AN ANTI-SOCIALIST CRUSADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12861, 9 May 1905, Page 3

AN ANTI-SOCIALIST CRUSADE.

SPEECH BY THE FEDERAL PREMIER.

AVE SOCIALISM MEANS,

Socialism is in the air just now in Australia, but it is finding scant encouragement from the bulk of the community, and is being vigorously denounced by the leading statesmen of the Commonwealth. Mr. (J. H. Reid, the Federal Prime Minister, recently delivered an address on the subject to the Women's Political League, in Sydney, from which we give below a few extracts which will be read with interest.

STATE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING.

There were, he said, a largo number of. things upon our Statute Books, and many great public works conducted by the Government, which had been recorded by their socialistic friends as part of the socialistic belief. They looked upon all these things as a mere preliminary canter for the ultimate suppression of private enterprise; while he looked upon them, and had helped to pass them, because they were helpful and of benefit to enterprise in the State. (Cheers.) When he voted for railways it was to encourage settlement; and the growth of industry and enterprise throughout the length and breadth of our territory ; first, to enable settlers to get their produce to the coast and the markets of the world ; and, secondly, to enable them to supply, their own requirements in the cheapest and most efficient way. The whole scheme was one of the development of the energies of the country. (Applause.) But what their socialistic friends said now was that these were mere preliminary processes of conducting them up to the socialistic faith. Their ideals were to take out of the hands of private enterprise the means of production, distribution, and exchange. (Cheers.) The moment a State took control of these industries it must do so on a very wholesale scale. There would then be no room on the land for a single independent settler. There would be no room in all the varied industries which were connected with the exchange of human wants, and the products of the Soil for a single independent individual. There would be no room in their streets for shopkeepers, and there would be no room in me shops for the shop assistants, as related to their employers, under a voluntary contract. There would be no room over the length and breadth of the land for the free play of the energy of a single private individual. (Cheers.) Now, that meant yarding and classifying an enormous number of people, because, if the State would assume the dictation and management of every industry of this sort in the country, they became responsible for the working and the remuneration of every person in that vast army of workers who had become in the pay of the Government, instead of in the pay of private individuals. CHANGING HUMAN NATURE. There war no man who believed that, if they made the most perfect system of socialism in the world, the mere fact that changing the institutions of the country would change the individual natures of the present community. (Laughter.) If they could change people that way, then there would be a lot to be said for socialism. (Laughter.) If they could treat human beings as they could treat dominoes or sheep or cattle, there might be some interest in trying this experiment. Also he would suggest that, if this experiment was wanted to redress human misery and the slavery of the worker, there were several interesting conntries in which the experiment might be begun first, where there was far more slavery, where there was far more misery—(cheers)-— where there was no Arbitration Court for trades unionists——and no preference for trades unionists over their fellow workers. (Cheers.) One of the greatest, incentives to the progress of humanity was that every man should have the opportunity of bettering his condition by his own industry, (Hear, hear.) He had had some figures put before him with regard to the iron industry. These figures showed that, if all the iron works in Sydney— at present 'employed some 5000 men—if they were all under, one central management, they could do everything that the 5000 men did to-day by discharging 1000 of the men. Thus .ill enterprise under one hand, instead of increasing the. number of workers, diminished the number.

THE DECLINE'OF INVESTMENTS. They bud the word of the Labour leaders that there was no room now in their leagues unless the candidates were socialists. .Since this party had put on this socialistic garb, there had been a stead}' withdrawal of .British investments from Australia. He had these thing- from one of the best- financial authorities in .Australia. Hundreds of millions of .British capital had been invested in Australia on the faith of the British system of government. (Hear, hear.) 'Jim effect of the adoption of the term socialism us a doctrine by the socialist, party, formerly known as the Labour party, was just the thing likely to scare away capital. The investor was iiko the depositor in a. bank, easily scared, and only needed a. whisper of danger to take away bis money. Industry and enterprise must decline if its source, capital, was frightened our of Australia, as was the case to-day. The beacon light) of socialism had a dark shade over threeparts of it. and he asked in regard to the omission of the part of the nationalisation plank he had referred to, whether the rules hud been complied with, due notice given of the alteration, and the requisite number of votes recorded'.'' ONE HUGE TRUST. Mr, Watson said that, socialism aimed at abolishing competition, and substituting cooperation. 'Well, now, what did that mean but what, he (Mr. ibid) had said? How could they abolish competition unless they put into the hands of one power all the elements, all the things which led to competition?' It was the only way of abolishing competition. They fnust make the nation one huge trust, with a. far greater power than any private trust, because they could pass laws absolutely dominating the people at every point, of their existence. Had they, he asked, not noticed that even the best private company did not seem tu> manage them as well as the man who started the business, and afterwards floated it into a private company? Did they think that the Government could be. cleverer than the best: men in a. business? Competition hail its rough side, but. so far as it represented lie personal opportunity of carrying out lawful industries and occupations, and in pushing the race, onwards, instead of being a curse, it should be a great blessing. (Cheers.) WE'LL HAVE NONE OF YOU. In things affecting the body politic, just as in the body natural, an explanation was wanted before new operations were entered upon involving perhaps fatal results. The great leaders of socialistic thought were not in agreement. If they wanted to make experiments let them try it on someone else instead of Australianson one of those down-trodden communities steeped in misery and reduced to the lowest depths of despotism. There was, he said, no community in which mankind and womanhood, on its merits, had more equal rights and privileges than in Australia; where labour could assert its rights, laws were liberal. This was a country, where enterprise and individual effort had developed most wonderfully the natural resources of the country. He asked them, therefore, in this young democratic country, blessed with liberal laws and freedom, to pause. He hoped that the great growing power of Young Australia would not forsake the path of liberty, but would return its answer to those who would upset its industrial fabric, We'll have none of you." (Loud cheers and applause.) WARNING TO ROMAN CATHOLIC LABOURITES. . Broken 1 lint, May 1. Speaking after High Mass yesterday, in the pro-Cathedral, Dr. Dunne, Bishop of Wilcannia, entered a protest and warning from the altar against the socialistic tendencies of Broken Hill.' Dealing with the question.of Sabbath observance, he insisted that there was a noticeable and distinct tendency to paganise the Sunday. The Roman Catholic Church raised no objection whatever to rational amusements on Sunday, but certainly tho obligation was laid upon its children to keep Sunday; holy.

It was violated by Sunday evening lectures unci meetings held weekly in the ■ city. There seemed to be a tendency here to do away with all authority, religious or otherwise, including members of Christ: in fact to set up anarchy in the State. Why, the so-called Labour paper published in the city had even taken upon itself to call to account the Labour aldermen for their action in showing some proper respect and attention to the Governor, to the representative of the King, when he visited the city. If the Labour party was to continue to command respect and support from Christian people, it must repudiate the revolution, irreligiou, and immorality promulgated in its name. Only a. week or so since a- lecturer in the Trades Hall, at a, Sunday evening meeting, speaking on. "Why do people starve," openly struck at the veiy foundation of society and advocated not only irreligiou, bub gross immorality, quoting with apparent approval from infidel and immoral writers—quoting from at least one author, the sale of whose works in any part of this State would make the seller liable to prosecution and imprisonment. This lecturer deliberately advocated the limitation of family, and claimed that this was a matter in which society, and, ho presumed it would be added, God Himself, had no right to interfere. The President of the United States, appreciating to the full the dangers to society of the alarming race suicide, had strenuously denounced it as a sin upon the part of those guilty of it, and as a crime against society. But their so-called local Labour organ, wiser than the President, advocated and urged what he and all other patriotic and good men denounced as a sin and a crime. Were this advocacy of social revolution, irreligion and immorality persisted in by the paper in question, he would have no choice but to call upon the Roman Catholic members of the Labour party in Broken Hill to make a formal and effective protest against it. He knew that when they made that, protest they would not be alone, but would be joined in it by all the reputable members of all creeds.