The Star. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1919. DIRECT ACTION IN THE OLD COUNTRY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12757, 29 September 1919, Page 6

The Star. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1919. DIRECT ACTION IN THE OLD COUNTRY.

The railwayman in England have struck, and have definitely challenged the Government and people to a fight to a finish, A few weeks ago it appeared that the direct action) sts in "the Old Country were losing ground, and that Labour was coming round to the view that its future would he bestassured by political action, secured by constitutional means. This was advocated by many leaders of Labour thought, and it must be exceedingly galling to them to find that their advocacy has been swept aside by a decisive appeal to the strike weapon. It is claimed that the strike is a popular one with the railwaymen, and mat claim is probably well founded. The issue at stake is one that must appeal to the men, as it involves the permanency of the high wages paid during the war. The Government has refused to accept this principle and submitted proposals which, while retaining a big proportion of the war-time increases, made provision for ultimate reductions. The cost of living is almost unprecedentedly high in England, but vigorous action is being taken under the antiprofiteering laws, and there was a good prospect of a tangible reduction being made. The railwaymen, however, have taken the view that the maintenance of high wages is likely to be more beneficial than a reduction in living expenses, and they have light-heartedly enough embarked on a struggle which may have terrible consequences to millions of people. It is considered probable that the Triple Alliance of Labour —the coalminers, the railwaymen, and other transport workers—will all join forces, and the result will be an upheaval on the most colossal scale ever seen in Great Britain. The position is indeed a very grave one, and it will require all the skill and diplomacy of the Government to cope with it successfully. It is an unfortunate fact that in Britain, as in other countries, an element has sprung up whose influence among the rank and file of Labour outweighs that of tried and trusted leaders. Appeals to passion and cupidity sweep aside all considerations of justice and reason. A very interesting contribution to Labour views was made after the last general election by Mr J. R. Clynes, returned unopposed for the Platting division of Manchester. “If Labour is to look seriously in the near future for a place of great power in Parliament and try to pave the way for a future Labour Government,” he said, “it must in the new Parliament do at least three things which probably will be viewed by its supporters from very different standpoints. First, it must be unsparing in its demands for thoroughness in the treatment of the questions which the war has made acuv© and in the settlement of the subjects which in any way come within the term ‘ reconstruction.’ That is to say, it must demand a far-reaching and immediate handling of the housing question. It must insist upoh generous terms of industrial redress for those whose industrial position has been disturbed by the war. It must make secure and satisfactory the claims of those who are war victims in the sense of having lost the breadwinner of the home or having lost eyesight or a hmb in the country’s service abroad. The second thing which, the Parliamentary Party must do is to set its face against attempts already begun to bring to the aid of Labour the menace of the strike weapon and to proclaim the right of the workers to get by industrial means what they failed to secure by political effort. The vast majority of the millions of electors are of the wage-earning classes, and their verdict, such as it is, must be accepted for the time being and must be used with whatever skill the Labour Party can command. We who claim to be the best democrats must not make a mock of democracy by threatening the country with the terrorism of the strike weapon when the country does not respond as we would wish to the political appeals which we make. The third, but not the least, of our duties will he that of using the new House of Commons to exert any influence necessary ■to obtain a peace settlement which will endure and which will embody the principles of the League of Nations, the effective limitation of armaments in all countries, and the abolition of conscription the world over. Unless these terms are secured, we will not he able adequately to give our attention to our own business and begin without delay to repair the ravages of the war and to make the best use of the victory.” I n the present upheaval Mr Clynes must read the end ef his dream of political action as the principal weapon in Labour’s armoury.