THE STRIKE.

Evening Star, Issue 15343, 18 November 1913, Page 7

THE STRIKE.

LABOR'S MISTAKES. [Special to the Stab.] AUCKLAND, November 17." Che Auckland 'Star,' a consistently •onch champion of the secret ballet, >tes editorially that the meeting of the Jneral laborers in Wellington on Friday ,jelped to emphasise strongly the un- , reasonable prejudice entertained by one ' section of the workers against the'secret ballot, *' "The most unjust and tyrannical of all the methods of the Syndicalists-," the paper goes on to say, "is their insistence upon open voting in meetings where vio- ; lent passions are aroused, and threats and insults too often take the place of argument, and it encourages somo hope for a ■wakening of Labor from one of its most pernicious delusions to learn that a strong inaction in favor of the secret ballot has already set among workers.'' : Pursuing this theme of Labor's mis- : takes, the paper submits: "But if the : objection to the secret ballot is shortsighted and unreasonable, what are we to say of tho sympathy strike? What can be more irrational and -unjust than the demand that because a dispute arises between the wage-earners and their employers at the Bluff, therefore all workers in Auckland, Wellington, Christdrarch, and Dimedin shall strike, or that every workex from on© end of the Dominion, to the. other shall at once 'down tools'? We have on many occasions discussed the evils of Lie general strike, which is merely a sympathy strike carried to its logical conclusion, and we can find no words strong enough to express the fojlv and futility and harmful ness of such a. policy. "By 'downing tools' the sympathetic -strikers not only squander their savings and eat up their union funds, but they render themselves unable to assist their fellow-workers, and in a short "time they -•all sink to the level of destitution together. Surely no further argument is needed to demonstrate, the hopelessness and uselessness of the sympathy strike. "Looked at in relation to "its bearing npon our entire industrial svstem. the sympathy strike spells chaos. Some trifling dispute liks that of the Wellington ■ shipwrights grows and extends until the trade of the whole Dominion is seriously disorganised, and the resultant 1-s both directly and indirectlv, falls mainly upon the class who are dependent for their means of hvelihod upon steady and remunerative employment. Thousands of men who have no grievances against thenemployers are brought into bitter conflict with them, and a, state of feeling most injurious to the prospects and progress of the country ;s created. Many" sur-h disturbances would inevitably 'wreck the manufacturing industry of' New Zealand. J.his fact has undoubtedly influenced the southern unions i„ refusing to follow Aucklands lead in.pursuance of this disastrous and destructive policy." —End Not In Sight.—

At this stage, the beginning of the second week of the general strike in Auckland, one cannot assume from evidence available that iho end of the strike is within measurable distance. The "results this morning m respect to thu numtwr of men who returned to Mstimo their former occupations did not come up l 0 0 ™ sanguine expectations. We had the came experience at Waihi just 12 months " a *o. Many people hastily assumed that when ijibor was introduced after five months of idleness, and a compulsory Arbitration £wA t llt U full t v lline weel « before the workers under the constant super"umencally stron S cno "S k to t«rn EnS ei f/ mn ? torraen toivs and drive ttwmoutofthemining township. Here in AeS ml n" day W , 6 , havo P»rticallv no jeering. One could not hear, i n the to make the most sensitive football referee turn a hair. Tbo special constables,'' th their badge of office round the left upper arm (strongly reminiscent of our now-ft" gotten smallpox scare, when vaccination was the »ge and a white bandage wasthe danger signal), attract not even pas <"~ comment as they stroll along the streets g —The Melodramatic Pose.— In connection with the presence among Us of so many 'special" constables peopll are now beginning to remark (since we are all morning to normal again) upon the unnecessarily stagey appearance of the™ young men. Those who came from the country have batons from three to four St h g - „ ihey , are h , oe haildles - ov light pick handles adapted for the purpose. When mounted and on guard the men wear these things at the slope, like hussar Wk- ° n V^r l They swin S them carelessly as if they were hunting-crops. The sight seems to annoy some of the strikers. When on foot the country specials use these batons as if they were walking sticks, and it is ,n this connection that ordinary civilians are beginning to take notice, and to suggest that a little less ostentation would not do any harm The whole business is not devoid of entertainment, now that wo have got over our first nervousness and have,ceased confiding tr, each other that we were on the verge of civil war. 6

—For Carving Meat Only.— , Some excitement cropped up this morning ni- the vicinity of some suburban stables where pickets and special constables had assembled, the former to pursue their moral suasion methods with drivers and tho latter to prevent intimidation A cry went up from the pickets that one of the special constables carried a knife, and a uniformed constable who was on duty near at hand- was requested to arrest the special constable in question. He intimated that he could not do that nut as there seemed to be quite a lot of feeling over the matter lie went to the special concerned and asked him about the knife The latter delivered up a butcher's knife which ho carried in his belt He explained that ho had been using it for cookery purposes at the camp, when he had been hurriedly called out, and had forgotten to remove the knife from his bolt. The taking of the knife by the uniformed man satisfied the excited pickets. All the same, some of the city specials have been carrying sheath knives, greatlv to the disgust of their level-headed comrades. _ "Yon would think we were givin* an imitation of comic-opera brigands," rc*marked one sturdy special (an outdoor man who earns his living by spending as little time as he can in a city office), '• to see some of our chaps. They seem to have n off shaving, and they tie a handker,cnife backwards round their necks, and some of the goats have even got sheath knives. Lord knows what they want them tor. No white man would know what to Cto with one unless to clean fish. The trouble with these Johnnies is that their minds have been fed up on tho hairvtrousered individual in the picture show's. .Bat, _ he concluded. " they'll grow. We do quite a lot of good work with the gloves in pur spare time." r —Some Solid Unions.--Not all the unions on strike can be taunted with avoidance- of the te<t of the fecrefc ballot. To-day the furniture trade workers, at a special meeting summoned jay circular and advertisement, decided by secret ballot by 145 votes to 19 to reaffirm the attitude taken up. There are between 300 and 400 in the union, however, but gTeat care was taken to acquaint everv one of the proposal to hold a ballot, and it was clearly explained that in the event of the decision not to reaffirm their attitude the men would be at liberty to go The bricklayers decided upon their course of action by secret ballot, and so did the tramway men, while the seamen simply overrode their executives, and would not have a secret ballot. Of course this does not prove that the secret ballot would not h*ve checked some of the unions in the earlier stages, but it throws light on an aspect of the question that many urge has not been sufficiently considered by the Government—namely," disgust at the Government intentions, which caused

so many Arbitration unions to throw in their lot with the Federation, whom thev had previously turned down so solidly, and which they declare they will turn down again "when this trouble has been honorably settled." YET ANOTHER CONFERENCE. WELLINGTON, November 17. Representatives of the old Waterside Workers' Union, the seamen, and the drivers now on strike met in conference to-day at the Conciliation Commissioner's office. Mr Hally (Comm-'ssioncr) was present, with Messrs T. M. Wilford and E. J. Fitzgibbou (solicitors). After somo discussion concerning a possible basis of settlement, the conference was adjourned. No further information was divulged as to what passed at the meeting. ATTITUDE OF THE SHEARERS. [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, November 17. There has been much speculation as to why the shearers have not joined in the strike. Mr Larcy (secretary) to-day explained the attitude of the executive. * He stated I that the main reason the executive bad for I not calling the shearers out was that the employers desired a general strike also. j Through the shipping facilities being curtailed they would not be able to get their wool away from New Zealand, and, there-' fore, would rather have it on the sheep's backs than in the sheds. Many of the shearers had reason to believe that a postponement in shearing operations would be declared by the employers as a result of the strike. Furthermore, in the opinion of the executive, financial assistance would be of more, service to the workers now oil strike than the shearers leaving their employment, and in consequence ttiev declined to call on the men to " down tools." The sheds throughout New Zealand were being circularised with the object of obtaining as much money as possible for the distress fund, and the executive were also asking members to refrain from making engaged ments at sheds where the owners were assisting with horses or men in keeping the. work going on the waterfront. CHRISTCKURCH. A local firm of agricultural implement manufacturers has a shipment valued at £4OO awaiting transport to Australia, but unless the strike ends soon it is quite likely that the orders may be cancelled. The Christchurch wool sale, which was set down for Friday, November 21. has been abandoned, and the first sale will be held on December 10. The shortage of sugar and the absence of supplies consequent on the continuance of the strike have resulted in the closing down of another Christchurch factory— 1 the Atlas _ Confectionery and Biscuit I Works. This means that" between 80 and 100 men and girls have been thrown out of work. November is one of the busiest ■months of the year, and otto in which the I factory always works overtime. " We, are full of orders," said the proprietor, "but from present indications we shall be unable to complete them this vear. This means the loss of many hundreds of pounds, in addition to the wages lost by the employees." A large strike deputation waited on the City Council last night, and urged that they should protest against the proposed appointment of special constables. A motion in this direction was. after a long discussion, rejected, only "the four* Labor members of the council voting for it. The Council, however, decided' to ask the Mayor to call a public meeting of representative citizens to discuss the present industrial crisis, with a view to making a report to the Government to pass legislation to settle the present trouble. AUCKLAND. The following figures show the estimated number of men working in-trades affected by the strike : Waterside workers, 435; hot°l and restaurant employeccs. 400; Exhibition workers, 280: Harbor Board men, 220; carters, 200; carpenters, 20; CityCouncil employees, 20; aerated wate'r workers, 80; joinery factories, 80; sail, tent, and cover makers, 20; total, 2,165. The majority of these men are strikers who have repented. . The waterside workers are members of the.new Arbitration Union, and among them are a few members of the old union. Fully 300 men and girls are already at work in hotels, and another 100 are allowed for restaurant waitresses. So" completely has the hotel strike broken down that 387 applications for work have been registered with the Licensed Victuallers' Association, although the requirements of Auckland hotels vary from 320 to 350. The name of the new union of hotel employees is the Auckland- Hotel Assistants' " Industrial Union. It is intended primarilyfor hotel workers, without reference to restaurants, and application has been made for registration under the Arbitration Act.

Realising the value of organisation, the farmers' executive or the Auckland Provincial Farmers' Union have discussed the advisability of a scheme whereby all the farmers' organisations in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand may- act together in the case of dislocation of trade caused by industrial strife. At a, meeting of the Executive on Saturday it was decided to get into close touch with all the farmers' unions in Australia and Tasmania, with a view to preventing any attempts to hold up boats from Australia to New Zealand or vice versa. WEST COAST, Tho Reefton Miners' Union have voted £75 to the Strike Committee ab Wostport, and a similar sum to Grey. A hopeful feeling now prevails in Reefton as to the future.

( A large and enthusiastic meeting of the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce was held _ last night, when the following resolution was passed and a copy forwarded to the Prime Minister and the Hon. Mr Herdman :—" That this meeting congratulate you on the action which your Government have taken in upholding the laws of the country, and oil your endeavor to keep the channels of commerce open during the present crisis; and they also expressiontinned confidence in your action and iheir willingness to assist in every direction." The following resolution was also forwarded to the Prime Minister:—"That this chamber are heartily in accord with the. Arbitration movement, and express the hope that the Government will remain firm to that principle." At a largely-attended meeting of the Rotomanu branch of the West Coast Farmers' Union the following resolution was carried unanimously :—" While regretting the strike, we are in favor of maintaining law and order, and recognise that- every man has a right to work as ho sees fit. and we arc prepared at anv time to assist those workers, and to help, ■if need be, to protect them whilst working." At Hokitika yesterday afternoon a meeting of citizen's was convened. There was a very .large attendance. Tho Mayor presided, and the, various speakers, "including Mr H. T). Michel (chairman of the Harbor Board), referred to the necessity of preparing for any emergency. Great enthusiasm prevailed throughout, and it was ascertained that those presentwere unanimous in responding to the call for special constables/ It was evident that, no difficulty would be experienced in raising 600 or 700 men in a few hours should their services be required. A feature of the position is the large, number of saw-mill hands and other working men who have volunteered, and the exceedingly small number in sympathy with those, who threaten to stop shipping opcrationp at this port. The residents determined to unload and load the Holmdale and ajiy other steamer trading to Hokitika. Fortunately the Hokitika bar is carrying from 14ft to 15ft of water, and provided the weather'is at all favorable there should be no difficulty in working the port. _ KILLING THE ONLY CURE. War is never pleasant. Other things being equal, peace is always preferable, but tho man who goes about saying "Peace, peace," when-there is no peace, is a mis-chief-maker rather than a- peacemaker. It is not peace that is the supreme need of the world, but the defeat and destruction of the Red Federation. . . . I'o scotch the Federation woiild be useless, since that would 'involve another and probably a severer and more prolonged struggle at a later stej,, J& not ] JC scotched, but

killed. Tim consistent adoption by Labor of the policy of " tossing agreements to Hell," and violating every law that proved ! inconvenient, -would simply mean that laws and agreements -would become more | and more inconvenient from the standpoint of Labor, and that the public sympathy, which has helped «Labor through many triumphs during the last quarter of a century, _ would be withdrawn, and the hands of the clock set back many years. Ihe best friend of Conservatism in this country at the present time is the Federation of Labor., The Massey Government, who have been appreciably weakened during the last few mouths, stand stronger than ever to-day through the folly of the Federation. TII3 Opposition have' lost ail the ground that they had previously recovered through the'mistakes of the Government, because they have committed the infinitely greater blunder of seeking to run with the hare of reasonable gross and hunt with the hounds of the Red Federation. The destruction of the Federation is essential for the progress of Labor and of every good cause.—Wellington Tost.; SAW-MILLERS IDLE. TAIHAPE, November 17. , One of the results of the industrial troubles is the discharge of 200 saw-mill hands in the district covered by the operations of the Rangitikei Saw-millers' Association, due to the falling off in the demand for timber.

A SOLUTION AND AX APPEAL. [By Ex-Shellback.] The present crisis is costing this country thousands daily—the maintenance of "specials'' alone exceeds £2,000 per diem. The shipping companies and tho waterside workers are at each other's throats, while tho rest of tho community are looking on and losing all the time. * Is this good enough? By all means let the fighters fight, if only they themselves have to suffer for the fray, lint if the rest of the community sulfer from it, they surely have a sight to have a say in the settlement. The time has now arrived for that say to be presented to all concerned. Kindly allow me space to express my portion 'of that saw

What is needed is a lasting solution of the present difficulty. Free labor is no solution. It is a mere expedient, a scotching of a menace to the welfare of the community.. Very well! When the welfare of the community is threatened it is the duty of Parliament, as the highest tribunal in the land, to call on the disputants to state their respective cases in order that final judgment may be pronounced as between them. When that has been done, the first step towards a settlement has been taken. In order to do so in the present circumstances Parliament must abandon its hitherto Micawber-like attitude towards this industrial crisis, and act with the effectiveness expected of such a body. But will Parliament be equal-to the occasion? Can it grasp effectively this golden opportunity? Can it vindicate tho faith tho electors reposed in their representatives in December, 1911? Yes, I remember saying that free labor was _ a mere expedient ,not a lasting solution. Tho main factor in the problem of tho present crisis is that the shipping companies and the watersiders are having a row. The result is that the shipping is lying idle in pur ports, and tho whole community are suffering considerable loss. In order to settle this dispute the companies offered to let tho waterside workers restart the loading and discharging of the ships provided that they (the watersiders) would enter into a, bond not to strike again without duo notice^—or something to that effect. The watersiders declined to resume- work on those terms. Presently, however, they thought better of it, and agreed to enter into the required bond. To the outsider, who, by the way, is also the sufferer, this seemed to be a fair settlement. But it wasn't. The shipping companies then refused to let- the watersiders resume work unless the latter substantiate their bond by submitting themselves to the jursidiction of the Arbitration Court.- The watersiders refuse to submit to the Court, because they have wholly lost faith in that tribunal.

So tlu raiu-o of the maintenance of the prf-s-Jiit deadlock resolves it-self into this—the bond stipulated for by the shipping company is unacceptable to them, because it does not come through tho Arbitration Court, and unless" it. comes through that Court it is not really binding'. That is just where Parliament should step in and say that the proffered bond shall be made binding, though t-hiough other legal channels than the Arbitration Court. By so enacting'. Parliament would put. to the test the watersidcrs' expressed readines to enter into tho bond demanded lithe companies. That should solve the-diffi-culty if both parties to tho dispute are sincere in their profession?. In any case both parties to all industrial disputes in future must be brought uncW' the jurisdiction of the Stats, Both side-, here profess faith in tho principle of Arbitration.. The watersiders faith in the principle is evidence! by the fact- that adopted it as their method of settling differences under the Federation of Labor scheme, which they adopted when they lost faith in and withdrew from the-_ operation of the principle of Arbitration as administered by the Court. Tho Federation of Labor method of applying tho principle of Arbitration to settle differences is by means of local committees composed of" three- representatives from the- employers and three- from the workers. Thi-s method not only avoids the delay experienced in taking differences to a law court, for settlement, but, it ensures that any difference, arising iu the course of work shall be dealt with by men who personally understand the conditions existing where tho differences first arose. That is a vitnl point. It is a more, practical application of the principle of Arbitration than of bringing differences before law courts ,to be fettled by men who do not have a, personal knowledge of tho industries in which a dispute has occurred. If the Conciliation and Arbitration Act! has to be amended (and the present industrial revolt shows the need for such amendment;, why not proceed at- once to make the requisite .".Iterations? Amend it bv adapting and extending the local committee system C have rc.fererd. to. In every province set up a local committee representing every branch of industry—

painters for the settlement of painting disputes, for engineering, watersiders for cargo working, and so on. Appoint an experienced stipendiary magistrate as chairman of this committee, who will deal with all differences arising under an award For the making of ah award itseiT, let the loial committee, of the industry concerned be added to bv, say, two chairmen from similar committees in other provinces. Should the workers or employers in the industry concerned be dissatisheu with the award made, if thev l e ill to shmv cause whv Sl,ch should be reviewed by a higher authority, let there bo an industrial appeal court formed of the chairmen, of all the local committers, say, in the South Island, and let them review the award and detcrmina m nether its provisions are in accord with the evidence submitted to the lower body; in conclusion, I vemuro to appeal to tiie irime Minister to <\-. a \ immediately and onectively with the m<* e -,t deadlock. 4<reo labor and batons never accomplished mucn beyond casing strife and planting the seeds of vindictive hatred in the ™f a?* st f,te6inanliko measures aro ment Head of our Govenl -