Grey River Argus and Blackball News TUESDAY, MAY 1st, 1923. MAY DAY.

Grey River Argus, 1 May 1923, Page 4

Grey River Argus and Blackball News

TUESDAY, MAY 1st, 1923. MAY DAY.

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To the uninitiated, the words “May I Day” convey little or nothing. Some I people know that, in the Old Country, the people used to celebrate the first day of May because that day heralded the coming of Spring, when the earth promised its people a bountiful supply of food to tide them over another year. • May Day celebrations were made more or less fashionable from time to time by the ruling classes, but it was chiefly the workers who celebrated the event. During the last half century, the more advanced section of the workers have claimed the day as their own, particularly that section that had brotherly feelings towards their comrades of different nationalities. So, perhaps, the » day has been given back to those to I whom it originally belonged. The ori- ! gin of May Day is lost in antiquity; i yet it is well known that, as far back as authentic history will take us, the workers, whether they were the slaves of a monarch, a people, or just galley slaves owned by an individual, looked upon May Day as a day set apart for themselves. What hopes and ambitions were held by the slaves who built the pyramids, or rowed the galleys over the seas of the Old World, ■will be ever shrouded in mystery. History has told us of their rebellions, sometimes large enough to be chronicled by the ruling class historians, but, more often, we must surmise, crushed by the execution of the ringleaders. One noble Roman (Crassus) suppressed a slave revolution by crucifying 30,000 slaves, and the crosses and bodies lined the road from Rome to Capua. That was the ancient, effective way of putting down a slave revolution! It is, perhaps, interesting to note, that at the present time, a countryman of Crassus (Mussolini) has disbanded every workers ’ organisation in Italy whose objects make for the overthrow of the capitalist system. His methods are not as crude as those of his countryman of 2000 years ago, but still he has spilt much blood, and is far more treacherous than his predecessor, against whom it cannot be said that he led the workers to-day and crucified them to-morrow. Down through history, to the workers of to-day, come the traditions of May Day. And so we have it that, to-day, the workers of the world will celebrate in all countries, in all climates —in the frozen regions and in the tropics —will get together and renew their pledges of internatioanl brotherhood. In the great continent of America, from the frozen north of Canada to wild Patagonia; through the length and breadth of the New World, from Great Britain and Ireland; from powerful and militaristic France, and downtrodden Germany, from starving Austria, from

tyrant-ridden Italy, across the huge continent of Asia to Japan; and right through Darkest Africa, we hear of preparations being made for the celebration of May Day. Even in little New Zealand, the farthest white outpost, the day will be celebrated in every town of consequence. The thoughts of Internationalists will turn to the heroes of the past—Spartacus, Wat Tyler, Marx, Engels, Liebnecht, Hardie, and a thousand and one others will be remembered and revered. The Social-

ists will renew their vows of international brotherhood—the vows that are the terror of the capitalists and the war lords, and again will go forth the words of Marx: “Workers of th.e World Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains and. have a world to gain! ’ ’