CAPITAL Background In a provious article in this series (Red Mole, 16th Now, 1970) we saw how the political failures of the early revolutionary socialist parties led to the theories of syndicalism-that is the view that capitalism could be overthrowm simply by trade union agitation. This view was perhaps strongest in the United States. Here the emphasis on trade union action fell in naturally with the need to unionise the basic industries of iron, coal, railways, etc. The product of these ideas was the foundation in 1905 of the WW (Industrial Workers of the Worid).
Any growth of ideas in the United States was rapidly transmitted to Ireland. The huge wave of forced emigration from Ireland to the United States during the 1840s, '50s and "60s had created a thousand and che links between the Irish and American working classes. In the case of the theories of syndicalism, the transmission of ideas was speeded up by the fact that in Ireland the same problem of unionising the basic industries existed as it did in the U.S. The man who first adapted syndicalist ideas to Ireland was Jamet Larkin.
Larkinism Like Ireland's other great labour leader, James Connolly, Larkin was not actually born in Ireland. He was born in Liverpool in 1876. He was influenced both by the ideas of Irish Republi canism and by those of the IWW. His first oppor tunity to put his syndicalist ideas into practice came in Belfast when he became an official of the Irish Dock Labourers' Union.
In Belfast Larkin led strikes of firemen. dockers and seamen. A successful strike of carters in support of the dockers gave him his first taste of the power of the sympathy strike. This was a tactic he was later to develop into a fine art.
In the course of this trade union agitation he momentarily broke through the religious sectar. lanism of Belfast to unite Catholics and Protestants in a massive coal strike. This was concluded successfully in late July and for once the parades of Protestant and Catholic workers against their employers matched the Orange bigot parades of July 12th.
The Dock Labourers' Union was however terrified by the industrial ferment that Larkin was creating and began settling disputes over his head, This experience plus the ideas of the WW convinced Larkin of the necessity of setting up a new type of union in Ireland. On 4th Jan. 1909 he founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union. The organisation of the union was soon immeasurgbly strengthened when James Connolly retumed from USA in order to help run the new union.
Throughout 1910, 1911 and 1912 the union grew rapidly in strength. It carried out a whole series of sympathy strikes in support of seamen and other workers, it led a whole series of fierce strikes in which strikers and police were killed. The result of this was that by the end of 1912 wage rises of between 3/- and 12/- weekly had been gained. This was up to 50% of the appalling wages paid in Dublin in this period.
By 1913 it had become obvious that either the ITGWU must be smashed or it would unleash a wave of working class militancy that would throsten the foundation of capitalism in Ireland. As always in such situations, the employers resorted to the iron fist and the • The Red Mole 16-28 Feb 1971 Page 12 jackboot. They found their self appointed leader in "nationalist" William M. Murphy.
The "Labour War"
In times of open class warfare the employers lose thair liberal face; the true crudity of their motives comes out into the open. Certainly Murphy can have few rivals in expressing the sheer fear, contempt and reliance on God-given right of the capitalist class. Whereas most employers talk about avoiding unnecessary hardship", Murphy talked openly about the real motives of a capitalist in a strike to use hardship in order to bring the workers to their knees. He stated simply. "A strike on the tramways would no doubt produce turmoil and disorder created by roughs and looters; but what chance would men have without funds, in a contest with the company that would and could spend £100,000 and more? You must recall that when dealing with a company of this kind, every of the shareholders will have three meals a day whether the men succeed or not. I do not know if the men can count on this? He continually confirmed his tactics throughout the strike. For example on 2nd September 1913 he stated, The employer all the time managed to get his three meals a day, but the unfortunate workman and his family had no resources whatsoever except submission ... The difficulty of teaching that lesson to the workman was extraordinary."
All the main emplayers of Dublin joined Murphy in his attack. No religious sectarianism was allowed to interfere with capitalist solidarity. Religious sectarianism was a weapon used by the employers to divide the working class; it had no place in profitable relations between members of the bourgeoisie. The first firms to join Murphy in locking out its workers were the Dublin Quaker firms of the "Society of Friends; W & R Jacob and Mesars Shackleton and Sons. By September 1913, 400 firms had allied formally with Murphy. They were strongly organised. All the firms had to deposit sums of money which were to be forfeited if they settled with the strikers before the others. The basis of their position was the pladge which Murphy Intended to force all his employees to sign. This stated, "1 hereby undertake to carry out all instructions given to me by or on behalf of my amployers and further I agree to imme diately resign my membership of the Irish Trans port Workers Union (if a member) and I further undertake that I will not join in or in any way support this union."
The Forces of "Law and Order" It is important to realise that Murphy's tactics differed in no real way from those of every employer in a strice. They all see human misery as a weepon in their economic war against the workers. Murphy was just foolish anough to be open about it; but there is no significent ditference bebween him and, for example, the Post Office which used economic hardship in order to try to get the post office workers to accept a wage rise which would not even keep their wages up with the rising cost of living. In exagtly the some way as in present disputes, Murphy also relied heavily for his support on a campaign of hatred by the press and intimidation by the police.
In most strikes the support of the press is gained for the employers simply because the press-comers are also businessmen and naturally support other capitalists. In Murphy's case it was even easier as he owned most of the press, In particular he owned the Evening Herald, the Irish Catholic and the independent (sicl. These papers carried an unending series of attacks on the strikers and personal abuse against Larkin.
He was alternately referred to as a man of undisciplined mind and inveterate malice... an impudent swaggering bully... indescribebly foul of mind and tongue" and "scum like Larkin", while it was declared that "whenever there is real trouble in the wind, he is not to be found where his skin would be in danger," As for the strikers themselves, the press poured out its hatred in such choice goms as the following:
"They are poor and have nought, but if they were rich tomorrow, debauchery would soon have them in poverty again " and claimed that "by folly or malice they have been placed in deplorable straits. all this to gratify the vengeful whim of an adventurer who has been battening on their credulity."
The police of course were totally committed on the side of the employers, Police brutality reached heights never before seen even in Dublin and foreshadowed the violence and torture of the Black and Tans. Continual baton charges were made on pickets. Larkin's meetings outside Liberty Hall and in O'Connell Street were systematically broken up. Michael Byrne, secretary of the Kingstown branch of the ITGWU, was tartured to death in a police cell. The assault was carried into the hornes of the strikers, Typical of the heroic acts carried out by the police was the ruining of the eyesight of a baby while snashing up its room, and battering a man unconscious in front of six children. In addition, the police aided the actions of scabs. These included the shooting dead of a young girl as she was collecting her strikers" food pay. Larkin himself was of course arrested; on a charge of seditious libel and conspiracy.
Larkin clearly drew the lesson of these everts. He wrote in the irish Worker that "The most significant fact connected with the industrial struggle in this country has been the direct connection and agreement proved to be existing between the capitalists of the Murphy and Jacob type, the professional politician, the press and the clergy. Each of these sections most brutally and unashamediy stated that they are opposed to any improvement in the conditions of the common people..
The End of the Strike Despite the direct alliance of capitalists and the government, the Dublin workers continued the strike from August 1913 to January 1914 During this time the workers performed miracles of organisation. The most important of these was probably the setting up of the Irish Citizens Army. This was originally designed simply to provide protaction against police and scabs, but later it was to be used by Connolly in the orgenising of the Easter 1916 rising against British rule. The solidarity and militancy of the strike was also enough to gain some notable victoriesnotably Larkin's release from prison after only three woeks of a seven month prison santerice. This was achieved through a series of demonstrations of such size and militancy that the government feared that revolution was about to bincak out. Lark in summed up this lesson as well when he declared that Not liberal justice but solida rity, class solidarity, is the reson why l am free."