The Dominion

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1678, 19 February 1913, Page 6

The Dominion

The aftermath of the' imprisonment of the American "Labour" leaders who were convicted in Indianapolis a couple of months ago of complicity in the long series of dynamite outrages by the American Federation of Labour is full of interest to New Zealandens. The New Zealand Federation of Labour, after its excursion into the policy of revolvers and gelignite, drew back for a moment .in alarm at the horror arid indignation which it had aroused in the minds of everybody; but,the spokesmen of the Federation have regained their courage, and are quite boldly assigning guilt to those who oppose the weapons of anarchy and muyder. So, also, in America, the Federation leaders have so far recovered from tho fright they received .from the'stern anger their dynamite exploits had aroused in the American public that they were already defying American ; sentiment soon after the New' Year. . Mr. Samuel Gompers, the president of the Federation, uttered some atrocious sentiments on January 6, when appearing before a Federal Senate Committee. • In the name of "social justice"—a, phrase to which we can apply Lowell's description of "transcendentalism": ','tho maid'of all work of those who are unable to think"—Mr; Gompers defended the dynamiters. 'He bad no word of censure for their atrocious crimes and the murders they committed. He justified'them by some extraordinary allusions to "tho' conspiracy of organised "capital," in just: that 'vein with which the new local of Labour has made us all familiar. "But what," he said, "of the conspiracy of organised capital—the conspiracy to murder the liberty of the toilers'? . . .Should tho .conspirators, with their, hands stained with life blood y . .be allowed to continue to !manipulate the powers of government," and and so on. We in New Zcalancj know this sort of rubbish very well, and to the New' Zealand echo, as to the American ; original, the New York Post's criticism applies perfectly. Admitting Mr; Gompers's right to talk'as foolishly as he likes on behalf of Mr.. Gompers the citizen, the Post says that. he . "ought hot .to forget that tho only reason, any' .sensible man pays attention 1 to what he says is that he is at the , head of the American' Federation of,' Labour." That is the only reason, why; the public the press pay attention to Mr. Semple and Mr..Tregear and Mr. Fo'wlds and the so-called "Professor" Mills and ■ Mit. M'Laren and the other "Labour leaders." The Post goes, on to say, and what ,'it says here: applies perfectly to the support the Federation of Labour and its revolver and dynamite I ,outrages at Waihi and Waikino: ■■■■'-~.' -,' ■

In what Mr.. Gompers .said there was not ono hearty word in condemnation of crime,' while the. wholo drift of his remarks was that it was no wonder that labouring lncn»'lta'd;"]x'en driven to dyna'nv'.ting and lhllWteWs the'only means loft •them of resistance' th the-'"tyranny" of their employers, Such thinly-roiled apologies, for assassination : would I>b monstrous, even if 'the fncti ; were' as' stated' by Mrj. Gompers.v-But, the truth has'l>cen.clearly' established that the niniu .purpose of. tho explosions was to strike terror, into tho hearts of non-union men and those'who hired them, and to compel both men and masters to sutmit in all > things to tho labour organisation. Tyranny for tyranny, where- could Ihero bo:ono more intolerable than this? Yet murder in its name 'is explained ,as devotion to tho sacred cause of labour!

cuuse- oi lauuur; ~ : " ~ It ,is significant, too, that just' as Me. Semple and his friends and themost foolisli section. of tho anti-Kc-form press refer to "Masseylsm" in connection with Waihi as a hateful thing, the St. Louis journal Eabour calls the atrocious ruffians who were convicted of dynamiting and mur,der tho : victims of.; Burnsism." Burns is the detective who tracked" these villains down. "Burnsism," therefore, is as intolerable in the: American dynamiter's eyes .as "Masseyism" and "Cullenism and "police; scabbery" are- to the'eyes of Mr.| Sempijs and his friends of.the 'Federation , arid the anti-Reform press..; That'tho thoughtful working men of: America hate 'the :methods,and the, ethics of Mr. Gomper3 and tho. dynamiters is 'as certain -as that the, wage-earners of New Zealand whothink for - themselves despise the' methods and the ethics" of 'the newFederation of Labour.,-