The Worm Turns.

NZ Truth, Issue 443, 13 December 1913, Page 2

The Worm Turns.

The U.S.S. Co. Attempt* to Rub it m.

Tho officers of the merchant service do not seem to have recoenlßO<r what Is, whatever, tho explanation may be, now admitted ah a truism, that "the 'scab' always receives acabby treatment, but tho scabbiest treatment of till is meted out to him by thnso In whose Intercuts ho lm« 'scabbed." The engineers— those aristocrat* of labormay recall In this connection tbelr "reward" for standing loyally by tho companies In tho ninety strike— TEN PER CENT. REDUCTION In wages for four yearn! It 1« natural to associato a certain amount of dignity with a captain of a ehlp. and tho same may be said of ships* omeers generally, but nobody, not even the employer of labor. s«U'tns to be abler to aasoclnte dignity with v j "scab" or with "scabbing." W« haw jbern told that the officer*" of the U.S.B. iCo. were "standing loyal -to tho company." That i» how the action l« ««n--od up to the public through the columns of the noosepunera Thin action of theirs. how«vor, I* called by another name by the men on strlk* and their supporter*!. The term used dcx* not Add to tholr dignity — In fnct. If one i« to judge from the number ut prosecuUona now taking place at tho Instance,

of men who resent the terms being applied to them, it is one that carries with it considerable Indignity. It would seem also ' that as a psychological effect, of the act the transgressors lose all the dlgn'ty they ever had. This seems to he the opinion of many, including the heads' of the Union Steam Ship Company. During the present strike, it is alleged, the s.s. Mokoia had to -be docked at Port Chalmers for cleaning 1 , and painting-, and the management of the U.S.S. Co. decided to ca.ll on the ships' officers to do the rough work— scrape | the ship's sides ami bottom and do the rough painting. But even the worm, will turn. There's dirty work and dirty work, just as there are eggs and eggs, and this form of dirty workhowever necessary t.nd useful— the masters, mates and other officers indignantly refused to do. Then the friend of peace— in other words, of the employers— suggested the usual way out of the difficulty, A SECRET BALLOT, as to whether or not .. they should— well, to put it m the best* language possible — whether they should obey the orders of the company, and scraps the muck, etc., from the Mokoia's bottom. The ballot, "Truth" is informed, was duly taken, for the masters and officers are nothing if not decorous and constitutional In all their methods. The result.- of the ballot was: To do the work usually done by men now on strike, TWO: against, TWELVE! Onb man, an engineer, was heard to say, "They'll be wanting us to paint Jimmie Mills's "fowlhouse next." . Not after that secret ballot, surely!