CORRESPONDENCE

Grey River Argus, 13 August 1935, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

HALF A LOAF, OR NO BREAD. (To the Editor.) Dear Sir.—Re _M r . M. Ormerod’s letter in this morning’s paper, 1 amongst, others, would like to know a few things regarding his lament about P. c. Webb not joining forces With him for trade union rates of pay for the Millerton Unemployed Now, Mr. Editor, we will examine'this letter and see just where Hie unemployed get off. As to Mr. Ormerod’s professed opposition to the system of capitalism,, he has no monopoly of that. Are not Labourites all, including P. C Webb, endeavouring to replace that system with one of social justice? As regards Mr. Ormerod’s denial of being a wrecker of working class unite I am going to make bold to say if he is a Communist, as I think, then he is a wrecker of the unitv of the working class as it is here to-day. If he were not, then he would not be a Communist, because the Communists, desiring as they do,, for workers here to become as Communists in Russia waul a new class of workers Vadicaly different from what the workers here now are. He talks about organising the unemployed. Well, there has time and again been quite a lot of organising work done, but—where are the unemployed to-day? Still unemployed! They have Hobson s choice. All the organising ima-, ginable does not remove from the unemployed one inescapable thing, and that is their necessity to live—their

compulsion to accept' what work can be found for them. If you like, they have to take what the Coates-Forbes Government doles out to them. Just "hut are the trades union rates and conditions Mr. Ormerod asks the unemployed to expect? I think he will agree with me when I say that, if he did have the unemployed’ organised in whatever fashion he wants, they won hl have to be helped by the workers "ho are employed. They nol otherwise exist without work. The employed workers are nut Hieiuselveanything like 10(1 per eent. organised. Now I take it that Hie method lie wou’d induce the unemployed to adopt would be to strike, and would ask that the Coum-il of Action back him up ui his demands. Now this may t 0 111,n > as a 'gauiser, seem alright but what I am thinking about ant what they also would have to thin! about—is: What is going to happei to the unemployed in the meautimei They, by the wav, are, I take it. un employed miners. Do they starve' Or do they accept the half'loaf |iro cured by P. C. Webb which is decided ly so much better than no bread al all?- Does he wish them to live on air until sueh time as they are grant ed a full loaf for relief work.’ Win is he unable to do his organising work while they are obtaining the said half loaf, without asking them to go hun gry? Why, in fact, ask idle miners to starve up in the Buller while sc many tens of thousands of other un employed are not being asked to g< hungry in all the otlier parts of the country; Why expect to extract sub sistem-e from unions hereabouts that are themselves in a pretty bad posi Hon, instead of first gathering a fund generally', In sustain the workless who have no means of existence, otherwise - ! What unions does he regard as being in the position to give him help in a strike against the pay that the relief workers in the Buller are now getting? This idea of a strike all the time might be less questionable if there were here a large body of fully organised workers who could sustain the strikers; but anybody knows how workers are situated in New Zealand at present Take the seamen’s late irritation lactics not long ago! If the workers let alone the workless, were 100 per cent organised, then nobody need come here urging trade union rates be demanded before accepting any relief; because the rates would then prevail. Let him go on with his organising, and also let the Labour Party also go on with their campaign. Let us try to put into power the Party that will have the determination and the chance to get the workers something better. Through political action, there is undoubtedly the chance of getting the workers’ lot bettered. Who is it that is preventing this to-day? Who are ruling the country, and fixing the relief work conditions? Are they not a political party? A Labour Government, backed up by the industrial workers, is the logical goal to-day. We have in New Zealand tried to rely before on industrial action alone, and we have failed. Indeed, industrially we are nearer being 100 per cent, un organised than organised. And yet we have men who talk of organising those Avho are not employed to secure what is not enjoyed by many of those who are employed! These men in their own minds, know that, by conciliatory mefftorls, they could not got trade union rates on relief works, uml so they urge the strike method; which

under present conditions, has yet to be proved effective among semi-organis-ed employed; so how could it succeed with semi-organised unemployed? It beats me to see how it could succeed with only the relief workers going on strike. We need t odo some organising work in other Unions, which would take 12 months or more, before we could advocate a general strike such as might prove successful, and perhaps might not be so. Let us deal with something we have a chance of making a reality, rather than with a myth! Tf we are organised inside of 12 months, 100 per cent., then we would be able to try out what is at the back of Mr. Onnerod’s mind. Tn the meantime let the Unemployed take the half loaf, rather than starve.- —T am, etc. W. RIMPSON, Kuna nga. August 10th f 1935;