Cremer (Cremer), William

March 13, 1828, Mr.. - July 22, 1908
William Randall Cremer, English pacifist and labor leader, was born in Feyrheme (Hampshire), in southern England, the son of a teacher of drawing George Cremer and Harriet Tyutt. Abandoned shortly after birth, the father of the boy, K. sisters were brought up his mother in great poverty with the money, which she managed to earn a teaching village children to read and write. After studying some time in the parish school, K. began working at the local shipyard, and in 1852,. became an apprentice with his uncle, a London carpenter. Not lost the desire for knowledge, the young man began to attend night school for workers, then he joined the trade union movement.
. Interest in the problem of the world woke up to him in 1856, when he happened to hear a speaker from the London Peace Society, which called on nations to end wars and solve disputes through negotiations
. The words of speakers 'sowed the seeds in the minds of international arbitration', as he wrote later, K., but in the next 20 years he has focused on labor matters.
At the head of the British labor movement of those years, growing trade unions, and in 1858. K., a gifted speaker, was elected to the committee, who led the fight for shorter working hours from 12 am to 9. Entrepreneurs, in 1859, Mr.. trying to suppress the movement with the help of a lockout (resulting in 70 thousand. people were left without a job) in 1860. made some concessions. In June of that year to. participated in the establishment of the Joint Society of Carpenters and Joiners, and thus promoted to leading roles in the trade union movement. At the same time to. married Charlotte Spaulding, children they had not.
During the Civil War in the United States to. working tirelessly explained the truth of the case northerners, seeking his support, that irritated the British industrialists, dependent on supply of cotton from the southern states. Despite economic difficulties caused by the war in England. K., like most of his colleagues, has consistently opposed slavery.
When Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived in 1864. in London, K. was among those who organized the reception of the legendary leader of the Italian Republican. In the same year. contributed to the establishment of the International Association of workers and was elected secretary of the British section. At the Geneva conference of the Association in 1866. He and other members of the British delegation advocated a moderate and gradual reform, as opposed to an immediate revolution, supporters of which were continental radicals among them Karl Marx.
Since the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. K. and some of his colleagues founded the workers' associations of the world, to prevent British intervention in the conflict. As Secretary of the Association (the post he held until the end of life) to. sought to give the working class a voice in the emerging European peace movement, activists who were from middle and upper classes. Association opposed the British intervention in the Russian-Turkish war, the British annexation of the Transvaal, the occupation of Egypt and the Boer War. K. contributed to the dissemination of ideas of arbitration, resulting in 1875. The Association was renamed the League of International Arbitration. After his wife died in 1876, Mr.. K. married Lucy Combs, who died in 1884
Act 1867 r. gave urban workers the right to vote and participate in parliamentary activities. After several unsuccessful attempts in 1885. K. won the seat in the House of Commons from the London working-class district Heggerston. The new position gave him the opportunity to defend the idea of arbitration in the parliament.
Two years later, K. acquainted with the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who was in England on vacation. Carnegie, a well-known philanthropist and supporter of world peace, the League has provided financial support for international arbitration. In addition, he advised to. make a project of Anglo-American agreement on resolving any potential disputes through arbitration. K. Carnegie Council adopted and began collecting signatures in the House of Commons, who scored 234. Carnegie hosted a meeting in the United States to. Mr. President. Cleveland, with Cleveland warmly endorsed the idea of a treaty. Although diplomatic procedures were delayed, efforts to. created the basis for Anglo-American arbitration treaty signed in 1914
Encouraged by a visit to America and moved by the goodwill towards the French, K. straight to France and arrived in Paris in August 1888. Here, together with Frц?dц?ric Passy, he organized a meeting of 34 French and British lawmakers to discuss an agreement to arbitrate between their countries and the U.S.. Delegates appointed a second conference next year.
In June 1889. 100 parliamentarians from 10 countries in Europe and the United States conducted a two-day conference, the adopted resolution, announcing that 'the inter-parliamentary meeting will be held every year'. K. was elected secretary of the newly established Inter-Parliamentary Union from Britain, in this post he remained a lifelong. At subsequent conferences of the Union discussed the various peace proposals, it outlined measures to arbitration, the project developed, and later, in 1899, embodied in the International Arbitration Court in The Hague.
To. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1903. to commemorate the efforts to achieve peace through arbitration. Winner was not present at the awards ceremony, but the Nobel lecture, two years later introduced. It K. spoke about the tangible success of the peace movement and lists the countries that have already signed contracts for arbitration. 'A great work ahead of us still, - he reminded the audience - but the peace is no longer considered idle dreamers'.
. In dismissing the first knighthood bestowed him for fear that it would compromise him as a leader of the labor movement, to
. yet adopted it in 1907. as a tribute to the working class. The next year he planned to visit Berlin, to appeal to Germany's working with our sister Declaration signed by 3 thousand. The British workers' organizations, but failing health led to. postpone trip. He caught pneumonia and died July 22, 1908, Mr.. London.
In terms of Andrew Carnegie, 'to. the ideal type of hero XX century., the hero of civilization, which is the antithesis of the barbarous past of ... In fact, I do not know a more heroic life than the life of C. '.