THE NEW YEAR

Grey River Argus, 31 December 1920, Page 2

THE NEW YEAR

To-day we stand at the parting of the ways as between 1920 and 1921; to-morrow is New Year's Day, and tonight we bid goodbye to the old year and welcome the "new. Looking back on the year that has gone, we should mark and learn each lesson it has hud to teach, and in the New Year should make it our endeavour to profit by such lessons: True, the old year lias proved for the workers one full of heart-burnings, and it has been the same indeed for every humanitarian. We have had the spectj.de of nations being enslaved and crushed— in the name of Empire and Freedom. "We have seen plucky little Ireland again challenging her conqueror. ' We have seen the chains of Capitalism apparently Tivetted tighter upon most of the world's peoples, and know of thousands of Socialists lan guishing in the world's gaols, because they dared to challenge the Capitalist system. All have heard of the horrible militarist atrocities in. Austria -Hungary, India, Africa and Ireland. And • it seems that, though the yvar is over, the spirit of the tiger f still controls the military mind. We have seen the men, who, just a few short years ago were lauSed as heroes^" return from the war crippled for life — to work or starve. On the other hand, we have had our triumphs, too. One of the greatest nations on earth' has thrown off her; chains of slavery. Russia has freed herself, and although warred on ' by the other European capitalist nations, both openly and secretly, Russia has finally fought off her opponents, and is now firmly establishing the Co-opera-tive Commonwealth within her borders. A 'greater triumph still,- has been the action unitedly taken by the workers in France, Italy, Germany, America and Great. Britain in demanding, in no uncertain voice, the withdrawal of their respective troops from. Russia. We all know now that rb was .this united action of the working class that forced the Allied Governments to make peace with the Soviet Government, and we know, also, -that the workers .of the world are united in. their demand <

for freedom for all nations. The day is coming when Persia, India, Egypt, and Ireland will finally be granted their freedom by a Council of Action composed o{ international workers ' representatives. The liriking-up of the workers, of the world has gone on apace during the last year, and the organisation of the Proletariat israpidly being perfected. The time is, indeed, fast approaching, when that machinery will be used for the overthrow of the Capitalist system. These things we know, and we glory in them; and we will go on with a determination to increase our efforts in the ensuing year, striving .harder still -to brush away the cobwebs from the minds of those workers who do not yet understand. It is certainly heartbreaking to the working-class propagandists to see so many who are traitors to their class, and who take the first opportunity to betray their mates to their masters. Still we will go on! Our Unions, .Labour Parties, Socialist Parties, Communists, Direct Aetionists, Freedom Leagues, and other workingclass organisations will challenge the Capitalist gang of exploiters every hour of the day. The New Year slogan of Labour's first daily paper is: ''Comrades, Onward!"