MR W. T, MILLS AND A "TRAP".

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14822, 13 November 1913, Page 10

MR W. T, MILLS AND A "TRAP".

WARNING TO LABOUR

Last year Mr ~\Y. T. Mills was organiser for the "Evolutionaries." This year he is ah Organiser for the "Revolutionaries," or "direct actionists." On November 17th last year he spoke at the Wellington Opera Houso on "The Labour Movement in America." with special reference to Waihi. The "Post" report states:—

After illustrating tho situation by tho story of continual failure by tha strike federations—the "Knights of Labour," the American Railway League, and tho Industrial Workers of the World in America—the speaker said that tho Labour movement had been asked to pledgo its existence to tho battle in Waihi. The policy of the enemies of Labour had been to tie. together tho whole of Labour in connexion with tho policy adopted at Waihi—put them all in one sack and sink it. If the United Labour Party, if tho District Councils, if tho different Labour ' organisations had dropped into that trap, there would havo been no Lahour movement in New Zealand to-day. To-day the Red Federationists, not tho employers, are inviting all unionists to walk into such a "trap. as Mr Mills discussed last year—the pitfall of the general strike.

Scores of cases might ho quoted .in which the "Professor" utterly condemned the Red Feds, and their policy and methods. A very striking case is recalled by a Wellington'paper. 'He gave an address in the Opera House on June 23rd, 1912, on "The Lessons of the Waihi Strike." Ho remarked that "the executive, of the "United Labour Party had considered tho striko, and had definitely decided that it would spoak no .word and tako no sides upon it at all. His party had been bitterly denounced for* refusing to enter inte something which was. absolutely opposed to everything for which it stood. He liad always been opposed to the doctrine of.striking often and striking hard; for he" believed that the time had come when the strike was out of place in a rational, civilised, community. (Loud applause.) . . . Thoso in

New Zealand who had adopted methods of violence declared they had to do so because tho Arbitration Court had broken down, but whoso fault was it if this was tho fact? The workers wero far more numerous than the capitalists, and they would have no need to striko anywhere if they would only strike at the ballot-box. If the Court was not right, they must make it right: if the law was not what it ought to be, they must make it as it ought to be. : It was in the hands of the workers themselves to right tho law and organise the Court just in the way they wanted." Mr Mills is now an organiser of tho Red Federation.