THE POST & THE REDS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 150, 26 June 1914, Page 2

THE POST & THE REDS

'FLIGHTS OF FANCY" KO THE EDITOR. Sir,— Having now indirectly admitted that the employeis did not submit aibi-(-ration by Sir Joshua Williams j that such was not submitted to the Federation, and that the Federation, therefore, did not l eject it, there is little to be said in reply to your editorial footnote to my letter published yesterday. It is possible that when Mr. Hickey stated that the dispute was not handed to the Federation till about two weeks after the strike commenced he was referring to the period from the date of the shipwrights striking (13th October), and not to the da,te of the watersiders striking (22nd October). However, 'if he referred to the latter date he was incorrect iv his surmises, as the Btrike was not handed over to the Federation till late m the afternoon of 29th October. Mr. has not forgotten the famous meeting in the Basin Reserve on 26th October, and, as that appears to be causing The Post a severe attack of brain fever, I can only conclude that you have illuminated the speeches, and they now adorn the walls of your editorial office j neither has he forgotten the fact that the "stopwork" meeting of 22nd October did not decide to unreservedly hand over the Btrike to the United Federation, but resolved to empower the "Watersiders' (strike Committee" to hand it over when they deemed it wise to do so. It was, as stated, 29th October before the com> nuttee handed it over. If the Premier's document had been outside-in it would not, alter the fact that you have been unable to refute my statement as to tho quarter from which the arbitration proposal emanated, and, no % doubt, you consulted Mr. Massey on tliis since lub ie» turn to Wellington on Monday. 1 cannot say whether Mr. Kennedy was the lock, stock, and barrel of the Shipowners' Committee, but I do know that the conference of 28th October gave no instruction to place tho matter of arbitration before the strikers on the morning ot the ;29th. Of course, it is quite possible that the other employers would do whatever Mr. Kennedy suggested, but it xs equally possible that I did not know that. _ You contrast my admissions with Mr. Hickey's letter to you, of 21st March, in which he stated that when the matter ot arbitration was definitely put to the employers they rejected it, and you have the unqualified impertinence to state that we contradict each other. That, of course, may be another B ample of The Posts gospel, but I think most people will understand tyou may bo the exception) tnat Mr. Hickey was speaking of an offer made by the Federation to the employers in November, wherea* my previous letter referred to offers made by the employers in October. At the waterside meeting on 29th October Ml 1 . Connell referred to the document read by MR Massey regarding arbitration, which emanated from the Department of Labour. You need not be much concerned over Mr. W. T. Young's alleged wrath. If you mistake a little "foree 1 ' for "wrath" that is your misfortune, and. partly, accounts for your many mi ?ij kes; . as for the president's alleged 'giddy flights of fancy," presumably they are on a par with your own "heights of imagination," which, may account lot* the president occasionally reaching an altitude of equality.-— I am, etc., W. T. YOUNG, President, Federation of Labour. 24th June, 1914. " (The Post cheerfully "leaves the Red Federation's president and the societary (Mr. Hickey) to settle their difference? on points of fact and fancy. There k nothing in Mr. Young's letter needing further comment by 'Hie Post, but. as ho has used the word "alleged" to qualify the "giddy flights of faney 1 ' with which he has been changed by The Post, it may be worth while to revive his memory of some of his discourse. Leaving aside the "ten or fifteen thousand armed men" and the wharves which were to vanish if free-labour loaded the ships, Mr. Young can be reminded of other allegations and prophecies. Here are somo of his statements :•— 26th October.— "lf this cftse can be settled only by setting tho country on lire industrially, that is going to be done. lam not playing a game of bluff." 4th November.— "We ore not going to win— we "have won! The others are too qowardly for the moment to make iho admission." sth November.— Dealing with the question of free labouv and the rumour that theAthenic was to be loaded (work to begin on oth November), Mr. Young declared that the members of the crew, tilthough registered under Home articles, would refuse to take) the Vessel out if she wore loaded by means of free labour. This they were prepared to do, although rendering themselves liable to imprisonment. The crew took out a ship fully loaded by men whom the Reds decried as "scabs. 1 ' 9th November.— "Thc i Federation (Red) haa not resorted to abusive tactics so far, but its tactics will show the special confetables that their work on the waterfront will be rendered useless. . . , We have issued a manifesto culling on Labour from one end of tho country to tho other to respond to the call and down tools to-morrow, as a protest against the armed scabbcry operating in New 2ea« land to-day. Workers must be solid and so outflank the enemy. .. 1 believe that iv a few days victory will be with the Federation." 7th December, Sunday (a time when it was plain to everybody that the strikers were utterly defeated). —"During the timo that he had been caged up at his summer residence, the newsboys had -not called every day, and he had not been conversant with the trend of events. But since he came out > he was extremely glad to see that things were so good as they wore from Labour's point of view. Dunedin was absolutely solid, and so wag Lyttelton and other places."]