AUSTRALIA'S LABOUR DOWNFALL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3161, 13 August 1917, Page 7

AUSTRALIA'S LABOUR DOWNFALL

MR. HOLMAN INTERVIEWED IN LONDON

GRAVE WARNING TO BRITISH PACIFISTS The Hon. W. A, Holman, Premier of Now South Wales, "who recently arrived in London on business with his State, has spent practically the whole of his twonty years of public Trfe 111 the activo service of the Labour Party, and for tlio greater part of that time he has been one of the most earnest r.s he was one of the most able of the leaders of (lie Labour movement in Australia. Last year, he, in common with Mr. W. M. Hushes and most of the other Labour leaders, espoused a whole-hearted win-the-war policy, of which compulsory military service formed an essential part. As a Tesult Mr. Hughes, Mr. Holman, and most of their Labour followers were expelled from the so-called Official Labour Party. Since then Mr. Hughes, as Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, and Mr. Holman, as Premier of New South Wales, have had to face a general election in which their chief opponents were their former Labour colleagues. Tho result in both cases was the 6ame—they each won a sweeping victor}*, and both in the State and the Federal elections the Pacifist Labourites were overwhelmed at the pplls. Interviewed by a "Morning Post" representative to explain the present position and the causes which led up to it, Mr. Holinan said:—

A Crushing DBfeat. The Labour movement in Australia is utterly crushed. I would not like to say that it is ruined, because that would im. ply permanent extinction, and a movement which represents ideas as highly vitalised as those of the Labour movement cannot be extinguished. But it hae had a. set-back which it will take it ten or fifteen years to recover from, and when it does'recover it will probably not appear again in the same shape. A fatal error of judgment on tlio part of- the extremist wing of the movement, which had got into temporary domination, has lindoite the results of the laborious efforts of the last twenty years. What the old leaders had built up during ;i generation the "young bloods" have managed to destroy in half a year. A didactic Pacifism—a belief that the Labour movement could afford to ignore tho war and the new duties which the war has brought with it—has absolutely! wrecked the apparently well-found barque of Labour progress in Australia. It must not bo imagined that the extremist section of tho party committed themselves in set terms to -direct and definite opposition to tho cause of the Allies. Things never wpnt that length. But this section took up this attitude —first, that 110 furihor sacrifice.? 011 the part of Australia were called for, and, secondly, that oven if any further sacrifiea wcro necessary l;ho rectification of Labour grievances and Ihe reform, if certain defective laws should be given precedence ovor any action which involved any further effective participation in the war.

L-ct me illustrate I bis attitude by a concrete incidont. Tlievo were two matters of pressing interest beforo. the public. One related to the equipment and speedy dispatch of transports; the oilier concerned a dispute about wages. The extremists maintained that tho second of these was tlio most important of Hie two, aud that the transportl!. could 'wait until Iho coallumpers' grievances were settled. That was tho spirit that animated most of the extremists. It was the spirit I hat animated tho section that' captured tho annual Labour Conference last jjcar and led to the carrying of resolutions hql only condemning [' compulsory military service but' threatening wilh expulsion all who supported that policy. What has been the result? Tho Labour Party Was then in power both iiv tho Stato of Neiv South Wales and in the Commonwealth. . To-day it is a hopelessly defeated party in both tho State and the Commonwealth: shorn of its old loaders, who have all stood loyally by tho cause of the' Allies in tho teoth of tho cornminatory resolutions of' tlie Labour Conference, whilo . many of _ Iho principal spokesmen, of the extremists have been defeated at tho polls.

Pacifists in Great Britain. Referring to the aVtittyle ai/Cioiiß of the Pacifists in Great Britain, Mr. Holman said: I have neither the knowledge nor tho authority which would permit mo to make any hostile comment on tho Pacifist controversies which aro disturbing you in Great Britain, but as a citizen of tho Empire I may perhaps bo permitted to make the suggestion that there, is an otject lesson of the profoundjst significance in what has happened in oar part of the Empire which might be commended to the attention of somo of my Pacifist friends in Great Britain. I am a Pacifist of many years' skuiding. 1 need no convincing of the evils of militarism as a permanent institution or of the dangers of tho militarist ;ult, but if ever thevo was an inopportuno moment for these gentlemen to select for their Pacifist propaganda it is this moment when we need the most biglily-per. fccted military organisation possible to save, us from the very,militarism which these gentlemen condemn. If our military organisation failed us we should b'o subjected to militarism in its laost violent and permanent form. In promoting a. Pacifist policy of that kind at this time they are running exactly the samo risks and subjecting their party to exactly the same dangers as did my Pacifist colleagues in tho Labour movement in Australia. \ Tho interests of Labour and the peaceful future of humanity are canses worth striving for, ibut both are menaced by tho existence of tho German Empire as a militarist Empire. That menace must be faced; that ever-present danger to the cause of peace and tho cause of progress must be overcome. One crisis at a time is a sane rule of life. Let us beat the Germans first. Let us make it impossible for the German Emperor and his military entourage to continue or renew the conflict. Than there will be 110 danger _of permanent militarism, in our generation at least. All these considerations aro so patent to the simplest understanding that I cannot help saying that tho party which is blind to them js courting its own downfall, as the Labour Party m Australia did.