THE INDUSTRIAL CRISIS

Evening Star, Issue 15343, 18 November 1913, Page 4

THE INDUSTRIAL CRISIS

* • » WORK STARTS AT DUNEDIN SPECIALS NOT USED AN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING Work began on the Qunedin wharves this morning. No " specials" were used, and the police on duty had no trouble. Tho strikers behaved well. AT THE RENDEZVOUS Just on 4 o'clock this morning, when the big arc lamps on the wharves paled in th> light of dawn, the railway station was the scene of a highly gathering. Men with workmen's kits under their arms formed the centre of i'n_\ group, av.l it not need the pres-nce of "the police to inform the intelligent onlooker of the, meaning of this levee. It was. in fact, the -.inch.is of the band -jf workers co-operating .vith the employers to break the strike that h-io paralysed tJUnorlin trade_ and kept, 10 steamers idle- at. their moorings for neariv 20 davs. Tho massing of the ' men iiad hrou planned with the utmost secrecy. Tliev themselves had been notified of the hour and J"jaee of rendezvous oh- a. few hours cnrlier; and yet the str'lci-r.V rickets were '-'ere with the first arms,ls., and assumed '■':« office of peaceful persuaders with some eftct. Indeed, with signal ofiYct. for y-heu Superintendent Pwyer 1 owned his 3? regular police to couv'jv ih<- worLeys to the scene .of ope hj -n; onlv 2 J of '.lie 50 men who repaired to the rendezvous fell into line, the others had succumbed to the persuasion of the picket*, and, like, the Arabs of the stolen silently awa.v. EX ROUTE.

When .Senior Sergeant Dart gave the word to advance, the strikers followed tho. cortege, and outside the station one of these brought the convoy up with the imperative word " Halt!" *He regretted the order a moment later, when .Sub-inspector Fouhy seized him. The superintendent intervened, however, and the striker was released after a. short but pregnant illustration by Mr Dwyer of the, old adage that one man's liberty ends where the- next man's begins. liven at this early hour there were 100 men gathered at the head of the Rattrav street wharf, and the appearance of the polite convoy was the signal for ;., vocal demonstration—which remained vocal THE REMAINS OP THE BARRICADE. There was no need to give siVn and countersign at the barricade to the Birch street wharf. It had ceased to exist Just after 9 last night a big crowd repaired from the town, and proceeded with much noisy demonstration to demolish the hastily-biult obstructions. This was, perhaps, the most dangerous moment experienced m Duneciin during the strike, for t.ieie was a certain venom in the ill-humor oi the crowd, and it was perhaps a fortunate circumstance that there was no force present to resist their illegal industry. WIIEX THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.

But the meet aurjoits moment for the masters of the vessels lying at the wharves was an hour iater. when the are lights suddenly rliekeiod to a red pencil point and then went dead out. Masters were at once fearful,, for under envoi- of darkness mooring lines mi-ht be cut undetected, and sabotage of a, serious nature undertaken with comparative impunity. These fears proved groundless, however. The persons who gained access to the harbor switchboard and smashed the, switches were evidently _ only making n demonstration without ulterior motive, and eventually tho darkness drove the crowd from the whatves.

HOW THE PORT WAS OPENED. THE- STRIKERS BEHAVE WELL. Tho port wjs opened without the use of any of the 500 specials enrolled in the past few days. Surorintt-mieni Dwver touk his cue from the frequent utterances of strike leaders that the appearance of specials would incite and. not restrain violent display. He gave the men an opportunity to demonstrate tho liana fides of ibis representation of their attitude; and let it be said at once, that (until this hour of 10 a.m., at ail events) the. results justified the (superintendent';; faith. It was as quiet as a, convent. The 30 police on the scene sauntered easily where they liked, one man being sui'ricient to act as nsht-r at the barricade up till 8 o'clock. Indeed, almost- half the force at hand were withdrawn in one batch for breakfast on the MoerakiTHE FIRST SLING. The 28 unionists who faced the ordeal of the march to work were reinforced by tho Union S.S. Company's permanent wharf staff, so that at 8.15 a.m., when the lirst sling was Kwiuig over the side, there were 40 men at. work. Three of the live hatches were opened, and the tirst sling released was a bale of gunny bags from the forward hatch. ALONG THE WATERFRONT. A THREATENING DAYBREAK LEADS TO A QUIET MORNING.

In the first peep of day the prospects seemed ominous. A low barometer (down to 29' i and thick banking clouds in the south-west indicated stormy weather, and, though every rightly-informed person knew thatour men would behave themselves and refrain from the rioting that has accompanied the introduction of free labor at some other ports, the fear was generally felt that the so-far repressed excitement woidd burst forth at some point or other, and cause a. bit of bother. Tho outlook alow and aloft was certainly such as to give ground for anxiety. But by 7 o'clock the most fearful were reassured in both directions. The clouds opened up and gave the promise of a fine morning, and so far as tho crowd was concerned—well, there was no crowd. The locality of the wharves was as peaceful as on a Sunday morning. Strange to say, there was not only no mob, but- the foreshore was less brisk than usual. A few men who approached the overbridge were quietly turned back by the small party of constables who were stationed at that point. All' whose business took them to the wharf or tho enclosed area had to get there through tho Birch street gateway in the barricade, and seven policemen under Sergeant Dart easily controlled that entrance, having nothing to do but to inspect the passes presented. The strikers made no show there or at any other point. What they had to do was done hours earlier, in the way of peaceful picketing, in the exercise of their legal rights. Not once was there at any point a sign of hostility, to the regular police. So far as we can gather, the only exchange of words between the police, and the strikers was in the naturo of a. bit of fun. As the free laborers wero being marched away from the police yard to the. wharf, before daylight, a man on picket duty cried as with a. tone of command " Halt! By your left!'' and as Sub-inspector Fouhy" advanced who had given tho. order the man laughed and moved off. When the unloading of the Moeraki. actually began the quietness still prevailed. Idlers who had assembled to see what was going to happen looked along the waterfront and asked one another where the strikers were. They could not be distinguished as a party even at their own corner, near the ferry berths. Passengors disembarking from the harbor steamers walked through tho somewhat thin crowd without any difficulty and saw nothing to indicate who were striking and who were merely looking on. The splendid orderliness and sobriety of the Dunedin was certainly" tho outstanding featuro of tho morning's proceedings. Tho specials were nowhere to bo seen. WATERFRONT HOTELS CLOSED. Tho Terminus and Wharf Hotels, immediately on the waterfront, received orders at 6 this morning to remain closed,

AT THE BARRIER. START 01? WORK QUIETLY RECEIVED. Tho barricade at the entrance to Birch street wharf was guarded by the uniform police, numbering upwards' of a dozen. Approaching 7.45 a.m. a number of those whose places of business or occupation lay within the area closed to the public began to file through to l?egin work. The greater number oi those, seemed to be employees of Hogg E.nd Co., one of whose hands was stationed at the barrier (o frank them past tho police. Thero was a little gcod■natured banter from a small lmofc of strikers congregated under the loa of the Harbor Board Offices, a fow yards back from the barrier. The rest of* the crowd appeared to be merely curious sightseers, for their personnel was continually changing, and at no time did their numbers exceed 40 or 50. By and by drays and other vehicles put in an appearance, goinii to the yards for their loads Each driver presented his pass, and in most cases exchanged salutations or pleasantries with Hie crowd. Good humor was apparently the key-note. At length the 8 o'clock'whistle'wont—the time appointed for beginning work on tho Moeraki's cargo. '"'Come on, let's have a look at vou," said a striker, peering along the wharf to whero tho Moerafci lav. some couplo of hundred yards distant. Very little could he seen—just a handful of men making ready. Presently an empty ding could bo seen swinging mid-air'from tho end of tho derrick. " 1 heres a barrow," remarked one striker to another with more of interest than resentment or any other feeling, judging from the tone of'voice. ' Then a few mere watersiders joined the knot, of a dozen or m of their mates at the barrier and had a look through at the group about tho vessel, where work was by now steadily proceeding. One rather elderly watersider tried to bluff pa.st, the. cordon of police. When asked for his pa?« !i? answered, with a wink to those behind him, that he wanted to go to work. Altogether matters* were very quiet at the barrier. The great majority of the strikers were along the cross wharf, whence, an excellent view of the Moeiaki could lie obtained. Many of them were busy fehinr:. apparently wjth some success. ' Their inimlv-rs L 'iw thicker towards the corner of tho C'rccs wharf and Baftrav street wharf, adjacent to the old Harbor Board Offices, in which the Strike Committee's headquarters aro situated. At 11 a.m. a body of half a dozen strikers left their headquarters at the old Harbor Board ofltoes and proceeded along the cross wharf to the barrier, drawing in their wake a few of the curious. At the barrier they interviewed Superintendent Dwyer, making a request that they should be allowed inside to act a-s a. peaceful picket io patrol the waterfront. of Birch street wharf.

'['lie inspector declined permission, paying that lie and his men were there expiwslyto prevent anything of the kind, as it would possibly only lead to trouble. The deputation then withdrew as quietly as they came. All morning eome of tho Corinna.'s officers had been busy about the vessel's forecastle, apparently a t the capstan and anchor -bains. A good deal of chaff was tendered them from the crowd on the wharf, here at its thickest. A spico of excitement- was afforded. Some, of the operations necessitated a. man working outboard, from the bitrht of a rope. There was a- mild thrill when ho chanced to miss his hold and. fell into the water. However, he was a swimmer, and made his way easily to tho slops. During the forenoon one of the bow hawsers of the Corinna, was cut at the mooring post, but a chain was put out in its place. "FIGHT CLEAN." # Shortly before 9.30 a move towards the intersection of the Rattra.v street and Cross wharves left the harrier'de-erkd. Here the strikers' mimhere «eenied to have been leinforced, probably bv the return of those who had been away for breakfast. A bttlo cheering indicated the conclusion of a f-tump speech., in which a Social Democrat, (unrlerstood to be Mr G. S. Thomson) advised the watersides to conduct, the fiudil- cleanly—not to cut, the hawsers of the Corinna, lying at tho. Cress' whaif, and not to break down the barri-ades. As a matter of fact, there had been very little but goodhumored talk smima th» knots of men. Occasionally a, youthful striker, after a glance towards the scene of activity at the Moeraki, would express the possibility of the strikers goins along and "dealing with them." But this Miggcsticn remained at. that. DREDGE 404. Far a way from the centime of interest, the Harbor Hoard's dredge 404 lav at- the northern end of the Victoria wliarf, coaling from a milk alongside, in preparation for starting on her flip across to Melbourne to-morrow. The work, accomplished by the Harbor Board's permanent staff, proceeded without any interruption whatever, the tt-rikers not'devoting anv attention to her, p.p. had been* feared in some quarters. . ] At the other end o the earne ■wharf the boys from the training chip Arnokura. came i ashore and went through some physical ! exercises on tho wliarf.

CARTSNG THE GOODS AWAY. A MILD DEMONSTRATION. Excitement began to crop up this afternoon when tho work of carting tho goods away from the wharf began. "The crowd left the waterfront and lined the end of Wharf street nearest to Rattray street. Here, the drivers had to run the gauntlet. One of the. earliest carts to get away with a- load was carrying che6te of tea", and two of these wore, 'knocked off into the road, but the strikers' pickets, so it is understood, ordered these to be replaced, and this-was done. The commotion caused a couple of the police, cordon at the barrier to be withdrawn, and soon after their

appearance on the c-cene the cart got safely through with its load. But on the police officers returning to the barrier each fresh cart that came pact with its load had to force its way through a howling, hooting group, and two in particular had an unpleasant experience. However, the horses found their drivers' urging more imperative than the waving arms in front. Each driver was. informed that he. was——not in accordance with the strikers' idea of a worker ; also that he was a marked man. "lie's i. special, too," lemarked one striker to another concerning a driver who had perhaps the most awkward task of all. With the appearance of a. handful of police the demonstration tended to die down. Prior to this Mr 0. S. Thomson appealed to the men not to sjoil then' cause by these tactics. nFot a time there was a lull at tho wharf and Rattray- street corner, hut as drays and expresses returned empty for further loads they were greeted, if not with the cordiality of old friends, at least with some vehemence. They made their way through, hoy ever, with no more actual molestation than an occasional attempt by an apostle of moral suasion to mount the step and argue with tho driver. Some of the crowd recognised one of tho firm of Spencer and Dunkley, whose vehicles wero onions those employed in the carting of roods, standing <:>•-> the further side of Rattray street watching the progress of events. He was nalut'ed in the manner that it Eeemed fit to the strikers to use, and finally when he mounted his bicyclo and rode av ay wa.s given a rend-ofi which he acknowledged with a; polito raisine of his hat. I

EXTENDING THE AREA OF ACTION. Such splondid progress has been made with the discharge of tho Moeraki that attentions to other boats are already receiving consideration. Tlie HuddartPnrker steamer Victoria will come up from Port Chalmers to-morrow morning, and after the Moeraki is discharged (about 4 to-morrow aftomoon), she will make room for the Corinna, a light ship with only about 50 tons aboard. • At noon to-day the Moeraki had discharged 200 tons of a total Dunedin consignment of 360 tons, and by the hour tomorrow named above she will have got rid

of the 400 tons of Lvttelton cargo remaining and the 40 tons of Wellington out-port cargo. ' i At i s /,«?' clock tho T "viuni had pulled ahead 40ft to make room at Birch street whan tor the Victoria. WATERSIDKRS CHEERFUL: No sign of. dejection a-monust tho Dunodin watcraidcre to-day. Thev have, their cares, no doubt, but they arc not parading ttiem. Now and again during the" morning one could hear the headquarters accordion playing lively tunes. Inside the doov is a. notice to the effect that no intoxicated person will bo allowed on tho premises, nor is any liquor to bo taken in. MEX REMAIN ABOARD. To-mght, at any rate,' the workers will he billeted on tho Moeraki. PORT CHALMERS. The Mokoia is to bo -docked without tho assistance of the men on strike r nnmbpr of i»£ started to paint the outside of the vwl's hull, work that is-i lSHa ll v ~O lM> g "-hen a s teanier,is in dock. ]t warded that tho painters thus engaged wero in way interfering with the work of the men on .stnko. 'J. ho strikers arc said to tS diflercntly, and fhev ~l v lhat , t ,"£ punters were, of tho same, -opinion, and, declining- to do such painting. «a.<ed Wol . k " On the painters' fiide of the question hj is stated that it was for other reasons than the three painters did not so to work at painting on the outside of the huh. There is one point clear, and that is that' throughout the forenoon none of tho sinkers attempted to interfere or mole=t the workers. Last night delegates from tho union conferrcd with the. .Mayor protesting bringing special constables to 11,0- 'tarn It Mas stated that work would be recommenced without calling n U special? but if any molestation or interference took nlaco specials would he. brought. It i s understood (hat tho (sinkers agreed, fhi.s a<n-e--ment, it is said, being appreciably" int7f Y lhc r- IKCt ™™*™* for the local regular police. The stwnnor.Komnta. is duo here. late, this afternoon or evening, with a. load of coal from Newo-stle. The Turakinfrom London direct, should i-aoh Iktc <m r ndav.

DOCKTXC THE MOKOIA. The Mokoia was docked at Port Chalmers this afternoon, without the assistance of the. strikers, a number of whom were present, on the wharf, but offered no resist aneo whatever, they appearing to tram used at. the unusual si-hf of captains chief engineers, and pcimancnf officials doing such things as carrying lines and other work usually done, by casual labor. AT OTHER PLACES. AT WELLINGTON. [Pen ILnited Press Association.] . WELLTNGTOX. Xovomhor 18. Rain is greatly hampering work on the wharves this morning, but some, was done. Ihe square is comparatively emptv \ smaller_ number of mounteds'aro pa'trollinc than hitherto. b THE ATHENIC. LOYALTY EECOOXISEID. [Fer Untied Press Association-.] i _ WELLINGTON, November 18. [ lhe Lmon Company are sending the To j Anau to I.ytteltoir to-ni = ht to act ac a horse boat, for the local" Arbitratiomsts. This morning representatives of the farming industries presented the ra.ptain, olllcsrs, and crew of the. Athcnic with an illuminated address, expressing appreciation of their loyalty and faithfulness to duty during the crisis. It was said that their action had saved hundreds of email farmers from ruin. The value of the dairy produce on the Athenic is over £250,000. Other vessels whose crews remained loyal are. to receive similar peculations. The now ID rivers' Union continues to increase their membership. COASTAL VESSELS 11E1XC MAXXFD. 800 WATERSIDE AddbTIRATIOXISTS. [Per United Press Association-.] WELLINGTON, November 18. A. new crew signed on the Ilimitangi prior to her dc-pauure for the Chatham?. \'ery little difficulty is Ijeing experienced in manning the coastal vessels. It is expected to get the Athenic n.wav for London at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Thomas Iverson, a powerfully.built man who kicked a email boy in the back, was sentenced to Id days' imprisonment. Tho man charged with beiiur implicated m an assault on a special constahle at Barrett's Hotel yesterday was remanded. The hotel has been since elo-ed Cm bar business. The new union's membership now totals nearly 800. HEMS FROM WELLIXOTOX. [Special to the Stab.] WELLINGTON, Xovembcr 18. The Jlinemoa's new crew are a liappy family. Several amateurs are taking kindly to a. seafarimr iife. Mr Farland asserts, that, rather than return to work as. Arbitialienists the. stiikers will leave Xcw Zealand. In any ca;-e. Xo\v Zealand would not be worth living in if the Federation of I.abor were kilkd. Among the persons volunteering their services as. seamen arc a number of veteran sailors, who have been ashore, for many years. These arc now helping to man the coastal boats. Tim authorities seem i<> anticipate! trouble near the 'Dominion' office, where special constables arc. kept on guard unobtrusively night and day. One big carrying firm has ail its vehicles voi'kins. The majority of the. drivers are members of the new union, some of whom ' stipulate for peimanoiit employment. Tho | firm are giving lhe old hands one more I chance t<> return before graining the request of (he new workers. j

THE STRIKE BROKEN. TWELVE HUNDRED MEN RETURN TO WORK. ADEQUATE SHIPPING FACILITIES. [Per United Preps Association-.] AUCKLAND, November 17. It is estimated that 2.000 men are at work in 10 of the 15 trades affected by the strike. Of this number about 3.200 are repentan(. striker?. I Admirable work has been done in clcar- [ inp up the eongestion. j The shipping facilities are now nich I hat the whole position can he effectively coped with. A FOOLHARDY ACT. [Pes United Peess Association.] AUCKLAND.. November 18. At the Police Couit to-day Sydney ISiekorton v.-as charged with using insulting words and insulting behaviour on the occasion of the procession of strikers' wives and children, bearing a banner '■' To see the cockies." Accused admitted tho offence, ho asserted that Serjeant Fra- ' zer tore the banner from the children's hands and had threatened to run the children down with their horse.*. This allegation was denied by the sergeant. He spoke to several women and children warning them of tho danger that a riot, would put the children in. lie probably did suggest that there was danger of the children being ridden down by horses. Mr Frazer, S.M., spoke strongly' of the folly of bringing children into a "crowd when' the latter were in an excited stale, like what existed last Monday. It was almost an act of criminal folly. It was only .fair to statethat the Strike Committee had denied that they authorised the procession. The accused was fined £2.

NAPIER CREWS REMAIN LOYAL 1 . [Per. United Pnuss Association,] XAPIKR, November 18. lira crews of Richardson and Co.'b fleet were inclined to go out in sympathy with the strikers. The men wore addressed bv Mr Kelly managing director, after which they held a meeting, and resolved to remain at work. CANTERBURY SPECIALS. CHRISTCrIURCH, November 18 _ A strong contingent of special constables is expected from Xort-h Canterbury tomorrow. They will aseomble at Random and march to the city. A force from South Canterbury wiil probably also arrive by train from Ashburton.* The arrangements to receive the men at tho Addiugtonshow grounds are nearly complete. Some of the. acting specials received notion to go into camp to-morrow. About 30 men a ((ended a meeting yesterday for the formation of the new waterside)*' union, and the papers were sent to Wellington last night. The general kiboivivs meet to-night. the Sirike Committee report liberal offers of supplies from many quarters, including t;uhsUntia.l donations of produce from the country. ON THE WEST COAST. VI'SSKLS BRIXfJ PROYTRIOXS. HOKITIKA. November IS. . the steamer Holmdalc arrived this morning with a full cargo of produce for this port and ,revmouth. The htlor cargo !',l T , ; ll, ' (! . 11 " 1 'f il - The Kairaki, also fully loaded,js expected this evening. Labor conditions here ore normal. There jvns no demonstration on the part of the (m\v strikers Ample local labor is avaih able to work the ships with even-despatch, and (lie recent improvements at tho port TZ "i'Y i h T vl "-, l ° B nud p 'fcct. The ohnclae had ample wafer an hour before ugh tide. Capfam Robertson expressed the opinion I hat the port could bo worken uilh every safety by (| IP Anchor boats and similar .steamers. The Holmdalc is now and is expected to sail on llinrsdav. 11, ls not known whether tho new w,H leave the ship, hut jf t ) lov flo local men w,ll be found lo man the vessel

EMPLOYERS' RE.VMEjD EOR THE DEXXISTOX EXPLOSJOX . Iron, (ho Ues-tporl, papers 0 f lhe 11( . • P-'d we, Jearn that as the ouCnm of tin <>xplosion at, the Pennr-lon mine brakenearl on (ho previous vl.-iv tho following motion was m ,, Vd , ly a ; nafcs n|ootjn<r fitrikcra and endorsed by t.hc Strike fW mitlee:— That we wire („ (] H , federation o( Laoor hem t]i at . , ( n f . jl .j k< , c . omni ; t(e<lH denounce violence in any shape or form, and m our opinion, from evidence bcloro us, the dastardly outrage was committed, at the employers' behest. ( 0 discredit our organ iwitio.u;, and so turn lhe public's wholo-heaiU-d sympathy into, hatred. 'J Ins method of breaking 6 tribzf) characterises the American ac(ies,_and (his is, wo believe, the fe. iroduction of these despicable lactic*. Vie assure iiie public thai. wo arc out to wm on honorable lims. ami we strictly censure destruction, as such would be suicidal on our pari. A Ralolutha man at pre,ont in Dunedin writes to the 'Free Press' : "The town is very quiet owing to the strike, but the ieeling here is that, it is. about over. Yo U would hardly know that (here was a, strike on, it, is so quiet lieie. But it is awful to tee so many boats li.d up to the wharf and "nothing doing." A sta.rt is to be made with free labor 131 week, but the police her-;. <;•> lli;t anticipatetrouble, as the Dunedin waC-ieidrrs \i,ei en tlr> whole a peaceable lot of men. who are not looking for trouble, and the hardhcaded business men of lids t.avn did not rush in with hundreds of "special constables'' nt "the jump." ;<s was done in Wellington, 'they arc sjow to begin in Jhmediri, and like (o ion!; , : j| round a subject, but they- are "dceviL" ai a finish. Tho str.'ke has tilled tin local ngenla of i-ho_ British musical instrument (inns with dic.may. Souk; months ago the Waterfaideis' Union ordered a ivw tqnipment for their band—a, h?autifid si ; o! silver pieces worth £7oo—whirh were inCndid as a prch?n|. from the union {,-. tip hard. Theso instruments arc now en ;eute to Xcw Zealand on the slicn/th of a £V3 .Vpcd'.. The driver.-' p : ok:ls aie si ill busy <.n t'hn trick of giviim bogus telephone calls, and so drawim- the vans I" ih" suburbs.