Page:Engines and men- the history of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen. A survey of organisation of railways and railway locomotive men (IA enginesmenhistor00rayniala).pdf/329

ment for the members we represented, not a satisfactory one, but with our general spirit of sweet compromise-one which we had accepted as a temporary agreement. Therefore, as you will all know, that is the last likely moment for any body of men to step into a new movement when they had just completed an agreement; and I will say to this meeting, and again through the Press to the public, that had the demands of the N.U.R. been exorbitant or unfair, we should not have backed them in their demand. Again, my Executive, recognising we are custodians of the welfare of our members, the instruments through which their desires are given effect to, whatever may have been our individual opinion, would not have backed the N.U.R. in this movement had we thought it a political or an incipient revolution. That statement is due to the members we represent who, not all, hold the same opinion that some of my colleagues on my Executive do.

"When we arrived in London on Tuesday evening, we had not the slightest knowledge of the trouble of the N.U.R., other than to know that there was bound to be a desire to follow on the same lines a settlement for all grades of railwaymen as had been made for locomotivemen. So when we were informed of the position, what did we do? We did not rush blindly into it because it was a fight, we sent for Mr. Thomas, and after having a preliminary conversation, giving us the facts, we said, let us see if your claims are justifiable claims. Let us see if the answer of the Government is reasonable, and shows a desire to meet these claims or otherwise. On Thursday morning we had the whole position before us, and I will promise you. Mr. Chairman, our support to the N.U.R. of our fellow trade unionists, and, after all, blood is thicker than water. But even with that position, had the case been an unfair one I will say we should not be in it, and we should not be here to-night in supporting you. But we find, after analysing the whole of the figures, that the request which was made for other grades of railwaymen was not only a reasonable request, but in our opinion was a moderate request, and the reply given by the Government was not sufficient, not fair recognition of the services given to this great nation by railwaymen, or anything like sufficient to meet the increased cost of living which railwaymen had to bear. Our members are solid.

"Therefore, friends, what was our duty, not to remember past differences, not to find loopholes through which to escape from the battle, our duty was to realise the human ethics of trade unions, and to say whether these people are fellow-railwaymen or whether they are not. If a fair, just, and honourable claim was to be met in no