MASTERS, D. C. The Winnipeg General Strike. Pp. xv, 159. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1950. $3.50

• DOI: 10.1177/000271625127400170
• Date: 01 March 1951
• Published date: 01 March 1951
• Author: Sar A. Levitan
• Subject Matter: Articles

240

of

management

and

likewise

from

some

of

the

older

employees.

In

a

contractual

his-

tory

with

unions

dating

back

to

1936

all

problems

have

been

worked

out

amicably

between

the

company

and

the

unions,

with-

out

the

necessity

even

to

submit

a

grievance

case

to

arbitration.

In

discipline

cases

the

company

consults

the

union

before

taking

action,

though

it

is

not

obliged

by

contract

to

do

so.

Discipline

has

not

been

under-

mined

as

a

result;

indeed,

it

is

suggested

that

the

same

persons

cause

trouble

both

to

the

union

and

to

management.

The

company

worked

with

unions

on

its

job

evaluation

program

in

1937,

long

before

most

other

companies

were

willing

to

do

so.

The

authors

list

a

number

of factors that

have

contributed

to

industrial

peace

at

Marathon.

Among

these

are

stable

em-

ployment ;

small

plants,

permitting

intimacy

of

contact

with

employees;

a

company

policy

of

maintaining

wages

and

working

conditions

equal

to

any

in

the

area;

respect

of

both

sides

for

the

contract,

with

a

willing-

ness

to

modify

it

where

advisable;

company

willingness

to

discuss

almost

any

subject

with

the

unions;

and

company

integrity

and

union

responsibility.

Yet

the

authors

em-

phasize

a

personal

factor-the

influence

of

the

leading

management

ofhcial-as

the

most

important

one

in

the

development

of

constructive

relations

between

the

company

and

the

seven

unions.

This

case

study,

which

permits

compari-

son

with

two

previous

studies

in

the

series-

based

on

the

same

industry,

will

be

a

valu-

able

addition

to

the

materials

on

industrial

peace

available

to

students

of

industrial

relations.

JOEL

SEIDMAN

University

of

Chicago

MASTERS,

D.

C.

The

Winnipeg

General

Strike.

Pp.

xv,

159.

Toronto,

Canada:

University

of

Toronto

Press,

1950.

$3.50.

This

monograph

covers

the

story

of

the

longest

general

strike

on

record.

It

occurred

in

Winnipeg,

Canada,

between

May

15

and

June

26,

1919.

The

volume

is

part

of

a

larger

study

sponsored

by

the

Canadian

Social

Science

Research

Council

relating

to

the

background

and

development

of

the

Social

Credit

Movement

in

Alberta

during

the

1930’s.

Professor

Masters

describes

the

strike

in

considerable

detail.

He

sketches

the

story

of

the

radical

trade

union-the

One

Big

Union,

corresponding

roughly

to

the

Industrial

Workers

of

the

World

in

the

United

States-and

the

economic

conditions

that

prevailed

in

Winnipeg

prior

to

the

strike.

The

strike

started

with

a

protest

against

the

increased

cost

of

living

without

comparable

increases

in

wages,

and

with

demands

for

recognition

in

collective

bar-

gaining.

The

beginnings

of

the

strike

were

peaceful

and

effective;

even

the

police,

firemen,

and

postal

employees

joined

the

strike.

As

the

general

strike

continued

the

tensions

mounted.

The

provincial

govern-

ment

sent

in

troops.

The

strike

collapsed

after .

several

outbreaks

of

considerable

violence.

The

author

believes

that

the

strike

had

the

widest

support

of

the

ranks

of

Winnipeg

labor

but

was

bound

to

fail

when

the

leadership

failed

to

take

over

the

full

responsibilities

of

government

while

society

was

on

the

verge

of

collapse

in

Winnipeg.

Mr.

Masters

treats

the

highly

contro-

versial

subject

with

objectivity.

He

largely

limits

his

narrative

to

a

chronicle

of

the

events

of

the

strike.

In

doing

so,

he

fails

to

present the

drama

involved

in

the

social

upheaval

that

resulted

from

a

six

weeks

general

strike.

The

study

of

the

Winnipeg

strike

has

been

covered

before

in

eas-

ily

accessible

sources,

particularly

W.

H.

Crook’s

The

General

Strike.

Those

in-

terested

in

additional

details

of

the

Win-

nioqg

incident

will find

the

present

volume

rewarding

reading.

SAR

A.

LEVITAN

Champlain

College

State

University

of

New

York

MILLER,

DONALD

C.

Taxes,

the

Public

Debt,

and

Transfers

of

Income.

Pp.

xi,

153.

Urbana:

The

University

of

Illinois

Press,

1950.

$2.00

paper;

$3.00

cloth.

This

is

an

attempt

to

determine

the

effect

of

the

1945

tax-debt

structure

on

the

re-

distribution

and

the

total

volume

of

in-

come.

The

first

part

of

the

study

is

an

attempt

to

allocate

the

federal

tax

burden

to

spe-

cific

income

groups

and

thus

gauge

the

progressivity

of

the

tax

system.

This

is