WHEN STRIKE OCCUR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 23, 26 January 1912, Page 7

WHEN STRIKE OCCUR.

crnZ£S SOLDIERS DUTIES. nl our citizen arm.. l <^ lr:ct ' A CU W JuL. letter, wnieh».. Ir * - L \^ rl * "; '. ;". = , ?«« «« sent to L Usher. r™ me i l - iiust .'- i . Jmtter it will be remcn -feu. wa a matter, , . St «ti »' icD^; b - , >'..: • .0 at ni/bort las. «ei-R.. SET SbOitJ of the troops being u*ed to ffs2 ma.se, in their ju,unable ? Ls to improve their present luuortu£SSK As the founder .1 tae military trails movant in Z Zealand I may .be pardoned .or •riling voa, not in my capacity as an 9fficer in our army. out as . L lt e citizen who has the welfare of g People and the wa tare 01 our £jL at heart. In the hrst p,ace we £5 to recognise tnat a system which bM millions of our fellow human beings on the verge of starvation, whilst the wealth goes into the hands 01 a few, is that is useless, and whica will m t" be tolerated in the future. V\e hen also to recognise that tne people rfo are going to break down thu, system are not those who hold the wor.ds wealth at the present tune, but the bums of the people, the workers of the wor ld, whose pitiable ignorance has lapt them for centuries in the position which they at present occupy. \\ e have further to recognise tnat when every other means has failed, the strike is the only lever left in the hands of the masses that can be used for the purpose of obtaining their just rights. ; "When we recognise the truth of the above statements of fact," continued Colonel Bell in his letter to the Minister, we must simultaneously recognise that in the case of the workers resorting to the strike, the citizen army of this country, or of oar Empire, should not fa used far the purpose of quelling these industrial disturbances. For that reason I would urge that you take steps ' to have an amendment made in the Defence Act exempting the members of our citizen army from that duty. If you ask me point blank if I think that onr citizen srldiers would respond to an . order to deal with strikers I must frankly say that I do not think that i they wonld, and the Government would I he placed in the most unfortunate posiBon of having *ot only to deal with j, these striken, but with our citizen I soldiers who had with ample justifica- I tion refused to obey orders to shed their brothers'' blood, when those brothers were unfortunately compelled ; by our economic system to go on strike. He orders given by Colonel Tom Price to fire low anfl lay them ont' during the Australian strike in 1890 would find I! no response from our citizen soldiers of i to-day. The great class straggle -which | is almost at hand, not only in New ' Zealand, but throughout the civilised world, prompts me to send yon this comaranication, in the hope that the Gov- - eminent will take immediate stpps to 1 , have the Defence Act altered on the 1 Sua suggested, relieve our citizen arrnv • from 1 duty which they have no right J to be called upon to perform, and to | ] dear the way for that forward move- ! ] Dent in the march of humanity which ! ] It is the duty of everyone who loves 'ris \ ; country to assist .by every means in his ' : power." - - 1