EMERGENCY AND THE REMEDY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23974, 24 November 1939, Page 13

EMERGENCY AND THE REMEDY

TO THE EDITOR

Sir,—Your correspondent "Arator" speaks truly when he states that the fomentors of strikes and of sectional discord will be remembered. They are, as they were cast into the cold shades of Opposition by an outraged body of workers, who have returned the Labour Party to adjust disputes on the basis of arbitration between the organisations that represent the collective opinions of the workers and those that represent the employers, and to restore cuts. When the powers of the State were in 1913 used to destroy the workers' unions which then represented the mining industry and divided the workers' industrial unions into separate sectional occupational unions, the workers claimed the right to decide for themselves what form of unionism suited themselves and, in the interest of collective bargaining, protested by ceasing work to let the public know what was being imposed on them. The press and the opponents of Labour called upon the workers to settle their disputes by constitutional means. The workers' representatives decided that the advice was good. Therefore in 1913 at a great unity conference the present Labour Party came into being, and I am pleased to say that among the Cabinet Ministers who hold office to-day are the officials of Labour who were gaoled for the part they played in the struggle referred to by "Arator." These men were tested and were found true. They faced the baton, gaol and all forms of political terrorism, and never wavered since then from the working class principles they fought for then. The fact that in the constituencies the majorities they now secure are among the highest in New Zealand proves that the heart of the workers is sound and that they love men who are true to them. One would think, to read "Arator's " letter, that New Zealand and Australian waters were so sacred to our enemies that the Germans would not lay mines in them, or send raiders to sink our vessels, or seaplanes to bomb our ships. The experience of the last war proves that he is suffering under an illusion. Your correspondent tries to create the erroneous impression that the New Zealand seamen are not engaged to man the overseas boats which carry our produce. The fact is that when seamen are wanted they are engaged in New Zealand under New Ze-.land articles to man overseas boats

The answer to "Arator's" question No. 1 is that the Government has carried out the provisions of the Primary Products Marketing Act; to No. 2, that the Government, in my opinion, will not enforce conscription of men to go abroad and fight on foreign soil because it wants men to go there whose heart is in the job. If it was good enough for the Australian soldiers fighting at the front to turn down conscription during the last war. it is good enough for such as me to favour the volunteer system. The voice of the men who are doing the fighting is good enough for anyone. Writing from memory, the first plebiscite held in Australia turned down conscription by over 90,000 votes. In the second plebiscite there was a majority of over 150.000 against German militarism, as it is con. scription that destroys liberty. As there are employers who would give preference to non-unionism to break down the workers' unions, the Government introduced compulsory unionism to ensure, first, that unions should exist; secondly that the wishes of all the members in the union must be considered and not that only of a hotheaded section. Unionism settles its disputes by arbitration. It, therefore, preserves human life by peaceful means; conscription would send men to war-to destroy life—a totally different thing. The answer to question No. 3 is that the Government does not sweat the farmer. It gives a guaranteed price without risk through war to the farmer,

which included a Government subsidy of £2,000,000 over and above the price the produce brought. Regarding question No. 4, the Government does tell the full facts about the financial position as Hansard, the Year Book, and the monthly abstract of statistics prove. The trades union secretaries, like the many secretaries of the Employers' Association, are men of mature judgment, and because of physical disability or age are ineligible for service in an army.

There is no Trades flail in Dunedin, and I do not consult with anyone, nor am I responsible to anyone but the editor for what I write under a nom de plume, and as my responsibility to the editor is not to monopolise too much space, as I fear I have done, or infringe the law of libel or of journalistic decency, 1 will leave the other baseless assertions of "Arator" unanswered, as I do his innuendoes. —I am. etc.. 4/1530