The Daily News. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1916. A FATUOUS WEAPON.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1916. A FATUOUS WEAPON.

Satisfaction will be felt at the settling of the Australian coal strike, wluch threatened to hold up the commerce and interfere with the very life of tin country. Strikes at any time are indefensible; at present, when we are fighting for our very existence as a free people, they arc little short of crhnii.Hl The men may have had real grievaiu ?■ The mineowncrx of Xew South Wales, ii; point of fact, are noted for their callor.-" liess •£» far as the welfare of the moi; n eonSTi'aed, their chief idea being to «<i the lust shilling out of tti men and nisi the last shilling out of the public. IJ.B surely the inon could have hail ;

grievances considered without talciir. i extreme step of striking. In these i. . of education and enlightenment, ulu. [many of the workers make poiiu-u.

economy their special study, it is surprising Unit revert is ever made to the silly strike weapon. It is, of con r«, exercised to punish the employers. But it never does. The employers make provision for such happenings—it is regji' ied at part of tlie cost of working, and the public pays. The strike must hurt the workers every time, and in resorting to it they are but'punishing themselves. The fact is so obvious that it hardly needs statin". The Australian strike, short as it has been, must have inflicted hundreds of thousands of pounds loss on the workers themselves, and with what result? The tribunal set up by the Government could just as eaisily havk considered th.-; dispute before the strike as after the mischief had been done, and probably would have arrived at precisely the £f,me verdict. The Australian workers are regarded as intelligent men, but they cannot c'aim the possession of much judgment when they permit themselves, to be led into such a disastrous course. And at such a time! To win this wai, Britain and the colonies have to put every ounce of energy they possess into the fight; otherwise the enemy will not be cenquered, and an unconquered Germany spells a bad look out for the British Empire and the world generally. Instead of causing loss, the workers should be working harder than ever. Every member of the community should work harder, for that matter. To stv'kj at such a tim? is treason. There are 'nequalities, there are legitimate grievances, no doubt,; but let them be decide-! by an impartial and competent tribunal, and keep up production meantime. The Blackball miners in New have now taken leave of their senses, and striking, forsooth, because they are opposed to conscription! It is a nice time of the day to object to conscription. . Happily, the other miners are not in sympathy with their views, ani are entreating them, through the Miners' Federation, to return to work. Suppose tlie New Zealand boys at the front struck because of the harshness of tlw weather conditions: or because the 'caJ that is flying about there hurts, what would, be thought of them? Those men are fighting the battles of the Blackball miners and the rest of the Dominion, and Hie least the miners can do is t.t behave like rational beings and maintain tin 1 production of coal, which is as e3<ei>itial to winning the war as is the uso of the rifle and bayonet at the front. Nev Zealand is not going back on conscription just because a few extremists go on strike; it is going to do its share io keep the flag flying, Blackball miners notwithstanding, and the sooner they gia it out of their heads that they can hoi.i up industry until '> their wishes are gratified the, better. It is a pity that they could not he sent across the ocmn and-see for themselves what life in the Hun-conquered territory is like. If they could be, they would Bee how ridiculous was their attitude, and would return to work chastened men, determined to .hew every ton of coal possible, thereby helping the Great Cause.