1886 they decided to buy photographs of Mr. F. W. Webb's compound passenger engines, and of Mr. Perry, the founder, and Mr. William Ullyott, the first member of the Society, to be placed in the general office, "the executive to pay these expenses out of their own pocket, as they have now to resign."
In its first days the Society paid 30s, as contribution to the Trade Union Congress, but in 1886 it sent £10, and asked the committee to forward all possible information upon the Engineers' Certificate Bill. This was a Bill designed to forbid any but experienced and trained men handling locomotives and steam boilers. The examination systems imposed by companies caused a renewed demand for model engines to assist young members, and in 1887 a deputation of three members of the Executive was appointed to wait upon engineering firms to secure the necessary models. A sum of £100 was set apart for this purpose, but they took a lot of getting. It is easy to buy enormously costly toys for children, and miniatures of everything, from motor cars to perambulators, but it was not easy to get correct models of locomotives to instruct the future generation of drivers and firemen.
In 1887 the Executive got an advance in wages, two shillings instead of 1s, for their long meetings. They left over the question of a branch pass-word for future consideration. They decided to invite designs for a Society Emblem, and that the first engineman and fireman be shown on this emblem, subject to their approval."
In that year, too, it was "proposed by John Watkinson and seconded by G. W. Storey, that we have a Society Journal, to be issued quarterly, and that we order 1,000 copies for the first issue, and canvass for advertisments." Another interesting decision was That we have 300 medals the size and thickness of a shilling, sterling silver," and a contract was accepted for these at ls. 9d, each. A sub-committee was appointed to go into the "Journal " question, and it was further decided:—
"That we accept the Emblem known as No. 2, and that we congratulate Mr. Harker, Bristol; Mr. Horton, Plymouth; and Mr. Williams, London; for their designs sent. That 1,500 copies of the emblem be ordered, to be produced at the earliest convenience."
This was the Jubilee year, you remember, of Queen Victoria's reign, but it is chiefly memorable to railwaymen, not for the Jubilee celebrations, but for the spontaneous strike of enginemen on the Midland Railway Company. Earlier in the chapter I have indicated a state of affairs that was not happy, but on July 15th of 1887 new regulations were issued for enginemen, the most serious effect of which was to abolish what was known as the guaranteed week's wages, a condition which Midland enginemen had enjoyed for some time, but which, the Company contended, was being abused by the men. Some of them, it was said, could not be found or would not report for duty towards the end of the week. Even if that were so, the Company's action was still a drastic mistake, but the men denied that it was so, except in one or two isolated cases. The Company, however, resorted to the great injustice of punishing all the men for the alleged offences of the few.
Mr. Sunter, as General Secretary of the Associated, recognised at once the serious nature of this action, and all it might involve. He therefore issued an immediate circular to all branches, relating the position, and he consulted the solicitors to the Society upon the legal position. The men concerned, badly organised as they were, took the matter into their own hands. They were indignant at what they regarded as both an insult and an injury, and decided to strike. A large number of them were entirely unorganised, some belonged to the A.S.R.S., and four hundred or so were members of our Society. Without consulting anybody, or waiting for the sanction of any Executive, they decided to strike, and on August 5th they were out, leaving the Midland system in a state of disorganisation far more serious than their own. After they had been out some days, the Executive of the A.S.L.E. & F, met on August 8th to review the whole position, and to decide upon a policy. All the enginemen were then out, and on August 8th it was:—
"Proposed by Frederick Lumb, seconded by Samuel Holland, that all our Midland members be instructed to cease work at once.-Carried."
The Executive could hardly do any other. On the Midland at the time they met were some who refused to strike, and some firemen taking the places of drivers, while drivers from other systems were being sent to help the Midland defeat the men. It was impossible for a Society of Locomotive Engineers to endorse such a state of affairs. They had not sanctioned, or sought, or encouraged the strike, but they could not have any of their members black-legging the regular drivers during the struggle.
The consequences of this unofficial and misdirected strike were disastrous, and the general register of the Society is a pathetic record of members who were never re-instated.
"The necessity for combination," wrote Mr. Sunter some months later," was never more fully illustrated than in the recent dispute with the Midland Company. If the men had belonged to our Society it would not have resulted in a strike, because the Company, realising the men's potency, would not venture to impose upon them such conditions. The statement that the Society encouraged the men to strike is not true. The Society did not encourage the men to strike, nor pay strike pay, but under the rules the Society paid out in out-of-work pay to 402 members £1,685 16s.; 56 members were assisted abroad at a cost of £261 10s., and six delegates who were discharged were allowed £100 each under the rules-£600."
The Midland strike cost the new Society something like £3,000, and a tribute of admiration is due to the committee for the generous manner in which it sought to bring the very best results out of a sad blunder by other people. There was no direct approach to companies by the Society then, because Trade Unions were not recognised. Amongst the delegates victimised by discharge for having taken part as a deputation to represent their fellow-workers at Derby were John Harrison, of Openshaw Branch, and Thomas Ball, of Nottingham Branch. To these and four others was paid a sum of £100 and 15s, weekly during unemployment. The Society also made an appeal to its branches for subscriptions, a fund being thus raised for the help of those members who were not yet in benefit with the Society when they became involved in the strike. To these members was paid a sum not exceeding 12s. weekly. It was a splendid and honourable record for a young Society whose total funds were little over £7,000 at the time of this unexpected fight.
Mr. Parfitt told me an interesting incident that occurred some months later in connection with that strike. A G.W. driver from Aberdare was proceeding to lodgings at a foreign station when he met a former G.W.R. man who acted as blackleg on the Midland. The latter greeted the Aberdarian and held out his hand. The man from Aberdare did not speak or respond. Instead, he put down his basket and tea-can, and taking hold of his top-coat, which he carried over his arm, he turned it inside out, picked up his basket and tea, and walked silently on. The offender sharply realised that to fight against one set of men was to injure all.
Continuous attempts have been made to blame the Associated Society for this strike, and it was maligned for its own kindliness to its victims. No other society came out so generously, but it never endorsed the strike, nor incited it, nor even discussed it until the fourth day of its procedure, when other systems were urging men in to defeat the struggling men of the Midland. The fall lived in the memory of Midland men for twenty years, and in 1903 one exclaimed, "If any man says strike to me, I'll strike him on the head with a coal hammer." New strength has risen since then, and the whole Midland system has paused nine days without victimisation, without the possibility of one single man coming from other systems, and without suffering to a single member. Such is the value of industrial organisation.
The Society sacrificed, as I have shown, to assist the unfortunate, and this had two effects. It brought the reserve funds running down, and it sent the list of members running up. All over the country drivers and firemen noticed this first test of a Protection Fund, and saw it was something real in time of need. They saw the further lesson of national claims and united action, and began to move beyond the sectional view.
A lead was given by the Executive in an appeal to all railwaymen of the country to assist by donations in helping all victims of the Midland strike who were non-members, and by that fund many were assisted to emigrate. At a gathering at Bradford, seven members who had their passages booked for new grounds in Canada were presented with the emigration grant of £5 each by Mr. T. G. Sunter.
It was decided on August 28th to consult the opinion of branches as to the advisability of appointing an organising secretary, but no salary or permanency were decided upon. In October it was agreed that the branches should be again consulted as to the need of such an appointment, and the Executive arranged for a special meeting on November 6th to give full consideration to this project. When that day came Messrs. William Field, Joseph Rotherforth, and Alan Higgins took their seats as members, "they being elected by their branches." After the discussion it was
"Proposed by F. Lumb, and seconded by James Gill, that an organising secretary be appointed until December 31st, 1888, and that his salary be £2 per week and third-class railway fare and hotel expenses, his expenses to be submitted monthly to the Executive Committee; that he reside in Leeds and commence duty as soon as possible, and take his instructions from the General Secretary."
"That Thomas Ball, a member of the Nottingham Branch, be appointed organising secretary to the Society on the conditions laid down in the previous minute, and if he refuses, the position be offered to Mr. Geo. W. Storey."
The first organiser continued his work during 1888, and the appointment being renewed, he went on during 1889 and into 1890. In May of the latter year he was suspended after visits to Southampton and Salisbury had been reported by local members. Mr. H. Shuttleworth, who was also a victim of the Midland strike, and became assistant secretary to the Society, was deputed to inquire and report, and following upon the report he presented in June, it was "decided that Mr. Ball do now resume duty, and is not to be paid for the time he was suspended." The resumption was not to be for long, however. Poor Tom Ball set out on an organising tour in Scotland, absolutely new ground to the Society. His programme became lost in obscurity, but his last point of call was found to have been Hamilton, early in 1891, after he had opened the Glasgow Branch. The living Tom Ball was never heard of or seen again, and all efforts to locate him failed. His chequered life was believed to have ended in tragedy, for some time later, December 10th of 1892, the body was discovered in a decomposed state at Astley, in the township of Swillington. Let us remember him by his report of September, 1889: "We have opened our 54th branch and admitted over 600 members this year,"
Another appointment of great interest to the Society, made in 1887 also, was contained in the decision of October 9th, 1887: "That we secure the services of Clement E. Stretton, Esq.. C.E., as consulting engineer to the Society." The decision was announced to branches by the following circular:-
17, Mill Hill Chambers,
Leeds,
October 11th, 1887.
Dear Sir,
I have the pleasure to inform you, for the information of your Members, that on the 9th October, Mr. Clement E. Stretton, C.E., was offered and has just accepted the position of Consulting Engineer to our Society. As soon as I became aware, on the 7th inst., that Mr. Stretton's previous appointment with another Society had terminated, I felt sure I should have the hearty support of our Members in asking him to accept so important a position with us, knowing, as we do, that by his scientific and practical knowledge in railway working, and the valuable assistance he has rendered to all classes of railwaymen for a great number of years past, we have every hope for the future and I trust the Society will be highly gratified by the appointment.
Yours truly,
T. G. Sunter,
General Secretary.
The appointment continued during three active years, but on February 19th, 1890, the committee accepted Mr. Stretton's resignation. Differences of opinion and the irrepressible personality of Mr. Stretton led to the parting of the ways. He was a publicist, giving his views on every railway issue very promptly and ably, but not always in a manner that expressed the views of his Executive. Once or twice they had to dissociate themselves from his views in the railway journals, and to request Mr. Stretton not to attach his capacity as their consulting engineer to his public expressions of opinions.
This became especially compromising over what was known as the "dot and wool tests" for eyesight. These tests were both severe and absurd. The "dot" test consisted of a series of quarter-inch dots to be counted at fifteen feet distance. The "wool" test consisted of a series of fifty shades of wool, and the driver and fireman had to name them, sort them and match them, as if they were young ladies seeking employment in a fancy goods shop, or aspired to be painters or dyers. As a practical test for railway work they were useless, and tests of a more practical nature were demanded. The history of the eyesight test is a long one, emerging at periods throughout the history of the Society.
Late in the year 1887 there was a wage movement on the North Eastern system. It included drivers, firemen, guards, mineral guards, and signalmen, and the claim submitted to the directors early in 1888 included the following clauses:
"Engine drivers to commence at 5s, per day; after six months 5s. 6d.; after one year 5s. 9d.; third year 6s.; fourth year 6s. 3d; fifth 6s. 6d.; sixth 6s. 9d.; seventh 7s.; express drivers 7s. 6d, per day. Firemen to commence at 3s. per day; after six months 3s. 4d.; after one year 3s. 6d.; third year 3s. 9d.; fourth year 4s.; fifth year 4s. 2d.; sixth year 4s. 4d.; seventh year 4s. 6d. In cases where firemen are required to fire more than twelve years, 4s. 9d. per day. Ten hours to constitute a day in all cases. All time worked in excess of ten hours to be paid at time and a quarter."
"In conlusion, your employees desire that you will kindly consider their responsible, arduous, and dangerous duties, and that you will grant the requests contained in the above programme. Should you have the beneficence to grant our requests, we can only add that it shall be our aim to do our duty to the best of our ability, and thus deserve your future approbation and confidence."