INDUSTRIAL LABOUR LEADERSHIP.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17756, 17 September 1927, Page 18

INDUSTRIAL LABOUR LEADERSHIP.

I | To the Editor of the “Tiniaru Herald.” ! Sir.—What is now taking place in | Queensland must, surely make the '.political labourites curse the industrial- | j.ssjts of their own movement. ‘'.Down I with the capitalists” has come to mean jon the part of these industrialists, ! ‘‘down with the Government.''' even if !it is that of a- Labour Party. The j Industrial movement, has become rather [largely bolshevik in spirit and intensely [selfish in character. There is the .same | trend in Britain. It is proving liter !to he somewhat disturbing to the ! Labour politicians. They never know ■when the industrial .side will enter on some activity of “class conscious'' hate which will lead the whole Labour cause into serious trouble. A great deal depends on the industrial leadership, and there is a proneness cm the part of maity of the industrial leaders to go | very far along the line of bolshevism. | J3v cable we have reports of the .Ailing j oi the Trades Union Congress, at- Udin- ; burgh. This Parliament of industrial ; labour now represents four million [ unionists, compared with, six millions in 1J921. Mr George Hicks, the president, i has delivered a remarkable address. In it lie-affirms that a Labour Government must be returned with a programme to democratise the army and navy, the judiciary, police l , and all organs of the State. ” In other words, returned on a- Communist programme. Of course the political party will never face tho country with such a. programme. Still this is the industrial leadership v 1 Jell indicates more sympathy for llussia than for Britain. What is the record of this Mr Hicks? Here is some of it. Ho is an executive member of the P'ebs 1 League (Communist body). An honorary member of Moscow Soviet. Writer in “Sunday Worker,”- a Communist organ, member of Editorial Board devoted to co-operation with Moscow Third International. Visited Moscow in September 1925, with Comrade At. Tomskv. From llussia went to Hungary as an emissary of Aloseow, which was" applauded by the Communists as known Bolsheviks were not allowed to enter Hungary. Such is the man who now occupies the office of president of • the British Trades Union Congress.

iiw—nn imitiihimi ~iinTT-r-n ————-‘“* l With A. J. Code, another Communist i associate, as secretary of tlie British 'j.Umi'i's Federation, is it any voncier j that the imiiistrial leadership should bo '.regarded with grave suspicion!-' '1 wo j million lower adherents than in 11)21. i That is in part due to the industrial 1 Red leadership—or rather misleading, i Amongst the miners there are two lines -of cleavage manifest. T)n the one l and more and more of the offices arc going to Communists, and on the other half a dozen miners societies, with about--70.000 members have separated front the .Miners’ Federation and formed a non-political industrial combination. Industrial leadership that is not industrial at all, bub actually political, is what the people have to face in Britain, Australia, and here in New Zea- • land as well. Beduced to simple terms, it means in ultimate effect government by force. This has to be met and dealt with if citizen representative i Government is to remain. The time - to grapple with the danger is now before it comes too late. There has been too much pandering to industrial minorities at the expense of the i majority of citizens anl leadership in this direction must bo curbed for the • general welfare of society.—Wo are, X.Z. WELFARE LEAGUE.