A REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Southland Times, Issue 17232, 31 December 1912, Page 2

A REVIEW OF THE YEAR

FROM A LABOUR VIEWPOINT. I (By “Worker”). The year 1912, which is now in its death throes, has from many points of view been a notable one. The worldwide labour unrest, which has never previously been so apparent, has indeed been one of the features of It. In every inhabited country on earth' has this fact revealed itself, and it has made even anti-Social is Is exclaim, “Something will have to be done.” Thi’s universal unrest has been rendered all the more remarkable by the fact that the economic conditions of one country are seldom Identical with those of another, and in most instances, when comparisons are made, they are found to be entirely dlssimiiiar. But with all the unrest have the workers as a whole managed to better their lot ? I think it will be admitted that in some countries they have done so, and in any case without exception they have caused the other fellow to do some hard thinking, so, at least that is so much gained.' LABOUR ABROAD. In Europe the working classes were never more militant than they > are today. Education is doing the work that It was predicted It would do, and In education, and in education alone, lies the hope of the emancipation of the working class. Germany Is a bright and shining example of the working-class movement. In the Reichstag, the- National Parliament, the Socialist Party is numerically stronger than any other party, and if a franchise like have in New Zealand were grafted the German people, undoubtedly van absolute Socialist majority would ;be returned. And let it be eald that our eieclsral system is by no means perfect. . In the German State legislatures, ‘in municipal bodfe*:, Socialist representation continues to steadily grow, and here** a problem which cans* the erratic (though in parte brilliant) Kaiser to realise that “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” But in other countries on' the Continent of Europe also the movement continues to spread, although it must be said that France baa been somewhat, disappointing, owing un*'»v.h.tdiy i* rhe number of different brands of Labour organisations, which must sooner or iaier—an* &U ment has universal application —arrive at a common platform and become banded together. More cdor? •-*• U needed. In Spain, in Portugal In I.t-y. In Turkey, we find the spirit of unrest abroad, and even in "Red Russia.” despite fh.e most severe : v r-r■.■e«sive measures, we find Lobov - uV» a giant, realising that s.ometi; lug i'ricot is the mattic with him. but not knowing 1 how to go »' •;* t V't'.'r; hit cure. More education is n3sd■■-' , . In the United Kingdom the spirit of revolt has never been more cvldrn*. hut t sress continues to be slow. Cert.V.nly, palliative Veal els. lion has been enacted, and more has been promised. But here nis>-'. although it must be obvious to every worker (hat (he conditions of the majority of the people are wretched In the extreme, there is the ~ame helplessness, or indeeisiveress. or mistrust, which cripples ever'’ attempt to progress. D is the <.-: d story: More education is needed. In Asia labour troubles have in many instances assumed a threatening shape, and in some instances agitators have been “strung up.” The Labour movement in North and South America is in many respects very much alive; hut here also the want of well-defined action acts as an effective clog. It is encouraging to note that Eugene Oehs, the Socialist candidate for the United States Presidency, received upwards of 200,000 more votes at the last ••lection than wore credited to him at the previous election. In point of industrial organisation no other country ranks as high as U.S.A.. and when under a capitalistic regime ' n ' dustries reach such a high slate of organisation, the < onsequences are so telling on the workers that they may retaliate, at any time, and as a result anything may happen. Blood has flown pretty freely on many occasions already. More education is needed. In Soulli Africa, particularly in the Transvaal. steady progress is being made, and Labour lias now obtained a footing in Parliamentary and municipal bodies. Coming nearer home, wc find that, despite the dominating influence of Labour in the Common weal I li of Australia, the country continues to boom and prosper. The Federal Labour Government, with Andrew Fisher at, the head, has tackled problems which its predecessors persistently shelved, and if the referenda proposals, which 'ere rejected at the beginning of flic- year, are carried when next they are placed before the people, then Use present Federal Labour Government will. I fed sure, at once reveal the real stuff of which it is made. In Queensland the Stale Labour Parly fell hack at the elect ir/ns, the main cause being the Brisbane tramway strike But it is well to not,- that in the districts which wen* directly affected by the strike, and where the people were acquainted with the facts of the position. Labour candidates either increased their majorities or were brought (loser to their opponents than they were on any previous occasion. In Victoria also the .State Labour Party seems to make little headway, hut bad leadership may be the cause of litis. In Tasmania rapid strides have been made, and the Stale Government has a majority of only one over the Labour Party, It is confidently expected that the latter will reverse the posh inn at next time of asking. The Labour Government, headed by Premier Vet ran. lost its grip of Soulli Australia by a small majority; hut forces were cl work which explains the pari.ion. and it is safe to assume that the reverse is a temporary one only, it is iintortunale, hut it is true, that the McGowcn Government lias proved a disappointment in New Soulli Wales, and the chances are that at next elections it will he defeated. Setbacks of the kind, however, are only to be expected, and, Labour has been taught a lesson which it should profit by. . More education is needed. In West Australia the Labour Government. at whose head is Premier Scadden. a strong men. continues to make good, and at the present time tins State, from a Federal or State point of view, is ■'sounder on the goose” titan any oilier of the Australian State-.-, LABOUR AT HOME. In this Dominion we have had nnr share of strikes and lockouts, chief of which were the Waihi and Reefton troubles. The latter, it will he remembered, was a lockout, and as the parlies were working under an Arbitration Court award. It is; difficult to conceive why the mine-owners were not proceeded against.

The Waihi rupture was a horse of anoilier colour. It was a strike, and a. deadly one in more ways than one. As the men were not working under an award, no Court proceedings could ba taken against them for striking. So much has been written on this subject, and doubtless more will be heard of it later on, that 1 have not the inclination, nor the space, to deal with it here. I am opposed to strikes unless as a very last resource, and as a member of the United Labour Party 1 favour arbitration and political action—mostly political action. Many of the prominent < men in the Federation of Labour, which' body ran the Waihi strike, are syndicalists, or believers in what they*term direct action. On the other hand, and this fact is not generally known, there is a large number of men who are unfavourable to direct action; but who, owing to a sense of loyally, refuse to turn' down their fellows. To my mind, there cannot be to any sane man a more unpalatable doctrine than that of the syndicalist, and 1 am in hopes that before long he will become as solitary as was Robinson Crusoe. More education is needed. The event of the year ‘•■as the Unity Conference, which was held at , Wellington last Faster, and from which emanated the United Labour Parly. Since then a good deal of spasmodic organising work has been done; but the great tiling which at present is crippling the movement is finance. In this respect urgent action is necessary, for without the necessary ammunition no army can do effective work. 1 am glad to say, however, that despite drawbacks, steady progress has been made, and next year may see a vast improvement.

In Southland the advance that has been made will compare favourably with any other part of the Dominion. Our two largest Unions, via., the Sawmill Workers’ Union and the General Labourers’ and Drivers’, etc.. Union have had record years. New Unions have been formed, viz., the Plumbers and Tinsmiths, the Housewives, the Tanners and Pellmongers, the Storemen’s, and the Journalists, and others are In course of formation. All the other existing Unions are also holding up their ends of the stick. The most energetic and most successful Union has been the Housewives* Union, and this body Is Indeed an acquisition to the Labour movement, and a militant machine to the workers as a whole, in Invercargill. The event perhaps of tlie year locally was the return of Mr Thos. O'Byrnr. the Labour candidate. to the Town Council, and It is to he hoped that this is merely the forerunner of many future successes.

During the year the Mackenzie Government was ousted from office, and nptv the Massey Government, known sarcastically in Labour circles as the "squaredeal Government.” is firmly seated. So legislation directly affecting the workers was introduced this year; but next session, so it is stated, there will be quits a lot of it. However, we shall see. Complaints continue to be made regarding the Arbitration Court, but on the other hand what substitute do the grumblers propose to put in its place? The strike is the only other weapon when conciliation fails, and that is a barbarous and boomerang-like weapon. INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS.

Throughout the Dominion industrial conditions were, comparatively speaking, good. In Southland there has been a consistent demand for workers throughout the year: but the execrable weather which prevailed throughout the greater proportion of it caused a lot of time to he lost to outdoor workers. There has been a continued shortage of farm workers and of domestic workers, and herein lies a problem which requires solving. Labour always mistrusts the cry for immigration, and it is a significant fact, to those who know that' two and two make four, that capitalistic statesmen in the Old Lands are anxious to get rid of millions of their people by emigration. and (hat capitalistic statesmen in the New Lands are equally anxious to throw their doors wide open and bid those millions enter. The “owning” classes in the Old Lands see them off with a fervent “Thank God!” The rolling sea has been put between them and a great peril. The “owning" classes in the New Lands see them on the premises with a “Thank God!” of equal fervour, capitalism must have its millions to exploit, to keep down wages, to be manipulated at the ballot box. If America had not been discovered; if Australia and New Zealand liar] .remained trfjrra incognita, the starving surplus populations of Europe ere this would have blown the capitalistic system to pieces with a violence exceeding the explosion of all the dynamite in the world. But getting back to the year 1912. It may in conclusion he summed up as a. year that has been better than many of jlj; predecessor?. mid periodicals are now being published in every progressive country, and their numbers arc being added to every day. Which causes mo to assume that after a long last it is being realised that more education is needed.