POLITICS AND LABOUR

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14758, 30 August 1913, Page 3

POLITICS AND LABOUR

EVOLUTION V. DEVOLUTION. (By Geo?.ue Fotvxds.) 11. That a considerable section of tho Labour forces cf New Zealand are in a revolutionary iv.axl .it the present time was made muuiiesv- by tho proceedings at tho Labour Unity Congress, held at Wellington la-;t month. Owing solely to the revolutionary spirit that ciciaiiuutd the Unity Congress Comniuoe and ti:e majority of the delegates, a opportunity was lu.-t cf wt:idik_; 10201 Lor the whole of the Labour forces of tho Dominion on a sound preg/aniine,' both industrial and political, of moderate, immediately practicable, \ve. well-worth-while reforms. This revolutionary spirit was made very clear by the fact that the committee submitted to the Congress, as tho preamble of the industrial section of tiio dual o;g:.;iii;:tio;i u:ar. it Wiw proposed to set up, a i-iivainbli) almost identical word iur woru with that of Tiili -NOTOIiIOLS i.W.W. OF A.\U'.i{JCA, and was emphasised by the further fact that when uio couieivnco by a very close vote threiv i.at tm: proaiuble. the Congress CoiiimitUv reinserted u;o very same t-tiing in wiiuu torm as the lirst of the objects 01" tiie iiiuuatiial organisation. In order that my renders may judge for theu.st.-I'.'cs, i below the proposed preamble vi tiie bnUtd Federation ot Labour, as submitted by theCongress L'oiuii.iilee. Ti.e worns enclosed in brackets indicate how very .siigiuly this preamble diifers from tliat of the American I.W.W. as it appears on pages 8 and !) of ''Tiie i.W. \V.: Its itibtoi'v, Structure and Methods," a pamphlet writLon by Vincent St. John, and published by the I.W.W. Publishing iiiiroau, P.O. Drawer G22, New Castle, i'enn., U.S.A. Tho passages marked with a;i a-sLerisk (*) appear in tho American I.W.W. preamble, but were omitted by the Congress Comniitteo lor reasons that are fairly obvious : — THAT I.W.W. PREAMBLE! 1. Tho woil.-ins-c.as3 Hud tho employing class huvo liu.iii.ig in common. There can bo no iJiioo ix> long aj hunger slid want arc (lo bo; iour.d mi.llons ot woiitliijj pcop.e, and liio lev, %vlio make up tho tnipioViajj class, huvo all iho tuing3 of liio. 2. i->ol\vcen thcec two classes a struggle must go on until the v.ontcrs of the oryauite as a c-aj», UUie po.isc3S.ou of tho eaUh and ;lio ui..idiii<vry oi production, and abolish the wuyj aystorn. 3. We find that ihc centreing of the management oi industries into lewcr luid lower hands maies tha trade. union 3 unablo to cope -.villi tho cvcr-jjrowinjj pjwer of the c.ass. Tho trade unione foster 11 etatu 01 fciiairs which uliows ono &el of workers to bo pitted against another set oi workers in the Earns industry, thereby heipiUg to del eat oi.e another in wage v.-ara. (Moreover, the uni;)ii3 aid the cinp.oy- ( nig class to m-ak-d tho workers into UlO bedel that ths wo: king class have interests in common with their employers.*) 4. T'h-eso conditions can be changed, and th« interest ol tho working class only by an organisation loaned in such a way that ail its members in any one industry, or iv all industries, it nocupsi'-ry, cease work whenever a (constitutionally onthoris.d, striko or lock-ontj* 13 on in any department trK-reof, thus maKi:ig an injury to ono aa injury to all. 6. In3tea<x of tho conservative motto: "A fair day's wnge.i ior a fair day's work," (v,-e must inscribe on our banner the rovolut'-on-ary watclnvoid :)* our watchword is: "Abortion of the wngos ay?!em." 6. It is the historic misoion of tho working clas3 to do away with enpitniism. Tho army of production must be organised, not only for Iho everyday strugg'.e with c:\pitali3ts, but til-o carry on production wh?n capitalism chnll liF.ve \>a-a overthrown. By organising hidii liia*!y wo r.rc f.>:njing the st-r-ucture of tho now Eociety within tho shell of the old. Knowing, therefore, that such nn organisation h r,bao'ut-iy i;cerf. tf /)'v for our omanci-.2>nti-n, tro.■-.tuiita. ujjdtipjiio follbv<ing conie'titution. -■ ' .-■• ',' ' ■ "I.W.W. TACTICS AND METHODS.'-' On the defeat of tlioir proposed preair.ble the Congress Comraittco snbsfitutcd for it, .is tho first of the "objects" of the I'cdoration, tho following:— "To organise syptematieoMy and scientifically upon an industrial union bsv i«, in ordor to aasift in th-o overthrow of tho capitalist cyslern, and ihus bring about a co-opoiative oonimonweultli bac<d upon industrial doraoeracy." Tiio very samn thinp; in a Veiled form; for tl;o inno(!ont sccminy: phrnse, "upon nn indtmtrinl union bnsis" means tJio basis of "industri.il .unionism" as against tradrs unionism, on the lines of syndicalism, direct action, revolutionism, 1.W.W.-ism, ns against peaceful, constitutionnl, constructive effort. In this connection it is significant to note that in the above-mentioned pamphlet Mr St. John, under the heading, }f I.W.W.: Tactics and Methods," declares that — "As a revolutionary tho Industrial Worker"! of tho \Vorld nims to tis« any rr.d nil tnctics that *ill jet the results pouiht wi'.h" Iho least expenditure of time aJid oncrfTV. 31w tactics us:-d are d:jermined solely by tho power of tho organisation to mslrt gocd in flieir'us«. Tho question of 'right , and docs not concern us." EXORCISE THIS EVIL SPIRIT. Such is the spirit of the American I.W.W. organisation which up tin? precious preamble, that iho Unity Congress Committee sought to force upon the Congress. It is, indeed, tho spirit breathed in tho famous "To hrll with- agreements!" uttered some mouths ago by one of iho prominent members-oft/ie Corrirrss Committee. I tnir-t, hov.-ovor, that ere lam* tliis evil Knirit v.'ilj bo very thoroughly exorcised by tho people of Xotv* Zealand. Small wonder ihnfc a Lnhour Unity Conf:rpf.s run on J.W.W. linos failed to achieve any real unity!