WELLINGTON BAKERS' STRIKE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13159, 4 July 1908, Page 11

WELLINGTON BAKERS' STRIKE.

■ oPE:7^f^>- ;STiUTION - ■ /cpvjit TO "T"'.'. ' : . ( AViILUNCiVOX, Jul-2. V- ~ .i. v '. a -.-i the "P«*i," the &1 cosmoroliun revolutionary bo- ££.» the valvule work- •'■ to refrain from hardline flour ronto member* of the Wellington ■Wi their "heads screwed on nyht. I*it is a fias of a holy war/ cried >,t Mr Audrow Collins, secretary of i& Son, pointing two fillers cr Ins % l sit tho baiim-r. "I have '' nsi -c^A I tnurli "— V Voice: "How What » your ■fhW Jwunt?" "Wo want a lair The speaker roiit-nd-d that ?£ emnlovcrs had thrown down tho JLtlot and had taunted tno workers. Shad no capital. It was a stnuznt- ■«!• fieht between labour and capital, ■mom"of tho employers had said. At this stage there was an uproar, -• rd Mr ColHns becarao inaudible, f &i his face plainly showed that ho *£J»eaking very loudly A httlo man C"b abandeart, quite a Captain KetX (minus the torpedo beard) tried to *orT» "assage through the dense ■;SSL ac set hLs teeth and butted fle was promptly checked but re- ' tatted - to the charge again and again. -HisTebiclo was ui-set. Hβ was proBUedadio in tho narbour, but he did wtfiinch.* It was passible to make a .■ Jetonr around tho north end of tho he was a modern Roman. ' who desired to cut a straight road ■Uroiigl) .the human forest. Hβ came •; wiih one 'lesnerate rush, ploughed 20 ■: wrds through tho mass of workers, till Vaunt picked up his humble conveyiOff and* rolled it over. By now tho , little man, who had been amusing the j populace at first, excited tho iro of two ( jtatwart waterside workers, and he | ■ : swned to bo in for a rough escort to ; : tj» wate? frontj but was induced by a ; couple of .smiling constabk-s to abandon : fopUrposa, and go around tho rear of ■the assembly. He. trudged off with a .'few sternly showing that he little liked vlMi yielding to a mere txifle of 300 or ; : 400 men- , , \ I Jlr Collins commented adversely on ■ taction of the bakers in ignoring the j SCone2ia,ti (| n Board (of which Mr Collins i |j*"a member) and involving the "brute fierce of arbitration," which is a phrase j i-tlttt Mr CoUuiis has used in the past, i • : '*#f-we are licked," he continued, "but : "■fjaj"are sot going to be, becauso we are ; 'iWtoo, where will you be?" and by |?j&t ,5 he indicated butchers, black%itas. wharf labourers, and grocers. Slfe iuated that all workers had reason sS support the bakors in the fight, fibaaa he did not, so far as the writer :T«rala h*ar, directly incite other unionlite to strike. "Strike is war," he IfidiDclnded.' fir By this- time Mr Mann's face was seaming. ; Ho called for a chorus, set■pnig forth'the prospective glory of tho jidajs with "the workers at the tot) of iJUhe tree and the loafer down below." ii' There was some cheering and further fjprotestatir-ns by strikers that they ffirere. not down-hearted. Tho banner Jfra3 taken into ithe street, and Mr fMann busied himself in organising a ;iprocession. He was a very active marpal. Ho dodged about among tho populace, urging tho men to form up *lhree deejy Some attempt was made -to restart the chorus about the "workmen" and "loafers/ , but tho volume of iSPond tras not very impressive, and tho ■ fenny was not very mighty as it head--;:*i for Willb street with Mr Mann in v&ief command. Subsequently a man installed himself at the base of the - tiatue, and in a sad, monotonous, tut •. loud voice, uryed the workers to "Arm, ■ inn, and outl" but the workers had business elsewhere. ;:v'''The.'.one o'clock whistles were going. over, and serious, business ; .*ea awaiting them. - :-■ (PEESS ASSOCIATION TELEOBAM.) WELLINGTON, July 3. the master bakers say their ? position is etronser than it was yesterr.fiy, and that a few days should woe the p Sod of tho trouble as they are imncerned. The eecriHiry states that i\m bakers have more than enough l|*nds,available; they merely need a »;few «coed. hands and a foreman. Two Cumbers of the Association have temporarily ''pooled" their business; they <»re working in one bakehouse and are j twping all thoir customers fully euptplied. ■ • at last night's meeting of '.the Tjad(*s and Labour Council wore in supporting a resolution txtending to the bakers on strike the lyrapatny and assistance of the Coiin«l. It. h stated that several of the ■epoakors referred in appreciative terms "TOwhe loyalty of the members of the anion now on strike. They stated that ,{• Many'WF" the men had refused private ;;ofiere by employers of wapos higher the anion was demniidinor, nnd lad'insisted on the terms of the" nnion j being agreed to by the whole of the employers before a single member of "wßtrnion would go back to work. y *»o old. spirit of unionism was roaceable at the Trades Council's meeting, states one delegate. '"The dole..gatesexpressed their detestation of any handling goods manufactured I by Wacklpg labour, and they epoko of t# c .'[ Persona! determination to a«;ist «ac bakers, even if it went to the extent c?. n rSi°K wharf labourers, seamen ;anrers, and other unionists handjjns y. flour, to cease work. The bnkers'are r.putting np a good fight, and it behoves «Twy union to see that they are not Deaten-b-canse of the fact that some « tneir own members are supporting • SJnasters against the men." :.' [°£ general strike, however, has not -|ot beyond the suggestion rtaie, and • «o» not eeem likely to go further.