AGITATORS "CONDEMNED."

Observer, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5, 6 October 1917, Page 2

AGITATORS "CONDEMNED."

But Not Hanged.

MR A. L. HERDMAN, the plainspoken Minister, has paid a high compliment to the' agitator, the. I.W.W. person and the callous hound, who;plunges his alleged friends into distress whenever he is so inclined. "Time and again," said Mr Herdman, "men have stated that they did not want to strike, but they have been intimidated and bullied into doing, so by men who are rather the enemies of Britain than lior friends.," That is to siay, an isolated habitual loafer wields such a powerful influence on a large body of decent hardworking men as to cause them to temporarily starve their wives and families, help Germany and fill the pockets of the loafers. The admission that these agitating loafers are so all-power-ful is. a stimulant to them to exercise their powers. It says little for the intelligence' of the large body of workingmen who are misled by shrieking fanatics who, among other things, can fill any building in Auckland with people to listen to their undigested nonsense.

Mr Herdman, who is head of the police in N.Z., declared that the West Coast coal strike was initiated

by men who did not care whether Britain or Germany won—.therefore, they were friends of Germany. "We do not remember to have heard of anybody being banged , over the coal strike, or of any very igrievous or serious penalties being imposed except the penalties paid by the men and their families for being ignorant enough to listen to men whom Mr Herdman practically admits were German agents. "The men in the min.es wanted to work but were prevented these men," says Mr Herdman. It is a tremendous compliment to "these men," i.e., these German agents, and a large knock at a whole community which allows itself to dominated by German thought. If these people whom Mr Herdman mentions, did this awful thing they are, of course, friends of the criminals who are having a carnival of woman and baby-slaying in London. They are the friends of the human horrors who have sent millions of tons.of British merchandise to the bottom of the sea and 1 pals of the diabolical wretch who sent the Port Kembla to destruction. ■>' • • Mr Herdman says, "the police have had reason to suspect persons of acts of that description (the sinking of the Port Kembla) in New Zealand." The police are not allpowerful, are a small and hardworked body and the public bae taken little, if any, interest in the wretches whom Mr Herdman admits are capable of sinking great ships and who are therefore plain coldblooded murderers. There is, of course, only one thing to do with people capable of cold-blooded murder. Mr Herdman declares he "could name one or two agitators who do not live very far from Parliament House." Mr'Herdman, who is a highly responsible man, should do so. If he suspected any iwari either in or out of politics to be capable of inspiring a Port Kembla crime he should either name him and get the police to move or get him summarily imprisoned without saying anything, about him.

The criminal of any kind is always certain of a following and always has admirers. Even the fictitious criminal of the novel or the picture has his followers. The instigators of trouble should be ruthlessly suppressed without red-tape or threats, or fuss. The New Zealand public, which Mr Herdman admits "are apt to forget. that this country is at war," might be told in the most pointed language that their personal danger is not yet over and probably only just beginning; that no man in N.Z. knows to whom his land will belong in.the future and that every agitator, sedition-monger, or proGerman is the personal enemy of the British individual and should be crushed without excuse or pity. There are the girayest possible reasons at this particular time foo" warnings against agitators and proGerman criminals.