WORLD OF WORK

NZ Truth, Issue 508, 13 March 1915, Page 2

WORLD OF WORK

_sPJibX-Points for Proletarian Plugs —

BY "HONESTAS."

N Nemo" (Torauka) writes asking if the New Zealand Federation of Labor if> dead. When an organisation has fallen into such a state of impotence tlfat the Question jg.j?ut as to whether • it Is dead, ono is- inclined to conclude that if it is not, it might just as well be, dead. "Honestas" has made inquiries and he finds" that 'while 'm Wellington the one-time jnilitant Rod Fod ( which, by the way, was never truly Red and seldomintelligently militant), has little or no following m Wellington. So far as can be gathered, only two unions, the Boot and Shoe Operatives and the Engine Drivers, have affiliated. In Auckland and Dunedln the unions once affiliated are now only nominally so. In Christeh'urch, on tho other hand, the Federation seemß to have "caught on" and practically all the active tradeß unions have "come In." Only recently the Canterbury, Trades Council decided, to • affiliate.' Thla decision brought m m one bunch about a score of unions. It m held that the success of the Federation advocates m the Flat City is the result of an assurance voiced by tne present officials that the future policy of the Federation will be the antithesis of its former policy; that hs constitution will be such that no one, except the- mental color-blind will ever accuse it'Of being Red,- or even a lively pink or robust salmon. In fact, so far rb Christchurch Is concerned the Federation of Labor will be but the Canterbury Trades Council under a new name. The present position reminds one forcibly of that old ribald rhyme that told a story about the "same old rider." "Honestas" was unable to gather from "Nemo's" note containing the query, "Is the Red Fed dead?" whether the wish was* father^ to the thought, so he -has no means" of 'knowing whether this answer will, be satisfactory or not, but such as it is, he has it. Referring to the Federation, reminds "'HoriestQß" that during the "Big Strike" the emissaries of the Redded wen{ to Australia on ft begging expedition and succeeded m borrowing £1000 from the A.W.U. What la being doho to repay this money? True, the Federation as at present constituted is not the same body, as that , which. borrowed the sum In question. Nevertheless, if "HonostflS" remembers aright, the delegates attending the last' July, conference m Wellington, dccid A qsl $0 assume responsibility for the A.W.U. loan. It has to be remembered, howover, that the delefates so agreeing had no instructions from their unions to accept'such llabil- * itj-y and further, that many unions represented, have; since declined to affiliate with tho <•■ Federation. What thoiy is the position ?. Has the A.W.tr. tosuffcr the loss.of the £1000. they so generously lent .New. Zealand organ - Med -Labor at a -time when such help was a God's sond, and was given m addition to most liberal donations from A.W.U. branches and individual members? "Honestas" hopes for the Bake of the good name of New Zealand Trades Unionism the various unions Implicated'in ii\o late *trlke;and likewise thoso Unions which supported the •trlke, will set about -.doing something to repay part, if not all, of this loan to tho A.WU. Surely tho Trades Unions of Gofzone have sufficient funds m ..hand to. make on immediate grant for this ' purpoftei -If something is" not done In this direction, and done quickly, it will leave an Indelible stain- oh tho , hitherto good name of New Zealand Labor. It's up to you. '■•■# ■ ''■•■■'•• " , * Some tlmo ago "Honestas" Jokingly referred to tho fact that the undertakers and gravefliggerji In certain, parts had organised themselves into unions,, «rid f f aoeildus'ly «tatpd 'that there were ' only the diir l at<Ja i left to bo enrolled Into a union organisation. There certainly did not appeur to bo many new avenues for • the union organiser to travel along, but there is always something now In everything. "An Insurance Canvasser" writes advocating that the canvaseorß should form a union.

'Honestas" fancies the canvasser class will be, one of the hardest, as it will also be one of the last bodies of men to organise. Not that the canvassers do not need.somo protection, but because there are so many peculiar '■ features about their calling. The best that any of them can obtain is a nominal wage totally insufficient to supply a means of living. To make a decent living it is necessary to canvass with much vigor, so that the commission will be the means of producing the living wage, or a little more which is desired. Insurance companies pay on results, and the securing of results require peculiar attributes and aptitude on the part of the canvassers. . Experience has shown that canvassers aro born, not made. That is if anything like success is to be I ensured. Just what such a union's demands would be "Honestas" cannot guess, but whatever they were would most .-» surely, cause- a flutter amongst shareholders and others, and a lot or old arguments, and Borne new ones, m opposition would be duly trotted out. In any case some lively times may be anticipated If such a union starts to shoot. ■ ■ ■ •».-•■ -■' ♦ •# •■■■■ | Following usual custom m which a ( man is declared to say something one day, which is denied the next, tho Cable liars recently made Ramsay MacDonald, the well-known British Labor leader and M.P., speaks strongly m favor of conscription. On the face of it the cable was an absurd one unless MacDanald had performed a wonderful volte face, and if he had done that the .triumphant cable liar would not have omitted to whoop. It is only, a few weeks ago we,were told -that MacDonald and -other Labor leaders had been howled down at public meeting* where they had been expressing their views on the war, what it meant to the workers, ar?d what tHe workers should demand for sacrificing their liveß to German aggression. We wore next rold that Mac Donald had said the present war had* provided unanswerable arguments m favor of conscription. 1 That was wholly opposed to everything MacDonald and others had been saying, but It was doubtful if any fuller explanation or contradiction woutd come along; The men who run the news at the other end of the line take bare to send only just what pleases them. What we want, or expect, is another thing altogether. A contradiction, however, did come' along, but it has a big elemont of suspicion about it just the same. The' second wire said that what Mac Donald claimed to have said was that if the policies that made the present war were continued, the arguments m favor of conscription would be unanswerable, That qualified the statement considerably, and "Honostas" felt that when the authentic report did come along it would be found that Ramsay Mac Donald had said something altogether different. The latest "La-* bor Leaders" to hand show what Mr. Mac Donald did say, which summarised was to the effect, that the policies of secret agreements-, made by diplomats could not be continued unless Britain adopted conscription: that no country with a conscript army, would make an agreement with Britain to stand or fall together unless Britain was m a position to put her army m the field as quickly and effectively as the" other party to the entente, and not have to wait six months ere it materialised as In tho present Instance. There has been no more uncompromising and consistent opponent of conscription and militarism than -Ramsay Mac Donald, m the British Socialist movement, and ono does well to romomber this when reading the cable-crammers inspired insinuations and prevarications. * ♦ .. # Tho complaint made In "World of Work" ro the sanitary conditions and other objectionable features of certain sheep stations down South has been inquired Into by the Labor Department, and the r%iult of the. Inspector's investigations m regard to one of these :s now m "Honestas's" hands. The following is an extract from tho report of tho Deputy-Chlof Inspector, W. H. Hagger: . ' ! In reforenco to the horse shot before shearing time: It was found i that this carcase was hung eighty yards away from the accommodation. This nuisance Is a non-recur-ring one, . . . The dining-room and cooking-house are very satisfactory. . . The sleeping accommodation Is Insufficient, and the air I space for each shearer is less than the amount "prescribed by the Act. I The old sod whore, which was usod | by two of the shearers will also I have to be abolished. . A requisition will be served on this employer, calling upon him to remedy the unsatisfactory state of things. ■ i Proletarian plugs do not need to be told that tho eye of the, departmental inspector is capable of not .seeing many things plainly ami some things not at all. With this m mind, "Honestaß* 1 that the foregoing admissions prove up to the hilt ever> assertion made In this column. What "Honostas" wants to know now Is: 'What were tho Labor Department Inspectors doing that their attontlon had to be called to tho breaches of the Act by the squatter referred to? When, where and what aro they paid to inspect? • * • Ono labor question that was sure to be revived when the Labor Government again secured control of tho Commonwealth Legislature was that of day work .as against contract labor. Tho job on which it was most certain to again crop up was on tho Transcontinental railway line. It did not receive much public notice for some time, and It almost lookod as if it hud been forgotten. That It had not been allowed to dlo was provod the other day, when it was announced that the day labor principle was being ro-installed. and contract work was to bo done away with altogether. The Cook mlsgovernment made a great virtue of having done away with day lubor on tho line It Ib more lively that their whoop was more over having nearly done away with tho lino it«olf, for never has there been lens progress on it than when tho frlcndn of Fat were In power. Tho rcnolvo I* one * entirely In accord with I Labor principle*, but It is likely it will ; agnln bo a courco of worry to tho Government. There was one thlnjc jabont the oonlrnct ay«tom which may, j ;or may not. l>o nn attvitntaßC. tt depends Inr-Rcly upon thi! nhlo from which It In reffnnliMl. Whon a contractor Is ] clolnjr thn work he Ihik to put up with ' all tho worry of the unions In suddenly demanding more wafton. Wlu-n the Government Is on the day work line It has to do alt tho rltsputlnic. Tht-ro hns been a quiet time on tho lino latterly, but It Ib probnblf It will not bo long before tho unions will ho knocking at the Government's door, as ono union loader onco put It.