Welfare League's Birdime

NZ Truth, Issue 772, 21 August 1920, Page 1

Welfare League's Birdime

The welfare League, which, like father , capitalistic corporations and pompanies, seems to have neither a body to be kicked nor a soul to be. jOamned, nevertheless has a considerable supply of the necessary where*Wlthal to purchase space m the plute Newspapers. Never a week passes but •ore have dished up to the worker a feofomn or two of dry-hash, or high trash, "published ,by arrangement," twfcioh sets out to show how Labor and jjPapltal could work together for the peneflt and profit of both, plus the pelfare of the State.. Many of these Mrtlcles are well flavored with semiSooiallstio proposals which make them pally swallowed by the bamboozled Xmefceada they are particularly derijgned to catch. Their pretence of Bbnslderation for the welfare of the ■orking-olasa is so much birdlime, designed to ' entangle the feet of the fltnwary. "Truth" has had several jdOmmunicatlons from workers who Meemed to think that if their class fcwould support the Welfare League or ttbe principles Its hired -scribes propapjate at so muoh per inch m the plute JSflßs, all would be well with Labor. gffcre their hopes ever realised, none {■mud be more disappointed and dlsSnißloned than the sanguine writers m Auftstlon. The gnirpose of the Welfare League, stated plainly, is to ■prof the wheels of progress. The g&en who are financing 1 Its activities Art boodlera every bit as eager as, If . not more eager than, their- fellow capitalists on making proflta. The only Difference Is that they are perhaps en* jtewftd with > modicum of prescience, jpr are able In some way to sense the mea&mar of the handwriting on the ■rail, and AM oat making their plantf *bcordln|rly. From what has been ocmrVag In the Old World, they hay* •arned that where the workers are fceated like 'helots, revolution Is ever ipvering m the background. The so- ■ Jfclled semi-Socialism advocated by the hired writers of the League, is nothing more than a rehash of the old, Jft-tried dope of paternal capitalism. they have learned that a horse that tit , rl«f«d, well-groomed, . well-harness* and well stabled will do more worftr t&d yield snore profit for its owner 1 man one that Is badly treated m any WOH of these. So the* argttfc for I wan-fed, well-clothed and wellDffliaed working-class, m the hope that M these things make the horse a conunted and obedient servant. It will be the same In the case of the proletarian plug. No doubt, such * policy Will placate a proportion of the proletarians, as the epistles received by the People's Paper prove; but> if the leader* of Labor understand their business these last will soon have' the scales shaken from their sight and they will step Into line with the more Intelligent workers who say: "Healthy conditions and short hours of labor, a flair living and comfortable housing conditions are In themselves good and desirable, but If these things are to pc granted only that they may enable the master-olasa to extract more surgua value from our labor, then -we 11 them that the amount of fish ' ;vhloh they will catch will not be suflljplent to pay for the bait used." The ■ohoolmaster has been abroad and the leverage worker now knows that he Can have all these things and more without continuing to' be a profitjproduoin& animal for plute; he knows that the only way to stop robbery is to get rid of the robbers and this last he has slowly but surely made up his mind to do. On this, at least, Labor Is agreedA He may not have quite ■ettled m his mind how the thing Is to be done. lie may go about it In different ways m different countries, but the end Bought is the same m all , • -^the expelling of the drones from the hives. The members and financiers of the Welfare League are no doubt wellintentioned, kind-hearted men, according to their lights, but their lights ar» rather dim and but of date. The searchlight of Social economics lays bear the dark recesses into which their benevolent "penny dips" fall to penetrate, which, once having; seen, che worker can never forget.