the financial panic. The panic and the
ensuing crisis furnished a conclusive test of the strength and stability
of the American labor movement. Gompers in his presidential report at
the convention of 1899, following the long depression, said: "It is
noteworthy, that while in every previous industrial crisis the trade
unions were literally mowed down and swept out of existence, the unions
now in existence have manifested, not only the power of resistance, but
of stability and permanency," and he assigned as the most prominent
cause the system of high dues and benefits which had come into vogue in
a large number of trade unions. He said: "Beyond doubt the superficial
motive of continued membership in unions organized upon this basis was
the monetary benefits the members were entitled to; but be that as it
may, the results are the same, that is, _membership is maintained, the
organization remains intact during dull periods of industry, and is
prepared to take advantage of the first sign of an industrial revival_."
Gompers may have overstated the power of resistance of the unions, but
their holding power upon the membership cannot be disputed. The
aggregate membership of all unions affiliated with the Federation
remained near the mark of 275,000 throughout the period of depression
from 1893 to 1897. At last the labor movement had become stabilized.

The year 1894 was exceptional for labor disturbances. The number of
employes involved reached nearly 750,000, surpassing even the mark set
in 1886. However, in contradistinction to 1886, the movement was
defensive. It also resulted in greater failure. The strike of the coal
miners and the Pullman strike were the most important ones. The United
Mine Workers began their strike in Ohio on April 21. The membership did
not exceed 20,000, but about 125,000 struck. At first the demand was
made that wages should be restored to the level at which they were in
May 1893. But within a month the union in most regions was struggling to
prevent a further reduction in wages. By the end of July the strike was
lost.

The Pullman strike marks an era in the American labor movement because
it was the only attempt ever made in America of a revolutionary strike
on the Continental European model. The strikers tried to throw against
the associated railways and indeed against the entire existing social
order the full force of a revolutionary labor solidarity embracing the
entire American wage-earning cl