The Moving Finger

Maoriland Worker, Volume 6, Issue 244, 20 October 1915, Page 2

The Moving Finger

" The vtorinj finger icrittt; end, hjii'ig writ, i atceiun.'-OMJK. \ Jtuius Tliori'i in', his fine" article on i Social Democracy and Literature gives ; S.A. Labour -a valuable hint regarding! wiu'it is really the most pressing work, of.'the movement viz.: wholesale distribution of.sound literature. Every trade union in tho Dominion should iinosc some of its funds for ;i regular monthly supply of workingclass literature for distribution to-everyone'-of«its i members. You-cannot pick ripe peaches without iirsf planting" n. sotind tree. Thorn evidently, belongs'to the now pfittern of aspirihi; Labor politician. Holding- outright Labour'ideals and' behold-. iiig nnclcetorate.cJiwked "with , tltoeiitangled weeds" of 'bW'cafrKatisF-fitarffl- :- ties and fibs, sets about to clear ami till his field and to sow the seed from: which the political harvest is "to be j reaped.in the near future.. ... * * * :-In-aiming at Parliamentary Labour Representation, there; are .two ways of going, a bout it, viz: -the laborious and only .effective and .permanent way, and the simple,'easy, and useless way. The former entails the methodical and fear- j less sweeping away of decadent politi-j cal conceptions and the replacing of tiu? old with the new without sacrifice of Labour essentials. The latter, or. simple way—much favoured by. old-time Labour politicians—i? .the • w,ay of compromise. Harmony of the lamb inside the .lion. Leaving tho bats to r-nooze peacefully in their rookeries. Relying on. some .tricky, pre-election strategy and a tight hold, on to mamma's, Liberal- apron-strings, and,, if necessary, t.ho j jettisoning of as many Labour essentials as will allow tlio political tide to carry him into Parliament. This, of course,, suits tho political aspirant in a hurry to a T, but not Labour. .-''•J! -X- *' ; - ■"' I am convinced that the former method, entailing at the start conviction and hard work, is, in the long run, the easier and more permanent. A well-tilled electorate will not be swayed to and fro by the blasts and shib-i boleths of capitalist yellow journalism j which so easily sway tho politically uneducated workers of tho . "keep it dark" electorates. ' otherwise capablo men and excellent fighters, .but steeped in mitldleclass atmosphere, profess to wonder at the superhuman deeds of the. Liberal Party on behalf of Labour. Such men" possess the properties.of fi. magnifying glass that will j enlarge an atom into a mountain to a wonderful', degree. . Was there ever a j political barnacle in political life more' steadfastly crustaceous than the N.Z. Liberal Party during the last ten years? .What a beautiful dream, and delusion. When will we wake up? It could.not pass enough bread and butter .measures to keep abreast of the whirl of tho industrial wheel, let alone progress., for the. workers are on the same old spot. It woiild not pass j enough "progressive" measures to keep itself in power. No; the asinine creature would not go further way; it would rather die politically—or fall back into the friendly, harness of "Relorn)." Under the Liberal Party, clearsighted organisation, which is of the utmost importance, lagged. 'Labour slept itself into complete impotence. The sterner Federation of Labour's, strenuous rousings and Massey's hard kicks have done ten times more good for Labour in New Zealand than the Liberal Party would have done in a century. H.L. .** , # The Huntly paper'of '»August 14 LAST YEAR had tho following par.: "Like every other pjlaee Huntly ds suffering from war fever. Several have already joined contingents, while applications for enrolment havo been, numerously made. Theso applications show a decided tendency to increase. Several leave to-day to join their commands, while others, among whom are Messrs. S. Dixon and Drewitt, arc so keen that they offer to provide their own guns, horses, and equipment." How does it conic about that Mr. Dii'on is still in Huntly? * * # Most of the capitalist' papers suppressed all mention of the MasseyWnrd Bill to lengthen tho hours of the condensed milk workers. Wellington "Evening Post" printed a- very brief report, from which the name of the principal speaker against the measure^ —the member for Lytteltbn—was omitted. . . : •:»• ■ * « .•'■■• -•No trade union worthy ctf. tho name ■ will psnnib'any member—whether married'- or single—to- be ■ victimised be- ] cause he--has-not-enlisted., ••'OTUS. I