ATTACKED BY UNION

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 130, 3 June 1936, Page 4

ATTACKED BY UNION

SIR WALTER CITRINE There was a minor sensation at the annual conference of the Union of Post Office Workers at Brighton recently, when Mr. Morris Williams (North- Wales) moved to delete from the list of. fraternal delegates to the conference the name of Sir Walter Citrine, the general secretary of the T.U.C., says the "Daily Telegraph." Air. Webster (London), seconding, said that. Sir Walter had accepted a knighthood from a class from which the trade union movement, so they had always believed, was alienated. "He. has alienated his affection so far as we are concerned. The action of Sir Walter in accepting that knighthood was the cause of the bringing forward of a perfect blizzard of protests. "The excuse for which Sir Walter was given this honour was political services. It is not my business to indicate what those services were, but this honour has been bestowed on Sir Walter by the political party which introduced the Means Test, armaments, exepnditure, and the Education Bill, and, moreover, this Government has turned down the shorter hour week proposal from the postal workers." Mr. Ross (.Edinburgh), opposing the resolution, said that if they accepted it they v/ere definitely saying to the trade union movement in this country that they were finished with constitutionalism. Sir Walter Citrine was not the .only man in the Socialist movement who had taken a title or who had been created a peer. Mr. O'Donnell (Manchester) said: "When we take gifts from the enemy we are under an obligation to the enemy. As far as my delegation from Manchester is concerned it will not be prepared to sit in this hall to listen to Sir Walter Citrine." Mr. J. W. Bowen, general secretary, said that the motion reflected on the dignity of the union. "I suggest to you that you are doing yourselves a great disservice in regard to the trade union movement as a whole in taking this action against a representative of the T.U.C. I "The T.U.C. thrashed this matter out at Margate, and it did not condemn Sir Walter Citrine." On a card vote the resolution was defeated by 1081 votes to 910. A mesage was read to the conference from the President of the Postal Workers of Russia conveying greetings to their British comrades and urging all workers to stand united for peace. It. is understood that; this is the first time such a message has been received from Russia at the conference.