THE STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1925, 6 December 1913, Page 4

THE STRIKE.

1 me week so far as New Zealand is conccmed has been a discouraging one for the. lied Federation. It has witnessed- increased activity at all ilia ports, and 'what is more important, the rank nrnl lile of the strikers can see that despite the professions of their leaders work is going on practically the same as ii: does under normal conditions, l'or ;i few hours during the week there was much jubilation amongst the strike bosses over the holding up of the ocean liner Opawn, owing to a number of the firemen being foolish enough to leave work. The places of the inen were quickly fillea, and the firemen found that they had been inducod to sacrij fice themselves for nothing. They have yet to answer for their breach of the law. Efforts arc being made to induce other firemen to como out, despite the fact that it cannot help the strikers—on the contrary, it only makes more mouths to be fed out of the scanty strike 'funds. The. one seemingly bright spot for the strike bosses 'lias been the attitude of the I Australian watersiders, What the J strikers really hope to gain from this, apart from some loss to the steamer owners and some inconvenience to the travelling pubiie, is difficult to see. Apparently they imagine that if they can embroil the Australian unions anything might happem Certainly something will happen, and tiiat is that flie more unionists there are out of work in Australia in sympathy with the Ju'd federation here, the iess money will there be, available in Australia to send for the relief of fhe strikers her-". One would think that, the strike bosses here would have tense enough to tee that they can teed more mouths aud clothe more backs for a

longer period with the good red gold hogged from their friends across the Tiismnii fiea than ihoy can possibly do with their sympathy or the sympathy of the whole of Australia. As a matter of fact, funds arc very low with the strike bosses just now. The, public and may sensible unionists can sec that it is not only wasting money to give it to the strike bosses! for thcrc_ is no hope of them being able to-win the present struggle, but it is, on the contrary, doing immense hiirm by encouraging the prolongation of a struggle which is injuring the whole country, and labour most of all.