The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1918, THE STRIKE SITUATION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1902, 10 November 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1918, THE STRIKE SITUATION.

A turning point in the industrial upheaval was arrived at in Auckland on Saturday morning when the forces of law and order made a decisive forward movement and took command of the waterfront. The regular police and the- special eonstables appear to have done their work in a most effective manner, and made it clear to all concerned, that the methods of lawlessness aad intimidation which had prevailed for somo days are to bo tolerated no longer, and that the law of the land must be respected on the wharves as well as in the rest of the country. A significant feature in connection ..with Saturday's ' proceedings in Auckland was the discovery in the rooms oocupied by the Watersidcrs' Union of a number of weighted batons, popper mixed with sand, and other material. The Striko Committee declare that they knew absolutely nothing of the existence of these things', but this disclaimer is not likely to carry much weight in face of the known facts. weapons have been used by a section of the disorderly crowds that caused so much trouble in Wellington a few days ago, and the resort to such forms of violence has been one of the ugliest features of the present crisis. • The strike leadora in Auckland havo taken the desperate step of proclaiming a gonefai stoppage of work,'and it wag announced at the Wellington Opera House last night that the Federation of Labour would to-day take the still more extreme step of Calling out all the unionists of New Zealand. Those responsible for the conduct of the strike appear to be losing their heads. They gecm to bo quite reckless as to how many are involved in the inevitable disaster to which their blundering tactira. are hastening their unfortunate followers. The general strike is a stupid and suicidal poliey. _ The great Labour leaders of Britain and Germany who have_ made a scientific study of industrial war have abandoned it, because they have found by experience that it does more harm than good to the causa of Labour. At tho recent German Socialist Congress, BsaiTS, the vicepresident of the Central Commission of the Syndicate, in examining tho results of tho general strike, as attempted in other countries, said: "Every strike led to disastrous results. In Holland the general strike had the effect of restraining the right of combination; in Sweden it had decimated the labour associations, and destroyed half their wealth; and in Belgium the workers had singularly, suffered from the strike. During the strikes, notably in Sweden, recourse was had to the funds of the Germain. Socialists; but on whom can the Germans rely 1" asked Bkaun. "Gould they rely on the aid of their French eomradcH, who once sent a telegram of encouragement- accompanied by 20 francs'!" Braun, indeed, thought the very discussion deplorable, as likely to raise the destructive idea in the minds of tho workers that a strike was a_ panacea. David, aftOther Socialist leader, declared that a general strike would lead to a terrible disaster. "We are in a minority," said another speaker, "and we cannot compel the majority to accept our views—that would be anti-domocratic." The strike leaders in New Zealand, however, eare nothing for the democracy. They know that tho vaßt majority of the people havo no sympathy with their revolutionary aims and methods, and instead of appealing to reason and public opinion, they are trying to force the community to its knees by intimidation, throats, and violence.

The powers behind the present striko are _ finding it difficult to justify their action from the point of view of either' justice or common sense, and, with the object of keeping their followers in hand and gaining public sympathy, they are grossly misrepresenting the position. They are now even asserting that it is not a strike at all, but a lock-out deliberately planned by the employers for the purpose of crushing organised labour. The fact that the trouble was caused by the deliberate and wanton breach of an agreement is carefully kept in tho background, but the public memory is not so short as these, people would like it to bo, and it I# not yat fatgattari .thai oa the dav, tho -ak&>^ork' ; t

meeting was held Mr. Curtice, tho president of the Waterside Workers' Union, stated the position in words that cannot bo explained away. "I tell you," be said, "that you are out on ■ strike, As a responsible officer, I tell you that when you do go back to work you will be out on strike, and it is nothing else bat a strike. By coming out this .afternoon you have broken your agreement from A to Z. What are you going to do?" All the present turmoil is the result of a strike arising out of a broken agreement—broken "from A to Z." It is not trades unionism the employers are fighting, but a cliquc of Syndicalists', who "treat agreements with contempt- and openly declare the employer should be regarded as an implacable enemy with whom the worker can have nothing in common. It is not to be wondered at that the employers emphatically refuse to recognise the Federation of Labour in. any arrangements they may come to with their ■workmen. They want some guarantee, which can be enforced by the law of the land., that whatever ' agreement may eventually be arrived at in settlement of tho present dispute shall be honourably adhered to by both parties. The machinery able to this already exists in the form of the Arbitration Act.