A COMING CONFERENCE.

NZ Truth, Issue 352, 23 March 1912, Page 1

A COMING CONFERENCE.

The conference of the Trades Council's Federation, t which commences m Wellington on Tuesday, April 9 next, promises to be a gathering of interest and vital import, to every -worker m the Dominion. It is true that m New Zealand there are two . rival Labor^rganisatibns, arid Tthe true meaning "of the maxim pf Labor the world over that "Union is Strength" has not been lost on many who dream of Labor attaining political supremacy m this country. Recent events, however, have shown that Labor's cause m this country is a common cause, and that where clanger threatened the one organisation the other was ready and wiiling to sink petty differences and combine and present a strong and solid front 7to 'the crushing curse of capitalism. Events ih Wellington and Auckland show that Labor m the Dominion is : not slow to recognise that. Labor cannot be successfully organised when tne workers are divided, and it is with the object of healing the breach that we hnd.that at, Easter time an attempt is s .o be made 1 to brir^g together Into one fold the straying sheep of.' Labor. Hitherto, Labor's annual congress- m ihis country has not excited undue enthusiasm," nor can it be said that the proceedings nt these, annual conferences have been taken seriously. Tho time, however, is. at hand when a j Labor conference; and all. that tran- j spires. .. at . a Labor - conference, will j ■have to be taken seriously, because, j fur the prime reason, Labor has awakened and has: demanded that it should he heard and properly represented , m Parliament. That in' December last CO.OOO votes should have been recorded m favor of Labor candidate."? for Parliament, as against . a much smaller numher on the occasion of the previous general election, shows cleariy ihat Labor m New Zealand desires .that the Government of the country should be as it is elsewhere, entrusted to a, Labor Party. The workers' re-' \o.lt against a decadent Liberalism m j •' December last year had the effect of causing the 'Liberal' leader to speed' up. Art! by speeding up and promising all sorts of palliatives to Labor, the Liberal leader admitted that tho party he led , had turned Labor down, but when danger . threatened, an appeal, and not a vain on-e, was made to Labor, to help to. put the brake on to ' a threatening engine' of destruction as the capitalistic gang headed by Mas- j sey undoubtedly represents. . . j Labor's success m December last, j and th? events subsequent to thosa ! elections, have. .shown that Labor m! Ihe Dominion is a coming fcjrce. The J advances .made; by disorganised' Labor I within the last three or, four vyearsi aro the more remarkable when it : is considered that the Labor, schisms TWere regarded as having a weakening influ^ ence, the effect of which permitted the Conservative crowd to make unpreoe- : dented headway. -That a Conservative^ party, the natural enemy to Labor, al-v most' equals m the present Parliament the- combined strength of the Liberal end Labor forces must riot be, and' happily is not being, regarded as a cry from the country for a capitalistic,. Conservative Government, but that tho Conservative success is due to Labor's -weakness. It is— natural, m a country like New Zealand, where" the worker and the wives of the workers are the strongest voting machine of. the coriimunity, that Labor, as representing the will of the democratic community*, should preponderate m parliament, and that either a Conser-

—— — —V : • . --v , , LABORS GRAND' OPPORTUNIfY.

the Arbitration Court Considered*

i A PLEA FOR AMALGAMATION.

'.' / ■ ■ ' . vative partjv or a ■fusion j of Conser; T a- ] tives and decadent' Liberals; should sit ( in/ the cooling sha.des ; of 7f Opposition, 'j representing the irimiitfesimal minor- s ity of the crusty and. fat Conservative j section. With Labor advancing, da- i spite, splits and internal, dissension, 1 with a' Liberal party, anything b-.it ( happy, with a Conservative crowd act- ( ing as a , menace to good government, ] the worker who thinks, and should act I j as he thinks^"" is looking forward. to the j Easter Conference of. the Labor or- I j ganisations, not with apprehension, but ; i with the satisfaction qf knowing that j . a determined attempt is to be made to ! ; solidify the workers' organisations J , throughout the Dominion. There is ' i nothing wonderful to be accomplished. ■ All that is desired is that every worker m the Dominion should combine m n»io :• solid body, and then organisation ] would be complete. It sounds simple j enough, arid when we view the com- i plete system of organisation of Labor ; forces m other parts of the world ws . are apt to wonder why the work of «:r- j ganisation occupied such a long period. . New Zealand has the advantage of noting what the ' system of complete _ Labor organisation has brought about m other countries. We know what , organisation has accomplished m the i Australian States and m the Australian - | lian Commonwealth. What is good unough for the Australian toiler ! needs little recommendation m its favor to the toiler m New Zealand. . Such is j the spirit actuating those who are now I active m • the ; work of organisation of ' i Labor m the Dominion. . If at the Eas-_ ! ter- Conference the basis for an agreeI merit between the rival Labor factrms is 1 not laid down, the Conference will \ have failed m one of ,its most important features.' It is .because there is a ! likelihood of Labor combining and sat- | ting up a platform acceptable to all that the coming conference is important and vitally interesting to the worker. ' „..•-' ■'"■"• " " ' • The-Tiyal Labor .organisations m ihis Dominion cannot expect to- accomplish much while they' remain apart. iThe objects of both, organisations are almost identical, '♦ he -methods of the achievement of tho^e7 efforts are just where they differ. fJVhe .(.operation of Labor, or, as jt 'is called, th*.. Miners' Federation, doesn't want any Arbitration Court. They embrace tlie i ideals of Syndicalism. Their ' weapon !is "the Strike." The Trades* CounV.il [Federation ' prefers the ' Arbitration I Court to adjust the differences be- \ tween, Labor -and Capital, but, and ! this 'is a significant point which is, hot { to be lost sight of, the Trades. Coun- : oil Federation does not deny that as a ( last resort m industrial warfare the weapon of strike must be wielded. It is, at it were, a distinction without a difference, and just at present m New. ;Ze'aland the Arbitration Court is .os- , firig-: caste with the workers, because Hhe workers . have recognised , that the judicial member of that court is not : m {'sympathy with the industrial sa:;tions of the community. It is interost'ing, now that the Easter Conference is approaching, to note the attitude of Trades Councils towards the Cou?i_. A remit from the East Coast Trades and Labor Council is: That the conference • be seriously : asked to consider the question whe- . ther the Arbitration Court is . of any . ; ~f material benefit to the workers. Another from Canterbury reads as follows; That the Government's attention

be drawn to the fact that Judge Sim's brutal treatment of union representatives before the Court, together with his maladministration of the Act, is responsible' for the large number of cancellations taking place. Every Trades Council has a remit dealing m, feome way or the. other with the ■unsatisfactory condition of the Araii.f ration ' Court, and the general tenor cf I these remits' goes 'to show that unless the Court is, mended it will be ended. Each Trades and Labor Council is j suggesting the amalgamation of thc two rival branches pf Labor, and a remit from- Timaru shows its anxiety for the amalgamation m. the following: That this branch of the Trades and Labor Council ask that every endeavor be made to fix an amalgamation of 'the Trades and Labor " Council and the Federation of Labor, and that no "hair-splitting" be allowed to interfere m forming such amalgamation; and that a ballot of the members, of the Trades aud Labor Council be taken on the subject." . ' Generally, the idea is prevailing that Labor should be united. How will tho act? •* •-•'"' - * The Christchurch, South branch of the N.Z. Labor Party is .urging the four Labor members m the House' of Representative to retain the individuality of the party by refraining from 'joinirig any Administration other /thanan accredited Labor Govern-", ment, and as far as possible solidify the party vote on all important questions by ...caucus agreement. .; Tha Christchurch South branch is particularly sane and democratic m the remits it is sending to the Easter ConI ference. Government is to be urged, for instance, to amend the Local ElecI tions Act' by providing for adult suffrage for all electors to local bodiqs. j At present the people as a whole have ! a . say m running the Dominion, but. . j only a few of them are qualified to j 7 take care .of • the ■ parish pump. Aj "White New Zealand" is another ob- ■ jective brought into being . by the recent invasion of Christchurch by-' tho loathsome chow, the Labor members, <n Parliament being; requested to bring down a bill ' prohibiting ' the landing of .my more celestials m New Zealand. Also, the Government is urged to abolish that useless, but extremely j mischievous . and xindemocratic, institution the Grand Jury.. . The recommendation' Is attributable to the wealthy and influential persons accused of crime who have been shielded hy past Grand Juries m Christchurch. It is impossible just at present to thoroughly deal with all; the matters which this Conference, will be called upon to discuss. The unity scheme, ,«o.ably propounded by that much misunderstood little man from Milwau- ~ kee, Professor Mills, will be considered, arid there is no reasonable doubt that the basic principles laid down by the Professor will be adopted. It .can be seen at once that the Easter Conference of 1012 is pregnant with pos^ sibilitics, and the platform which is to be adopted will, no doubt, be framed on true Labor lines. Now that a Labor party is placed m the position of _ actually controlling Parliament, holding, as it does, the balance, of power between the two contending political factions, Labor's demands' can be drawn up and presented as an ultimatum to the party m power. That a Laborjparty of fbur should be m its present position is, m itself, - the manifestation of what is, to follow. Labor is destined to rule New Zealand; but if a political Labor party is to ac-li'ire strength it must gang warily. It y st make no alliances, it must pursue its own steady course, ever keeping m view \f.s_ not far dis- , tant object of political power. i •' .",;- — ". •'""• =" .