we hear on the soundtrack the lament "She Moves Through the Fair". The film begins with the Easter Rising of 1916. After de Valera has been arrested, he sits in his prison cell writing that he will probably be spared execution by virtue of his birth in America. Meanwhile all of the other leaders are brought out one by one to face the firing squad. One of these was the Irish republican socialist James Connolly. Severely wounded during the assault on the Dublin GPO, Connolly was stretchered out to the firing squad, tied to a chair, and shot. The manner of his execution caused widespread revulsion. More than anv other republican. it is Connolly who, through his writings and his actions, combined the struggle for national self-determination with the struggle for socialism, and who, like another great republican, Wolfe Tone, fought not merely for the idea of the land but for "the people of no property". The prospect of Hollywood biopics covering the lives of such figures is at present difficult to imagine. for the next year at a special discount price. IV is the hard-hitting monthly review of the Fourth International, the world socialist organisation. Send your cheque for £30 payable to 'Outlook International', PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU. Offer available in Britain and Ireland only.
Post code The Price of a Cigar is a novel that tells the story of the Great Docks Strike of 1889.
That strike won the "Dockers' Tanner" for London's dockers and was the first British docks dispute of any significance. There had been local strikes before but none had the impact of this successful dispute in the capital city.
Peter Wood has taken real characters and settings and blended then in with a few of his own. Whilst this might not appeal to the more pure-minded historians, it results in a nook that we recov many w would not think of picking up a detailed factual account of the strike.
wood introduces the main. characters of the strike - the dockers' leader Ben Tillet, John Burns, Will Thore, (founder of what is now the GMB), Eleanor Marx and Cardinal Manning.
He also creates the character of James Donnelly, an American journalist, through whose eyes we see much of the story. Donnelly is shocked by what he finds when sent to the East End by his editor. He develops a sympathy for the strikers and uses his contacts to help boost the distress fund.
The 1889 Docks Strike represented a landmark in British trade unionism, Unskilled workers had fought and won a great victory. The term " New Unionism" was coined to celebrate this successful organising of the mass ot unskilled workers Previously, British trade unions had been more successful in winning skilled workers into unions such as the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE).
Attempts
There had however been attempts to organise dockworkers prior to 1889. In the 1870s there were disputes in both Liverpool and Hull.
What was distinctive about the London strike was its success and the attention gained throughout Britain and internationally. Donations poured into the strike fund from countries like Australia.
Peter Wood has succeeded in writing an interesting and lively SOUTH DOCK BRANCH ICONSUNCTION -WITH IN THE CREAT ENDINC The novel reawakens historic memories of decisive class battles account of this major strike. The events he recounts may have taken place over a century ago, but the issues remain alive in the ports of Britain today.
In the 1890s casual labour was the norm, just as it is today. The only difference is the isolation. In the last century you fought at the call for a day's work - today you sit at home wondering whether the phone will ring or not.
The effect is the same as unscrupulous employers can pick and choose their "blue-eyes" and ensure that the militants are driven out.
However the great fight of the Merseyside dockers today shows that a tight-back can and will develop.
The Price of a Cigar shows what can be won when workers unite Read it, learn from it and use it to convince people to support the Liverpool dockers in 1996. THE PIONEER.
DOCKERS BAER THE SOUTH DOCKE SepreMBER 18: 1889.
Socialist Outlook I|/ • 23 November 1996
The Price of a Cigar, by Peter Wood, Anchor Books £9.95. Reviewed by Keith Sinclair
AMEN AUC 14%H STRKE