Historic Book

Extract from

“The History of Co-operation in England: The constructive period”

by George Jacob Holyoake

Published in 1875

Page 255

“The difference between the Trade Unionist and the
Co – operative way of dealing with a strike is capable of
historic illustration .

In 1860 a famous strike took place
in Colne , Lancashire . The weavers were out for fifty
weeks and kept 4,000 looms idle .

Cogwheel , one of the
weavers , put their case very neatly thus : He said , In
Colne there are 4,000 looms . In East Lancashire there
are 90,000 looms . If the Colne Strike had not taken
place the prices all over East Lancashire would have been
reduced to the Colne standard , and therefore , East Lan
cashire saved money by contributing £ 20,000 to the Colne
Strike .

Dr. Watts put the Co – operative view of the
strike not less concisely thus : If the Colne people , instead
of going on strike for fifty weeks had kept at work and
lived on half wages , as they had to do during the strike ,
and had saved the other half , and if the East Lancashire
people had subscribed £ 20,000 , as they did towards keep
ing the Colne people on strike , the result at the end
of fifty weeks would have been £ 54,000 in hand , and at
£ 15 a loom that money would have set to work in per
petuity for the hands themselves 3,600 looms out of the
4,000 in Colne ! The self – same effort which threw them
into beggary would have raised them into independence . “