The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1919. AN ATTACK ON THE COMMUNITY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 30, 30 October 1919, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1919. AN ATTACK ON THE COMMUNITY

The action of the local waterside workers in holding up cargoes of coal from Newcastle brings to a head a question that cannot be answered too soon or too definitely. Namely, whether this country is to be ruled by its people, through their elected representatives or by any irresponsible and lawless group that cares to resort to stand-and-deliver tactics. The nature of the attack made upon the community by tho watersiders is not in any respect in doubt. Their refusal to work Australian coal cargoes is inspired by a desire to help the miners of tho Dominion who have- refused every offer that would mean submitting their claims to an impartial tribunal, and are now attempting to enforce_ them by "going slow." The watersiders who are holding up the work of the local port, and tho miners who are systematically restricting output in nearly every mine in the Dominion, arc making concerted moves in the same game—a game in which the general community is intended to plav the part of submissive victim. The arrogance of these wharf labourers-by whom tho latest move is made is as astonishing as •fchnir repudiation of all.duty and obligation to the rest of the population, including their fellow-workers. They have indulged at times in action that would have been funny if it had not entailed such a brazen attack on public rights. Until very recently, for instance, they were imposing thoir own quarantine restrictions on ships coming to this country from Australia. Scorning the idea, of leaving such matters to qualified experts, they decided that it lay with them to provent a recurrence of the influenza epidemic, and laid it down that no ship must discharge cargo here until a given number of days after she had left tho Commonwealth. They persisted solemnly in this farce long after the official quarantine restrictions had been so far relaxed that passengers on a cleiin ship were allowed to walk ashore aa soon as she berthed. An admirable illustration was thus afforded of the mingled arrogance and stupidity with which the policy of the AVn.tersidc Workers' Union is directed. These qualities are very much in evidence in. the latest act of the watersiders, but this act amounts to something worse than the staging of an annoying and somewhat expensive farce. In vj'ew of the acute shortage of coal for household and muninipol purnoses, for industries, and for vital transport services, the refusal of the watersiders to unload the coal cargoes which have arrived from Newcastle represents such an attack upon the community as no individual exploiter would dare to attsmpt. The people who have too lon<? been familiar v/ith the spectacle of empty or all but. emptv coal-bins, and who have suffered nil the hardshins and deprivations arising from the railway cut and the hampering of industry, are well placed to weigh the merits r>E the duration raised. No father or mother of a family, at oil events, needs to be told how far the wntersido workers are justified in holding br.ck the coal which is nfcdrd in order that men may have steadv employment, and women and children the comfort that is their elementary right. The position is in no way altered or complicalnd by looking beyond tho watersidi-i's to the miners with whose cans; , , they have ;i.!li«d tliemsclvrs. Tho csscnf-ial facts about the rninprs am that they were highly paid before the war, that their wages were largely increased during the war, anil that though they are lvnv offered a further increase which would more than balance tho incrensed cost of living for the. whol* war period, they have flatly refused to consider a fair settlement. The miners are standing out for extravagant concessions they could not extort wjthout preying upon fellow-wnvkers by no means as well paid, and the "direct action" of the watorsiders \s intended to assist the miners in effecting this extortion. s

It is much less difficult to find r r«nWy for this outrageous Fsfati> of , n ffnirs than to account foi , the f; that it. was'nevmittcd to .-irisc. All (hat is nw.lnd to put (he wnf«vsid'ii'H, thn miner;-;, and any who mav be of like mind with them in l'"'ir proper place is a. solid dn<w.nin!ition on t!i" pj'rl; of f-he bulk of 1.-hs people of the Dominion to stand im fnr th"'r viiThfos and lihr"'(-.ipp. A Hear dividinc; ! ; nn nuisf; b' , drawn between thnso who fire for the oommnnity and those who are apainat i>, bofcweon those who uphold fair (]Ruling and those who aiv intent only on exploitation. This line certainly dons »ofc run between organised Labour and the rest of the community. On the contrary, the worst enemies of organised Labour arc tho men who inspire such tactics as the miners and the walersidors have adopted. Acute industrial warfare is understandable, and may serve a, purpose in countries where capitalists and employers arc doing everything they can to limit concessions to Labour. In New Zealand such conditions do not exist. In this particular case the minors, for whom the watcrsiders arc acting, are offe.vfld freely everythinp , they have a right to demand. The general industrial nosition and the possibilities it holds ave fairly stjiN'd in the veiMiW of the New Zcil'ind Employers' Federation, which was nresßiiled at the annual meeting of that b" rl v yesterday. Tho great majority nf employers in tliis i Dominion aro undoubtedly anxious to

meet employees in a. conciliatory spirit, and, as far as possible, pay hig-h wagos, and iniprovo conditions of work. Given tho national prosperity which would inevitably ensue if there were a cessation of industrial disputes for the next two wars, and labour settled down to really .-■!-«ul,y and continuous production, each man giving bis best, much might lie achieved. At present, however, the main idea of the direct) actionist leaders is to move .steadily from industry Id industry, insisting iipou extreme demands, anil only waiving them when threats of strikes and the. actual trial of "go-slow" lactics liavc failed. "No sooner is trouble in one industry settled, than it spvinss up m another. Any attempt of employcm to introduce profit-sharing or cooperation is strictly tabooed. Action ia always inspired by a motive of some kind. What is Iho motive that induces a section pi the Labour leaders oE the Dominion to do their utmost (o divert Labour from the plain line of advancement that is open before it—the manifest opportunity of making co-operation in industry the means of establishing ever-improving industrial and social conditions—and to create instead a state of constant turmoil and unrest, in which Labour of necessity reaps a relatively poor rnwnrd'? Even the members of "niilit.;mt'; unions profit comparatively little by their exploitation of fellovV'orker's less fortunately placed, fi'or Labour as a whole, industrial turmoil, in the conditions which wist in New Zealand, is a dead loss of benefits within easy reach. Any Euggestion that such tactics as the miners and watersiders have adopted are calculated to advance the interests of Labour is on the fncr of it untrue. In the extent to which they develop, such tactics impair and undermine national prosnority, and more especially the welfare and prosperity of wage-earners and their families. These arc matters which well deserve the consideration of all thoughtful trade unionists. Giving such consideration they will be able to form no other conclusion than that the deadliest and most insidious enemies of Labour in this country are to be found within its own ranks. The action of the miners and watei'siders concerns the whole population, however, and involves an intolerable violation of its rights. The remedy is to be found in the determined and uncompromising, opposition of all thr; forces of law and order to the attempted tyranny and exploitation of these "direct actionists." As the Pijijib Minister w'k\ when ho spoke in the House of Representatives yesterday on behalf of the Government: "We have not to nssortiilic right of the people , of tin's country to govern rhe. country in their own way." The flovernment will mnke no mistoki , if it nets firml,' in the spirit of this declaration. Failinn; tli* , rirnmnfc submission o.f the .i"dust''iii,l direct action Ms, its manifest d»ty is to use all thn reFourr.m of t'l.e State in citsluiit and defeati"!!; their indofensi , ))' 1 attack unon the interest l ; and welfare of the eencral nopulation.