The Star. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1921. THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 17 February 1921, Page 4

The Star.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1921. THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK.

Delivered ; averjr evening by fi o'clock In Hawaza', Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, -Eltham, MangatoKi, Kaponga, Awatuna. Opunake, Otakeho, Monutahi, Alton, Hurley viile. Patea, Waverley.

The cable message published on Saturday dealjng with the industrial position in Australia should awaken the public generally to the dangerous conditions existing in two of the finest countries in the world—Australia and New Zealand. Those who think—and we believe that there is only a small percentage of people who take the trouble to think—have for months past felt very anxious as to the future of industry, for it is obvious that a production of class warfare which has so often been made by extreme Labour leaders and rgvolutionaries precludes industrial peace, and there is not a shadow of doubt but that certain sections of Labour, dragooned by well-paid leaders, have definitely made up their minds to hurt those whom, without distinction, they have chosen to regard as enemies. The mefcUods of warfare which the extremists have adopted are of the meanest and most cowardly nature imaginable, for they punish many thousands of their brother workers and helpless women and children. We have only to think of the coal shortage in New Zealand, planned purposely by the miners' leaders and some of those monsters who } (in the name of Labour,; urge the overthrow of the country. The coal shortage has in the past two or three winters meant indescribable hardship and suffering ■to an enormous number of the people of New Zealand. Why have the miners kept the country short of coal? Only because the miners' leaders say that Labour—by which they mean only that brand of Labour which, though it gets tired so soon and so often of honest toil for the community, never seems to tire, of stupid doctrines about the ownership of industries and the dazzling programmes of extreme Labour's system of government—must do all it can to fight and Kurt the capitalist, until some day they hope that his position will become impossible and he will surrender all that he has to those wonderful people who know how everything in this world should be managed. When these leaders gain control they tell us that the world will be such a marvellous place that nobody could possibly want for anything. But the extremists forget to tell the people that in their scheme of nationalisation and communism the greait way to have enough to go round is to starve to death • the surplus population comprising those who do not subscribe to the extremists' platform. The Russian "millennium" tells u s that, for Russia is still represented by extremists in New Zealand as the ideal place for freedom, justice and comradeship, in spite of the frightful conditions of Petrograd and Moscow and tha enormous decline in population sin<w Lenin seizes the government. And we believe that the extremists in New Zealand and Australia are doing their utmost to bring about similar conditions in these fair countries. Further we believe that the conflict, which, because of the continuance of the extremists' unreasonable methods, seems to be inevitable, must come this year. The exposure of the terrible crimes against humanity i n Russia has deprived the extremists of many sympathisers who would probably have followed them a year ago, but who now know that the "dictatorship of the proletariat" is an expression which can only mean red revolution. The extremist leaders have kept their army fairly quiet up to the present because they thought that their power was growing and it would pay, them to wait; but now that they feel that there are many desertions they are inclined to use force before it is too late, and just at the present time they are manoeuvring for their battle positions and doing their best to bait the employers whom they choose to call their enemies. The "go slow" policy which is applied every few weeks at the mines, the water-

siders' refusal to work boats in accordance with their agreement, and the frequent references by extremists to the days when the workers seize con-; trol of industries are clearly designed to force the employers into a conflict against their wish. In Australia the employers have apparently decided to: accept the challenge, and the ships, j held up because the stewards refused | to work, will not be recommissioned' until the owners are quite satisfied j that the deliberate obstruction of the j past will not be repeated. Little did the stewards and their leaders think that when they grew tired of the strike the owners would offer any opposition to their returning to work^ and if we mistake not the employers have antici- j pated the main conflict for which the extremists have for long been-plan-ning, and there is every likelihood of a great and prolonged struggle between the loyal and disloyal sections of the

community. Unfortunately, there seems to be no 'other way out, and we are sorry to say that indications point to a similar conflict in New Zealand before long. Bolshevism or Democracy ? is the question which must be decidedly answered in Australia and New Zealand. With the clear evidence to warn people by such true Socialists as Messrs Kautsky, Ramsay Mac Donald, Tom Shaw, Ben Turner, Colonel Ward, Dr. Guest and Mrs Snowden—.people w&° know the difference between commonsense and Bolshevism, and between legitimate Labour and chaos—there can' surely be few people in New Zealand who are willing to take the side of the miners and watefrsiders in the conflict, more especially when people think J of the hardship and suffering which} these sections of Labour have already i inflicted upon them deliberately and without the slightest thought of fair1 play. .The frequent interruptions'and the display of " go slow " policies involving enormous economic loss} increasing the cost of living, and disturbing trade generally cannot be permitted to continue, and if the watersiders and the miners are determined to follow their leaders in their doctrine of class warfare the sooner the. matter is brought to a head the better.