The Star. THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1919. THE LOCOMOTIVE MEN AND THE STATE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXVII, Issue LXXVII, 15 May 1919, Page 4

The Star.

THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1919. THE LOCOMOTIVE MEN AND THE STATE.

Delivered every evening by S o'cloc* in Hawera, Maua'a, Normanby, Okuiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kapouga, Awatuna, Opunake, Oiakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea. Waverley.

The position created by the etand and deliver attitude of the locomotive and one or two other kindred branches of the railway service is serious and embarrassing, but we find it difficult to believe that they will persist in pressing the alternative put before the Government. We can speak with some freedom, because a few weeks back we took occasion to point out that there were substantial grounds for the men asking for consideration, but since then the Government has undertaken to meet the men by giving them increased pay and better conditions. Parliamentary sanction must be obtained for this, and this may involve delay in the actual legislation of the schedule. The workers will not, however, be prejudiced by this delay, because it is practically certain that Parliament will at the least honor the arrangement made by th-e Minister, and the scheme will relate back in its financial benefits to the beginning of the railway year—April. The position then is that the Minister and the Department have shown an earnest desire to improve the conditions of the men, and if the latter have not obtained all they asked for, the Minister has gone the length of pointing out that the men are not debarred by the settlement offered to urge their claims in a reasonable way to further concessions. No doubt, if further concessions can be justified to Parliament, the schedule to be submitted to it could be still further improved. But public sympathy cannot go very far with men, some of whom, getting sixteen and seventeen shilling© a day, threaten to paralyse the trade and industry of the whole community in a time of stress and trouble like the present because they are not given tfhe whole of their de-

rnands. How many people in any walk of life, in any condition of society, can get all they would like or even all they think it fair to ask for? We absolutely and entirely object to the terrorism -involved in a threat to strike. We cannot imagine anything more calculated to embarrass men in authority, however .favorable they :may be .to Labor. To yield to such a threat is to .invite v confusion throughout industrial life. It is in recognition of this primary fact that the Legislature passed Act after Act with the purpose of making conciliation and arbitration workable as between private ..employer arid employee, and of get. ting a system under which reason and argument and not force shall prevail. It ,will be replied no doubt that the locomotive men are ;now prepared to submit their claims to the arbitration of a Judge of ...the Supreme Court. Possibly the Railway Department ■ may yet see its-way to agree to this. But piobably in such an event the :order of reference would have to be very wide and the proceedings of a protracted .nature, because rlhe pay and . conditions of whole railway service might need to be brought under review, for the conditions.of th e various branches are .inter-related, and the bulk of the railway service represented by ,the Amalgamated Society, it is understood, have np present grievances, though some might arise if the whole of the locomotive men's demands were conceded. Arbitration under these ,circustances might take a.long time. Still Another question arises: Would the loco., men loyally accept a decision by an Arbitration Court? If ,they would not—well, there is chaos.; if /they would, why should they not be prepared to accept the arbitration of Parliament, for consideration of the Ministerial proposals would practically involve a review of the whole situation? We imut say we are afraid the loco, men are being unwisely led. Let them take the concessions which have been -made, and which are by no means unsubstantial, and also la}- their case the Government and Parliament for the remedying of what.they deem defects. No doubt they can by going oja strifee do enormous damage to the trade and industry of the country, and incidentally must seriously injure themselves and thousands of fellow workers, but even if by this means they gained tfieir points they would do so at the expense of an outraged community, and would help to very materially weaken confidence in the ability of the State to duly conduct the railway service of the country. A (strike if ever justifiable can only be justifiable when the other side is stupidly obdurate. In this case the Government hat shown that it is anxious to meet the loco, workers, and has very materially improved their position, and as for the rest is still prepared to consider whatever further

arguments they may bring forward. This assurance, and the fact that the Minister's proposal has to come under the review of Parliament, should be satisfactory enough to prevent threats to strike.