It must be admitted, however, that the wisdom and conservatism of
the national labor leaders is neutralized by their lack of
authority in their particular organization. A large price is paid
for the autonomy that permits the local unions to declare strikes
without the sanction of the general officers. There are only a
few unions, perhaps half a dozen, in which a local can be
expelled for striking contrary to the wish of the national
officers. In the United Mine Workers' Union, for example, the
local must secure the consent of the district officers and
national president, or, if these disagree, of the executive
board, before it can declare a strike. The tendency to strike on
the spur of the moment is much more marked among the newer unions
than among the older ones, which have perfected their strike
machinery through much experience and have learned the cost of
hasty and unjustified action.
A less conspicuous but none the less effective weapon in the
hands of labor is the boycott,* which is carried by some of the
unions to a terrible perfection. It reached its greatest power in
the decade between 1881 and 1891. Though it was aimed at a great
variety of industries, it seemed to be peculiarly effective in
the theater, hotel, restaurant, and publishing business, and in
the clothing and cigar trades. For sheer arbitrary coerciveness,
nothing in the armory of the union is so effective as the
boycott. A flourishing business finds its trade gone overnight.
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