FALSE FRIENDS OF LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1585, 31 October 1912, Page 5

FALSE FRIENDS OF LABOUR.

Sir,—ln your leading columns of September 27, ill an article entitled "Phases of the Strike," you quoted Stevenson's words "that a man may come out of a room a liar and a false friend without having opened his mouth." Unfortunately for the world, however, all tho lying is not done with dosed months. In' the courso of tho article, you argued that certain local politicians wore false friends of l.abour becauso they did nut cordially support the ■'Government in connection with the U'aihi strike. Then you said:

"They [certain local politicians] have adopted— tor various bad reasons— prcciseiy that attitude which Mr. Spence, the president of the Australian Workers' l.'nian, recommended a couple ot' years ago, when ho said that if a true-blue saw a fruo worker being murdered lie should shut, his eyes, and pass by."

I was amazed ou reading those linos. Mr. Spenre is an honourable man, nnd n trusted and influential l.abour leader ami member of the Federal Parliament. Any indiscretion on his part would materially hurt his cause in Australia, and incidentally ours in Ne»- Zealand. Perhaps because of this latter certainty you published the statement.

I forwarded a eopv of The Dominion containing the article to Mr. .Spence. J asked him whether tlw above-quoted statement was true or unlruc, I have just received his reply by cable, and there is no ambiguity about it. The cablegram roads

.7. T. 7'aul, 10H St. David Street, Duntxlin North.—Statement The Dominion newspaper absolutely false.—W. G. SI'EXCE. I am afraid Tiie Dominion is rapidly winning a reputation for mi-British .accusations ur! baseless charges. I have no personal complaint—l havo invariably .had fair play from the New Zealand press,

Nevertheless I am anxious to diligently protect the good naiuo and high honour of Hid Labour pioneers, and the cnnso for which they stand. 1 trust, you will sivo full publicity to Sir. Spence's ompluif ic denial, and be less reckless in levelling groundless charges, even by inference, against reputable Labour leaders.—l nm, etc., J. T. I'AUL. Legislative Council, October 21, 1

Wo are sorry if ice have t <lono Mr. Spenco personally nn injusfcico. Apparently ho has been blamed for what someono else eaid. But as to Mr. Paul's suggestion that we misrepresent tho Labour movement in Australia by tho quotation in question, a random survey of tho Australian tiles of 1011 will produce abundant proof of the violence of the Labour chieftains. For example, Mr. L. Cohen, the vice-president of the Trades Hall Council, at an official meeting' on September 21, 1911, said t "The Federal Ministry was carrying out the platform of the Labour party. The members were elected to givo preferenco to unionists. Non-unionists should bo put off tho face of the oarth. Senator Rao had said that any violence dono to non-union-ists was justified. He agreed with that view. If they wcro shot or put to death it was no more than they" deserve."— ("Argus," September 22, 1011.) Tho newspapers of April 8 and April 10 report an assault by strikers on a nonunionist in Melbourne. The man, Alfred Wright, was carried to the Hospital Buffering from a broken jaw and other in'llio "Arßus" of April 20 reports ft speech by Mr. Bennett, one of the prominent Trades Union officials, who 6poke to a meeting of unionists on this strain: "Ho was at Broken Hill a few weeks ago. The workers there had a pride ia showing where two scabs of 1832 met their death. They were put in a placo where, fortunately or unfortunately, a fall of earth occurred, and their bodies were not got out for 18 months. The same sort of thing might hajipen to scabs at Mitchell's and M'Kay's. He trusted when tho strike was over the workers would make it so hot for those individuals that they would not-Ijo, able to live in Footscray. _ They could do so not only by boycotting or treating them with contempt, but in some other way making the.-n afraid to walk the streets.'" On the same evening Mr. Skehan, president of the Implement Makers' Union, said that "if he had his way," tho strikers would attend their own funerals hefore they .returned to work.—("Argus," April 20.) Mr. Hyett, the secretary of tho Railwaymen's Union, said that it was tho duty of a unionist to "make'tho life of every non-unionist a hell upon earth." Mr. Lemmon, M.L.A., on April 19 referred to (his, and said Mr. Hyett had a right to speak of the "traitors and scabs" as ho did.—("Argus," April 20.) In a sermon on April'3o in the Collinswood Methodist Church, tho late Mr. \V. H. Judkins said that "Unionists said, if workmen would not join a union, "i'o hell with them 1 Kick them out of existence!'"—("Argus," March 1.) Tho Renmark fruit strike led to an orgy of violent talk and violent action. On May 1 Mr. Graham, one of the senior members of tho State Ministry, said:—

"Conditions are becoming unbearable. I was horror-stricken to read of the shooting affair at Renmark. The language? of some of the leaders has certainly been scandalous, and calculated to create a breach of the peace. Such speeches would be tolerated in no other country. At Renmark, first a building was burnt, then water was poisoned, and then there is this shooting affray."—("Argus," May 2.) (This was an attempt to shoot a nightwatchman who had been set to guard tho premises of tho fruit-grower whose water supply had been poisoned.) ■ It is recorded in the "Argus" of May 8 that "During Mr. Skehan's address somebody called ont 'Don't forget Hell-firo Hyett.' Mr. Skehan replied, '1 don't forgot him. That speech just svited the occasion. It suited lue, too. Hyett said what he meant. -We understood wliat ho meant, and we agreed with every word of it."

Air. Spence never challenged or commented upon tho following statement in a leading article in tho "Argus 11 on May B:—"The 'hcll-upon-earth' policy advocated by Mr. Ilyett, tlie gloating over dead non-iinionists by Mr. Bennett, tho smiling, indulgence of Ifr. Spenco towards tho throwing'of non-uniopists in tho river . , arc baviag their effect upon the deluded men thus goaded on to, acts of violence." Tho above forms but the merest fraction of the overwhelming mass of evidence as to tho policy of the officials attached to the Australian Workers' Union, of which Mr. Spence was, and may bo even now, tho president. Mr. Paul may be anxious to "protect the good name and high honour of the Labour pioneers, and the cause for which they stand," but ho is on very dangerous ground when he sets out to defend men associated with a movement which tolerates such language and such sentiments from its leaders as are recorded above.