AFTER THE BATTLE

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 147, 19 December 1919, Page 7

AFTER THE BATTLE

(By "No. 1367850.")

The battle has been fought and the battle has been won—ami not by Labour. « :, ••

If ever Labour had a chance to win. th«y had it, in the 1919 election. Thero was the cost of living, taken in conjunct tion with the diminishing purchaainjr power of the sovereign, the aftermat.h. ofv war, the housing problem, profiteering, the shortage of fuel, and tha first paat the jpaak—all these counted for Labour.

But, as usual, Labom was as lions led by asses. If Labour cannot see the, writing on the wall, then Laboui is blind.

Labour should compel.the Red element to form a party of its own, when. theycan carry out their bbjects if the.publid will follow than). As: long us'jpabotir carries them ,>on their backs, 'so "Toils; will Labour be amongst the... "also started." '■-■■<

And then their platform wants altering. They Ehould strike for the attainable, not the unattainable. They should come down to eiith,' ami, not delve in the miJky way. Trades unionists know that I write the truth. Why not then realise things, and get to: work? '. That part of Labour's';pint-form, 'deal*' ing with the point that Labour shouldcojiLrol the mdnstvy in which iL is' ntifeagSjQi? likely to he tested sgou. Tiie

n|>TO£l*; Ivwprking"-40«pe)?1vwprking"-40«pe)? cent. ■,<• slow, and vthuSj forcing the cost of living up on the t^Mot^-want-to., control industries. How jheanj they, when t!he(y cannot nsontrol ? * -..,—.. - - ■■ -, i f action is doomed-—it is the v-Reds' main stand by. \ Every time it .has:been tested, it has mostly been de--I'feated. Every defeat is a set-back, be- ; ;eaus..e the workers,and the public pay. the public are not altogether fools. \-, lifcO will, in my opinion, bo a series ?|of biitter.struggles.:.. i lfrom it. Labour will fjlearn many tilings, among -._ them the out of the lambs from th« "Valves. • ..i,-:. ■.."-.; ■ . ■'' '■" ' ' .-'' ; Will Labonr learn the lesson,of 1919? ■jWill they reorganise? Will the trades •Tinionista continue to be dominated by :,"the Social. Democrats? Will the trade make it possible for a loyal ■iTaaii r to join their organisation ? If they • do, 'my pen will never be raised agains-t iihem. Labour, if true to itself, can be .Labour, if it still follows ths 'Bdda, will grow weaker. Why not grow 'strong'? ■ Why not try to attain somoJihing, instead of ; , always attempting to •;!io Something? with inoderata i'Labour views ara ihe majority of tho 'electors. Why. hot '■ conform to the1 of the majority/ rather than to a; !few .•extremists? % Why not live for Labour, work for ijjabbnr rather than live for extremists ,:andi;wark-for extremists? For even as -you ■cannot- make a silk purse out of a Tjbow's ear, so will Labour not be able to obtain that position in Pariiaiaenti which is their due if: their policy »s right and they are right. Until' Labour realises the other fellow's point !©f view, both in their speeches and in . Iheir" preeß^ so long will they be (what iio >tfey call it?) —well, misunderstood. Laboiir Candidates, both on the platform and. in their press, abused me. But even 'as abuse is no argument, and even as votes, count, they were connted out, and not me. May: Labour realise its shortcomings, and get at those who have abused them so much within, that Parliamentary seats they are without. " Mr. Sample says he can do better for Labonr .outside Parliament than inside. If so> he had no right to stand for Wellington South. If' Labour believes that tile hope of the world lies in Labour, them jj Labonr should at least give itself a chance to fuifil that hope. Meantime X' hope for better things from Labour, "light of the future will be Labour against anti-Labour. Will they get down to fighting trim? No fighter can fight *ith a burdfln on his back. l: Will they remove the burden by. shak-1 ing:.off the Reds?