Seamen's Union Attacks Journal "Tomorrow"

Northern Advocate, 12 January 1940, Page 4

Seamen's Union Attacks Journal "Tomorrow"

[Per Press Association. Copyright.] WELLINGTON, This Day.

Strong resentment of criticism in the journal ‘‘Tomorrow” was expressed at a stop-work meeting of the Federated Seamen's Union of New Zealand, held in the Trades’ Hall, attended by over 300 members, and presided over by the general president (Mr F. P. Walsh).

The resolution now carried reduced to two main points the criticism of the seamen’s recent resolution. • The criticism was that the seamen in passing the resolution, had made themselves the tools and dupes of the ship-owners and large-vested interests, and that the resolution did not represent the views of the seamen, but only those of some official who had kicked them into endorsing his statement, which was opposed to the interests of the working class. “Then All Were Dupes” The resolution now carried says: “If the seamen, in condemning the Hitler-Stalin pact and their combined aggression, were the dupes of vested interest, then so were the Federation of Labour, the New Zealand Labour Party, the British industrial and political Labour movement, tfie International Federation of Trade Unions, the International Socialist movement, the Swedish workers who recently subscribed £IOO,OOO to support the Finnish workers and the organised workers of every country in the world, except those under brutal dictatorships such as in Germany and Russia, where they are not permitted to express their views.” Familiar Moscow Style The resolution adds: “After an examination of some recent issues of ‘Tomorrow,’ we recognise the familiar style of the Moscow Communists, with whose underhand and disruptive tactics in New Zealand, our union is so painfully familiar. “ ‘Tomorrow,’ it seems, is always a week or so behind its open Moscow comrades in their twists and turns.” The resolution slates further that in the year or two preceding the outbreak of war, “Tomorrow” joined the New Zealand Communists in urging the British Government to intervene in Spain and Czechoslovakia, and wherever- Moscow deemed that the British Empire should be involved in wax’. Quick Somersault When Stalin, by joining up with Hitler, launched the present war, “Tomorrow,” like the Communists, could not turn round quite quick enough, and at first expressed itself in support of the war, and still opposed to Hitler. “Now that the Communists have come out openly against the Democracies and for the Comrades Stalin and Hitler, ‘Tomorrow’ has not yet gone so far, and confined itself to criticising everything the Labour Government is doing, and to the publication of articles by open or concealed enemies of the Labour movement, whose object is to cause dissension within the movement, either for their own glorification, or to assist policies of Moscow, or both. Encouragement to Cranks.

“Further, ‘Tomorrow’ has given encouragement to the cranks and money wizards, who advocate monetary inflation as the solution of our financial problems, and the cure for all our ills. “As a section of the trade union movement that has been in the forefront of the fight to obtain the standard of living now enjoyed, we strongly object to the concealed methods of taking our real wages away" from us by reducing the purchasing power of money, but if the ‘intellectuals’ and others supporting ‘Tomorrow’ find it convenient to do so, we may then expect them to go the full length of the Moscow road.” Invitation to Editor.

The resolution concludes by extending an invitation to the editor of ‘Tomorrow’ to appear before a stop-work meeting, and explain why it should become necessary in the interests of ‘peace and democracy’ for his comrades, Hitler and Stalin, to bomb defenceless towns and hospitals and destroy innocent women and children in Poland and Finland.

The meeting unanimously endorsed the resolution passed by the National Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour at its meeting on December 20, in which the Federation of Labour pledged itself to support the Labour Government in the work for the economic freedom of the people of New Zealand, and further, to support the Government in all its efforts to defeat Nazism, dictatorship and all forms of aggression.