LABOUR'S OUTLOOK.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 241, 8 October 1920, Page 8

LABOUR'S OUTLOOK.

fT.> t-be lsaitor.) j Sir,—l would ask sjiacp to noint out to Mr. 1). Wilson that there is now noth- ' hijj to prevent all the workers of every country from forming a national, co-operative society, and allowing it to prow until it embraces the whole community, but ignorance and want <>f honest mlminidtrntion in its infaroy. '■ There may lie other slight difficulties, eucli us the fact that men have not grasped the idea that they have a snored to perform to their fellow creature. They <lo not realise that they arc necessary cogs in the wheel of pro"-1 ductipn, and there is under this so-called ' capitalist system a "division of labour." where thu inn with brains anil money is of a thousand timos more valus than any r '" "If so-called worker. There i≤ another difficulty in that men will not work wlivn they, enn retire from work.' Some wait until the remainder of their lives are secure from poverty. Othera prefer to retire wlion they have enough credit ti imreba&e sill they need for a couple o! Others are wicked enough to hold up the whole 'community by refus- | intj to carry on their part in this "division of labour." which is not a just and fair division, but which certainly could be advantageously adjusted in a constitutional way if the people possessed the knowledge bow to do it, and the time had arrived to put it into practice. It' we now attempted to change into Socialism by direct action, revolution, t>r unconstitutional means, we should find ourselves back into 80l- ! slievism, and in a worse stnte. than if the Kaiser and his military hordes had i conquered the world and held us all in I bondage. Under conditions now exist- I ing there can be no real freedom unless! we do produce for "profit," as without j "profit" there, would be no "capital," and I consequently no civilisation. In "profit -, j I include "rent," and rent cannot be I paid until profit is made. Rent cannot i be demanded until "private ownership" is legally established, but when once rent is legally established the "privilege" of drawing rent has an exchangeable "value." and that value is available as "capital" to pay wages, or jrive reward , to industrious people who do not wish to go back to live in caves and subsist on roots and shellfish, which when produced he could not call his own. If Labour attempts to go too fast it is possible that our civilisation may be thrown back a thousand years. We old Liberals were pushing ahead and making rapid strides with constitutional methods until a few agitators lost their heads and cannot see far enough to understand what they are doing. We are coming to the parting of the ways when the world's workers will have to choose between misery, starvation, and death and the use of* the capitalist system until we can do without it. T have been a worker all, my life, and 1 enjoy it, and»if everybody did the same there would be no complaint about the high cost of living, the purchasing power of paper money, and a demand for its deflation. Tiiis social system, although far from perfect, ha 3 been the means of forcing man—a lazy animal —to his present state , of civilisation by the acquisition of knowledge. I trust it will not be destroyed by a few agitators and false teachers.—l , am, etc., ROBINSON CRUSOE. (To the Editor.) Sir, —The extremists, on tlie water front' last Sunday again expounded their seditious and disloyal sentiment's to a large crowd containing, no doubt, many who were opposed to their views, and only needed a good speaker to present the other side and carry a resolution against this Red propaganda. A lot of bunkum was served out, and the im- j pression given that the Allies were op- i posed to the Russian people ruling thorn-1 pelves, conveniently overlooking the fact that the present government of Russia i,s a dictatorship, and the people have no voice in the matter. Then we were told that the power of the vote was a ! delusion, that Mr. Masaey ruled this country just as much as a Kaiser or Czar,* whereas we know that the vote gives labour the power to replace Mr. Massey by a labour man at any general election. Re the Irish question, we were told that the Irish were not represented in the Imperial Parliament or their representation was a farce, ignoring "the fact that the Irish Home Rule meml<ors under Parnell had the power to bring about a deadlock in the Imperial House of Commons, and that the loyal north —by tar the most prosperous and iniDorfcant business part of Ireland—lias only one tenth of tlie representation. It is only by a counter propaganda, such as :has been carried on in the Old Land br the Liberty and Property De- ' fence League that this Red peril can. be

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