What Should the Workers Do?

NZ Truth, Issue 483, 19 September 1914, Page 4

What Should the Workers Do?

"Out Massey!" says /Worker." (To the Editor.) Sir,— Mr. Payne certainiy has the courage of his convictions when he advocates a combination of Labor and Liberalism as the only means to overthrow the present abortion of a Government. But he is quite right m his fervid expression of opinion: The Massey Government has failed m every profession that it has ever made, and there is no shadow of a doubt that it deliberately duped the Labor Party into an alliance that has resulted m putting back our cause for the best part of a decade. Its policy has been consistently vacillating and time-serving, and it must be plain to even the meanest intelligence that its only object m life is to hang on to office at any $ost. That cost the working man will be called upon to ..pay, and . he . will pay heavily for his post Belief m this body of hypocritical alleged Reformers, If be does not^ at once realise the necessity for retracing his steps. • . ■ :■:■■. .■■"■ •■',;■■' Under existing circumstances -we cannot hope to substitute a purely Labor Party for a Conservative one, though that must come m due course. In the meantime the. plan of' campaign should be clearly that indicated by Mr. Payne. ■•'. If our party goes into the field opposed to the Liberal Party, under existing legislation it simply means that we Bhall again return the Conservative Government, for a splitting .of. the -votqs m the various' constituencies will result m a continuance of the minority representation that is now such a lamentable evidence of past weakness and dupedom. A policy of patience will brlmj us to our ultimate, inevitable goal much faster than one of hurried impetuosity. That policy must aim first at ousting the existing Government, and the only .possible way of doIng that is, as Mr. Payne suggests, to ally ourselves with the undoubted strength of Liberalism and send back Sir Joseph Ward at the head of a solid party; Our turn will come later. At the moment the one aim of every working man should be to scotch this hybrid organisation that is posing as tho Party of Reform and is bleeding Labor at every turn for the aggrandisement of Fat.-r-I am. etc., / "WORKER."