AUSTRALIAN RED FEDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3557, 16 May 1922, Page 17

AUSTRALIAN RED FEDS.

MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS SYDNEY, May 8. The May Day celebration, organised by the Labour Council and the Socialist organisations, passed off tamely. The procession was minus the Red Flag and also the promised band, but the participants, wearing red rosettes, marched through the streets to the Domain, where from several platforms, emblazoned with declamatorbanners against capitalism and wage slavery, and infavour of Communism, speeches were delivered to large crowds. The burden of the speeches was the necessity of uniting against any reduction in wages or increase in working hours. A resolution was adopted pledging the workers to do all in their power to abolish labour slavery and to refuse to accept any less wages or to work longer hours. The adoption of the resolution was a signal for the hoisting of the Red Flag, and a coun-ter-demonstration with a display of many white bannerettes. Mrs Walsh (nee Pankhurst), in a militant speech, declared that they were celebrating the coming revolution, which was going to give power to the workers. Mr Howie (president of the Labour Council) declaimed against Professor Meredith Atkinson’s recent statements regarding Soviet Russia, declaring that he did not fear the light of day. He defended the Soviet system. The proceedings generally were goodhumoured and orderly. REVOLUTIONARY PROPOSALS. SYDNEY, May 8. The agenda paper of the annual State conference of the Australian Labour Party to be held in June covers a host of varied resolutions, including proposals that all Scriptures and the Bible in State schools be abolished, that all private schools be confiscated and placed under the State Education Department, that beer be declared a necessary commodity and brought under the Anti-profiteering Act, and that the Parliamentary Liquor Bar be abolished wing to the state of members during the sittings of the House. Another proposal advocates the abolition of State Parliaments. SE DITIOUS PR OP A G A N D A. SYDNEY, May 8. Mr T. L. Ley (Minister of Justice) is considering the introduction of legislation to enable the police to deal with the disseminating of allegedly seditious and disloyal propaganda by Socialist Sunday schools established in various parts of the State, and which he claims are making criminals out of innocent children. He

quotes extracts from a Communist Sunday school text book which teaches that a boy Socialist cannot be a boy scout because a scout salutes the Union Jack, which is the emblem of oppression and slavery. Another question from the catechism is : “Is it true that God has ever revealed Himself?” The reply thereto is: “As there is no God, he could not reveal Himself.” One of the proletariat commandments taught the children reads : “Thou shalt not be a patriot, for a patriot is an international blackleg.” In one of the hymns the children are taught to sing: “Dividends, rent, interest, chicanery, lies, and brag are the gods of the Empire. Their symbol is the British flag. Mr Ley considers that drastic action is necessary to prevent the minds of young Australians being polluted by such disloyal and blasphemous teaching. May 9. Mr Garden, secretary of the Trades and Labour Council, denies Mr Ley’s charges in regard to the teachings of the Communist Sunday schools. He states that the text book which the Minister quotes is not known to the Communist Sunday schools in this country, and there is no catechism either in the schools or in the text books concerning the Boy Scouts, the Union Jack, or God. Mr Ley, in replying to Dir Garden, says that the latter denies that Communist teaching is imparted, but asks if the Communist children are taught to believe in Goth and to be loyal to" the Empire, why do they not attend Sunday schools belonging to the respective denominations? MR. LEY TAKEN TO TASK. SYDNEY, May 10. Mr Garden, replying to Mr T. J. Ley (Minister of Justice), said that the latter had neither the honesty nor the common courtesy to prove the specific charges which he made against the Communist schools. The Minister, without apology (Mr Garden says),' hedges and asks, Where are the schools where Communism is taught? Had he telephoned to the Labour Council, he would have been put right before launching a campaign which was really intended to discredit the May Day celebration. ENCOURAGING LOYALTY. SYDNEY, May 10. Mr Bruntnell, Minister of Education, has ordered that all the public school children shall be lined up every morning round the Union Jack, and each child shall recite “I honour my God, I serve my King, I salute my Flag, ’ the ceremony to conclude with the singing of one stanza of the National Anthem. Mr A. Bruntnell (Minister of Education) explains that the reason for issuing the school order is that there is a good deal being done in other directions to poison the minds of children against God, King, and the Empire, and he considers it is imperative that he should, so far as State schools are concerned, counteract the pernicious influence bv instilling into the minds of children this duty. May 11. Mr A. Bruntnel (Minister of Education) states that the school children will salute the Australian flag, and will thus be saluting the Union Jack, which is incorporated with it. LABOUR PERVERSITY. SYDNEY, May 12. The Labour Council decided to advise all unionists to keep their children from the schools during the period of saluting the flag and the singing of the National Anthem. “DOWN WITH CAPITALISM.” SYDNEY, May 9. The Seamen’s Union has issued a statement in which fears are exoressed that the increasing number of oil- v ships will reduce the number of seamen which will be required. The union states that the Bay steamers, through burning oil, require only 18 men in the stokehold instead of 50 or 60. “The watchword must be ‘Down with Capitalism.’ Our aim is to secure for the workers the control of industry and production for use, not for profit.”