LABOUR PEACE PROPOSALS.

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 12, 13 July 1918, Page 7

LABOUR PEACE PROPOSALS.

"0 TUB EDITOR. i Sir, —At the Labour Party's 'conference, there were two remits on. the agenda for discussion which, if given fair, unbiased consideration, would have opened up the minds of clear-thinking and truth-seeking delegates, as well as ths organisations they represented, to the futility of Labour's eftorts towards peace at present. Wellington S.D.P. remitted their hardy annual, "That conference re-affirms its pronouncement on the peace proposals of the last conference." (Copy enclosed.) Many of the S.D.P. proposals are out of date months ago. President Wilson i3 no longer a dictator, but aj' participator in the struggle. American Labour movments are fired with,zeal and courage to fight for the future freedom of the world's democracy. They have firmly taken their stand in the trenches, and British Allied conferences, stating in nnmistakeable terms that peace talk at the present time was an international disorder —the enemy thirsting for military conquest rather than peace. Germany, under the pretence of .peace, has exploited and plundered the people of Russia, annexed Uk-_ rainia, Poland, and' Finland, and is now' devastating the country towards Petrograd. Quibbling with words for military vgaiu,' she has never made any definite move for peace. Her obduracy is ionly explained by her highly-trained military, industrial, and political organisations holding out hopes of victory. The workers of Germany aro incessantly declaring their war aims in every physical and scientific branch of applied warfare; whilst the British, are being hypnotised into a trance of magic peace, until the Hun and his train of victorious war demands are upon him. The S.D.P. proposals are'of the peace hypnotic, kind. The Otago remit is of a higher standard of intelligence. It believes in the Allied Labour Conference knowledge of what war policy best to adopt by the world's Labour forces, including this Dominion, j It reads: "That Otago^L.B.C. urge the conference to endorse the war policy of the British Allied Labour Conference." This remit was a bitter tonic, ill-taken, I fear. The Allied Conference have declared their policy, and the pacifists have broken away from the Labour body. "Peace at any price" is really their cry, which would ultimtaely mean another and greater war soon. Militarism,' as a result of. immature peace, would receive new and stronger leasa of life. How much force of enemy esmonage, or diplomacy, is behind, impelling the progress of pacifism, is difficult to fathom ; but we know to what eztent it operated in the manipulating of the Russian press to cause the nation's downfall. We also kuow liow it succeeded in placing upon the Labour committees and governing bodies of some of the strongest industrial unions in England, men of sworn allegiance to the enemy, determined upon industrial strife. "Peace with honour" should be our motto.—l am, etc., A. LOVER OF TRUTH.