" BURY THE HATCHET."

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1971, 30 January 1914, Page 8

" BURY THE HATCHET."

WORDS & DEEDS. TACTICS OF EX-STRIKERS. "Bury the hatchet!" exclaimed an official of tho new Wharf Labourers' Union yesterday, using an expression that had been frequently used at a meeting of tho opponents of the new regime oil the previous'evening. "Bury the.hatchet! it seems to : mo tliev are continually sharpening theirs. They say they want to work in peace with the Arbitrationists. Now, 1 will guarantee that when ex-strikers work with Arbitrationists—no. matter if. there is only ono among forty of our men—they aro tieatcdiairly, and with every consideration. But if, as frequently happens, , reo or four .of our men go into a hold with twenty or so of their crowd our men get such a bad time that tlicy won t face the experience-again. They get all. the heavy work, and they have t'l* with slurs arid insults, and W6n threats of violence..;

A es >. be continued, "they may talk or burying the hatchet, but if they aro Arbitrationists, anxious, to go on with us on good terms, why do they keep up a separate union of .;their own, with a separate secretary and executive 2 ' That does not seem 'amicable'—-ii word that they seem to be fond of using. , ."But oil and water don't mix," remarked, tho official,' "and we don't expect them to like.us. What we do object to is their being chosen for work ip preference to our men,- who worked for the Harbour Board right up,to December ;8. . And wje say,-too, that- it would-be a very much better arrangement, aiid qiiite a practicable one, for tho foremen to make up gangs of Arbitrationists, and gangs of ex-strikers, giving the preference agreed upon; of course, and avoiding the drafting of a ton; Arbitrationists into gangs of exstrikers. This is the 'caiisb of most of the friction." . "Very soon there will..nob .be any more Arbitrationists left oil the-wharf," was an opinion expressed by another, whose business it is -to know what is going on along tlio waterfront. (Ho was not'a member of tho union; nor was ,ho an, employer;) "Men . are leaving every day, dissatisfied with the treatment they, have been, getting lately, aiid I don't wonder at it. It seems, to me .that'the practice of putting a few Arbitrationist-s to wcrlc 'witli a . crowd of the old hands thoroughly sickens the new, hands, and is' driving them away fronrthe waterfront." ' •"