THE GATHERING STORM
A reaction against years of unquestioning acceptance of the findings of the Arbitration Court was inevitable.
Undoubtedly that period was hastened by the frequent changes on the Court itself. The first Judges found their task comparatively easy. Wages were low, hours long, conditions of labour deplorable. An increase of wages here, a shortening of hours there, an alteration of the working conditions somewhere else—all were to the workers’ advantage. The Court was hailed as the instrument of the workers’ salvation.
But there came a time when the Court refused to increase wages or alter conditions, when men with very little, if any, sympathy with the workers were appointed to the Bench. A time when, with increasing arrogance, the workers were lectured for their continuous demands for better wages and conditions. One learned Judge asked, “When was this continual demand for increased wages going to cease?” “Will the workers never be satisfied?” His Honour demanded of a trembling union secretary. Crude interruptions, bumptious advice, and scant attention to evidence, indicating either that the judicial mind was already fully determined upon a decision or to plainly show an utter contempt for an embarrassed and inexperienced union advocate, were all factors that played a part in preparing the way for a widespread and almost unanimous revolt against judicial tyranny.
An additional factor that made for a clearer working-class viewpoint was the growing consciousness among the workers that there could be no
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