The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATES The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1921 DIRECT ACTION.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 25, 29 January 1921, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATES The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1921 DIRECT ACTION.

'for the cause that lacks aeiistonee, For the vxyng ihat needs rcsi-stmtuxs. For the future in the distance, And the good that we out da.

In a world where such a creed as Bolshevism has large numbers of professed adherents, one of the greatest obstacles to t>e overcome by those who desire to see sane and rational views of economics and politics widely diffused is the difficulty oi inducing the average man or woman to believe that fanatical extremists on the side of social revolution really mean everything they say. If people in general could only be induced to read and ponder over the writings of Marxians and other Social Democrats of the "advanced" school, they might realise in time that tlie whole civilised world is now exposed to the social and economic perils which for the time haive overwhelmed Jluasia, and so far as the Briti-sh public is concerned a great deal of trouble mfght.be saved if Mr. William 'Mellor's recent little work on "Direct Action" were widely circulated. Here "we ha-ve expressed in simple and vigorous language and in brief compass the 'whole creed of the 'Marxian revolutionary, who as Syndicalist or Bolshevik is now advocating the complete transformation of the existing order of things by force. For no one ■who reads this book, unless he is already a convinced Marxian, will be able to resist the shock ot surprise and alarm which must accompany the conviction thai, there are men and women all over the world who are now resolutely determined on a violent revolutionary upheaval, and that they haive laid tbeir plans for it already.

In many Tespects Mr. W. Mellor and the school that he Topresente are merely typical Marxians. That is to say, they taJke Tor granted the astounding fallacy that Labour creates all wealth, and that therefore all wealth aught to belong to Labour; they interpret Labour practically in terms of wage-earners; they insist that there is a necessary antagonism between Labour and the capitalistic class of "robbers" and "exploiters"; and they demand that this "class war" shall be carried'by the "proletariat" to its logical conclusion in the expropriation and destruction of all classes 'but their own. Up to thie point it has been generally understood that Marxianism has made considerable progress even in Britain and in the oversea ■British connminities during tfhe past few years. But it is also generally maintained that w> attempt "will be made to carry the "class war" to the conclusion that Bolshevism has reached in R»;s:a; •because it is believed that the British wage-earner has a deep-rooted faith in political methods and in the resources of constitutional government. This is the point at "which .Mr. iMellor's political philosophy begins, as the Americans say, to "differentiate." iFor he is firmly convinced that tfhe objects he wishes to attain cannot 'be secured by ordinary political means —by extension of the franchise,- the use of the vote, and tb* construction of Parliamentary Labour parties—and his little Ibook is an attempt to expound what seems to him the only possible alternative.

In an early chapter Mr. Mellor grapples boldly with the "democratic" argument in favour of slow political development. H« maintains that what we now call Democracy is unworthy of the name; for the mass of the people can-i not attain political ascendancy till they have secured economic superiority and pwwer. The State as it now stands is simply "the executive committee of the Capitalist classes," ana therefore the first aim of the workers should fee to abolish i the State. This dogma, we may observe in passing, is derived from Marx and Engels by way of the French Syndicalists; and -whatever shred of truth there might be in it as originally applied to the German State, -t is wholly inaccurate and misleading as applied to British ■methods of constitutional rule. But Mr. Mellor~"does not shrink from the logical consequences of his 1 theory. He ridicules "libertarians like Bertrand Eussell, and emotionalists like Mrs. Philip Snowden," who, he says, fail to understand that political power must be based on economic power, and that the only way in which the workers can ever gain economic authority as a prelude to political authority is by force. Therefore Mr. Mellor pleads for constant industrial obstruction by the workers and the ruthless use of sabotage, he paints the ibeauties of the sympathy strike and of centralised control, he urges the masses to educate their children in the new gospel of Social 'Revolution, and he defends with real force and eloquence the action of "classconscious minorities" who, like Lenin and Trotsky, may find it necessary to seize despotic power by violence and maintain it 'by terrorism to secure their ends. In the face of such evidence as this it may be perilous in the extreme to take it for granted that the revolutionary spirit exhibited in extrenjg form in Russia has made do progress in Britain or in New Zealand, and that Marxianism . can be safely trusted to smoulder "harmlessly into dust and ashes. It may be easy to over-estimate the progress of this abominable creed, -which is founded on ignorance and hate, and a tragic misreading of present and past history, but it is most necessary that it should be watched and combated. The Marxians can never be accused of not letting the world know exactly what they mean to do.

This morning'e sitting of the Police Court occupied four minute*. Four constables testified to having arrested four first offenders for drunkenness, and Mr. J W. Poynton, S.M., imposed io-w fines of 10/, being the-bail money in each case. On a charge of indecent assault Isaac Miller was remanded.

Some malicious person broke the tire alarm at 11.47 p.m. yesterday at the corner of Green Lane and Great South Road. The brigade therefore had a useless trip, and men were turned out at that late hour whose services might have been required for a fire before morning.

At the Wellington Magistrate's Court, Elephantes Anthanaeios, a Greek, and Charles Olsen, a Swede, were charged with being unlicensed aliens, and having signed on a ship's erticles. The masters of two small coastal vessels were charged with wrongfully employing the men. The defence was that the men were quite ignorant of their obligations, and had signed on at a shipping office where no questions were asked. The magistrate convicted the defendants, and ordered them to pay costs, remarking that at every shipping office there should be some notification of the obligations of aliens.

The Board of Trade has arranged for the shipment of sugar from Sydney to be delivered at Port Chalmers. This will have the effect of easing the position locally, as it will lessen the quantity to be sent South from Auckland, and, it is hoped, provide more supply for the jammaking season in the North. This is important now that the peaches, nectarines and plums are coming in more freely.

Attracted by glowing accounts from friends in En-gland, five months ago a Pamierston grocer's assistant with liis wife and children took passage ttiere. Last week (says the Manawatu "Times") he returned, and says it's no place for men. Such positions a« his are filled by young women, who are said to give much satisfaction to die r employers at a lower wage.

*"A cheap license," remarked 'Mr. J. W. Poynton, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday when imposing the maximum penalty of 20/ on Arthur Bra.d, proprietor of a. tobacconist's and soft drinks establishment at Devonport, for keeping his shop open on January 2. The defendant pleaded that when he purchased the business eight months ago he had been informed that he would be allowed to sell soft drinks on Sunday. The premises had been open every Sunday for the past fourteen months.

"This is a terrible case," said Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Wellington Court,

'"I must make an order, but where this family is to go to I don't know." His Worship's remarks were in respect of the hearing of an adjourned tenement case which had been previously remanded to allow the occupants to pay arrears in rent, as the owner desired the ejectment of the tenants (a man, hie wife and eight children), for the purpose of renorating the house. However, when the case was resumed, it was stated that only three weeks' rent had been paid and further, the breadwinner of the household was not capable of earning more that £3 10/ per week as he suffered from chronic asthma. "How long can you give them?" asked the magistrate to the landlord, "Two or three weeks," was the reply. His Worship made the ejectment order and allowed fche tenants six weeks in which to get out.

"That flhc warmest approval of the Board be given to the scheme introduced at the 'beginning of the month by the medical superintendent and the matron, ■whereby every member of the nuTsing staff is granted one cl«ar day off duty every month," ran a clause in the Wellington Hospital Committee's report Trhitfh was adopted at Thursday's meeting ef the Hospital and Charitable Aid I (Board. "The duties have "been so arranged," continued the report, "that each nurse will be enabled to be away from the institution for at least fortyeight hours. The successful carrying out of the scheme depends upon the hearty co-operation of all concerned. Much admiration is being expressed in England at the high quality of colour work in "Brett's Xjnas Number," , which is just to hand, says a London correspondent. The whole of this annual's contents testify vividly to the artistic perfection and enterprise of the work emanating from this company's press. The splendid series of pictures— I beautifully reproduced—will serve as a most admirable support of New Zea- | land's claim to possess natural scenery second to none the world over. And this is a time when the attractions of all I the different Dominions are being hotly cany assed in a world full of unrest. "Brett'3 Xmaa Number" should be an ! important factor in making New ZeaI land's claims take the place in the first j rank which they deserve. Recently an accident happened to a patient at the Wangamii Hospital while she wjfts in the operation theatTe. It is alleged that a vessel containing ether j 'was left unetoppered and the fumes were j ignited from a naked light. An explosion ensued and the patient was eev-erely .burned. A letter was read ■from a firm of -solicitors referring to this accident and asking what compensation the 'Board proposed to offer. The Board referred the letter to its solicitors. The Finance Committee of the Wellington City Council recommended that the Reserves Committee should 'be given I authority to arrange for the purchase 'of an elephant for the Newtown Zoo, : and the recommendation was adapted. Councillor B. G. H. Burn believed that : the elephant would be a good source of ! revenue to the council. ' Regulations under the Government ! Accident Inswance Act, 1908, prescribing l x new rates of premiums to l>e charged to ; employers for insurance against their '■ liabilities und-ex the Workers' Compen- ! sation Act, and in common law in J respect to accident to -workers, appear in J the "Gazette." Louis Gleeson, formerly a contractor, ■was committed for trial in Dunedin yesterday on a charge of making assertions on oath during examination in hia- bankruptcy proceedings, intending to mislead ■ the Official Assignee. The assertion was 1 alleged to be that he never had a racehoree and did not bid at auction for the horse Gold Albert. Accused reserved hie defence. Considerable difficulty is anticipated at Greytown in billeting the visiting riflemen for the shooting meeting at ' Papawai next month. Last year the I accommodation in the town was taxed ito its utmost with only 100 visiting I riflemen. TM3 year the visitors will 1 number no fewer than 400. Arrangements are being made to biljet prt- : vately as many as possible.

Arrangements are now complete for the Auckland Bands' Association carnival and gala, to be held in the AucKland Domain next month. A large and varied programme has been arranged, including a novelty event, "The Spiral March." Nominations close on February 4th. . .

The waterside worker, Mr. John Albert Horspool, who struck his head on a pile yesterday owing to a fall from the wharf, was still in a semi-conscious condition this morning at the Auckland Hospital.

The following were successful in gaining Remington Commercial Scholarships at the recent examination: Eileen Pilkington (Auckland Girls' Grammar School); Reka Clark (Auckland Girls' Grammar School); Ethel C. Johnstone (Epsom District School) ; Elizabeth Ross (Point Chevalier District School).

Advice has been received of an advance of fivepence per pound at Ceylon in the price of good medium tea. This is stated to be due to very heavy buying for London. As very heavy stocks of tea are held in both Australia and New Zealand, it is not considered likely that the price on the local marnet will advance, though it may tend to keep present rates steady. The Indian tea crop is about finished, and with the exception of small quantities from Java, the demand for new tea will require to be supplied from Ceylon. Exports of passenger automobiles from the United States for the year 1920 far surpass all records, says the National Bank of Commerce in New York, in the January number of its ma-gazine, "Commerce Monthly." In the first ten months 112,376 were sent abroad as compared with 67,145 in 1019, the highest previous year, and 28,306 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1014, the j highest pre-war year. The largest exports were to I'nitcd Kingdom, 15,154 cars; British India, 10,8-18; Canada, 7,3 tiP; British South Africa,.s,slo; Cuba. 5.286: New Zealand, 5,090; Brazil, 4,068; Sweden, 4,887; Dutch East Indies, 3,439; Argentina, 3,372; Uruguay, 3,287; Norway, 3,000. The Auckland City Band, under the baton of Bandmaster E. Plowman, will render a programme of music in the Albert Pjrffc to-morrow. Amongst other popular items will be the rendering of nhe Lost Chord, by Bandsman J. McMinn. During the last three months of last ■year twelve estates costing £313.255 18/110 wore aciju'red by the Government under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Account. Of the?c estates, £63,S1<> 10/ was paid foT "'Xgahape," acquired from Mr. H. Beetham; £31,750 7/6 for "Haunui," purchased from J. Campin; and £29,076 9/1 for ">Homebush," bo-ught from L. L. C. and M. L. Fiekl and D. J. Barry. Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., will lecture on "The Crucifixion of Ireland" at the Labour party's Sunday night meeting in Fuller's Opera House. The musical programme will include the re-appear-ance of the celebrated Engel family of musicians, and the first appearance of Mr. W. H. Ayr, of Fuller's dramatic players. The Auckland Provincial Motor Cycle Club's race meeting, which was to have been held on the sth February, has now been postponed to the 12th March, 1921, on tho Takapuna Jockey Club's course. An attempt will be made to reduce the world's grass course record for a flying mile put up by Coleman last year. Coleman's time was 49 3-ssec.

A few shillings spent in the free use of Nazol to'protect the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and throat from coughs, colds and soTe throats, etc., ie better than hours of suffering. (Ad.) 'Present stocks were secured long before the last price advances, and it is this saving plus the sale discounts that we now offer in furnishing- and household goode. Stencilled Madras muslins, 50in wide, now reduced to 3/11 yard, at Milne and Choyee's Sale. —(Ad.) Ladies should protect themselves from coughs, colds, sore throats, etc., by putting about 10 drops of Nazol on a handkerchief and placing it inside a blouee on the chest. t T se Nazol freely in thie way—it does the most delicate fabric.—(Ad.) A eale offering for immediate attention is the 4Oin bordered casement, and dark casements in all-over designs, for 2/3 yard, at Milne and Choyee's Sale. Ad. G-aragemen are advised to make tail upon Joihn Chambers and Son, Ltd., and inspect their assartnHjnt of reamers. Just the thing for all automobile repairs.— (Ad.) There are many answers to the call of economy at Milne and Choyee's Sale. Here is one! Cotton woven combinations, usually 12/9, now 8/11.—(Ad.) Create an atmosphere of Nazol about you, so that you constantly inhale it— about ten drops on the pyjama jacket at night or on the chest of the singlet in the morning protects you against infectious germs. It is undoubtedly goo A for coughs, colds, sore throats, etc, (Ad.) Mothers of little children cannot wisely delay a visit to our juvenile and baby sections. Overalls, rompers, coats, unders, bonnets, and every other need show heavy price reductions. Milne and Choyee's Sale.— (Ad.) John Chambers and Son, Ltd., advise ha-viirg juet landed a limited supply of the genuine "Keystone" Reamers, suitable for all kdnd of automobile repair work.—(Ad.) The smart styles and the price reductions combine in making very attractive buying in our neckwear section. Paris net and lace jabots 4/6 for 2/6, dainty vests of Paris net and Val. insertion 3/11 for &/11, at Milne and Choyee's Sale.—(Ad.) Don't go away on your holiday without taking a bottle of Nazol. Good for coughs, colds, sore throats, etc—(Ad.) As we are left with only a/ limited ' quantity of those bargain mercerised cotton knitted plovps, in assorted colourings, reduced actually from 1/9 to 10Ad a pair, you can afford to lose no time in seeing them, and making your selection. J George Court and Sons, Ltd., Karangahape Road. — (Ad.) ' Think of the saving it is to buy semi,made camisoles that were 5/11 for 3/11. This is possible at Milne and Choyee's Sale.—(Ad.) "Keystone" Reamer sets for your garage. John Chambers and Son. Ltd., have now opened up a range of these reamers, and invite inspectron.—(Ad.) If you are determined- to make the most of every shilling pay an early visit to Mile and Choyee's Sale. Cellular vests, low neck, short sleeves, usually 6/6, are now 4/11; chemise vests 4/3 for 3/6. Ad. As the stock was enormous we still have a quantity left of ladies' 2-dome black fabric gloves, reduced from 1/9 to the ridiculously low price of 4Jd a pair. So you will be able to take advantage of this remarkable offer.—George Court and Sons, Ltd., Karangahape Road. — (Ad.) Our Great Summer Clearance Fair commences on Monday next, January 31. Doors open 9 a.m. eharp. A great moneysaving opportunity. —Smith and Caughey, Ltd.—(Ad.) Beautiful block-printed cretonnes that were keenly priced at 6/6 are now 00----1 tamable for 4/11 yard at Milne and Choyce'e Sale. Ask to see them.— (Ad.) 36in coloured terry clothe, for curtains. Venal price 6/3, now job eale price 3/11 yard, at Tonaon Garlicky.—(Ad.)