The Wanganui Chronicle "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1917. THE N.S.W. STRIKE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 17064, 17 August 1917, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1917. THE N.S.W. STRIKE.

Although, owing to the strict censorship that is being exercised in regard to th& matter, we are getting practically no news as to the happenings in connection with the industrial crisis now prevailing in New South Wales, enough ha* been made known to enable it ia »m be safely taid that tha strike lta« b**» d«lib«irately engineered on tfee BUMS flimsy of pretexts. As ueual, those responsible for the trouble are said to he Jndustriotisry circulating tvmta te tfc« effect that this is only "ftewspafcftr talk/ and that the strikers h*V a real grievance, which, if understood, justifies their attitude. Writing a week ago, a eatable observer, who had evidently made it his business, to carefully investigate all the facts attd eirenmstances of the ease, declared that any implication that the strike was based on a genuinn grievance was not <m!y « «ere subterfuge, but a plain li». "Her* and there," he eaid, "as one goes about among the people in the city, one hears all sorts of vague rumors that the publw doesn't know the rights of th* mattor because tho Pres» is one-sided, and refuses to tell the people the truth, fefe the simple truth is that the Press «f this city has employed Its most capable men for the last week in an endeavour to get the leaders of the strike movement to state their ©aae. " Thar hare been asked, not once, but a thousand times, to say what the real trouble is. Furthermore, it can V the utmost confidence that the Press has been more than willing to publish any statement of the case that has been or will be made on behalf of the men. Their representatives will not talk, anJ whenever one listens to the rank And *1* trrinff to excuse their attitude 't becomes abundantly plain that t l ey have either been oeMberateiy misled ;»r have been unable to understand the cauee of th« strike." The "card■ «y*, tern" grievance is dearly ind&feTisible. Its.ha* been fyhown that at least SO per cent, of tho outside \rn*ker« of Xew South Wiihg hzv* been long accustomed!

to this, that, or the other Btfctem of hating Their Wort ohwrked by ih« peo* pie \^ho employ them, three months j ago there van ittued in the . JVdoral iTfaitratiori Court an »,»ard mai» by Mr Justice I»a««s—it Was the Australian jotiinaliists' awurcl—that was op«hely proelait»ed a« «th» b«t fcirard yet." Praetiealty every claim mad* by, the Australian Jotifnalist* 11 tfeien Wds gi'Sttted by the Judge wha hj**fd the ea*e. fet the tefy men vho *ondu6i#l the ease f«r the Journalist*' TJttien not only asked, but insisted upon, the in* trodtietion o? a astern e>if keeping **<« time and checking the work «f tas members of the union,, which W*« -n^ finitely more complicated and than the card system on "WrhJck thh | strike i'g euppssed to be ba«ed^ tfe© reason for insisting upon some gysteiu ;of cheeking th* tfork of indmdu^l member of a union ahoxtld be perfectly obriouii to any body of honest workers. Unless it is done, ft premium ft tt once placed en the men who will not take fcheir fair share of the burden* of thfc day's or \reek'« W4rk. It is a pretwtien—the Only protection—of the honest worker. It is the only way to prevent the obvious possibility of th« willing horse being worked to death, while hfe less honest mates shirk their duty. *tti« cehtent is plainly one between tie eou* stitutionai power of the Gforernment^elected under the mort demoer*tie frtnchise in tfcm Worl*-~t« tn\; and the un* constitutional claim of organised lafcom*

; to be boss of the administrative affair* of the State. After th« closest seruttar .; of the merits ef the pie* o» which the strike was called, and after the mow persistent efforts to bring the partis)! : together fof friendly and unprejudiced conciliation, the Government has taken a definite stand* The pistol of a union ultimatum was held at the Government* head. Ministers did net im- , mediately accept the gage of battle, as , they might reasonaly h*ve beeh.putilm!ed for doing, They m*de strenuous ef - forts to conciliate. The men flatly r«- ---< fused to conciliate except on the terms of the complete abandonment of the daliberate policy of the Railway Cornmi*»ener«, which would have beeir, oi course, a complete and absolute vietotw for the striking union*. To undewrtanil what Would have happened in these eir* ! eumatanees, the writer bids us hark back a little to some recent strikes in . the iame State. The ta«t strike of any \ proportions wae that of the coal mine^i for the principle of the eight "hour* bant te bank day's work. There again, both State and Federal Governments were told thj|t if the men'a term*, were conceded ihere would be industrial peace. As a matter of fact, within onel month after this so-called "settlement" was arrived at, there were «ix or ievem collieries idle in ihe State. Right down the whole catalogue of strikes the «ame

"-hing ton* happened. IV- i* trnth, •'* the sole cause of the belief which pertains in union circles fhat, right, 6* wrong, organised labour must win wlfcenerer an issue is joined, go strong has this belief become that there has of late apparently been no serious attempt to weigh Up the rights or wrongs of a situation before the country is cast info the turmoil of industrial unress. So far ast ihe present etrike is concerned, there certainly has hot been any such attempt. The writer very correctly remark* that although jnany strikes have been won, although the conditions vf different sections of workers have beaft appreciably improved on many occasions because of the strike, or the threat to strike, it is fctill a wefi. recognised fact in trade-unionism that the strike is not a good method for the! redress of grievances. We have ad-j vaneed very fat beyond the day when the arbitrament of the strike wai con-; sidered th* panacea of all industrhl strife. It is not, and it is safe to say j that it never will be again. On every occasion^ when ths working man has a I genuine grievance—whenever there is I some moving human motives behind * claim for the redress of grievances, «t! will always be found that the weight •,* public sympathy-—because public Opinion is nine-tenths the opinion of the people who have to work for their livingf^-will be sufficient to provide a guarantee that the grievance will te redressed. To-dajy, in. New South Wales, there is tio aueH all-embracin« motive power behind the strikers. 6» the contrary, the strike hns a,pparentlr r.roused the indignation Of the Ocmmuhity, who are out to «cc thd fight through to the end.