LESSONS TO LEARN

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 14, 7 April 1927, Page 3

LESSONS TO LEARN

FUTURE OF INDUSTRY PROBLEMS FOR BRITAIN TT would be unfortunate if the nation were to allow an opportunity which may never recur to slip by, and it seems to me that there is a chance of this eventuality. That opportunity is the establishment, on a firm and lasting basis, of a real understanding between the various human elements which control, operate, and develop industry, said the Marquess of Londonderry on a recent occasion. The year 1926 will be for ever memorable for the stern reminders which Providence vouchsafed to us, the general strike and the stoppage in the coal trade. Both can be considered as the writing on the wall, as the warning which wise men will accept, and fools will ignore. The genera] strike showed us the strength of organisation as applied to the workers, and the immense power which the Trades Union Congress, if controlled by a master mind, could have exercised over the nation. Happily, the futility of the general strike was clearly demonstrated in a comparatively short space of time, and wiser counsels prevailed. The paralysis of national activities was one striking phenomenon, the reaction of the nation was another and more striking phenomenon, and whereas these great forces met, they never engaged in battle to any degree that mattered. Many lessons were learnt at the time, and as soon forgotten, and all that remains in the minds of the majority is that a great catastrophe threatened, but that in truly British fashion we muddled through. LESSONS OF THE STRIKE. The stoppage in the coal trade, the excuse for the general strike, -outinued after the general strike subsided, and was prolonged until November, when the miners’ leaders, exploiting the best qualities of their misguided followers, and being aided by well-meaning philanthropists, eventually were forced to admit they had failed. The devastating harm which this stoppage has wrought throughout the country is fully recognised, and we shall take years to recover from its ravages. There are signs in plenty that many individuals are anxious to profit by the lessons of the past, and start industry afresh on the high road of progress and prosperity. At the same time, there are those forces which are determined to frustrate by every means in their power the alliance of capital and labour on a basis of mutual understanding and co-operation. These same men who in wartime are anti-militarists to the degree of treachery, speak in nothing but military language of class warfare, and industrial warfare, which they seek by every means in their power to foster. The employer and the worker have both realised that politics spell ruin to industry, and the suggestion of the establishment of unions in different parts of the country, in which politics are to be a banned subject, clearly shows the direction in which the minds of the community are moving. A POLITICAL NARRATIVE. The recent history of trade unions is nothing but a political narrative, and the whole strength of trade union ism controlled by a few who occupy remunerative positions at the expense of the workers has been thrown into the. political battle for the purpose of furthering a political doctrine which, when all is said and done, is only an alternative to the present capitalist system, and an alternative which has invariably failed whenever it has been put to the test. One of the reasons for the association of those who have climbed to power and position in trade unionism with Socialist doctrines is that those same doctrines are very easy to promulgate. To hold up wealth as easily within the reach of everyone as soon as Socialism —ins the day captures an enormous number of votes, and returns many Labour members to Parliament, and it is a striking tribute to the good sense of the British democracy that the fairy tales spread abroad by people holding important positions, who know quite well that these statements are at least gross exaggerations, do not deceive a greater proportion of the electorate. If we could have a truce, say for five years, during which the trade unions would be allowed to concentrate on industry, in the direction of co-operating with the employer, instead of local and other leaders doing everything in their power to poison the minds of the workers against he employer, we should see an astonishing change come over the whole of industry in this country.