At work no leader or deputation need approach the employer with the men’s demands; a hint would be dropped, an over-looker would be prompted, or an unsigned note be left for the master to see. If the demands were not met, there was no need—in the small workshop—for a formal strike; men would simply drop away or singly give notice. While the leaders might be known, it might also be impossible to procure evidence as to their activities. “So cautious are they now become,” wrote a Wakefield magistrate in 1804, “no general striking or communication with masters is necessary; it is done in a way
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