FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 December 1911, Page 8

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

(TO THE EDITOR.) Sir, —-Kindly allow me a little space in your vaulable paper to make a 'comment on some of your correspondents headed “The Freedom of Speech,”“Unity Schemers,” etc. Being one who has taken an interest iu local and national questions since coming to Ru- ' nanga, some four years ago and being one of those terrible people Revolutionary Socialists referred to in some !of the correspondence that has ap- j i peaivd in your paper, I think I only. claim what is fair when I ask for the ' insertion of this letter. Referring to ' a letter with the signature of “A ' i Fisher,” not Fisker, he seems some-j ! what hurt indeed on the way those #r- ; | rible people of Runanga have treated ! j him and his friends. He first goes on 1 | to point out that they are not allowed to have an opinion of their own, and that they are getting robbed of what, our forefathers fought for (freedom ol ' speech). Marvellous, yet laughable!] Let me tell my friend if he had been i here and fought iu the pioneering work ■be would have had cause for , complaint. The Socialists of Runanga trying to suppress freedom of thought and speech! It seems too ridiculous ! to be 'worth noticing. No Sir, free- j dom of speech and thought are the . ruling force in Runanga to-day a s in ' the four or five years that have gone by. It is the human tongue and brain : in its freedom that has made our little organisation what it is to-day, loved By hundreds of class conscious men, j commanding attention from the ruling ; forces, and being looked upon not only in New Zealand but in other parts of the globe as a force to be reckoned with and respected. Yes, I could take my • friends back and point out that long before the Federation of Labour was brought into existence, the same in-! dividi\als as they nowaccuse of suppressing freedom of thought, have made Runanga what it is to-day —a breeding ground for Socialists and dozens of young men and women whose voices will yet be heard throughout the land to advantage. Yes, Sir, the Ballot Box on election day showed what, freedom of thought and speech has done for Runanga. Referring to the open air meeting held in front of the AFiners’ Hall on December 4th, Air Fisher would try and lead the people to believe that the meeting wa s called especially to deal with himself and his friends. Great! What a power he must think himself, to put the people to so much inconvenience at that time when all efforts were being put in the political campaign. No, that meeting was called for the purpose of combating the advertisement that appeared in your paper on the 2nd December, and 1 will admit that the fighting blood hi the Industrial unionists was aroused and could one wonder when the political fight was at its. bitterest when such a scurrilous article was advertised for no other purpose than a deliberate effort to crucify the chance of eur candidate. P. C. Webb. Was it not only natural that the meeting would he spirited, especially where there are so many fighters for the cause of labour among those who realise the sacredness of the labour movement? The very article was culled from “The Voice of Labour,” the official organ of the Unity schemers, and you can bet, ' Air Editor, that the Unity schemers in our midst got severely criticised and chastised with the tongue (only). Aiay ' beAlr Semple used his tongue severely on them that night and rightly so too for Semple has fighting blood in his body. None who know the man | will deny it. As for using language j that' wa s not fit for publication, this is incorrect. It is some six or eight months since there were a few people "set” Air Semple, and not having sufficient courage to tight out their grievance personally, they would undermine a movement to get at him but their hopes are limited on those lines. Yes, Air Semple is'fighting a clean strakditfnnvard fight. When lie hits back lie is using the same weapon as his opponent and using it more effectively each time he hits back. Oh yes, Semple has a severe toguc and he needs it. I havq in my possession a bundle of the Dominion with the most vilest of abuse therein against himself and the Federation of Labour ; misrepresentations on every hand, not only from the capitalist press, but from the very class whom he is trying to uplift. Can you suggest a way to combat these statements? No, you will say as Air Semple says : “Take their own weapon and hit them back with greater force than they hit.” Another little incident worthy of note, is that Mr Semple made use of the words that

“he would deni with them mentally or physically.” I can tell the people interested how some people would like to yet Mr Semple to commit himseli. They would lose no time in seeking sympathy from the capitalist law courts as they do from the press. Mi Semple has been a tighter for his class and been amongst men, all his life and these men in hi s eyes are insignificant and infinitesimal and they won't trap him as easy as they think. It was tried on election day. When Mr Semple went to cast his vote three or four of these men were standing in the school ground. They dispersed when Mr Semple approached. Mr Fisher remained and stepped in front of Mr Semple and demanded an apology for words used to him a night or two previous, when Mr Semple told him he had nothing to apologise for. This man stuck his face out and asked Semple to hit him thinking Semple would lose his temper and sti-ike him with the constable the other side of the school. Could they have not made capital out of this? Mr Semple told him to get aside as there was an intellectual tight going on that day and he, was not worthy of consideration. There are always two sides to an argument and one always wants to hear both sides before they judge. In conclusion permit me to say one word for the Organiser of the New Zealand Federation, of Labour whom the greatest attack is made upon. He is a man with the courage of his convictions, a man possessed of great inspiration, with a loving heart that throbs in sympathy for the toiling masses and a lovable man at home 1 challenge any person to prove to the contrary. Yet, he has a fearless heart when lighting in the industrial field, a fearless tongue when exposing dirt and corruption and his physical strength as well as hi s mental is need-

ed in the rough, and tumble tight of today. Mr Semple realises that the day of appealing to lawyers for advice to "gain sympathy is past; also rushing to the press to gain public sympathy is past, but he realises that the emancipation of humanity will be brought about by straight talking, straight fighting, and not apologising for being in existence. Concluding with his own words when interviewed in Wellington ; “The day of concentrated action unity of purpose and determination of the workers is right here.” Yours, etc., R. KNIGHT. Runanga, 16)12/11.