OUR SYDNEY LETTER

Evening Star, Issue 15537, 6 July 1914, Page 2

OUR SYDNEY LETTER

THE CDAIi MINERS

Tlie Maitland coal minora are still on strike against the afternoon shift. Mr Estell; the Minister of Mines, resents the manner in which, the overtures of the Government to settle the matter have been treated by the action of the miners in eomj ing ont on strike. He wishes it to be understood that the men cannot expect anything whilst they are, so to speak, flouting the law. In the old times, employers used to say : " You carnot esi>ect anything so long as'you are trying to dictate to* us how wo shall carry on our business.'' That attitudo was stigmatised as clubbing* •or tlying to club, tlie men into submission by starvation. "When you are tired of standing out,, you can accede to cur terms," rays, in effect, the Minister to the men. The similarity of the attitude adopted by the Government to that formerly in favor with the "hard-hearted" employer is very striking and suggestive. It is Nature's way also. "Study my laws, and take advantage of them, and you will prosper, but if you defy them you will certainly starve." That is her ultimatum, and, on the whole, it is kind, as well as severe, for it puts everyone on his mettle to adapt himself to his surroundings, instead of madly butting his head against them. STRIKE STATISTICS. Mr Ktiibbs's quarterly budget of Labor statistics is very discouraging to any who may have hoped that the advent of Labor to power with an unquestionable majority would usher in a. halcyon period of industrial peace. During the quarter ended March 31 there were, he tells us, in the Commonwealth, 113 new disputes. Of these, no less than 70, or 65 per cent., were in New South Wales, leaving only 30 for all the ether States together. Of the 30, 19 were in Victoria, 9 in .Western Australia, 7 in South Australia, 4 in Queensland, o in Tasmania, and 1 in the Federal capital territory. If the population of West Australia were equal to that of this State, she might, on this showing, expect about SO strikes! Puzzle : Find out the "pacificatory" influence of Labor in power. This State holds ai.oth.er distinction, according to a reliable financial writer. Necessaries which in Sydney would cost. 245, in Melbourne would cost only 21s 4d, in Brisbane only 19s 7d, and in every other capital city of Australia, much less than it costs here. Tlk«j are facts to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly di--s;est." YARALLA.

The more that is known about the mansion which the Governor-General is to occupy during his stay in Sydney, the more surprising it becomes that- anyone should have supposed that Miss Eadith Walker, the lady who owns it, should entertain the thought of making it a present to anybody. The estate consists of over 300 acres of suburban land, which must be immensely valuable, A staff of 17 men is employed in keeping in order the 27 acre.s of land which surround the house. The mansion itself is endeared to Miss Walker by the fact that it was built by her father* and has been repeatedly enlarged by him and by herself, so that it i's now a. most commodious mansion, worthy of the occupation of vice-royalty. Miss Walker's action in making it available- is very liberal, but to expect her to give :t away is certainly "over the odds." MORE »LANGUAGE."

The dubious art of how not to conduct a political controversy is still being elucidated by Mr Holman, the State Premier, and Mr Grayndler, the secretary of the A.W.U. The latter has it on his mind that the Government are more zealous ihan they should be in bringing out boys to be trained for agricultural work. He aims ponderous blows with his verbal bludgeon at his adroit antagonist, who side-steps and retaliates with a rapier thrust which makes his opponent look foolish. Mr Holman was roundly charged with working a " brutally callous" scheme to feed the farms with imported boy labor. The reply in which he refuted the charge was not acceptable, and he now rejoins: "Mr Grayndler speaks of my reply as 'spiteful.' Spiteful is a remarkable word, chiefly in use among children and among men who have never intellectually grown up,' etc., etc. All of which is, of course, "nuts" to the other side. What has become of the boasted " solidarity " when leading men talk to one another iu this fashion? THE I.W.W. Another Labor body (the 1.W.W.) also have a crow to pick with the Labor Government. They regard the Government proposal to grant lite passes on the railwavs to the displaced trustees of the Barrack Street Savings Bank as " an effort to placate political Foes and a pandering to the well-to-do middle class." They demand that Ministers shall "adopt, as a basic -working principle, the democratic asioni of equal rights to all citizens ai.d the abolition of special privileges." There is jusfc-a gleam of hope in this del : verancc, for it" seems to indicate that the I.W.W. are seized of the injustice of preference to unionists. But consistency and-reason are at so woeful a discount just now that even bodies which wish to be regarded seriously eat their own words without compunction or scruple. All that can be gathered indubitably is that the Government are in for a very bad time from their own supporters. MILLIONS IX MOTOR CARS. The numbering of Sydney motor odis is proceeding apace, as may be gathered from the fact that one of them now rejoices in the number 11,111. Some of them cost confiiderablv over £I,OOO, so that the value of the whole must run into several millions. Whether it is altogether a good sign that a young country, which needs capital so badly to assist its productive development, should sink so much money in this particular way is more than doubtful. If the cars would only grow or multiply it might be another "matter. THE RURAL WORKERS' UNION. The latest "log" demanded by the R.W.U. is simply staggering, when ,»ie remembers the struggles which the majority of settlers have to make in order to keep their heads above water. There is apparently a determination to make trouble, if possible, in the approaching harvest, for it is declared that it is to come into operation on October 1. For grain stackers 16s per day is demanded, an advaiue of 6s, not over "existing rates, but over the pievious demand. Other classes of 'abor are also to be made much more costly than they are at present. It cannot be regarded as surprising that there is much more unanimity among the men who are resisting claims so exorbitant than among those who are making them. One thing, however, may be said in favor of the log—namelv, that it is admirably calculated to open the eyes of the general public to the utterly unpractical character of the claims, and to alienate the sympathy of many \ ho might have supported a demand of a n-ore moderate, character. June 23.