THE LATE STRIKE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15504, 10 January 1914, Page 4

THE LATE STRIKE.

Sir,—From the recent strike we may learn some lessons worth laying to heart. We see that suddenly emergencies may arise requiring of heads of local bodies and the general Government prompt, brave, and tactful public action, and that we have in the Mayor and chairman of the Harbour Board young men of ability and resource, who merit being placed in Parliament free of personal cost. We learned also that there are in our midst men capable of forming an effective citizen defence committee, and acting without noise, but nevertheless with great power like some silent" forces of Nature, such as dew, gravitation, cohesion, and light. The appearance of 1600 mounted farmers showed how self-sacrificing and courageous they were and that we citizens were greatly dependent on them. Nor, to be ju3t, should wo overlook the fact that the strikers were nothing like so violent as the English suffragettes and the strikers in Wales and England were recently. We learn, too, that everybody suffers in a strike, especially women and children, hence they should be avoided, which, I think, _ can be beat done by making the conditions of life so good that men will fear to hazard them in a strike, except for a great and vital principle. ' \ Strikes leave much bitterness behind and they divide a community into two sharply-cut classes, whereas we ought to work in harmony as one citizen class only. Time will soon disclose whether selfinterest on the part of some employers and implacable resentment on the part of some muscular workers will render the cost of defeating the strike abortive. Let tis hope not, and' that justice will be tempered with goodwill. F. G. EWINGTON.