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Hokitika Guardian, 28 January 1921, Page 2

This week Mr John Store} 7 , Premier of New South Wales, sailed for England on an important financial mission, the

principal reasons fov which are outlined in the following statement the Labor Premier lately issued to the press: “I have remained passive during the last few days, and have carefully perused the criticism flowing in from the usual quarters. It cannot be said that it is all hostile, or wanting in sympathy. But the element of fair play and patriotism is scanty. Theg-o have been, almost from the outset of my ministerial career a group of critics who have forgotten entirely that they are Australians. Their sole aim in life regardless of what harm may befall the State as a result of their methods of attack, is to put the Labour Government out, arid put a Conservative Government in. So long as that can be done nothing else matters—not even the financial embarrassment of the State. They are prepared to precipitate a financial crisis, with all its attendant danger and misery, if by so doing they can make it impossible for a Labour Government to carry on. I say this advisedly and with regret. Nothing is to be gained by mincing worlds. To extremists who profess to be attached to the Labour movement T have spoken just as plainly. But those extremists, whose sole desire is to pull down the whole social fabric in a welter of blood, are not one hit worse than the unpatriotic Conservatives who would sow the seeds of revolution. The one extremist is merely paving the way for the other. The nearest (road to chaos and disorder is the way of financial panic. And financial panic can easily lie reached if the. defamation of the .State is only persisted in long enough. It, is to neutralise these defamatory statements, and put the position of New gouth Wales in its true perspective, that I am going to London. Had it not been for the remorseless campaign of mendacity and misrepresentation by people who know better, it would not he necessary for me to go to London at all. The Acting Agent-Gen-eral 'has worked manfully* and well to nail the lies which have been circulated about this State and its Government in London. But he has not the authority to speak which the head of the State possesses; and it is the realisation of this important fact which has prompted Sir Timothy Coghlan urgently to request my presence to backup his efforts.”

The cable has announced the final collapse of the Stewards' strike, a consummation which has lieen in the air for the past fortnight. For some time past tho Union has been short of funds, and there were signs of disintegration amongst members. The central reason however was the determination of the owners to fight the matter out to a finish, a rule which will b'e generally observed in the future most likely where associated interests are attacked in an extreme way hv hostile labor organisations. Tn Sydney a week or so ago the shipowners gave a number of instances of the ha missing which the industry had been subjected to during the past year. Recently the Seamen’s Union brought into force a scheme known as “Job control.” This aims at giving the men on the job power to secure whatever concessions - they desire independently of the union. The effect of tin’s is that by isolated stoppages the members of the union are able to secure concessions which they could not otherwise legally secure, whilst the union, officially disclaiming responsibility, is able to assist actively by placing an embargo against the filling of the vacant jiobs. By these methods different steamers have been held up all over A ustralia and concessions obtained. These immediately they were secured, became precedents for other ships, and thus owners were forced to grant them on all their vessels. The system of job control reached its zenith just prior to the stewards’ strike, when the crew of the Wyreenm went oh strike because their demand for tho same bill of fare as supplied to the first-class passengers was refused. Tn order to deal with this sort of thing the owners met and decided to lay up every ship upon which a strike occurred. The ( stewards, it was pointed out by the owners, were granted practically all they asked for, but the spirit prompting the concessions by the owners was mistaken for weakness, and an endeavour was then made to stampede them. “Our fight ” an owner said, “is not against the stewards so much as against the extremists in their midst. These men walked off the ships just when a conference was io Tie held to discuss their claims. It was by the same irresponsible action of extremists that the general strike of 1917 was caused and for us to negotiate with these men would simply mean postponing the inevitable. Whilst the leaders of a policy of direct action are in control of a union, industrial peace is impossible. We have evidence ih it the majority of the members of the .Stewalrds/ Union weko against the strike, and are now in favour of an unconditional return to work. They are inarticulate however, and lack the leadership of a strong rnan.” Probably thi,s condition of ill-judged domination is general, and it is plain it is destined to seriously disparage unionism as now conducted to the great detriment of what should be a useful organisation.