A MASS MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1354, 3 February 1912, Page 5

A MASS MEETING.

IN THE SQUARE. ADDRESSES BY STRIKERS. AUDIENCE FRIENDLY. Tlio' mass meeting convened by tho tramway strikers, in Customhouse Square, between noon and ono o'clock yesterday, attracted an attendanco of übout twelve hundred. The tramwaymen were present in strong force and a majority of thoso present were waterside workers. /''o strike leaders addressed the assemblage from an express wagon in the middle ot tlio square. All of them wore given a good hearing and they were frequently applauded. , Mr. W~. C. Kmt a union secretary and a member of tho Strike Committee presided. Opening tlio proceedings ho remarked that although his auditors were all aware that a tramway strike was m progress some of them might not bo conversant with tho facts leading up to the trouble. They found, owing to the press ■ being in some measure against the strikers, that the full facts had not teen placed before the public as tliev should liavo beon. The tramwaymen had not gone out on strike without first trying to arrive at a satisfactory settlement. Ml sorts of indignities had been placed upon the tramwaymen. Accepting the word of tho Mayor of Wellington that the Fuller ease would bo heard at a public inquiry, each side conducting its own case, the men refrained from stopping the cars during the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, tlie Mayor had been compelled to go away to England. In his succeeding remarks Mr. Noot described the breach between tho City Council and the Tramways Union, owing to tho refusal of the' latteT body to countenance the employment of counsel at the I'ullcr inquiry. One paper had said that tne leaders of labour and paid agitators in this city were responsible for the strike. He gave this an emphatic denial. Iho various Labour organisations were nsslfjting because they recognised that the tignt ot tho tramwaymen was their fight, a fight on behalf of organised Labour. Concluding, Mr. Noot made an allusion t«councillors who wero willing their votes from time to time and stated that the trouble might be put down tr the Employers' Federation. (Applause.)

A VERY BIG THING. The next speaker was Mr. A. Sutherland, secretary of the Tramways Union. Ho was received with'applause and some chcers. Commencing, he remarked that this was developing into a very big thing. ' When the business was first taken in hand by the City Council, and'that body threw an absolute defianco at tho tramways Union, it littlo thought of the organised force that was going to fall into line behind the Tramways Union. The council, thinking that it had only a body of 400 men to deal with, had considered that it could easily defeat tho union and gradually fill uj> the service with "black-leg labour. To their great surprise and consternation, they had got such a shaking as they had never anticipated. The union, realising that this was not a question between it and tho City Council, or between it and Fuller, had approached the leaders of the labour organisations. It imcl gone straight to the Federation of Labour- — mi ■ M A voice: Hear, hear! That's the placo! Mr. Sutherland continued that it was a fight for principle, and for principle only. From the Trades and Labour Council the union had received the same flattering response as from the Federation of Labour. The whole fight now was organised labour versus the fat capitalist. Capitalism had expected to crush the Tramways Union oasily, and had discovered its nnstake. Moral sympathy and financial assistance werp being freely proffered to tho union, and from one end of the Dominion to the other letters and telegrams were coming in to congratulate the men upon • their manly fight. Tho whole aim of the imployers'x Federation, who were fully occupying those leather-backed chairs in the council chamber, was to crush labour, and they had started upon this union )>ecause it was standing alone. A Dominion Federation of Tramway Workers existed, but it would hardly have been right to inflict the same inconvenience upon people in the other three principal cities as the Citv Council had inflicted upon the people of Wellington. But tho other tramway unions wore prepared to fall into line with tho whole of organised labour in New Zealand, and to show the City Council that this was not a small struggle oi a small union. The question was: "J 10 wore going to rule —the men who put the council in, or the twelve men who weie in the council? Councillors, tho union secretary doclared, treated care as their private property. One of them had suggested shutting* the cars up for six months, remarking that it would only cost .£-1000. ere the people not to be consulted? He (Jlr. Sutherland) ventured to say that if the manager of a private tramway advocated a similar policy_ lie would soon be upset out of his position.

"GIVING THE LIE." Another thing that had "got the men's backs up," continued the .secretary, was that some'councillors had saul that the men were wasters and rotters, end that a food strike would get rid of some ot them. I'or the sake of their manhood, the men had to give tho lie to that question. And yet men who made such assertions were those whom Labour put in- at tho ballet I vox* to run the ci ; ly Ilns case of Fuller had opened up a tight tor existence on the part of the men- the council themselves and their own managers had said that Puller was unsuitable to fill the position ho did. lot they defied the union, and refused io shift him. After speaking of strikes that had occurred in other cities, Mr. hutliorland declared that the union was standing up against a system that gave a man scope to show his spite and spleen in dealing with tho tramway-men. TJnfortujie.teV. the council considered that it was against itfl dignity to be dictated to. No doubt it had expected the union to show the same forbearance as when it waited twelve months to obtain a newwork ill" agreement, and then, did net gn|; CO good nil agreement as those obtained in the other cities of the Dominion. The eoiine.il would find that it was wrong. (Applause.) THE DIGNITY OF THE COUNCIL. Mr. E- A. Evans, an ex-yice-president of tho Tramways Union, said that a lot bad been heard about the dignity of tho Citv Council. A working .man was lint Miiipowd to have any dignity at all. The onlv thing be had to carry him through life was his honesty. A conductor working on tho city tramways never knew in tho morning whether he would |rr> sacked in disgrace betore night, on unfounded charges. Tho men wero not out on strike for a joke. They were earnest men battling for a principle, and lhe.v mean!: to win. It had boon said by coii'neillcms that the nnipn was becoming 100 strong, and would have to be broken, but the union would emerge from this fifhl stronger Hiar> when it entered- lie Vlievrd that the majority of the public were with them. Concluding, he staled that the men would tight a clean tight, and that there would be no disorder. (Applause.) "MUST GET RID OF THIS MAN." Mr. V. - . White, vice-president of tho union, described in detail the grievances „r the. traniwaymeii against Inspector t'ulIcr, interlarding I)is st.'iioinont with a numlx>r of poriional rcmiiiiswiwo. Ho doolnxod ihat theno vtccq at. glx i»-.

speotor.s in tho tram way sorvico, every one of whom had got men disrated or dismissed, and yet enjoyed tho full confidence of (lie men. The difference between the utt'itude of the men towards these inspectors and towards Inspector Fuller was due to a difference in their methods, tie wanted to state emphatically that every other inspector in tho seivico had had men disrated or dismissed and yet had the full conlidcnce of every man in the service. The council had had ample notice that if Inspector Fuller did not chango his methods t.liero would bo a strike over him. Tho men would endeavour to got the ears started again as soon as possible, but thov must have justice mid they must' get rid of this man. (Applause.)

COUNCILLORS ACCUSED. Mr. A. Mills, a uiotonnaii and a vicepresident of the Tramways Union, said that lie had been associated with the' tramwaymen for seven years and would answer for their honesty, for their manhood, and for their good behaviour. After dealing with the aims of tho union and with the support it was receiving, Mr. Mills read tho following telegram from tho Auckland Tramways Union, addressed to the secretary of tho Wellington union:

"Stand firm. Be jo.st and fear not. Tho Auckland Union is with you. Wo know Fuller of old. Keep us posted." This telegram, said Mil. Mills, caino from a body of men among whom Fuller had worked for some considerable timo. If tho Auckland men knew Fidler, so did tho men in Wellington and they would know him again in tlio fnturo. They did not want to know any more alwut Fuller; they know enough already.

A voice: Too nitich!

One councillor had been heard to say Mr. Mills stated, that tho tramwaymen were nothing more nor loss than "a darned lot of wasters" nnd that nothing but a striko would got rid of these wasters. Another councillor had said — he did not know it, but ho was talking to a tramwayman's wife—that the tcamwaymen were "a lot of rotters" and th; the" council were not going to give wn to tliem. The union, said the speaker had not made any trumped-up charges. Every charge laid against Fuller could be proved, and would be proved.

"THE DOMINION" ATTACKED. Mr. E. J. Carey, a former president of tho Trades and Labour Council, opened with an attack upon Tire Dominion newspaper, in tho stvlo that has bocomo familiar. "I claim," he said, , "that The Dominion' newspaper is more responsible for the present situation than even Inspector Fuller. (Hear, hear.) By tho tone adopted in its leading columns U'iih Dominion newspaper has forced the tramwaymen to strike, and has forced the Employers' Federation to fight .tlio tramwaymen with your money. Men like Godber are using your money to fight the tramwaymen." (Applause and emphatic dissent from one man.) Mr. C'arey continued that tho tramwaymen did not object to surveillance within the bounds of ordinary common decency. They said that there should be no spying and no "pimping." If a settlement of the dispute was not effected that day there would be nothing else to do but extend the striko and bring the City Council to their knees. (Applause, and hear, hear.) He was satisfied that, if necessary, a repetition of what was happening in Brisbane would happen hero in Wellington within a few days. They had put in their ultimatum that day. They were prepared to give and take on the second proviso of their demands (that relating to indemnity against prosecution), but they would ask at any rate that the men wlio had come out should not be asked to forfeit their pay because of that action. Mr. Carey then moved tho following resolution-

"That this mass meeting congratulates the Tramway Union upon its magnificent stand for principle, and calls upon tho'City Council'to recognise unionism by effecting a settlement of the strike upon lines agreeable to organised labour."

Concluding, Mr. Carey remarked that there was a lesson to bo drawn from tho attitude of tho Tramways Union. If tliero had l>een half a doiran Labour men in tho council this business would have been easily dispoerd of, and the cars would have been running that day. He asked tliem not to "scab" when election day came round, but to support Labour men at the next municipal elections.

LIGHT NOT THREATENED. Mr. D. Blackie, secretary of tho Drivel's' Union, denied that the agitators of tho city—tho paid union secretaries—had brought the tramwaymen into this dispute. Tho tramwaymen had brought on their own trouble—("No!")—or, rather, Fuller was tho cause of the whole The tramwaymen approached tho Tradta Council; tho council did not go to them and say, "Will you let us take your case ,up?" The question had been asked, "What part is the Drivers' Union taking?" The union had decided that no coal should bo carted to.the powerhouse, but they did not want to inconvenience citizens by cutting off their light Coal would therefore be carted to the olectric | light station, ' i When t.ho chairmaji put the resolution to tho vote most of tnoso prosont held I up their hands in favour. Only two men voted against the.resolution. Tho gathering now dispersed, the chairman announcing that an announcement as to the progress of the negotiations would be made forthwith from the steps • of the Town Hall. _ Cheers were given for the Tramways Union.