The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1917. AN AUSTRALIAN AWAKENING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 8, 4 October 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1917. AN AUSTRALIAN AWAKENING

To-day's messages from Sydney show that the Australian strike has to all intents and purposes collapsed aftor being lengthened out ay tho obstinacy tof tho coal niners in , a bad' cause. The arms of settlement now reported nvolvo the total defeat of as inicfonsiblo an attempt as was ever liade by'a lawlcss;minority to over;urn legally 'constituted authority ind intimidate tho community. The lost of tho strike has, liot yet been iomputed, .It.i§ certain, however, that tho suit) of a million sterling, which has been Mentioned by ono Sydney newspa;p6r, represents only i fraction of. the' loss and waste ensiled in ? I \f e w South Wales alone, of the. strike have not V" <>ny means been confined to that Btate. Unfortunately, the penalties b'f this insane upheaval will be felt by many innocent people as well as by the deluded unionists who allowed a gang of extremists to lead them to disaster. There arc indications, however, that tho results of the'strike will not bo reckoned only in economic loss and in bitterness and heartburning. 'The firm determination with which the Government of New. South Wales and the community behind it resisted the unp/inciplcd demands' of the strikers has in itself done «, great deal to clear the way for the creation of a better industrial order. It is equally' noteworthy that there "are symptoms of a healthy revolt within the ranks of the Labour movement against the methods which made tho strike and invited the debaclo in which it ended. • The revolt has made itself-apparent in a number of ways. Many unionists refused to obey the strike call, and it was noted also, while the strike was in progress, that a considerable number of men' downed tools in one occupation only to immediately seek work elsewhere. The .unions -have emerged from the contest in diminished numerical strength, and with their ranks riven, and evidence :s not wanting that this' state r of atfairs' betokens something more than aimless discontent. It is an indication of returning sanity and a sign of good promise for the future that some of tho most trenchant criticism of the strike and of tnc men who promoted it has come from inside the Labour movement. An sxample in point is a leading article published last week in the Ihikinij Trades Gazette, the.officiall orTan of the New : South Wales Federated Baking and Milling Employees' Union. The article fairly states the merits of the strike and draws an instructive .moral. It points out that tho action of the striking unions was based on a "weak pretext," aiuUwas quite unjustified, and adds that men were, never worse led than on this occasion Tho real interest of the article, however, is in the contention it advances that if the lessons of the strike are turned to right account hey may be the means of making unionism "a greater channel iqi good than we have yet imagined >t could Possibly be." The root of the Ttter P is toUcd in tho advice which the Rahhu, Trades Gazette gives to unionists: Lot the unions, with their sadly-deplet-Pd membership, arise, and in nn R er <erLd that those of tlioir leaden, *' Toted against the best interests of the me,,, whether tliomlillaslr or vritli-iii-bnt he driven out of office ami then place, taken by seasoned men who VamShins of the envMay o tho movement, nnd v:ho iron ihdj likely to counsel a conrse v.hicli ionic only spoil defeat, and shnlte. the foundations of the union movement, as is the case. Let the moderates of the flitferont or«auisations nttond Hio meeting; with unfnilins rcsulnrity and show i little of the orranisinu ability displnyi".: by the extremist section which cvf-rj ntiion is wirMd wilh. If Ihe rtriko l«.l uroduces snch n i-esi; t. posterity wil have to admit that it has not been ai ■unmixed evil. This is counsel which should no] Ml on deaf ears as matters stanci in Australia. The strike, which if now petering nut has afforded ' slavering demonstration _ot the oiifs thiil. rosr.lt From nljowing con ln-,1 of industrial organisations If pn , s inlo tho hands of p. minnnU

d[ extremists, while- a majority, who i'ro perfectly well able to study tliclr own interests and quite prepared to keep faith .with the community, hold aloof. Working men of moderate views who neglected, to bring their weight to bear in union affairs are only less responsible for the strike than the agitators l>y ivlioni it was immediately promoted. Under the conditions which have developed in Australia, though not only in Australia, the control it unions has passed in many cases to men who are fcho worst enemies of the Labour movement, becausethey make it their principal, aim not to promote industrial efficiency and social betterment but to pyovoko perpetual hostility and strife octween employer ■ and employed. This attitude on the part of many so-nalled Labour leaders may he explained in part by. ignorance and inability to appreciate the possibilities of constructive vcforra, but -i desire on the part of these men to magnify their own importance anci to strengthen their hold on thenpositions has a great deal to do with the matter. At all events, it what is known as militant unionism ever had a legitimate place it was in the dark days of industrial hi*toiT and in conditions which have no place in our free, democracies. That the worst strike in the history of the Commonwealth has been fomented without-even tlie pretence of an industrial grievance should surely carry conviction on this point to -the least impressionable. The whole question at stake- is whether the mass of men organised in industrial unions can, bo brought to take an active and intelligent interest in their own affairs. So much granted it will specdly come to bo realised that men who foment industrial strife' are either sclf-scck-inc adventurers or- out-of-date ieactionaries who have failed to keep abreast of modern conditions. Any intelligent working man is perfectly well able to recognise that industrial dislocation penalises the ordinary wage-earner more heavily than any other member of the community, and on the other hand that harmonious co-operation between the parties engaged in industry, by .tar cilitating a constantly-increasing production of-wealth, opens indefinite prospects of social betterment. If of Australia now show themselves capable of shaping a policy of constructive development they will prove not only that they haye profited by the- W>tar experience of the strike, but that they are conscious of an impulse which * making itself strongly felt in all the progressive countries of the worltl In Great Britain and in France, the 01-Soiscd workers, their perception ol essentials notably advanced by the experience of: the war period, have fastened upon the cardinal fart that co-operation in industry loading to a maximum production of weflth affords tlio only eound basis of prosperity <"d o £ impiov inn- Social conditions. Thero is noi nelShtestcloubt that the, policy of orglniscd Labour in the countries named, and in others, will be naped acco dingly as time goes on.