LABOUR EXTREMISTS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 110, 5 November 1925, Page 7

LABOUR EXTREMISTS

GROWING POWER IN TRADE UNIONS

HATRED OF EMPIRE

WILD STATEMENTS AT THE

CONGRESS.

(MOM OBR OWN CORRISPONDENT.)

LONDON, 17th September

At its last session the Trades Union Congress passed a resolution declarng its complete opposition to Imperialism. The text of the motion was:— Thia Trades Union Congress believes that tho domination of nonBritish peoples by the British Government is a form of capitalist exploitation, having for its object the securing for Biitish capitalists: (1) Cheap sources of raw materials. (2) The right to exploit cheap and unorganised labour "and to use the competition of the labour to degrade tho works' standards in Great Britain. It declares its complete opposition to Imperialism and resolves to support the workers in all parts of tho British Empire, to organise the trade unions and political parties in order to further their interests, and to support the right of all peoples in the British Empire to selfdetermination, including the right to choose complete separation from the Empire. ■ It Was a farcical debate. The hall .vaa half empty, each speaker was jmited to a three-minutes' speech, and most of those who did speak displayed a greater knowledge of rhetoric than of history. But it gave Mr. Pollitt, the secretary of the Communist minority movement, an opportunity for railing at tho greatest obstacle to- Communist domination, and presented him with his second "victory" over what-he described as tho movement's "white" wing. Alone •among the delegates, Mr. Thomas the language of common-sense, but his was a voice crying in the wilderness—congress preferred the diatribes of Mr. Purcell, who went to Kussia, and Mr. Pollitt, who would make us follow Bussia's, lead, to the •xpoi'ience of a man who does know something about the British Empire and was Labour's first Colonial Minister. By a majority of over 3,000,----000 on a card vote the delegates present decided that the British Empire exists to degrade the British's worker's standard of life, and that all .peoples who wish, to separate from the Empire.should receive their support. MR. J. H,.THOMAS'S APPEAL Mr. J; Hi-Thomas,; M.P., said that -if anything would make that week's business ridiculous, it would be to attempt, with only half the congress present and spoakers allowed only three- minutes, to deal with the;<prob-; lerris • involved in "Palestine, Egypt, China, and Kenya, and pass a resolution. He asked congress to say "yes" to all that" Mr. Pureell said about ; Imperialism. He (Mr. Thomas) had always taken his stand on tho argument that not one yard of territory ought to have been added to the British Empire as a rosult of ,the war. It brought in Palestine. He knew something more about Palestine than Mr. Purcell. Let the latter go to his Jewish friends, and they would toll •him that the real difficulty in Palestine had been to reconcile the interests of tho Arabs and the Jews. Mr. Purcell talked about Kenya. Did he mean, as tho resolution said, that they wanted self-determination in Kenya. He did not suppose Mr. Purcell knew anything about it. Let him go to the South African Laboiir Party and talk to them. Let him go to Canada and Australia. There were a lot of phrases in. the resolution that were good. He agreed that they should stop exploiting, but ho asked Congress not to make itself ridiculous by passing' such an absurd resolution. Let them realise the position they would place themselves in as 'representing four and a half million workers. It was absurd and ridiculous to pretend they were speaking in the. interests of all the movement when they used such phrases as were'in the resolution. He hoped it would be rejected. AN EMPIRE DRENCHED WITH BLOOD Mr. PoUill said the resolution was , simply a clear definition of what the policy of the working-class movement should bo to tlio subject peoples. Imperialism meant forced slav-fi-jv Mr. Thumus knew something about wlmt existed in Kenya. It w;is not a Wembley Empire some of them were talking about, or an Indian Pavilion. It was not sin 'Empire carved in coloured lights and all tho rest of the baubles aiukilcconitions. It was an Empire drenched with the blood of British soldiers and of nntivc soldiers who had tried to keep the British soldiers out. Empire was the note of tyranny, exploitation, and .imperialism. He hoped congress would give an answer 1 to the, Empire propaganda put forward Ijy tlic Eight Wing. On a enrd vote tho resolution wan c »ricd by a big majority, the figures being:— For 3,082,000 Against 7!>,000 nSGAL STATE. OF RUS3JAN » DELEGATES i i\'('iiri.ioi iiui(;h o;\-r the c ji:i;;!?i\' him | almost iv;.jal segregation n!' the ttv ftiminn Bolshevik delegate!;, Coiiir;:dcs Tomaky and Ucyatoff. The Bolsheviks lived in v suilo of their ou'ii at one of the best and niout luxurious seaside hotel's in England. It 'wus impossibly to approach' thorn. They were hedged around by their entourage, much as ;i chief Ambiissil(lo.- is protected. A mi-liber of English' delegates v. tailed to tulle through the interpreter with the Uus^iiin deputation to make their own inquiries about Moscow conditions, It was impossible to do no. Even members of tho general council of the Trade Union Congress were reinsert private interviews by lh«J iiutorruf.ii-. reprc'sputa tives of thi: 'Soviet Republic This isolation of the. Hovict delegate in luxury surround ingH seems to have ini-niiscd tho whole fueling of Ih'j ti-ii'lu unionists. They declared quite

openly they never wanted to hear another Moscow speaker.

MR. J. R. CLYNES ON THE CONGRESS

The Eight Hon. J. E. Clynes, M.P., speaking at Uebburn-on-Tyue, reviewed the proceedings of the Trades Union Congress. He said the congress had shattered the idea that the motive of those who supported the miners in the recent crisis was political or revolutionary. With the exception of an odd sentence in au odd speech, by one or two of the less responsible delegates, the debates had shown the greatest concern for .workshop betterment and for a higher standard of living. The public would not judge too Bternly some of the strong language which had been used. That frightened nobody, for they all knew that the capitalist system would not fall under any weight of resolutions. It would be changed, in due time, only when the nation was ready to accept modifications of it, and in the, end its abolition for such bettor system as could be devised. The march of ideas could not be stayed, and the class which was doing a greater disservice to the nation than even those who talked of revolution was the class which resisted every effort to change for the better or to extend the benefits of civilisation. I'iio more intelligent of the masses were incensed against the existing system when they looked, looked for instance, at the collier and the royalty owner, at the sweated drudge and the plutocrat, at the productive and indispensable craftsman or labourer, and tho groups of undeserving but yet rich idlers. Mr. Clynes went on to refer to tho Minority Movement, and said the objectives of the groups of Communists, of "Reds," or revolutionaries, were due less to influence from Moscow than to wage deductions and growing unemployment. "Our outlook on Moscow," ho proceeded, "does not arise from any wish to copy Moscow methods, and only a few who appear to know little of either British history, or character seriously ask us to imitato conditions which, if applied here, would hasten our own ruin." WIRE-PULLING OR WITCHCRAFT "However it has been done," says the'"Morning Post," "the fact remains that the Communists have conj trived to get the Trado Union Con- | gress into their fatal grip, and are driving it towards destruction. Explain the- fact how we like, call it* wire-pulling or witchcraft, the fact re--1 mains that Tomsky, with an English | gold watch in his pocket—or was it Swiss?—dominates the Assembly) and can now wield British Trade UnionI ism as a club with which to destroy this country. After this signal vie-, tory we expect to hear rather less of the assertion that the Communists are contemptible in power, and need not be seriously considered." "It is only fair," tho "Daily Mail" also says, "to the members of the trado unions and the Trades Union Congress to let . them know that this country does not intend to be Bolshevised. And it would be only fair for the Government to give the revolutionaries plain and openwarning that an appeal to force will be met with force. "Some optimistic observers suggest that tho performance at Scarborough will have the effect of cansing the rank and file of honest working folks to revolt against the Trotsky and .Zinovieff school. This may bo so or not. For our part we think the time has come for the Government to show unmistakably to the aforesaid honest folks where it stands by calling 'Hands Up' to the brigands, whether Russian or British, who are seeking to destroy this country." SHOOT AND TO KILL A series of demonstrations was held on Sunday throughout Scotland under the auspices of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, to protest against the Government's attitude on tho unemployment problem. At Glasgow Green a crowd of several thousands was addressed by three Labour members of Parliament. Mr, Thomas Hendersou, M.P., said that if they had a Socialist Government to-morrow, there would be a counter-revolution by the owning class. AVhile he was not bloodthirsty he would be prepared to shoot, and to kill if necessary, in order to uphold tho principle of "government by the people." He cared not what the workers called themselves..He would speak with a Communist or anarchist if all agreed to work for the overthrow of the present damnable system. The Rev. Campbell Stephen, M.P., said that sonio folk alleged they wore too extreme, but he held they were not extreme enough to overthrow dninntible Capitalism. FOLLY OF CLASS WAR .Addressing the miners at tho opening of the Welfare Institute at Aborsyi'hnn, Mr. Thomas Richards, secretary or' tho South Wales Miners' I'edera!ion, asked them not <o be carried away by men who uttered wild statements. ; "These people want to do your thinking for you," ho continued. "They were telling you there is no salvation for democracy, and saying, 'Let us have.a class war.' The assumption is th;it there is a better class than ours, and that wo must go and tackle that class and destroy it. I refuse to belong to an inferior class. AVc belong to the best class there is. There is going to bo no parting of ways' in the democracy of this country on that issue. Men who are crying out against capitalists are the biggest hypocrites on earth because they have their money invested in everything. They arc trying to draw you into a war by a false issue. Xou can't destroy Capitalism by destroying the pc:>plc of t!i!3 country. When we have sense enough to take houi fi" Hie ruins ni' tnu Gov^riMiu'i.t I :-.(' tin's country; depend upon it there j «il| l.,(; do neeil to shout class warI f;irc or advocate a revolution." j 35, Fleet street.