A ROWDY MEETING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2655, 29 December 1915, Page 6

A ROWDY MEETING

SOLDIERS TAKE CHARGE THE STAGE RUSHED Particulars of the stormy- meeting which Miss Adela Pankhurst attempted to address in Melbourne, as indicated in the cablegrams last week,, came to hand by yesterday's mail. Seldom if ever, says one paper, has the Bijou Theatre been the scene of a meeting so rowdy and sensational as that held to-night (December 19), when Miss Adela Pankhurst sought to deliver an address entitled "Shall Men Enlist?" . Tho lccture was under- the auspices of the Socialist party. Tlio building was filled to overflowing, and the large crowd was unable to gain admittance. Matters, were lively almostfrom the start, and it was evident that the soldiers scattered in all parts of tho theatre were in hostile mood. When Miss Pankhuist made her appearance there was an outburst of groans from the gallery, and a cry "Do we want her?" was answered -with a yell from hundreds of throats, "No I" The chairman appealed for order, to allow a young lady to sing "I Did .Not Raise My Boy' to be a Soldier," but she was greeted with boo-hoos. When the young lady rose to sing she was counted out. There was a fresh outburst of boo-hoos aiid groans as Miss Pankhurst rose to speak, biit a returned wounded s soldier mounted to -the stage, and managed to secure somothing like order for her to begin, and for several' minutes Miss Pankhurst delivered a- _ speech which was, however, only audible to thoso near, her, and which was frequently interrupted by cheors and groans. Meanwhile the returned soldier was seen speaking to the chairman, and suddenly ho stepped forward, and informed the audience that he "had orders to get off the stage." : This announcement was the signal for more groans, and there was an_ immediate 'stampede of soldiers from' the galleries out into the arcade and round to the stage door. The military and civil.-police had been stationed there and in the wings, but they could' not withstand the rush, and the soldiers swept on to the stage with cries of"Come oh, soldiers," and "This way, soldiers." Men in uniform leapt from the ! stalls on to the stago, and tlio ihairman and all who had previously occupied seats there wore swept away in the rush. A soldier opened the piano, and began playing "Australia Will be There." The soldiers took complete control of the meeting, and sang "Rule Britannia" and other patriotic songs, .while - Socialists in the audience hooted. - : One old man in the audience seized a chair, and rushed to the stage in an effort to rout the sol- . The chair was, however, taken from 'him. . Theiro was very little in the way of fighting. Tho soldiers were in possession, and the Socialists oojitentcd themselves with hooting and groaning whenever a, patriotic song was sung. 'Eventually, Miss Pankhurst was allowed to delivqr. her lecture, and the meeting closed with soldiers sfnging the National Anthom, and tho majority of tho audienco remaining silent with their hats on. A CORPORAL EXPLAINS. why the Meeting was stopped. "I was one of the men who stoppefl the Pankhurst meeting in the Bijou on Sunday night," said Corporal Hewitt, a returned soldier of the 3rd Battalion, in an interview with the "Age." Ho was standing on two upturned boxes outside the "Age" office just aftor noon. "I want to tell you. why'we did it," he continued, to the accompaniment ot cheering from the crowd, which in a few seconds gathered round. "That meeting was a disgrace to''the country," he said. "They were talking against enlistment, and anyone, who talks like that ,at a time -such as. this is talking against the principles whicli we are fighting to uphold. That sort ot thing ' cannot be allowed. (Cheers.; They said that the working men were fighting this war for the capitalists, ir that is true, then we ought to, have conscription. If that is not true, then wo aro all right as we are; and we are not going to let people talk against us. (Hear, hear.) ■ "1,, with some of my friends, said we would stop that 'meeting. When we -went there they would not let the men. in khaki in. We forced our way in. (Cheers.) What did we hear there? This is a sample of the songs they sang— Once when a mother . Was asked would she send Her darling boy to fight, She just answered "No," And I think; you'll admit she was right'. . ''The crowd received the verse with laughter.. ■ j . , ' „ ~ "Absolute rot, isn't ltr continued Corporal Hewitt. . "But this is tlie chorus. Just listen to this I' didn't raise my son to be a soldier, 1 brought him up to be my pride and joy. Who dares to put a musket on his shoulder, To kill some other mother's darling boy? . ■ The nations, ought to arbitrate their quarrels, T It's time to put the sword and gun away; There'd be no war to-day ■ If mothers all would say I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier. 'A Man in the Crowd: They ought to be interned for singing that. A Woman in the Crowd: My boy's been in the trenches for eight months, God bless .him. (Hear, heaT.) Corporal : Hewitt: Do you wonder we stopped their meeting?' Voices: No. Corporal Hewitt: But this is the revised version of that chorus-j-the revised version for returned soldiers: — I didn't raise my son to be a soldier, But as a soldier 'he's my pride and joy; I'd. have him bear a. musket on his shoulder, Like every patriot mother's darling boy. God grant Australia never will have mothers Like Pankhurst, Goldstein, Johns, and ' all their crew; Our boys must fight to-day, And never will I say I didn't raiso my boy to bo a soldier. The revised version was received with great cheering. Corporal Hewitt: If we were like those pro-Germans who gathered in ■that hall last night Germany would have had her flag Hying ovor us long af'o. Thank God, there are sonic men wfio. are rendy to uphold Britain's flag, and who will give their last drop of blood for it. (Cheers.) There wero hundreds of men gathered in that building last night, and when we took tho platform from them and asked them to sing "God Savo the King," tho men would not take their hats off, and they made a mockery of what wo wero singing. Voices: Shame; and they are pro-Gor-mans. Corporal Hewitt: It is time the people of Melbourne said they would not allow these people to speak. (Hear, hear.) I tell you that every time there is a meeting like that held in Melbourne the soldiers will break it 1 up. (Applause.) If those Socialists want to preaoh stuff of that sort they 'I^oWA,

I from, and preach it there. (Hear, hear.) Any Socialist who says we ought not to fight for King and country is a pro-German, a parasite, who ought to be put out of the country. (Cheers.) I was talking down ou.tlia Yarra bank last' Sunday, and I met Percy, the peanut seller. (Laughter.) He says it is not a free country because he is not allowed to sell his peanuts after 6 o'clock. (Laughter.) I met another man down there, too. He told me that if I came next Sunday and said the same tilings about enlisting I would never come away again. He said I'd stop down there. I'm going next Sunday, and I ask any soldiers who are in the crowd to come down with me and see fair play. (Cheers.) As a- conclusion to tho speech Corporal Hewitt made an appeal. for men to join the colours.