A UNIONIST'S VIEWS.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14831, 24 November 1913, Page 9

A UNIONIST'S VIEWS.

TO TflK EDITOR OK "THK PRESS." j;; ri —It seems to mc that when all chis industrial trouble is over the average working man will make up his mind to think very hard before ho again acts in 3 way to bring about such a crisis as we have in New Zealand to-day. Ho will bo more careful in selecting tho men who will control the interests of tbf workers, and will see that they •understand a little of what discretion and tactics mean, so that when the time comes and a dispute wants careful handling thero will be no bungling through pigheadedness and real incompetence. It is n groat pity that the loaders of the Federation of Labour are mostly anti-militarists, otherwise they would no doubt have been majors or colonels by now, and would have learned the value of tactics, the intel-

Jigent use of which would prevntt them from coini; f"H steam ahead into a dispute in such a mad-bull fashion as they havo done. Tho wntersiders of Wellington would have accepted the term.? offerorl by tho shipping company when thov had'the opportunity had they been well advised. But no. the company had to wait until the Federation of Labour considered them. This august, body Ktw fit to approve of tho acceptance, but tho farmers and employers hal wme forward to protect their interests, and demanded that the water.sicicri must come umlor the Arbitration Act, so that they might be protected from any further strike or interference with trade that might be brought about through some frivolous matter at any moment in the future. Here, again, tho leaders erred. They wcro given a ' reasonable time to consider the request ■■''of-the.employers. They could see tho "probability o l tho formation of the new Arbitration Union, and they should, in tho interests of the men ; havo registered tho Water^iders , Union under tho Act, to prevent the new Union being formed. No; they were determined to fight it out, and m so doing were dishing their own men, leading them into a blind alloy from wliich they will havo to shift for themselves. Surely to goodness the women and grown-up sons of these workers can sco the absolute folly of trying to kick against this legiiliyiormed Arbitration Union, which must • command, as much as any other body, the protection of tho police, whether permanent or special, irom any inter- : foronce that might come from any body •whatsoever! " Cannot the workers remember what happened only during this last year? The Timaru watersiders went on strike, a new Arbitration Union was formed, and lived happy ever after. The slaughtermen, those experts at the game that (they declared) it takes years to learn, went on strike. What liappened? A new .Arbitration Union was formed from men some of whom -had, never killed a sheep, and how did they get on? During the first week tho* men at Par.eora were only killing a few hundred per day, in six weeks thoy were killing a few thousand. And what .is tho position to-day? At i'areor.a every man was a new man last . \c:ir, and at Belfast, of thirty-throe men, tnenty-nine were new men last year, and only four are old hands. AYhat did the old union do for the men ,who. remained loyal to the so-called "leaders? Sent them round the country looking for a job; and will they get anything like 25s per day at anything. ei*e? Not much. Here we havo tho ' last two strikes of importance co far ,as the principle of the forming of new . unions under tho Act goos, and the men surely must see that by. standing stubborn at tho command of their wellr ..paid leaders'they are, day by day, losing - the opportunity of obtaining tho good money they havo been accustomed to jnake, for "every new man; in the new union means that one of the old hands

' will havo to look for casual work ebe- " where.

1 cay that if the men will sack their short-sighted leaders, and go in under the Arbitration; Act, they-would, scoreilie best and only win possible .under vho present circumstances, for they ■ ronld then talk.to tho specials, and thoso who organised them, about the waste of money, and I am perfectly certain that the .-newly-formed and # socalled bogus union, would retire into oblivion for the sake of peace. Then the strikers and all their sympathisers could call for, and be sure of, the sympathy of the moderates, the farmers, " nnd all classes of tho community, and tho Arbitration Act could be made more to tho liking of all sides. There are only two alternatives. One is to keep the strike going 'and, let'the nioro • level-headed men sup into your places, permanently, mind you, and the other, let the new union go down and join it. when you find that starving . your wifo and children is not.what it is -cracked up to be. In this case the - tail-end of the men (loyal men) will hare to stand down. Workers, think a "■ little for yourselves, and do not always rely .on a few men with long tongues and hard throats for your opinions. God jjavo you brains; use them for ■yourselves.—Yours, etc., >> . . ■t HAREWOOD.