questionable until I issued a circular, stating that the Federation would stand behind the tramwaymen in any action that they might take.
I had no authority whatever for issuing the circular, and in looking back on that time now, can only account for my impetuous action through my anger at the contempt displayed towards organised Labour by the City Council and the press. The leaflet (which happened to be printed on red paper, this giving the idea to the “Evening Post” that was responsible for the coining of the term “Red Federation,” which was afterwards abbreviated to “Red Fed.”) caused a wave of militancy to sweep through the tramway service, and a meeting was called for the p.m. shift the following day. I was invited to attend, and did so, and strongly urged a stop-work meeting to enable both shifts to be present. This suggestion was agreed to, and the a.m. shift falling into line, a meeting was arranged for 2 p.m. the following day. It was not until the tramwaymen stepped off their cars at Lambton Station at 1 o’clock and onwards on the following day that the public realised how serious the situation really was. The meeting was attended by about every employee in the service, and by a vote of 480 to nil, with four informal votes, decided not to resume work until the obnoxious inspector was removed.
A Strike Committee, consisting of representative unionists and tramwaymen, was formed, and overtures opened with the City Council for a settlement. After a couple of days, and negotiations proving unsuccessful, the then Premier (Sir J. G. Ward) asked to receive a deputation from the Strike Committee to discuss the whole question. After hearing our
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