NO ENTANGLEMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2006, 13 March 1914, Page 6

NO ENTANGLEMENTS.

The Aiscomra«ing nianner iu whteh overtures from liberal qnartera frave becfl received by the, political organisation , assqcio-ted-with tire lied lfetteration ttocs' not seem to h-a-vo altogether the wdanr of. those anxions to sceiwc tlic assistance- of tho S-ocifil Democrats to place Wardism ancfe iimM in office. At a la&eting of the Esceativo of the Social Democratic Party on Wednesday last the jnattei; ngaia camo ferwa-rcf. .The persisteiico with which the idea; that the Socialistic orftamsittion must avrive at sumo sort- of agreement with the Wardisfa has been circulated would appe-ar to hav« got 'on to the serves -of our Socia-listie friend's, and they laid themselves out once ffiatn to repudiate any possibility of such an alliance* The resalutioa agreed to certainly Is emphatic oacwigh. "In no case," it reads, "will the Exccative of tho Social Democratic Party eonsent to , consider such a-grono-suV OS course tlie SpciaL Democratic party may not W quite so adartianti-iio as its resolutions would make it appear, and the persistence of tlie Wafdkts whs ar« socking alliances jnsfc iiow with the foree's o.f Labour may weal , away the f-esht> ance of tho "Reds," but it will 1:m » little s-ir'orising if such shoiiltl

prove to be the case. The reason for the refusal of the Social Democrats to entangle, themselves with Wardisui is fairly obvious. They know woll enough tha.t the .Wardists only wisii to use their organisation as a tool, just as they used tlve foftes of Labour in the past to servo the ends of Wardistn. But thai; is not thu only reason why thiiy refuse to allow themselves to btf cauglit ?m tlw mcslica of the net. spread .for their captm'e. The Social DoHjooi-ats foar that if 'they permit their organisation to . imsorae associated with any other poltticai party their prospects of ultimately attracting the whole of the of organised labovif to their banner' will hi- hopelessly prejudiced, their movement thrown back, an' 3 Uift work, of the past three years wasted. The plain fact of tho position is that for them to enter into an al* liance with any other party would .amount to a confession of weakness and a-n rtbandonsnent of .tlu> pJinciplcs for which tho organisation claims to stand in order to serve tho ends of the, moinent. There is yet another phas.o of ths situation which is rather a handieap far th» Wardiste to. overcome • that is the. subliißo eonfideft-ee! of the. Social Democrats in their capacity to ta.pturo Seats at tho forthcoming elections. JJo doubt .much of their talk is frothy iwiiscfisCj btrfc tjieir successes at Gi'ey and Lyttefton have had the effqe't of raising'their heroes very high indefid—very much higher than the- actual oiriJujnstatiees warrant. According to. their offieial ofgftn, they intend to eoatest some SO oekl scats ait ths general elections, and, relying no doubt on the. S,gforni and Liberal candidates splitting the moderate vAo, the Sflcial Demoorftts' hope to wia tho nialority . of these seats. That; they will -be disappointed goes without sayiag., but the jH'ospect which the leaders of the Social Bemoeratb "paffcy holds tip to dazzle the oyes of their followers _is a very attr.iietiws one from their point of view. // tljoy could win anything like the flwiher of seats stated they mijzht be.jn a position, to- iiokf. the . b.si,k:nc.c of jjottvr k'tween the two other jjarfcies m Parfijiineat. In tliese cifiEujM-atttiice-s it wiH be sfieM tlut the wooing oi the Social 'Deiftocrafe by the Wttrdists is not an easy .task!, and it is fiofc sjifprisiflg that the efforts ip. this direction so far niad<s I should have rositltod in faihive.