LABOUR AND BRITISH ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 159, 31 March 1919, Page 8

LABOUR AND BRITISH ELECTIONS

PACIFISTS LEFT "ON THE DOORMAT"

' THE PARTY'S TASKS Mr. W. A. Appleton, secretary of the 1 General Federation of Trade Unions,'in a recent number of "The Federationist," writes on "Tho Labour Party's Tasks":— ' . "The election is over.(he says); the people liavo spoken, and the friends of Germany find themselves. on the doormat. Anti-British and 'wait and see-, ists' are alilto repudiated. Those who. havo had confidence in the' common sense of the British workmen have been' justified. l'6r tho Liberal Party the re-, suit is .disastrous. • For the ■ Labour Partv it is less serious than it might' hnve been if the extremists had achieved nil that which;they attempted.. From tho returns*it is obvious-that the parly, would have been in even-more deplorable straits than the Liberals had it not l>een for the return of men who, from the beginning of the' tot,' hove fearlessly' shown their robust ; An at-' tempt is being made to minimise the full effects the extremists have had upon - the party's position by claiming that' it has polled in England alone-something like 1,750,000 votes. ■ These figures in no way justify the assumption 1.750,000tiritish voters support tho policies of' those who hove attempted to engineer conferences with belligerents •at Stockholm . and Lausanne.- Most of these votes hnve been' given, to men who. had not only done their best to win the war, but liad indicated their intention of : making Germany pay fof the wai\ TheI' total' votes'given to the signatories of the Leeds Soviet Manifesto—all of'whom, by the way', have been defeated—were less than 62.000. Compare these witjt the 145,000 votes given to robust Britishen,, like Durfcan, Irving, Hodge, Roberts, 'i'iliettl Thome, Walkden. Walsh, t Gill, Burker. and Gwynno, and one begins to realise-that very fow votes indeed—peThaps not, all told, more' than a quarter of a million—were cast distinctively in favour of Revolutionary candidates, llnder all the circumstances tho Labour I'artv has done exceptionally- well. . . .'

Policy. "Its task now is to get away from, the, anti-British atmosphere which the friends of Germany have created for it. . The party must also get away from the parish pump typo of politics. It has' concerned itself too much with the task of making fine promises—promises thatimply remuneration' without effort. , It must'fearlessly enunciate all the facts of lite. It is not sufficient to promise men and women maintenance through, noncontributory schemes, to talk to them of. .wealth as if wealth was inexhaustible and no recreation, _ Such propaganda inevitably _ involves those who . are responsible for il: in difficulty . and catastrope. Those who havo sought to make troublo have too freely promised comfort .without effort; life without exertion. These are devices of the politician, not of the statesman, and it is inoumbent upon the Labour Party, to develop statesmen- and to manifest statesmanship. It will be necessary, too, for the party to acquire some clearer knowledge of the area of the British Empire and of the peoples that inhabit it—their languages,_ their reljzions, the. degree of civilisation to which they have attained, and thgir physical and -intellectual* needs. Whethijr tliey like it or not, they are, with the other members of the House, responsible' for the good government of 400,000,000 of people who are outside the British Isles,and unless tliey are nrepared to .study their responsibilities they ought not to enter the British House of Commons. The maintenance of export trade should claim Instant.. attention, because jijwn this maintenance depends the well-being of those who are engaged in industry. A considered inquiry into the- capacities of the world's foo# producing centres and an ordered effort to secure ample sup-' nlies of food ;*t. reasonable,.prices 'shouldbe put forth immediately. The.-party might wisely turn its attention to Hie study of industrial economics; not for the purpose of controversy, but for the purpose of scientific-construction. The war has compelled tho nation' to . pawn its resources. Only the patience and effort which comes with understanding will enable these resources to be redeemed without disaster/' Sooner or later, circumstances will force upon the people the truth concerning the) real .value'of paper, monej which is riot covered l)j intrinsic reserves, and when this day, comes a Labour Party that has familiarised itself with the facts of international trade and finance will be of inestimablo value to the Ernnire.. _ • n In the more purely domestic areas the partv may do miicli to i persuade the youth of 'the nation to take advantage of the educational onnortunities which are now so freely afforded. It could, and ons;ht to, (press.forward practical housing schemes" and to ensure to the aged more humane consideration than is now shown to them. If it is studious and practical and avoids bombast it may, at the next., election, secure the position it ou«ht to have obtained in the contest which, has iust finished. There is no royal' road 'to success for either-parties or men. Work for'the. love of .work, and not,-as a means, of advertisement, tlie condition precedent to success, nic beatitudes give the earth to the mec-k.