PILING UP TROUBLE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1917, 27 November 1913, Page 6

PILING UP TROUBLE.

In _ pursuance of its policy of drawing as many people as possibleout of work the Federation of Labour is striving strenuously to spread the strike to Australia. Its experience _ of_ the effects of the general strike in Auckland does not seem'to have taught it anything, and it is hoping that by embroiling the Labour Unions of the Commonwealth it will somehow help the strikers in New Zealand, It is a stupid policy. In the first place, it can add very little to the inconvenience already caused, for the Australian-New Zealand cargo trade is comparatively a small thing; whereas, on the other hand, it is setting in motion forces which it cannot control, and which may react in a very harmful way on the workers of the Dominion. It is very astonishing that the Labour organisations cannot see that great as has been the loss to the "men on strike and to those suffering enforced idleness through the action of the strikers, those losses are but the beginning of their troubles. Are they foolish enough to think that if the strike ended to-morrow their losses and worries would be immediately ended? Nothing of the kind would happen. Apart from' the fact that each day's delay on the part, of the men in returning to work means the filling of so many more of their jobs by other men who will keep them, the after-effects of the dislocation of trade and business which has taken place, and is still continuing, will

be ielt for months to come. The buoyancy which- the country wa3 ex periencing in trade and commerce as the result of the good season anc the solid prices ruling in the markets of the world for oui staple products has been lessened as" the result-'of the check in production and export due to the strike. The losses suffered and the waste occasioned, mean reduced spending power and reduced employment. The prospect is quite bad enough for the idle unionists aa it is; but if an industrial conflagration is started in Australia, the New Zealand labour unionist on strike or out of employment will find bis hopes of returning to work still further removed than ever. In prosperous times there is i work'for ail; in times of stagnation and depression who is it that suffers most? The intelligent labour unionist can answer that question without any assistance from us. He knows well enough that the greatest sufferers in times of depression are mainly to be found in the ranks of the casual and unskilled workers. Those strikers who arc hesitating between returning to work and hanging out for a few days more would "do well to consider their position in the light of the mischief their leaders are endeavouring to create in' the Commonwealth. An early return to work may assist to avert a far greater trouble than that which has already overtaken them. The public will, wo have no doubt, recognise thft merciless nature of the methods of the Red Federation and their allies when they read to-day's cable messages from Sydney. They will see therein proof of the litter disregard the Labour leaders have for the ruin and hardship they are likely to bring on the heads of the unfortunate immigrants stranded in Sydney through the strike. The Labour bosses, when specially appealed to to waive their objection to one of the steamers being dispatched to convey these 200 odd immigrants to their destination, point-blank refused. The immigrants arc men and women and children of their own class—workers in the labour unionists' sense of the term —with little means, nnd no friends in Australia to assist them. And the tyranny of the strike bosses which i oppresses the poor mora than it can "i«sibl.v harm those more fortunately situated h mercilessly imposed on these unfortunate people, who will go to swell the toll of innocent, victims to the ruthless methods of the Ited Federation.