THE LABOR MOVEMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 14963, 24 August 1912, Page 11

THE LABOR MOVEMENT.

TBy PttblicmaA Brief contributions on matters irith reference to the Labor Movement are invited. A STANDING DISGRACE. , Speaking on the subject of pensions for Bicthers in the Victorian House of Representatives the other day. Dr Maloney said that he gave the greatest honor to those who defend their country, like the citizen forces who defend th? Swiss Confederation, but a soldier goes into battle with the. blare of ■ trumpet and the beat of drum, he loses his life, but what is it? Is what he does comparable with the daily heroism of the mother of a large family, who has only a small income, who feed* and clothes her children, and never loses one life that has been bora to her? Sne has to meet daily the claims of the landlord, and ill'.' tradesman's bills, and see j that the little feet are all shod, and the j little limbs warmly clothed, and she is , ten thousand times more a heio than the j man who risks his life in the glamor of \ war. Therefore, the doctor said, give j pensions to mothers of large families who cannot provide beds for each of their clnl- J dien. and give a special pension to the j mar. who forces himself to go to work j when he is not tit, and who cannot pro- j vide sufficient to keep his large family. " F tell hon. members," he concluded, " that children are littered to-day like pigs in stables in some, place* in our cities. Consider the tetrilile death-rate among children. In ono district, alone outside of Manchester, of every I.COO children boin 700 odd died in iheir first year." The learned doctor might have gone iurther and shown that the same thing exists in almost eveiy city where the \v."-k<-rr, are living in nmgested parts. Erich .•vh'iake;-, an authority on the sub- | jtvt. a short time ago gave soni'.* startling j ligures, and painted a gloomy picture of ! Germany. He said : j '[he children of poverty hunger be- j fore they are born They come into the j world I'll-developed weaker than the j children of plenty, and with such low | lesisunu poweis that infant mortality rages in their ranks like an epidemic, j The blind, the crippled are principally ! teernited from their ranks, and they are I patticular victims ut scrofula and tuber- j cttlosis. Even the Minister of the lute- ! i ioi admits that this Is due to lack of [ nourishment and lack of care of tho j new-born-inevitable results of woman's! toil on the fauns and industrial employ- } inert. In the kingdom of Saxony, where j women labor as nowhere el.-e in Ger- ' many, 18.8 per cent, of the new born ! die. In all Germany 17.7 per cent. die. i The average for Berlin is 18.1 per cent, j If anything is necessary to .-how that j handicap under wh'ch the child comes ' into th.' world, the statistics show that ! '■!! the Tieig.irteu section, the wealthy j lcsidential pa it of Berlin, 5.2 per cent., in fa ills -lie. as against 42 pet cent, in Wedding, the proletariat part of the ' citv. * ye * * * ft * TDK LABOR UNREST. To what is the great Labor unrest due? is a question that is agitating the mind of most thinkers, and it' we can come to a right conclusion it will be the more easy to rind a remedy. One of the leading Labor leaders in England attributes the cause: "First, to the increasing pressure ol life and anxiety for the future due to t v e rapid introduction of wages-saving m."' Innery, with its tendency to level .^kilin 1 and unskilled labor. This, and the simultaneous combinations of employers wh'ch render partial strikes hopeless, have had a great effect on the men. .•-eeoiiuiv, to the steady decrease in the purchasing power of wages, in consequence of the relative cheapening of gold, which Socialists, I may add, were the first !o point out and insist upon. Thirdly, to :he failure of the Labor party to chamliv.n effectively the cause of the workers ■ii tfe House of "Commons, and its snbjeiviti.ee lu one of the capitalist factions. I his puts an almost irresistible argument nto the mouths of the advocates of the ■ mass strike and general strike as the only me ass of bringing the power of organised ; Labor to bear upon the social situation, j If political action is played out. they ar- j gtr\ men for untrained and undisciplined and .inarmed citizens the strike alone remains as a means of forcing the profitmaking and profit-absorbing classes to reason. Fourthly, to the steady propaganda of revolutionary Socialism, based upon the theories of surplus-value, unpaid labor, and the class war. This has been going forward upon an ever-increasing scale for more than 50 years. There is a great deal more of it to-day than there was yesterday, and there wiLI be a great deal more tr.-morrow than there is to-day."' WHAT A LABOR GOVERNMENT CANDO. It is not widely known isays " Unionist," in his Labor notes) to what extent the Federal Government have gone in the matter of State control and competition. The Commonwealth Bank promises to be j one of the biggest competing concerns run ! bv the Labor Government. It was opened ' foi business on the 15th July last. To j date 2,760 accounts have been opened in j lit? sa-wngs branch, the deposits totalling ] ah-'-ady £69,697. Tlgre have been only j 117 withdrawals, amounting to £BOB. The j : 'orbing factory, which at present em- I oloys 000 hands, began operations in Janu- ' ir.- last, and during the period January i U> June, 1912. turned out garments to the ■ value of £26.795. The clothing mariufac- : ti.red was of a high quality, and was I tt-med out at a reasonable cost. It is , anticipated, however, that the cost of pro- ' rlnrti'm will be considerably lowered dur- ■ iug this year. It has been found that the j piesent capacity of the factory is not suffi- j cient for requirements, and provision has ; bee • made for the duplication of the j plant. The harness and saddlery factory j has been in full working order for the j past 11 months, and during that time a I large quantity of high-class military , equipment, as well as mail bags, etc., has been manufactured, to the satisfaction of ! the Defence and Postmaster-General's De- j partments. At present 115 hands are em- ■ ployed. i'nd the results achieved by this : f-i.ct.ny are of such a satisfactory nature : that it is intended to enlarge the'premises during this year, when the number of '■ band.- will also most probably be in- j creased. A site for the woollen "cloth fac- ' tory has been selected at Geelong, at the j Cork, quay, and the erection of the build- | ings and the purchase of the machinery I and power plant is now being proceeded j with. The cordite factory is at present engaged in experimental and proof work. The cordite produced has passed the ballistic test, but the chemical capability tests are not vet completed. There is" bow- j ever, no reason to doubt that the cordite produced will be suitable for ammunition. The plant of the small arms factory has been installed, and has passed satisfactory tests, and the final payment on account of ihe contract has been made to Messrs Pratt and Whitney. Up to the present the factory has been engaged in the manufacture of component parts of rifles, a considerable stock of which is in hand. It is anticipated that the assembling of the rifles and the output of completed small arms will shortly commence. There are now 18,587 permanent officers provided for in the Estimates for the postal Department, as against 10,961 in KOV. Provision is made for the erection of 10 wireless stations during tin- year. Steamers are to be purchased for general service in the New Guinea and Northern Territory waters. In addition, there are the big undertakings—the development of the Northern Territory, the construction of the transcontinental railway, and the building of the Federal capital. * ***** * BIGOTRY. RELIGION or LABOR? I have on -several occasions called attention to the part that the Labor question is said to be playing in the Home Rule unrest at Belfast. It is held in English labor circles that the Catholic-Protestant quarrel is more economic than religions. The 'Labor Leader' just to hand says that eo long as the workers are divided hy bitter sectarianism the employers are able to impose the worst sweating conditions upon them, and continues : "The scenes which havt» occurred in Belfast... during the past week 50

far to prove the truth of this' view. A deliberate attempt has been made to drive from the shipbuilding yards all employees who are Home Rulers. "It ie not merely Catholics who have been attacked. Trade unionists and Socialists form the bulk of these who have been so roughly treated that they dare jiot continue at work. One large employer has openly ftatcd that ' there is no uco disguising the fact' that an effort is being made to drive all Homo Rule employees from the yards. 1 These men would only hamper us when the real work begins.' he explains. The trade union officials wi Belfast assert that 2,000 members of thoir organisations are unable to follow their employment owing to intimidation ; many of them have been eeriously hurt without any interference by the foremen or managers of the various companies*. In the ' Daily News and Leader' Mr P. W. Wilson says that some of the stories of the outrages committed are incredible : Last Monday at one of the yards, eo a workman told me —I heard the story from several different sources—u man was beaten, and then a furnace door was opened, and ho wan thrust at the heat till his hair was singed from his face. •'Despite the danger to life and limb, police protection has been refused, and the verv men who have been demanding military efforts for blacklegs are upholding the Belfast boycotts. In "the House of Commons the Tory members heartily cheered an Orange circular urging that employers must 'get every Catholic dismissed,' and have titi!.? endorsed a policy of terrorism wid violence. We are glad to know that the Labor movement is making connd pro gres* in Ireland, notwithstanding the persecution it has to face. Under its banner tho Catholic and the Protestant are uniting to secure social salvation." ****** BRIEF NOTES. There is a movement on foot in Westralian imi.m circles to make the 44-hour week to apply to all branches of industry. * * * Sydney Labor Council have requested the Federal' Government to advertise in Malta that Maltese laborers are not required in Australia. * * * Mr B. F. Mills, lecturing in Chicago last' ni'mth. stated that in the United States there are at present 15.000,000 wider-fed. under-clothecl, and wretchedlyhoused people, and that 99 per cent, of (lii> wage-earners are without any property. Oyer 4X00.000 of the poulation are absolute paupers; and one-third of the population of Now York receive aid from public sources, and one-tenth of those who die are buried in the Potter's Field. In one State alone 7.000 women go insane annaally as the effects of privation. In New Yo'rk in one year 60.000 families were evicted. Nearly 10,000 of the people's children work under infamous conditions. * * * Melbourne workers are publicly protesting against State-aided immigration, and calling on the Government to commence public works in order to relieve the existing depression. *■ * * A postal ballot is being taken by the Wellington General Laborers' Union ami its country branches on the question of joining the United Labor party. * * * A report submitted at a demonstration at Durham (England) showed that the union funds had been depleted by £350.000 as a result of the recent coal strike. * * * The New South Wales Government have established 8s [ler day as a. minimum wage, in the railway service. Victoria is about to follow suit. * * * A Wage* Board determination just delivered grants Melbourne painters a weekly wage of £5 for 44 hours, or an hourly wage of Is 4£d. In Adelaide pastrycooks and bakers have been given £3 a week of 48 hours. -a * * Two of Mr Roosevelt's most striking proposals are a minimum wage for women workers and the provision of a restrictive law for what are described, as continuous industries, by which shifts will be reduced to eight hours each, and every employee will "he.'-entitled to one day" of rest in everv seven. x * * It is said that, the difficulty at Kaitangata has been got over, and now there is to be industrial peace there. In my opinion, recent happenings indicate that the trouble has just commenced.