THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD.
NEWS AND NOTES. Ei thi Hox. J. T. Pal'i,, M.L.O. Itsmn of information and brief comment! on questions coming under thin heading are »lw»js ivciccnii. Books, pamphlets, etc., sent to tho editor of this column irili ulio bo noticMi. MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Th« following unions will mret cliuine* the week at the 1 rotes Hall:Morulny. Grocers, Tailors, Pressors. Tuesday.—Bootmakers, Slaughtermen, Sawmillers, Canister Workers. Wednesday.—Socialists' Society. Friday.—Engineers. Saturday.—hng-me-drivcrs. THE PASSIM';- OF HICTIAUD BELL. Derby will have a. now M.I 1 , wncn tho poll is declared at. tlio coming British elections. The Amalgamated Society of Railway Swiaiu's, which has a membership of 100,000, will have a. new dircctiuir head. _ The English Labour movement y. l ". wiss Rich art I 801 lus mi active spirit iti its ranks. For, according to a cablegram, lro has accepted- a position under tho new Labour Exchanges Act-. There is something regrettable about the pacing of .the veterans from tlio Labour movement. There are stalwarts in the Old Land, like Thomas Burt and Charles Fenwiel;, who linve done yeoman service in blazing the truck of progress. It is not quite clean- whether Mc'ssw Burt and Fcnwick are to be repudiated by tho otliciat Labour party, but soma other way should bo surety found. Mr Burt took risks for Labour and incurred hardships in its c.-.uso which are not met in presentday advocacy, for the reason that Labour is coming into its own. Tiicse men have iwver voted against- I.labour principles. They have coiteifitanlly sitrved their class, and in the closing years of their public lives it must be regarded as regrettable that they should be opposed by a section of their own comradcs. ' x Mr Bell has represented railway men a.ml the electors of Derby in Parliament since 1900. Ho lias sa.t ias a trade union member of tlio Labour party. He has 'had a diffcrenco of opinion over the signing of the pledge', and the Derby Trades Council and the A.S.R.S. dccidcd" to withdraw their political support. He maintained tho eon/idenco of -the A.S.R.S. as aecrota.ry, bat. be has' i:oiv resigned the -position and accepted the post mmtionod above. Two years ago Mr Bell was tho mosMalke'd-of man in the British industrial world. ; Everybody was discussing whether the railway men would strike. Mr, Bell displayed consida-ablo ability in tho negotiations- between tho railway "companies and his union, and perhaps the settlement without a strike was due moro to liiin than to any other man.
Ilis conception as to tho duties of a member of Parliament may be quoted from his book, "Trudti Unionism," published in 1907:—"To sign a 'blank' pledge, to be obedient to a decision 011 some future date upon some questions unknown, is like signing a blank cheque and letting the pajec fill it in. It lias a. more important moral effect oven than that—it assumes to dictate to a constituency of doctors what their rep.rosanative shall do, and how ho 'shall do it, au-d totally disregarding tile opinions, of those who clectcd hint. Parliament would thus heconiei an. assembly of delegates of a sectjon, and riiofc a House of Representatives." Many will say that it is in the best interests of the Labour movement that Richard Bell should Jeavo it. On tho other hand, many will regret tlis passing of an able and courageous spirit from tho hurly-burly of militant trades unionism and politics.
UNEMPLOYMENT IN BRITAIN. The Board of Trade Labour Gu-zetty for November . shows,' indications of improved trace. "As compared with a year -ago," says the Gazette',.;!." all tho principal i industries have improved, in many cases to a considerable extent. The; changcs in rates of wages taking effect in October showed an advance—the first not increase sinco February, 1908. The industries wore much less affected by labour disputes than in Octobcr, 1908." In the 410'. trade unions, with a net' membership of 694,930, making returns 49,664 (or 7.1 per cent.) of their members were returned as unemployed with 7.4 : pcr cent, at the end of .September, 1909, and 9.5 per cent, jof October, 1908. The building jraoo.'contiiiues "to be depressed.' ;According to tho Engineers' Monthly , Journal, the Amalgamated Society df.: Carpenters and '.Joiners not only have been tinablo to show decrease in the number of unemployed, but in their latest report had to announce an. actual increase of 600 idle members, mriking 5302 out of employment, of which number 3922 aro in receipt of unemployed benefit. Tho total membership of the society i 3 now 58,812, wincli, ■ with; regret, is. noted to.ljs 11,288 less than two years ago, when the number stood at 70,000. What will become of tho workers in the ■ building trado if they deliberately choos's to bo'disorganised, as the abovo figures-indicate, ho one can conjecture. But if again the joiners will rally to their renowned society thov would not only help in holding the Trade Union fort, as so gallantly done in tho past, but guarantee to themselves a more sure and certain chance of taking advantage, by bein" united, of whatever opportunities of proand benefiting themselves which may occur in the strenuous industrial da-vs to come.
-Mi- Sidney Webb, who is making a tvomendous effort lo.ha.vo tho Minority Repoit of tho.ircccnfc Poor Law Commission put nilo operation/'spoko at Bradford in the course of -liis campaign. Dealing with unemployment-'-tho gravest of presentday problems "-Mr Wobb said that tho question must bo dealt with now, not becauso 'unemployment, in proportion, to population, was woiso to-day than it had won ill times past, but for two reasonsl'Msf, wo had becopie conscious of the evil, and tho unemployed had become 'conscious of it; ana, secondly, local "ovarii; tint' fl! S ° flucces3ful 'y built up tlut tho problem was now manageable It was now possible, ho declared; to .iLolish unemployment in the senso that thoy had abolished lyphus-cxcont for sporadic ease?; and it was his deliberate opinion that it unemployment was not presented m this count,rv, it would bo because tho Mmistrjvhad not made up iH nnixl o undertake, the task. Tho spcakci 01.'" lhe .? linority Roport propa.aU _foi preventing unemploymenta nong them tho establishment of a Snal &££ l, '° P™blcm '°tTo crtcano us? of labour exchanges, rctru. u: ;' ng ,hu clc 1 »"i'"l for labour, and doveworks' £easona ' trades. Denouncing relief a°£ hi oh- StofU n"' c'em°rilismg—bevr,,S*t 'tt 1 !' »"i'£ a iS S J ™ u *■! iwa,«f Hiitssa "is wafeSSfi*
TIIE I.W.W. AND MYSELF - -ciahst J.WVIOH-, the official organ of tho ineriem Revolutionary Socialist party. 1 Wn 11 • ll . l<,ustriill Workers of the World organisation and propaganda had a 111 Amn ® wider Danicd Do S , • fho P xt , ract f from licviow aiticls wore absolutely true. Tlio nolo raised t ho ire of tiro Socialist critics To tiioro I replied .it some length. Since when one previous critic (" Scientific ».oc!alist ) and one now'/ one (Mi* J. ft, MucManus) have filled n column and .vhaif of tlio Daily Times
"Scientific Socialist" has devoted tho 'foot '"'s space to a defeneo of tlio c ' - cou ' t! - " ot the truth of Mr Koir Jlardie's definite statement which I quoted last week: "Do Leonisnl continues to linger as a snarling, disruptive force, but fortunately its power for evil has; almost entirely disappeared lienco he. says nothing about iny reference to Daniel'Do Leon. I submit that llr Keir IJardie's evidence, collected and written up on the spot, is clinching- and conclusive. :
Nov.- a word as to the I.W.W. and politics. I say that the I.W.W. stands for Industrial Unionism, which in practice has been the gcner.il strike and nori-politeal action. The last .words in tho preamblo says this: "Therefore, .without endorsing or desiring endorsement of any political part}', wo unite, under, the following constitution." _The constitution dcca not pro-, vide for political action. I contend-I have proved my ease aiuUdieprovcd the contentions of " Scientific Socialist" on the' point of politcal action. The Australian experience is enough. Every- I.W.W. man of prominenco is an opponent of the Labour party. " Fakire, sliiecrs, and political twisters" are names commonly applied by the I.W.W. men Co memln-rs o£ tlio J.abour party. The I.W.W. is against palliative legislation, Ono' trreat objection to tho adopticu or tho I.W.W. constitution for Australian conditio h J ifi tint it would enell iiig efti cf politcal. action. Mr W.
G. Sixmco, Federal Labour M.P., who \iai spent, his life in the scrvicc of tlio union "its of Australia, and is largely responsible for tlie A.W.U., oho of tlio greatest and Most successful Labour organisations in existence, said: " The preamble of t.lio I.W.W. really meant, nothing but strikes, and in some cases lo take possesion. But when they took possession, wlwt then? They must capture the law-making machine. u-"d not allow these people, who were trying to, itcome iis and divide. them." It is quite useless for my critics to quote a newspaper article as to what Industrial Unionism means. The I.W.W. is a distinct organisation standing for eortain courses of action. It believes in the general strike; it is against Labour in politics.
Mr MacManus may always bo relied on to appear in a newspaper controversy where I' aril coacc-r/iod. One of his earliest newspaper exploits on his arrival in Dunediii a coif pic -of years ago was to impugn my political honesty lieforo ho knew of or understood my placo or work in llio loQJil Labour 'movement. Mr MacManus has new misled an opportunity of advorsoly criticising my work. The letter he published this week is on traditional lines, so that 1' have nothing at all to he- surprised at. lie asks: "How will Mr Paul explain why Mr Eugene V. Debs ran as a candidate for tho l'resicUncy of the United,' States if tho I.W.W. opposes political action?" My reply is that Debs rati for tho American Presidency under _ the auspices and endorsement of the Socialist party of America, a. distinct and self-con-tained organisation in every way separate from the I.W.W. Dobs has always believed that trade unions should take part in polities. Tho I.W.W. belicvea m .Industrial Unionism. That is a sufficient and full reply to tho question. Tho fact that Mr Dobs advocated political action ui a upcecii at- the formation of a branch of tno I.W.W. does not prove that the I \V.W. Stands tor political action. Mr Debs is not tho I.W.W con s t«on; hut the constitution governs tho I.W.W - actiuties; Mr Debs does not. A word as to tho personal question- raised bv Mr MacManus. My w r ork for the Labour movement must speas for itself; anyhow I cannot sing its praiseo. Mr MaoManus thinks I should uso.my free pais and do organising work. If Mr MacManus had my troo iuss and- my financial responsibilities and incomo lie would ho better able to form a correct idea as to wlibt could bo done ill organising work, i have responded to every call made by a trade union since I beta me a member o the Legislative Council. I have organised' several unions and federatod several ptlK>re. I havo placed my ability and services a» tho command of many unions a-nd scores of workers. If. Mr MacManus docsnt Know it, those unions and workers do. As a Matter of plain fact -I give at least as much tp" o and energy to tho Labour movement, without payment, as Mr MacManus does. will leave it at that. _ I have not said a word _ against Dcbc. I havo often written in l his favour iir.d quoted him approvingly. Mr MacManus complains of--my -conduct of this column: "I U6e my. column to publish every unkind word that is said about them." If Mr MacManus wero accurate in his statementtho space allotted to me would lwvo been trebled. I propose to conduct this column to supply tho truth about the doings in- the industrial world' to tho readers of the Daily Times whether it pleases Mr MacManus or not. 1 Tho whole, or at least the main, joints of .this controversy is whether Industrial Unionism, ris* opposed to trade unionism 'and political action, is a ixinaeca for all our economic ills. I .havo boon contending against my Socialist critics that it is not. They iriifiht.be more likelv to be converted by Mr Heir ITardie.. ono of the world's leading Socialists, than by inysd-f. Writing in the London Labour Leador of-December 5, 1909, to hand this week, under tho heading of " Socialism in America and Here," ho savs:--
The American' Socialist movement has, not yet got'beyond'the faddist stage, and '.so all sorts of crudities find their way • into it. The latest is Industrial ■ which is being pushed by tho monthly magazine issued by C. 11. Kerr, . of Chicago. This will still further alienate trade unionists from' tho party. Tn all humility I mioht suggest that Mi* Har ; d.io lrnows as much ahout tho virtuo of an industrial organisation as " Scientific Socialist," Mr J. E. MacManus, or myself. JOTTINGS. Much _ interest is' beins evinced in the result of tho decision to appoint a woman organiser tor the hotel and restaurant workers. • • , Tho Auckland clothing manufacturers have joined the -New Zealand' Clothing Manufacturers' Association, and both employers and workers in the clothing trade are now federated.. - / The fixing of wages and conditions of cutters and trimmors by the Conciliation .Council this week' wu-s followed with in- . lereet,, aa this, is " the-first occasion'of their coming under the Arbitration Act. Mr Ji-.'Lesina, a rcccnt visitor and Labour member in tho Queensland lias btson .virtually expelled Ironi the party on the;-grounds that he is not amenable ,'to party-'discipline,.- . • On an--average the Australian Avageearner hantk'dvcr to his landlord one ; fourtih of his wages for leave to reside on the earth.—Tho AVorker. . Tho wives of married clerks in Sydney aro' protesting against singlo women taking their husbands' positoins at lower rates of wages. Thousands of actors in London now get no mora than £2 .per week. Som® are paid only 30s, on even £1, and there/is tho "joint engagement" of man and wife at 35s a week for tho two. ' " 1 One of the rights the New South 'Wales minors aro now fighting for—eight hours from _b'anlc_ to bank—has just been made law in Victoria under the Coal', Mines Regulation Act. It has boon in -operation in Now Zealand for a considerable lime/ In dealing with Guy 11. Scholefield's " Zealand in Evolution," tho London Clarion literary critic describes it as "a broid, comprehensive, atid keenly logical study of the industrial, economic, and political'development of bur only Socialist colony."i' It is expected that when tho branch returns are all forwarded to tho general seorctary, the I'edoiafion ot Shearers' Unions will show en increase of 2030 members as a result of the past two months' organisation. This will give a total ol roughly 6000 members spread over the five unions.
Some weeks ago tho Wellington Trades Council circularised the affiliated unions, asking for fitianoial assistance in support i of tho Newcastle miners. The council headed the list with a donation of £20, but oil account of tho holidays intervening the individual unions have not mot, and the response to date has therefore been inoonsidorahlo.—"Unionist " ((Evening Post). Whatever differences of opinion prevail in union circles, cither in New South Wales or in the other States of the Commonwealth, respecting the leadership of Potcr Bowling, as against that of' Mr Hughes (writes tho Brisbano Worker), no ono can shut Jiis eyes;to tho fact that tic odds aro overwhelmingly in favour of tho latlor In Sydney, amongst tho,union officials with whom tho writer has oomo: in contact, .the policy pursued by Mr Hughes of restricting the area of . the etriko 's warmly jyiprovod and highly appreciated. Some of tho loading union officials unhesitatingly declare that a departure from thia ipolioy at tho present juncture must lead to inevitably disaster.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 14732, 15 January 1910, Page 5
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2,628THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD. Otago Daily Times, Issue 14732, 15 January 1910, Page 5
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