THE ATTITUDE OF LABOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 138, 11 June 1914, Page 2

THE ATTITUDE OF LABOUR.

(Tn the Editor.) Sir, —"Bara l-'cttu=," in ais- letter iv today's" issue of T3c ""Star;" touches on a subject w_bich iv- becoming, .serioui. namely, '.ho unemployment problem, lie _-..ivs that the "Square Dealer..'' have, within three year:-, brought ruin and stagnation of trade, 'i'aey have done so in much lets tha.n three years. U it* a Little over Is months since the.y took the reins, We arc now drawing near to -what will be the hardest fought political battle iv New Zealand's history, and 1 would like a little space to say a few words to the progressive*. I can now sec that there will be no 'hope of preventing three-cornered contest.-. l-'or .myscif. 1 am not antagonistic toward Wardism. The Liberal party 'has. in the past, done vcoroan's service in improving the condition of tile IIKI.-.-C-. but of late years the Liberal party in New Zcarami has become lukewarm.. 11 he . cleavage between Liberalism aft 1" Jjabour is, no doubt, a misfortune, and tbe gravity of the situation ought to make all -workers Irs., careless in r ecordintr their vote next November. One of the reasons why democraov is so often beaten is the apathy with which the working classes treat 'their right to vote. In the lftOS election, there was a r.>ad contract in the r.ite-.i. There were .VI navvies and team-men employed, and not one of those recorded his vote. Now. this sort of thing niu-st cea.se. ilasisey must go at all costs. If the workers only rouse themselves into acfivify. and vote' for liberty and progress iby cither rallying under the Liberal or S.U.I. banncr>i. even though the light is an unequaj one, owing to tbe split progressive vote, then Massey and his followers of squattcrilotn will be cast into oblivion. Remember, the leisured classes never fail to recurd their vote. Now. ,-cc to it. you toiler:' that mil lo lik.->wii ; 1 here lis more at stake this coming election than the average worker seems to realise. The fact is the Reformers are not capable of admuiistfaCing the afLtiris. of this Dominion. That is becoming more and more apparent every week. The whole, country is depressed financially: almost every man in business is painfully -aware of this fact, (.'heap labour is the tendency with employers where there is 110 award: and the H-ovcnnnmt leads in this. The very dcp.irini'cnt of which .Mjsscv in Minister is among the worr-t offender?. In the Lands Department, draftsmen's billets, -which used to enrry n minimum wage of 12/0 per day for a c;i.p.iWc man. are now to new chums at from 7/ 'to S. per <Liy. Yon need not go further '.llicM than Auckland to tind this. Of course, the standard of draftsmanship at 8/ peT day cannot be expected to be conn] to what it \\n> when a decent wage was paid, and tbe natural result is that -work will "pile up." which is no fault of the ITiief j Surveyor or his lieutenants, but rather I the fault of (lovernment, which has I largely taken from the heads'of LVpart- ■ incuts their authority. A coalition of i Liberalism and Labour is uroently | needed, but in its absence it behoves all workers, -whether 'Wardites or Social Democrats, to exercise their right to Lvute next November. If they do this, there is no doubt whatever that '"Rv.I form" will lie "down and out." -T am. ! etc.. DEMOCRATIC SCOT. •June !»th.