UNITED LABOR PARTY

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 3 February 1913, Page 6

UNITED LABOR PARTY

CONDUCTED BY THE DOMINION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. (Tho Easter Conference of tho United Labour Party voted to make- no paper its special organ, hut to provide official news and comments to any paper promising to regularly publish tho same, The paper is not responsible for this column and the party assumes no responsibility for any utterances of the paper except for its own official utterances in this department.

THE RECENT CONFERENCE OF TRADES UNIONLSTS, ITS PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTION. THE SITUATION FORCES ACTION. Uy WALTER THOMAS MILLS. (National Organiser, United Labor Party.) It is more than three years since .-,. lecture tour was entered upon which included a visit to New Zealand. It is .more than two years since eorrospendeneo wa.s opened and the definite studv of the situation here undertaken, and I have been nearly two vears in t'ne country. The one fact whidh was written to me about most frequently, .and which most urgently forced itself on my attention en my arrival was the great loss of the Labor movement because of factional controversies. It was believed by many—it seemed entirely evident to .me —that the time was ripe for a union of forces. THE UNJTY CAMPAIGN. The events have proven that the i Unity Campaign was premature, but | the'events have also proven that the j i times now are ripe and overripe for j the consummation of unity. ] Here are some items involving a frank statement in some instances of a change in my views on matters as Ihey appear-to me to-day, and as they did appear to me eighteen months ago. Then I felt that the confusion, ! wa.ste of time, and the expense 'of ! duplicating the machinery of dual orI ganisatiens largely on the same fields I could be avoided in New Zealand by uniting in a single national body industrial and political activities. I I was aware that this had been unl dertaken .successfully anywhere else. | I think, however, that all .students of political institutions are of opinion that it is only a matter of time when industrial organisations, following t'ho lines of industrial development, will become the great political units and in fact assume the functions of government, and that then, without quesj tion, no hard and fast lines can be i drawn between industrial and political activities. It had seemed to mo that something approaching such an ideal form of organisation was already possible in New Zealand, provided industrial disputes were confined in their management to branches of the national organisations dealing with industrial matters only. I .—SEPARATE ORGANISATION. 1. While the position is perfectly logical it is practically impossible to linako it understood. 2. 'I he industrial organisations, I am convinced, must be more completely organised along the lines of the in- | dustries before the industrial .unit can make itself effective or will be tempted to do so in the field of politics. Anyway lam confident that it is tlio judgment of tho overwhelming majority of those who have been working with mo in the United Labor Party that the easiest way to secure the cooperation of all tho workers in both fields is to consent to their organisation in separate national bodies. lI.—ARBITRATION. There has been a good deal of dispute over the question of arbitration and tho strike policy, and there has been feeling that two distinct industrial groups were being developed •along tho lines, of conflicting policies , in this matter. Eighteen months ago j —whatever the facts might have been | —the impression at least was abroad ' everywhere, and that impression so deep and forceful that it had great influence on the public thought of this country—that opposing movements were being developed on the opposite sides of this question of arbitration.

During'the months which have passed some old facts have been well studied and some recent events have given .a new demonstration of Ti-ell- ; established principles, and this Wellington conference reveals the real truth that wliatever may have, been true in the past, it i s now' true that there is no considerable body of trade unionists in New Zealand Who could take either side in a direct controversy either for or, against either arbitration or strikes except the character of the strikes to be undertaken and the nature of the arbitration to be established should bo first clearly defined.

The varying conditions of the trades made, hard and fast rules on either of these topics practically impossible of construction, but the feeling expressed in the conference and written into its.bindings aJid recommendations leaves the- unions in. the various industries to determine, in considera-

f tion of tho peculiar conditions of their {own industries, what shall be under- ] taken in tho matter of registration and in the management of industrial I disputes, while in every case, provision j shall be made for carrying industrial controversies should occasion arise, \to a central national body with authority to act, supported by the joint strength of all the industries of Zealand. For one hundred centuries men have fought for the right -not to work except upon their own choice to do so. li is not likely that this right ..secured at any cost is going to be given up under any scheme of arbitration, which. can possibly be devised. On the other hand, just as Labor achieves power in tho State and becomes responsible for the management of public affairs, it is frankly admitted that it must provide other means (ov adjusting industrial controversies than tlho costly and painful method of industrial insurrection.

Again, while this is insisted upon by tho friends of arbitration, nothing is more marked than the absolute unanimity of conviction among all the workers, thc-<e in the United Labor Party as well a.s all the rest, that Labor must be committed to a scheme of arbitration which under the control of a reactionary Government may bo made itself the in,<trunieiit of industrial oppression, and provide itself the machinery for the disruption and rest ruction of regularly constituted Labor organisations, • 311.—POLITICAL ACTION. Enghteen months ago there was considerable controversy at least as to the merits if not the necessity of political action. There have been a good many teachers in New Zealand during this time who have carried forward a good bit of very patient and effective propaganda covering tin's whole matter, and among those I wish to pay my .personal acknowledgements to the services of such men as Mr Ross and Alderman Hartley during his recent visit to Now Zealand. But tho greatest teacher of us all has been the recent incident of the use of the political power to turn over to tho Emjdovor's- Avsociation the command of the police in an industrial controversy and then comes the reminder that compulsory labor or imprisonment and the most unfortunate and mal-ad-mini.stration of the Arbitration Court in recent years were also the gifts r.! , political action, so that even in the use of tho strike, the protection of tho law, not tho lawless oppression of the agencies of the law, is essentia,! if progress is to be made towards industrial justice. Anyway, the conference just closed wa,s unanimous in its declarations in behalf of political activity. IV.—JOINT ACTION. Nearly two years ago a Unity Campaign was undertaken. Tho effort was .made to secure n jcint committee in whicli the Federation of Labor, the Socialist Party and the Trades Councils Federations should join. But it wa,s impossible to secure tlio co-oper-ation of the executives of all these bodies. The plans for organisation were necessarily the plans suggested by only a portion of those interested because the others declined to participate. But this conference just concludj ed has create_d a committee, has given jan outline of the lines which their (work is to follow, and instructions

that thev 'shall -work out the details I of the unified bodies, and has directed tho calling of a conference tho first week in July in which all industrial bodies will have, an opportunity to be represented to- perfect the organisation of a single national central industrial body, while both industrial organisations and political Labor organisations will bo represented in a conference" to be held at the same time, to perfect, the details of a, single political body. On this committee direct representation is given to all these groups which (heretofore have been engaged in a factional war. IV.—THE DISPUTKI) OBJECTIVE. Heretofore there has been a serious dispute as to what ought, to be the Labor objective in a political organisation. In the conference just closed, tho international position of the most ■representative, most numerous, and most powerful of all the Labor organisations of the world was- adopted without objection, nv.,\ by the unan-, imous vote, of all the delegates. PLATFORM. Further the conference has agreed to support a platform for th? proposed united political organisations which will include the consideration of such. opics as the laud question. The vitiation has made this action inevitable, file, great land .nu;noi>olists of .Xew Sealand created, financed, and now •ontrol the Massey Government. The squatters have uwl their . political lower to interfere in an industrial dispute and are now engaged in a direct effort to destroy the power of Labor. There can be no other answer. Labor must and .will create n.nd control the party, which will utterly destroy land, monopoly. VI.-rNO DESPOTISM POSSIBLE. Justly or unjustly there ha-> been a determination, on tho part of the Federation of Labor to dominate the Lab-"" or movement in such a way that a single industry might he able to control in a despotic manner the industrial activities of New Zealand. But this conference called by tho Federation of

Tahor, and in w'bioh the Federation's delegates wore always ovenrhehnms in tlio majority, and on the susrsostinn of those most actively on cased in the orcranisatioii and promotion of the Federation, it was proposed and asreed to without controversy that the excoutivo of tho new organisation

when formed should ho composed of members each to be elected by the industrial department, representing the industry in wlvn.se behalf he was to hold Uis nlaco in the central bc.dy. VII.— THE NEW DAYS DAWN. It is impossible to review tlio foregoing without discovering that the reason why unity was impossible two years ago was because at that time there was a widespread and sincere disagreement with regard to the matters here mentioned. It is equally evident that now just because the workers through the experience of recent months have come to substantial agreement on all these points, unity in organisation and unity in. action becomes just as inevitable now as it seemed impossible two years ago. YTTL—THE NEW NAMES. In order that no organisation may feel that it has been slighted, and none may be encouraged to assume pre-ominence as related to others, it was agreed with great unanimity that all the old names should be dropped, and the conference, proposed the new names, the United Federation of Labor and the Social Democratic Partv XL—SOME SURPRISES.

•■ There was groat surprise oniric to the committee appointed to draft the outlines along which the new organisations were to be created, which outlines were formally adopted by the conference. That surprise was this,' in tilie really essential things for which all were struggling, there was'substantial agreement. Every one in the committee was unauimous with two single exceptions, and in one of these instances the coromicceemen reversed his vote in conference on consultation with the -representatives of his own body.. It on gilt not to be understood that it is contended that there are. ho disagreements, that misunderstandings are to be imposibslo in the future. Such an expectation would be absurd. The opportunity for unity has arrived. The hour has .struck. If the organised workers of New Zealand will act quickly and patiently with regard to the suggestions offered by the. conference there will not only be a united 1 machine, hut that machine will be derated to doing its work while the whole power of Labor is at its back, and the work .it will be doing'will be the very- work which the workers have .wanted don?, and have been trying to to, admittedly sometimes'in a bungling . way, sometimes accomplishing more harm than good, but all the time striving towards the common goal. At lash that goal lies, within the field of V).s : nn. - X.—IX CONCLUSION. V In conclusion T wi&h to speak a nerwvnal word of appreciation. The plans of tKose who convened the conference did not contemplate another conference prior to putting the findings of the conference into on-eration. Alter very full discussion, however, and in order that aJI organisations might have equal nnd'amr>le opportunity to discuss the proposals before put in final form for adoptiou, the new conference wa.v agre?d to. This will involve the Federation representatives in very large additional expenses, ■and necessarilv delay' for some time ■ !-o plans which they had ioDOd V: undertake. The bodies not irpresented at this conference it K limped will an rieciftte +JIIS e.n.H. sy and the, sacnfico it ha,s involved, and wril he sure to he represented in the Juiv conference in spite of tiny inconveniences to r*hemselre.fl.