JNF-The-Working-Class-Struggle-of-Half-a-Century

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ager, "I see that your boy will soon be leaving school. I am looking out for him in the small gang." The worker felt uncomfortable. He had planned a different type of future for his son. He told the manager that he wanted to send the boy to learn "his trade". The manager, it was said, was highly offended and gave the labourer the choice of sending the lad to work in the small gang or of leaving the estate. The small gang in those days provided cheap child labour at the sacrifice of the dignity of the human being. It has left its stamp on many of our people who were deprived of the opportunity to learn to read and write. These cases help to show the extent to which the lives of the workers were dominated by the economic system of the period. Efforts to Organise The land owner's chief aim was to make as much money as they could out of the estates. In fact that was their only business. On the other hand workers were beginning to raise vague hopes of a decent standard of living. They had been hearing about the idea of getting together. It was something new in this part of the world. The deplorable conditions under which the ordinary people lived made them eager to try anything that promised an escape from social and economic thralldom. Word went around St. Kitts that an organization for working people was being formed and that it would be headed by men from humble walks of life - Frederick (Freddie) Solomon, an undertaker, Joseph A. Nathan, a small retail business man, George Wilkes, a barber. Nathan was probably the moving spirit. He was born in this island and travelled to the United States where he gained knowledge of working class organizations. In New York he saw trade unions in action. He saw the numerous important benefits gained for American workers as a result of the foundation laid during the previous century by Samuel Gompers, the eminent leader of the American Federation of Labour. Gompers became the AFL's first president in 1886 when it replaced the Federation of Organized Trade and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada. Having returned to his native island, Nathan threw in his lot with other pro-gressive minded persons to spread the doctrine of working class unity. 4
This early attempt at workers' organization gave the signal for a clash of interests. The land owners regarded any move to organize the working masses as a challenge to the economic power which they had inherited. To them it was a primary duty to preserve their position. On the other hand the pioneers, of what was quickly becoming a brotherhood of workers, set out in earnest on their venture, braced up by strong unselfish motives. They had no pattern from which they could copy, no rules which they might follow, no model which they could use as a guide. Their first job was to go to the people, call them forth, speak to them singly or in groups, persuade them to organise, sell them the idea that the interests of one should be the concern of all. Trouble lurked in their pathway, particularly in the country districts. They were threatened with prosecution for trespassing when they went to speak to the people in the villages. As practically all of the villages stood on estate lands, it was difficult for the speakers to address a gathering and still keep clear of the public road without encroaching on the private property of the estates. The hurdles were not easy to get over. The leaders of the day, nevertheless, continued their mission, to maintaining contact with the people as best they could. However another unexpected blow was to come. The men wanted to form a workers' union, but the laws of the land at the time did not permit such a thing. In the Leeward Islands Colony of which St. Kitts and Nevis were then part, there was no Trade Union Act to provide for the organisation and registration of a trade union. Evidently the land owners were resorting to the use of the machinery of government to crush the attempt to set up a workers' organization. The Legislature then consisted mostly of planters, merchants and government officials nominated by the Administrator of the Presidency (as St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla was then called). This meant that the country fell firmly under the control of the wealthy class. If the leaders persisted in organising the workers and on acting as a union, it was obvious that the severe hand of the law would have lashed down on them. 5
Page 1: J. N. FRANCE ______________________
Page 4 and 5: © 2015 Published by The National A
Page 6 and 7: Preface The Working Class struggle
Page 9 and 10: 1 EARLY VISION Where is this countr
Page 11: With the passing of time, social an
Page 15 and 16: post as a school teacher to succeed
Page 17 and 18: For several years the pressure was
Page 19 and 20: and school houses are being used fo
Page 21 and 22: housing condition arising from the
Page 23 and 24: 3 PREPARING THE GROUND The thought
Page 25 and 26: That impressive English story told
Page 27 and 28: they had accumulated £28 with whic
Page 29 and 30: Commons that since the colony of th
Page 31 and 32: 1922, some of the members of Legisl
Page 33 and 34: On 30 th August 1932 the Dominica T
Page 35 and 36: country and I regard British Guiana
Page 37 and 38: Mr. Marryshow then raised his tone
Page 39: Delegates to the West India Confere
Page 42 and 43: The conference opened its proceedin
Page 44 and 45: protests can be ignored with impuni
Page 46 and 47: Closer Union Commission widened to
Page 48 and 49: He said it was a privilege to him t
Page 50 and 51: possible, an education that must be
Page 52 and 53: and suffering, and in such a condit
Page 54 and 55: The land forming the Hospital compo
Page 56 and 57: ing able to grant the request of th
Page 58 and 59: prison sentences for what was commo
Page 60 and 61: sinned against the Factory. Theirs
Page 62 and 63:
9 FROM PAUPER RELIEF TO PROVIDENT B
Page 64 and 65:
1954 declared the first Monday in M
Page 66 and 67:
it has proposed to interfere will b
Page 68 and 69:
Change When the League came on the
Page 70 and 71:
Children of the working class. 61
Page 72 and 73:
had just dumped out a load of cane
Page 74 and 75:
There was no reply from London. Twe
Page 76 and 77:
president. When the delegation gave
Page 78 and 79:
Under the law of 1937 only a limite
Page 80 and 81:
Workers who would have benefited fr
Page 82 and 83:
Grenada, and will seek to work in a
Page 84 and 85:
Ferguson, Chairman of the Commissio
Page 86 and 87:
Now let me say in the first place t
Page 88 and 89:
We should like to refer to West Ind
Page 90 and 91:
in West Indies there is a considera
Page 92 and 93:
The 1932 Commissioners commented on
Page 94 and 95:
not regard it as essential that the
Page 96 and 97:
official news of its adoption by th
Page 98 and 99:
gravity of the situation to the att
Page 100 and 101:
On 13 th December, 1934 an unusuall
Page 102 and 103:
employed by those who demand the ad
Page 104 and 105:
concerning the right for the workin
Page 106 and 107:
come relief to a grateful people an
Page 108 and 109:
vance towards the goal of the Feder
Page 110 and 111:
members of the Council. Mr. Marrysh
Page 112 and 113:
see no reason why we should be give
Page 114 and 115:
Unofficial Majority on the Legislat
Page 116 and 117:
tional reform movement in this Pres
Page 118 and 119:
combine to give the Closer Union Sc
Page 120 and 121:
prominent part in marking the close
Page 122 and 123:
when the slaves were set free, and
Page 124 and 125:
The people in those days took it fo
Page 126 and 127:
Sugar Factory workers were “chast
Page 128 and 129:
At West Farm the marchers were prev
Page 130 and 131:
Some of the men, it was alleged, we
Page 132 and 133:
gear was damaged and the employees
Page 134 and 135:
Inspector of Police and Magistrate
Page 136 and 137:
H.M.S. Leander arrived in the port
Page 138 and 139:
satisfied that the action taken by
Page 140 and 141:
16 THE FIRST ELECTION The clash of
Page 142 and 143:
opposed to it. The 1936 Constitutio
Page 144 and 145:
important matter, I promise the Ele
Page 146 and 147:
could have no better representative
Page 148 and 149:
whether it was a fact that the St.
Page 150 and 151:
existing, it is not considered that
Page 152 and 153:
17 THE 1938 ROYAL COMMISSION The 19
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A: Any law-abiding citizen over 16
Page 156 and 157:
appeared and presented the case of
Page 158 and 159:
18 A STAKE IN THE COUNTRY Land owne
Page 160 and 161:
culture and Commercial Society. The
Page 162 and 163:
After this, the land would vest abs
Page 164 and 165:
age. In the following month, Januar
Page 166 and 167:
19 MARCUS GARVEY IN ST. KITTS St. K
Page 168 and 169:
When he made man he said, ‘By the
Page 170 and 171:
oil underneath his feet. Englishmen
Page 172 and 173:
is a little four-page newspaper. Yo
Page 174 and 175:
provided the major portion of the e
Page 176 and 177:
which should be paid for the variou
Page 178 and 179:
In April 1969 the Minister of Labou
Page 180 and 181:
21 POWER OF THE PRESS During first
Page 182 and 183:
Commission headed by Sir Charles Fe
Page 184 and 185:
President wrote, The issues are too
Page 186 and 187:
the sea. The effects were terrible
Page 188 and 189:
mendous crowd packed the Mutual Imp
Page 190 and 191:
territory, the success of the past
Page 192 and 193:
the notice, was that employees were
Page 194 and 195:
185
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JNF-The-Working-Class-Struggle-of-Half-a-Century

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