AT LOGGERHEADS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 906, 27 August 1910, Page 6

AT LOGGERHEADS.

SPLIT; IN LABOUR PARTY,

fM.\ -v ;PLAIN SPEAKING. ( - ■;,- •■' piS-TRADES yCOUNCIL IN REPLY. Jft'A' ":' ■'"''' ' ':■ ■■':■':.'■■: ~~ '■■■' .' ' ■ ' |:::'./. ;; .To judge :by/ the, , attitude- of local E'./.''^Labour'meu, the utterances of Mr. R. JV ■-.-;. Scrapie, : organiser of tho':New Zealand f;.->;.- • Labour, in condemnation v ;;/ v :, of;.sectional, trades-unionism 1 and kiiir U.r'idred institutions are little likely to bo (■■""■;■;'•' received;.with favour--by trades unionh:i"■' -'■■'■' ists /id .^general./ The Trades. Council ; \{;]..'. officials >quoted below- forcefully repu- ;, .i'diate the. strictures.-of ■•Mγ. Sempie. ',■-' ■ ; Briefly stated, .their : position is that -,W ; ■'■.;■ the 'Miners':-Federation has usurped t'.y.i.'.the.general Resignation of , "New Zea-'jAy.-viand" in an- absolutely.; unjustifiabje | : ,;,''.'.'..;-.ivay.- Moreover, they pointedly de- ;" that, tho officials of .this federa- .:';,: tion "are better at 'protest than peri :,■■'.; 'icnrmance, t'that - the trades' councils ~;';; V 'are patiently, und.. gradually; 'carrying ;':~A, put a: big-Avork,: while the. minors' or-, K ;; J ganisation has accomplished practically i,..-"; . nothing.';. So widely ■ divergent are the r';:V ''views q'/th.ese rival leaders that/if the' j.;V-, -federation officials have fairly expressed p-. .'\thelviews of -the miners whom they reL'j;.'.;;- present;-:an:-importaht split in the t>,'.' -;iabour -fold- seems inevitable. ':■■■-'

BY.MR. CAREY. ph 'v' ■■ :■' -o ■,';,',]v.,;T10N.":.-- . ■'■ -. .'-.-' .: :.'; -Interviewed'yesterday by a ( Dominion r': : •■, representative,. Mr. E. J.' Carey, presi- ;: / -.tlent- of-'the ■•Wellington- Trades,; and. '~'. : Labour/Council; spoke as : follows:—' :.' '■■:%'■'.'. •':• "Iha've read the.press reports.of the ''■:■:■■ ;'. proceeding's "at , , the Statue, • and the. re- >■■•':■■•; marks/of Messrs. Semple, 'Hickey,; and I; ' ■'.- others.•'.'-. The speeches were , all in (-.';.'■ /keeping; with the;tactics adopted by a ;- certain section-of tho Manners Street '„[■'-'■; school [ of;■ Socialism. ■ ' Abuse'of fellow •'.' ->: trade-union "officials is' the' end of their i;, ; . : ,i- ■'argument. It. has been going on/un- [',._.;', ' der the.auspices;of the;Socialist'party (■"s" ;!''here for-two of ;three years now. The f.-jVJ wonder , is- that the. fairer-minded mem[.'.'.*/';'b6rs df'.the party allow,'such methods iy' >tb'continue/. ; '' : y; '. " ; ';; ; '.-■/■ ..; -._.. 'Jl ,v -:, "As 'a -member, of. a- trades council) N-.-■' 'J ■ I deny; 'that-the : Trades Council f;/' ',': ation.iis. 'in; the. air. . It" is ; in actual pi;.i'-';.existence,-excepting / that, unlike the. f<;. , ; • Miners'/Labour.--Federation,; it , is not p-'Vr, : on, -paper.' : 'A' real l.'.'■'. .'.■.- lira terhal federation between the unions ;:.'-\- 'in-the.-several; districts' has. existed, for j: ;: ; •>.Xj'cars '-.past. ( ..Otherwise how have" wo r ;:. ;managed:to'hdld annual Labour • conv:',::'. ■. ierences representative of ill■ kinds' of, :' : for the .'last fifteen. ■. ; -■' iyears ?. >.Tiie miners' after all have >no_t ;';;•,;''; a : monopoly of tfie. , brains and- integrity .':'{; of. the ; Jlew Zealand trade union move- >.'. ;':.;nient. ; v'Their federation, with ; its. highi.'w.'.'/spundirig; title; is representative ■■'■ of '£■:}■■ '; practically', only. the' 'miners' unions : of E, v -';> "the country.,..'lhere are only three;other 'small unions affiliated';to .it... As Veil JI;U ;: might the Wharf Labourers' Federation !>;;■ •■call-itself- the -'Industrial Workers of f;;-;v J' New Zealand;' 'and lay claim to ■ be. the pj-v;; - .inly genuine federation of workers. -\ :; ■ .

■))■: ;!'We of thVjTra'deV Council Federation : are.out, after a Socialism "in: our.; claim, that "bur conferences'! ■J for years ; past' have .'hall-marked' every /piece *of-Labour?' legislation ;'oni the '.Statute-book. ■; We'.have never 'asserted , that the Arbitration., Act.'was the,limit'. ■■ of trade union .aspirations, 'or that by it : : alqnoi;iybuld , tho.. workers; secure-; any-; ..'thing like a fair return'.for.their labour/, '.r.'li'. our .answer- to , Dr: r Findlay we ad:.vised'reliauce'qn political action; rather ::' than ■on "the ■ Arbitration ; Court 'for bet-- ;• teraeiit '. of' conditions.- 'Political action' ■ ■scoffed"the:.spokesman of. the .Miners' . federation,- and; then ■.wandered ,■,into dreams' of 'a classrconscious; organised' .Their"method is'\the only, ■correct;.oho, they- bombastically assort..: ■ They .'are ou the ,on]y truo path;'we of .the other-schools of thought'are "c'om- ; jjjetely in'thp wilderness: ■ Itis.useless .to-Teason-.with, our Ted-flag 'friends. ■They are simply .'dogmatic doctrinaires,'; '.'asKeir. .Hardie' says.' ■■■•As "against . .their trumpeting) .1 m.ako bold to' assert '.that. Lloyd-George's 'Budget, -and : Fisher's State/Jfotb -Issue 'and Federal Land: Tax' have; given -the wage-earners 'more practical benefit and advancement .than "all this;.talk-,of W. W-ism. , 'We ' want to . see the | workers classconscious.;■■': [We want to educate' .them np '■ toi.'the ■ idea, of a' ; general .strike. 'But the r class-cohspiousness wo are out. ~ after ', \t : of -the;'; kind which will .teach r the'_; workers to,.send representatives, of .their own-class : to-make the laws which : govern' them/ and the' general''; strike we.seek-is 'a 'strikd 'with pencil and ,; ballot-box, instead .of a 'testvof o'.'flag-stdnes' in' the- hands of the mob versus -the hard steel of the vebldiers' bayonets.'" , ' .'■. . ; •'■.'••,

■■■^.V.':.' ; -',.'ANPT.HER'.'6PINipN.\ \ .;.• ; : |. ''DUPES ;QF POLITICIANS;" '■'■ '>,'■ :.'; Asked to give'his view of the'posi- ,,■ tion, "Mr. %: J. Reardoiii secretary of 1 :.' : the' .-General Labourers' Union, •' was V,equally '•explicit.,. "■','" '■~-.;■'■'. ■ ;.'.■; "I doii't ;think," he. said, '"there' is.'j ; ; a single union secretary in- 'Wellington N.who does not believe in. federation, but -.;they, aro\.not going to , ally themselves ' i(o an organisation becauso a lot of wild ■' .men come up from the Coast and start screaming at them in the public streets: .To, hear these, men- talk,'; one/ would ■'jthink that every trades union secretary ..wasj'an ignoramus. They talk largely ; ..abbjit'.us', being ■the dupes of politicians, v : but: there, are trades' unions, under .the ■ lAct; that [ have.-got better ~conditions ; - and better-: wages than. the miners';'' de- ■'■■■' spite the fact that riiore has been done 'iforthe miners by ; politicians than any : 'other-class of labourers'.that I know of. '-an;the Dominion. Wo simply don't ad-. Vimit the authority of these men to como • up and dictate to us in' this way.' , .. iTHOSE STRIKE CONTRIBUTIONS. :'. "Insulting comnarisons - have .been drawn in public prints,(says'the. "AYeek- „ ]y Herald") between tie-contributions.l '•; paid by the miners to. strike funds and i . the* : - amounts ''-".'contributed -. by other.! -bodies_of.workers. ; The plain fact is. l that 'the. hat. is going /round on b'e- ■ half of the. miners the- whole, year round. Many of the unions contributing •..' do not believe in the strike .method of settling disputes. The members of : some of these organisations arp.earuing smaller wages than the . miners. They are working longer hours, they .have higher rents , to pay, and they are -justified rn resenting insulting refer- . en'ces of this' nature after having given '■•'.', their mite; When the Blackball miners ;. .were'out on strike, unionists who dis- ■'■; approved of the strike voluntarily voted money to feed the wives and children , of the miners. '.To v hear(the representatives of these men*get up on.the soap- •. box and' publicly.. ; denounce the hands 'that helped to feed their wives and children is something which reveals a 'most discreditable :phase of human nature.". '; ■