"BIG FELLOW."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 281, 26 November 1937, Page 15

"BIG FELLOW."

LANG IS REPUDIATED. u REBELS" TAKE ACTION. CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS. (I'r.im Our Own Corrpjrpnndrnt.) SYDNEY, November 20. 'I 'ie conf.rcne© of union executives i n > ■!' ! by tho industrialists—the •plu-U" of ..the State Labour party— ui* Inl,l at*. the Trades FLill last Thnrs(l.i v. U was nttended by more tlmn 350 delegates, representinjy 7:1 unions with a c ■ 11111i iumI menil>ership of 2.">0,000 woikers. and it curried a scries of rcxi.lul ii ■ 11« which seem likely to mark it ili'linitc turning point in tho progress i.f the Ijnlioiir niovement here. Mr. .1 I'1111 <• 11. who in president of the I-a I i r council, was in the chair, ami lu> npeiieil l lie proceeding by informing his ;imlleiH'.' that for many years discussions have lieen rampant in the A.I, I'., and that personal ambitions and I .i«-t ii>nii I pcr-ccnt ions have brought the m,line ni' jnilitir,il Jjiibullr down to the 111ter. Keynote of Speeches. He maintained that, "the labour party must ha * e jjooil leadership and complete unity ' il eier it is to win its way to power hum in. This address struck f ]u» keynote of t h<. <|.eechrs for the evening. Sir. |{. Kin-, who i-* "eel et ar v ot the Fjabour ('ouneil. proposed resolutions which were carrie<l by the pruetieally unanimous vote of the jrrem. L'afheriiijf. and as these expressions of' opinion mark a dramatic change in 1 lin Labour situation fur New South Wales ami Australia, they are well worth repejitin#.

"Tli isi mooting of union executives and Labour Council delegates attributes the muse of labour's do font in the Federal elect inns to—(1) The divisions within tlio Labour movoniont in Now South Wales, brought about by the arrogant use of power and position by a coterie grouped around Messrs. Lang nr ,d lioasley: (2) the. poliey of isolation in opposition to the pe.ice policy of the \.('.T.l'., which made the Labour party's policy out of step with the Lalxrur movement of the world; (3) the refusal of a large section of the people of Austriilia. to snpport the return of a Labour < iovornment, while such men as Lang and Beasley take prominent parts in the movement. ' Emphatic Conclusion. Starting from these premises, Mr. King proceeded to the following emphatic conclusion—"Therefore this conference repudiates the MacauleyLnngßcasley 'Inner Croup' as the l,n hour party leaders in New South W'ules. We declare this dictatorial 'Inner Group control' inimical to the interests of the Labour movement of Australia as a whole, and we pledge ourselves to remove this group from its position of party domination."

Naturally these resolutions were not carried without some discussion, and the few friends of Lung and the "Inner Croup" who were present, made an attempt to stern the rising tide of indigna t ion.

Mr. R. Johnson, of the Iron Workers' Union, declared that the conference was the result of "a conspiracy to capture control of the political machine."

But when he went on to assure the meeting that the delegates present could not possibly run the political movement on more democratic lines than the present State Labour party executive, he was met with cries of "Rubbish!" — and when he proceeded to quote the threadbare "Labour Daily" warning that "this conference is simply setting the stage for Fascism," he was simply howled down.

Misrepresentation. The resolutions were seconded by Mr. J. Maloney, secretary of tlie Boot Kmployoe*' Union, a "rebel" stalwart previously expelled by the Langites for calumny. He declared that tlie "inner group" now dominating the movement could carry on only by misrepresentation; that under the present sy&teni of balloting for office in the movement the results are alway* known even before the votes are cast; that "honest men and women who have been in the Labour movement for forty years have been branded as traitors by the Trades Hnll junta and driven out of the Labour camp." and that the only remedy is for the Labour movement to "sweep the present, clique from office, lock, stock and ha rrel." These sentiments and all the other speeches on the lame lipes were loudly applauded arid when the resolutions denouncing the Lang-Heasley despotism and repudiating Lang and the "inner group" as leaders were put to the meeting only f> out of the 350 delegates present voted against tlicm.

Far-reaching Consequences. It is impossible to predict with any certainty the effect of this remarkable demonstration of hostility to Lang, but it cannot fail to carry far-reaching consequences.

Kvor since Labour's defeat at the Federal poll the Langites have been well aware that the industrialists who form the "rebel" section of the State Labour party would seize this opportunity for another attempt to overthrow the despotism that Lang and the Trades Ifiill junta, have set up, and they have adjusted their tactics accordingly.

Long Editorials. They have charged the "rebels" first with associating themselves with the < ommunists, then with allying themselves with the "capitalist l'rcss," which is to Kn v tlie "Sun" and the "Sydney Morning Herald"—"the Fairfax-Denison group"- for the sole purpose of overthrowing Labour, which is to say. Lang. I be "Labour Daily" has published long editorials criticising and attacking the leading "rebels"—Mr. King, who is secretary (J f t,| lo Labour Council, Mr. Orr, who is president of the Northern Miners' Federation, Mr. Schreiber, who is chairman of tlie Union Secretaries' Association— and they have printed long letters from individual Langites affirming their loyalty to "the Big Fellow" and vituperating his critics and enemies.

_ Some of the Langites went so far as to circulate a forged document purporting to be signed by Mr. Schreiber and placing him in a most discreditable light, find Mr. Schreiber, whose reputation for honesty and ability is well established, had some difficulty in repelling this insidious attack. Junta's Threat. When it became known that the

"n-licls'' liail arranged for a conference to d'MeiiKx ilie xitnutioii, I^jiup? and hW I'l-iHles Hull friend* adopted their 11*111! tiiiiiilrnl lone, declared that l-alij; would appear at the meeting to crush lii* »i-i-niln litand threatened to. treat tlii-. conference 11A they dealt with last j ear"* rebel convention ill August

declaring it "black" anil expelling from the movement all who organised or attended it.

Hut matters liad now drifted beyond the control of the Trades Hall clique, and Home of Land's supporters saw that if all the "rebels ' were now driven out of the State Labour fold what would be left would Im* "a mere skeleton organisation," with all the most powerful unions and the most influential industrial leaders outside.

Wiser counsels prevailed and the Lansrit.es. while sending delegates to the conference to follow the course of event*, decided to watch and wait for further developments.

Of course the "Labour Daily" attempted to deride the conference. The morning of the conference it informed its reader* that "apparently obsessed with the sin gTfc-track idea that its only purpose for continuing to exist is to supply the Fairfax and Denison news-snoops with cheap sensationalism at the expense of the Labour movement, the Communist-ridden Labour Council proposes to stage to-night another travesty in furtherance of its wrecking campaign." Cheap Sneers. Ry this time even the "Labour Daily" should realise that the resolutions passed by the conference are too substantial to be disposed of by cheap sneer* and flippant witticisms.

It is now asserted that 80 per cent of the trade unions in this State are behind this revolutionary movement and the conference decided that a further conference is to be summoned early next year, including representatives of trade unions and A.L.P. branches and leagues "to prepare plans for the rehabilitation of the A.L.P. in New South Wales on a democratic basis, free from 'inner group' control, trickery and corruption."

This is indeed a formidable threat and it suggests that the Premier was a true prophet when, exasperated by Mr. Lang's vicious abuse, he predicted the approaching downfall of the "big fellow" because "his people will deal with him."