INDUSTRIAL v. POLITICAL ACTION.

NZ Truth, Issue 791, 1 January 1921, Page 3

INDUSTRIAL v. POLITICAL ACTION.

Dear "Truth," — It is to the selfsacrificing and consistent efforts of the militant section of the essential workers of industry m this country that credit is due, to bring New Zealand into line with other countries, who had found out by long and bitter experience, that marshalling of the tollers' forces upon the economic field would get better and quicker results with less effort, and at less cost than trying to elect members to capitalist parliaments and convert representatives of plute and privilege to ethical ideas of life. The decided and substantial gains that have been won by powerful unions by industrial action, during the last few years, especially during and since the war, by the coal-miners, railwaymen and dockworkers of Great Britain, the railwaymen of America and others, admit of no argument of the efficacy of the power of the industrial slaves upon the economic plane. An illustration of the regal might and transcendental power of the toilers m key industries was shown m the recent Coal Commission, where, for the first time m modern history the lords of power and privilege, of coal and land, humbly obeyed the demand of the coalminers' spokesman, Robert Smillle, to appear before the tribunal and produce their title deeds of ownership of the broad acres of England. Van loads of musty parchments written m bad Latin, were exposed to the cold scrutiny of this leader of coal-hewers who, when the long array of England's best (sic) nobility had passed before him. and shown their mythical credentials of the right to enslave and exploit, passed sentence, and m that judgment sounded the death-knell of the power of aristocracy and land-' lordlsm In England and of the world, now and for ever. The moral and material effects of this incident are but dimly sensed, even by the .classconscious workers, but to the close student of sociology it Is of vital and deep significance, and gives the key to the \mlocklng of future social problems. It is the instrument that m the near future will be used; slowly,- but with ever-increasing effect and magnitude to alter and ultimately effect the most tremendous and far-reaching changes m the social structure and arrangement. Many toilers,* even those with considerable insight of sociology, are still obsessed with the unintelligent political action methods (parliamentarism). — Tour, etc » R. J. THOMPSON.