I.W.W. ACTIVITIES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2912, 26 October 1916, Page 6

I.W.W. ACTIVITIES

WHO BENEFITS. Sir, —The present I.W.W. disturbances throughout Australia should make us think furiously, hero in New Zealand. What is behind it all? Is it a'German-American campaign cleverly hidden under the mantle of Labour P Cui Bono? Tho Roman lawyer, ivhen' it was difficult to unravel a crime, asked Cui Bono? Who benefited.? Who benefits by all this? It is not Labour.' The Labour party in Australia /is threatened with disruption. The" Labour party in New Zealand has not escaped it. Are these American and international criminals who aro flying the I.W.W. flag financed with German-American, money—or Ger-man-Austrian money? Have their instructions been to preach anti-war doctrines, anti-British sentiments, and class hatred in every Labour group and in every Labour paper they can get tlieir claws into, and to start new ones fo rthis purpose ? Who lias benefited? Who, but • Germany? wlwse interest it is to oppose conscription tooth and nail? . _ Is it not.tho same tactics that Ger-

many employed when preferential tra& was first mooted? Every German spy and every German agent in the British Empire denounced it and stirred up opposition to it. .Mr. lJuglies, m the plainest language, slates that these men are against war because they are against the British Empire—that they are agents of Germany. Ho has hit the nail on the head. Every German agent, and every paper they can control or influence is denouncing Mr. Hughes awl'lying ahout him. Germany said that. Australasia would either openly rebel in the event of war, or that she would refuse to help Britain. She trusted to the sedition her agents had heen preaching in Now Zealand and Australia before and after th(! 15)18 strike —but she over-estimated their grip on the community. It never occurred to Britain before the war to lmv -up or subsidise newspapers in neutral countries, but it did occur to Germany: it was part of her carefully planned war campaign. Ever since the war these naners have, been pouring out abuse of tho Allies and disseminating lies from the great lie factory atBerlin.

It lias never occurred to the Government or people of Now Zealand that Germany has a well-organised campaign in Australia and. Now Zealand. There are newsTmpors in New Zealand—but, sir. I could fill your issue with extracts of anti-British sentiments and German lies wln'ch are allowed to anoear uncontradicted. Ifte German-Americans nlavpd a similar campaign in Ireland, and it. was ignored bv the authorities and allowed to flourish uncontradicted till tlie crash came. Are, we any wiser in New Zealand? How our interned i Germans must have laughed in their | sleevqs at the loud-voiced anti-German: farce carried on by one or two members durinsr the last session of Parliament—which had one unforeseen effect —the flawing away of public attention from the real German campaign in this Dominion, —I am, etc., BRITISH.