The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1920. THE PUBLIC AND THE STRIKE.

Southland Times, Issue 18809, 30 April 1920, Page 4

The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1920. THE PUBLIC AND THE STRIKE.

11l various parti* of ibe dominion newspti[>ers are troubling themselves to cmphnsi.se noisily the point tluit the E.F.C.A., by striking has attacked the community. Then? can be no doubt on this point, but when this is accepted the question that follows naturally is; "What does the community intend to do about it'.'” We are told by the Otago Daily Times that the community looks to the government to see that "its rights are protected against attack by any particular section of public servants The questions involved in the grievance of the locomotive men have lain between them and the Government. But the action of the men in going upon strike Ims altered the complexion of things, it has introduced the factor of the general public. It has made the issue not one of whether the rates of pay received by a section of the railway servants compare favourably or otherwise with the rates of pay received by men performing corresponding duties in other railway services, but one of whether the State is to be supreme in its own house.” This statement of the position requires careful examination because it docs not present the full issue that has arisen with the strike. There can be no doubt that the community looks to tin? government tgi protect "its

rights against attack,” but that dots not mean that the government is absolved when it fails to realise the seriousness of the men’s intentions, and the justice of their claims. The community will undoubtedly object to an attack upon its rights, it will resent the calling of a strike at this season, and the risk the men have run in resorting to force is that in the inconvenience and disappointment caused by their action, the public will lose sight of the tremendous strength of the men's case. It is a solemn fact that the ridiwayrnen can count upon the sympathy of it large section of the community. People who might he expected to rise in stormy objection to a strike have taken it philosophically, excusing it with the observation that the men were exasperated and goaded by delay into a step that they did not want to take. That may or may not be the true position, but (he fact that (his attitude is widespread in the community is a stem criticism of the behaviour of the government and must not be overlooked when we agree that the community looks to the government to protect its rights. The Otago Daily Times itmarks that (he questions involved have lain between the locomotive men and the <lovernmcnt. They have—for a long, long time and the community has not been a party to that fatal delay. It is also stated by the Dunedin journal that the issue now is whether the "State is to be supreme in its own house.”. So long as we do not lose sight of the distinction between the Government and the State, which includes the community, we may accept this statement of the issue; but if the general public is now in the fight, as it undoubtedly is, it will want to see the men’s demands faced in such a manner that justice will be done. The locomotive men have forced on events by their action, but all the evidence so far suggests that the granting of a conference—not a meeting at which the department will present unalterable terms —will satisfy the men vo long as there is a reasonable chance of

their demands receiving fair consideration. To introduce the issue of the men against the State at this stage precludes all chance of compromise and makes a fight inevitable, but the community is the State and the government has to be certain that it is really carrying out the wishes of the community

in this matter before it can talk with confidence. Mr Massey has been sternly criticised for his delay in the mild remark by tbe men’s secretary that they expected him in Wellington on Tuesday night, but it is now obvious that he is eager to make up lost ground and to meet the situation. If he can meet the locomotive men as the representative of the people of this country, without departmental officers at his elbow, it

is probable that he will see the men’s demands in a new light. The strike is bad, but it is not the dominant issue. If we are to gain a settlement we must do it on the basis of the men’s demands. If they are just they must be agreed to apart from all other facts, and if Mr Massey tackles the job as Prime Minister, and not as Minister of Railways with his departmental heads about him, a solution should be readily forthcoming. The railwaymen so far have kept the control of the strike in their own hands and they have displayed a readiness to accept mediation. The Alienee of Labour has appeared in the horizon, unfortunately in the dubious role of supporter for force. The Alliance’s offer of aid in the strike at this juncture is of doubtful value, but the railwaymeu’s leaders probably know that their best course is to keep themselves aloof from all industrial entanglements, and to confine their activities to a fight for better wages and better conditions. The extension of the strike to other fields will overwhelm them and involve them in a real battle with the State, in the fullest sense of the term, to which there can only be one ending, an ending that will leave them the embittered losers in a struggle with an embittered public. The latest news from Wellington is decidedly hopeful. No information is to band regarding the progress of the negotiations between Mr Massey and the-railwayman, but the fact that the discussion is to be renewed is sufficient to suggest that tbe Prime Minister has decided to allow no extraneous incidents to interfere with his dealings with the men. We can. only hope, as we have said before, that Mr Massey is dealing with the whole situation on the basis of the men’s demands and their patient advocacy of them for a long period, that in the settlement of the terms there will be no question of punishment of the men, but that the government will recognise that its long delays contributed largely to the present serious position.