SETTLING THE STRIKE.

NZ Truth, Issue 443, 13 December 1913, Page 4

SETTLING THE STRIKE.

A Momentous Monition.

Will it be Tragedy or Triumph?

i The strike at the Wellington water* I front Is still on. Ninety per cent, of the members Of the Waterside Workers' Union are as solid and loyal as the day they came out, and even more can bo said of the seamen, the firemen, and the coal-miners. So far as the conduct and bearing of the rank and nle are concerned, the highest enconi urns would not be out of place. During the pasc three weeks several efforts liave been made to bring about a settlement and when the Federation of Labor intimated a fortnight ago then* willingness to accept the . .services of Sir Joshua Williams as arbitrator, there | were many among the workers them* setvee who felt the executive had gone further along the line of con* promise than the circumstances at the time warranted, but these and many others gave them credit for honesty of purpose m thus seeking to bring about a settlement of the present dispute. Aa , Is well, known, the offer of the Federa- > tlon was turned down by the otHdala of the Employers' Association, who declared that the time was past for arbitration; that they would not' and conld not arbitrate; ' that on no account would they have any negotiations whatever with Ihe present executive members of the federation of Labor. The attitude then assumed Is the at-* titude of the employers to-day, and these gentlemen declare they have no intention whatever of departing from the position they have taken up.

■ • /• On the other hand, the men have been cheered by the decision arrived at by the large conference of Australian Trades Unionists held In Sydney to make common cause with the Dominion wa torsi dors as regards the loading or unloading of >4ew A«alond ships and the granting of financial old while the struggle lasts. • We know something of tho Australian Trades Unionists, and we have HtUe doubt that if left to themselves the members of the Waterside Union* and the coalminors would without hesitation b« ''all out" to help our Now Zealand workers to victory. But we cannot hide the uneasiness we feel at the presence of bumptious Billy Hughes, which is all the more Intensified by the apparent fact that he seems to 1>» top dog at present In Australia's Trad* Union world. We frankly confess tluvl we have no faith whatever m this polltlcal poseur. If he proves loyal to the New ; Zealand workers on the present occasion he will be so In spite of himself and because his power for lurm is utterly discounted by the enemies of labor here as there. "Truth" has no shame In saying that it has no taith whatever m the man who cowardly., .turned down tho Newcastle miners, when Peter Bowling was cast Into prison because ho championed the cause of Uie men. "Truth' has no hesitation In declaring even at this momentous hour that if the Nsw Zealand workers on striKe are depending chiefly for support that has to filter through tho hands of Billy Hughoa then they are, almost of a surety, leaning on n broken retx*.

A walk round tho wharf, while It reveals the fact that a number of "old bands" have "ratted." does not make manifest the claim of the plute press that work at the waterfront Is again normal. The work of shipping and unshipping cargo goes on, but it goes on at a pace and after a manner that must cost considerably more than It did before tho men came our, and while wo do not deny we saw sufficient to convince us that the shipping companies will be sore put to It before they retreat from the attitude tho> havo taken up, ncvorthelcws wo fcol that thoy are heartily sick of the struggle and would willingly welcome their old hands hack to work again.

At the tlaao of writing (Friday morning) w* t>«?ii<?v<> that v fujl tueelInff of th<* KxftctHK'e of thfr United Federation of Labor 1m twlng hold In WelltnK'ton. Th«m Is no m»>An*» of knowinjr exactly what the business t« that lias brought them tog«lher. but one cannot be far oat m concluding that the chief purpose ot the

meeting is to review the whole situation, and decide upon what action/ if any, should be taken to bring about a speedy settlement of the present dispute, ••Truth" would exhort the members of the Executive to sanely, and ..sagely consider the position from eyery point of view and, if after due deliberation, they are m their own hearts convinced ■ that the power of Plute is too much >|or"them at the present juncture, Uiey-^wiH manfully say so, and nos, . prolonging the v cfiicify the most loyal and militant m the ranks of the .fighters;

Rumors are flying • around, rumors which we fear are all too true, that a determined effort ia to be made to work the Huntly , if not other, mines, within the ( next week or so. The, strike-breakers, who made them.setves, such valuable tools pf the master class' at Waihi are to ibe drafted into Huntly to repeat the 'performance there. If this is done, '.the result. is a foregone conclusion, So. far as Huntly is concerned. Then, again, Parliament will lie rising m the course of : a few days, and when it 'does the way will be clear 1 for the shipping -and coai ; .rings to sail % m and .burst iif» militant unionism wherever it raises its voice to challenge the doings of Tlute and his partners. •

i Throughout the whole of tha struggle, " Truth " has presented the case fairly for the workers, m CoiitracUstinctloh to tho Press generally. ' It beiievea that they • deserved to ' win; it did all it could to); help them 'win.; . Vfe "believe our efforts, m. this, "lircction' have not al-: together gone unappreciated. Therefore, we feel we may with confidence appeal to 'the Federation of Labor Executive * to very " carefully arid calmly* weigh the issues as they appear at the present time. Theirs is no easy task, and is not one that can be lightly disposed of. On their decision much depends. They must be m a better position to judge the situation: than "Truth," to know it they can win right out m time, cud, while waiting a triumph, feed their large army of workers and their wives, and children., "Truth': 1 would be the last %o advise capitu* lation if theio still remained even the faintest hope of winning, out with colors flying; but of this jt is convinced, there must not be any repetition of the Waihi debacle. If they feel that a longer fight is hopeless, let them have the moral courage to say so, and not sacrifice the most loyal and militant of their supporters to the insane desire to pose as martyrs. Even as it is, a moral victory has been won, and the employers have been taught a lesson that will make them: hesitate before deliberately engendering another struggle to break' the solidarity of the workers. The battle must be continued at the ballot-boji, as the Democrats of Lyttelton are wisely doing.