The Dominion. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1913. THE STRIKE & ITS LESSONS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1907, 15 November 1913, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1913. THE STRIKE & ITS LESSONS.

« Three of tha most unpleasant features of the present iadustrial up* heaval are the disregard shown for the law by a section of the strikers and their sympathisers, the dominafcifig influence exorcised by tho Federation leaders owing to the apathy of the bulk of the workers regarding the management of their unions, and tho attempt which the revolutionary Socialists a,re making to divide the community into two hostile camps, whose attitude towards eaeh other must be that of armed neutrality or open war. In other words, lawlessness, tyranny, and the class war have been prominent factors in the campaign.. It is the plain duty of every good citizen to resist these anti-social tendencies to th®_ very utmost. One cannot help thinking that, as Bishop Spkott stated on Thursday night, there has been in modern times a weakening ol our senso of the majesty and power of law. It is a bad sign, and the outbursts of lawlessness which recently occurred both in Auckland aud_ Wellington show how accessary it is for the general public resolutely to range themselves whenever the need arises on the side of law and order. A leading authority on the subject tells us that "law in general is the siim total of those general rules of action, as aro enforced by a sovereign political authority." In a democratic country like Kcw Zealand the sovereign political authority is the community iteelf —the democracy; and defiance of the lawfully-consti- ■ tuted authorities is really ati attack ■on the community. One satisfactory feature of thq present trouble is the emphatic and decidedly practical demonstration Which has been giveii that the vast majority of the people of New Zealand are strongly opposed to anarchy in any shape or form, and that they are prepared to give moral, and, if need be, physical support to the authorities m maintaining law and order. The alternative to law is brute force, atid when it is a question of every man for himself, the weak and the poor must go to the- wall. The present strike has brought tho community face to face with tlie new labour tyranny which has been ceaselessly working to get both employer and workman into its remorseless clutches. It has turned the harass-! ing of employers into a fine art, and has shown its ability to put the public to considerable annoyance. and the country to heavy loss; but the workers themselves are its principal -victims. Having got possession of the machinery of the union?, the wreckers have invented ruthless methods of preventing the free expression of opinion, and of making it very difficult for the rank and file to steer their own course. The occasional glimpses behind the scenes which we have recently been given have enabled the public to form some idea of the extreme pressure which is brought to beaj upon tho more reasonable section of trades unionists to compel them to follow the lead of the revolutionaries. Tho adoption of the secret ballot system would to a large extent undermine the power of the extremists, and that is the reason why they are so bitterly opposed to this, most democratic form of voting. The account published in yesterday's Dominion of the extraordinary methods which have been used in Auckland for tho purpose of embroiling unions in the general strike reveals a state of affairs which ought not to be possible in any civilised country. Tho writer shows how he was forced out ©e strike against his will, and he expresses the belief that thousands in Auckland to-day arc in a similar position. Trades unionists can only regain their liberty by the exercise. of a good deal of determination and moral courage, and now is ths time far tho best elements in tho movement to assert _ themselves. ''Who would be free himself must strike the blow." The average working man does not believe that the employer is Fiis natural enemy; nor does he believe in the class war, or in distinctive doctrines of revolutionary Socialism. But the machinery of eomo of the unions has been captured by men _ who are practically at war with the community, and a considerable scction of tho workers have been unwillingly committed to a policy with which they aro not in sympathy, but which they find it very difficult to repudiate. If one speaks to the men separately re* garding the present labour crisis, the great majority of them admit that they have no desire to strike, but they find it very hard to resist the pbwer behind the_ scenes which directs and rules their industrial lives. Tho real worker would Iks only too glad to be able to throw off this galling yoke, and to establish a more legitimate form of unionism, which would recognise that employer and employee have many interests in common, and that the worker cannot possibly prosper by crippling the business of the man who cjmploys him: Tho unionists arc, of course, entitled to oomlntio for their own protection, aud to take ovary advau-

tage of their power of collective bargaining; and, as a last resort;, the right to strike always remains. But before this extreme measure- is adopted the "great third party"— the general public—must be allowed to take a hand, for the public is eno of the chief sufferers by any dislocation of industry. This also applies; in the case of a lock-out. Before cither a strike or a lock-out is permitted, an opportunity should bo given for effecting a settlement by somo form of conciliation or arbitration, and the secret ballot system should be made compulsory, in order k> lessen the possibility of improper influences preventing the real mind of the workers from being expressed. It is intolerable that the whole trade and industry of the country should be temporarily disorganised because a comparatively small section of the workers have a dispute with their employers. The Government have a Bill which covers gome of the ground, notablv that making a secret ballot compulsory hefore a strike becomes lawful. This portion of the Bill at least should bo passed into law before the present session ends. Provision should also be made to protect unionists and the public against intimidation.. No one who has the interests of the country at heart could object to such a measure. Even the most ardent supporters of legitimate trades unionism would extend to it their approval.