What the “ Alliance of Labor ’ Means.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 April 1922, Page 2

What the “ Alliance of Labor ’ Means.

BOOSTING THE “TRUST” IDEA. STRANGE POLICY FOR LABOURSpeaking at the- United Coihmercial Travellers’ Association Conference in March 1920, Mr C. P. Skerrett, K.C. said:—“The Labour Unionists arro“gate to themselves the right to com“bine to provide* the whole of the la“lrour necessary in a. a particular in“duttry without aiiy cdtitfol by fciiy “person, government or otherwise. “They, are the first to tell us, and I “think properly so—that all combina“tions of capital which are likely to “interfere with the public good shall “be an object of watchfulness and “care on the part of the government. What is sauce for the goose is sauce “for the gander, and therefore com“binatioiis of labour ottght to be watch “ed as carefully and vigilantly as coni“hi nation of capital.” These, words are /important in view of what is taking place within the labour movement of New Zealand to-day. There has already been formed a, combine iiamod the “Alliance of Labour.” We Have before us now the Constitution of. that body, and a Chart issued by it setting forth what are its direct aims. First of all its Objective is stated as:— (1) —The Organisation of the wageof New Zealand on the lines of class and industry.

(2) —The collective ownership of the means of production and distribution, and control of all industries by the workers who operate them in the interests of the,country.

These objects are clearly of a socialist and syndicalist character beyond question of dispute. To understand fully how this Labour Combine proposes to operate, and what field it intends to cover, we must examine the Chart which is its plan of organisation and means of reaching its socialist goal. PLAN OF LABOUR TRUST. The Chart is headed “The New Zealand Alliance of Labour. The Industrially Organised One Big Union on the lines of class and industry.” The central idea of the plan set forth is certainly an ambitious one. It aims not merely at controlling all the labour iff a iiilrticiiliir industry, but to ho the controller of all the labour in all ho industries of New Zeaand, even including the State and Municipal Service. In this Chart, all the industries and services are arranged in De-. pertinents—such as, all employed in inning, forming a Mining Department : all in education, an Education Department; all in transport a Transport Department; and so covering all industries and services. The organisation of each department will he linked to their own Industrial Council, and all these Industrial Councils linked to. and centred in, one National Industrial Council. This, shortly stated, is a scheme to form a gigantic labour Trust to control the whole of the industrial labour of New Zealand. It entirely ignores all authority of the established Government of the Dominion and the plan,, if given effect to. would set up a complete class dictatorship under a National Council similar to the Russian Commissaires of the Russian Soviet Republic.

JUSTIFYING ONE EVIL WITH ANOTHER.

At first it is hard to understand how Labour Unions, which have Unsparingly condemned the existence of large trusts and combines of Capitalists, can themselves, set about establishing a National Trust, which goes even further in restraint of liberty than any Capitalist Trust in existence.

We find on the hack of the Chart issued hy this “Alliance of Labour” another diagram showing how shipping interests, banks, insurances, steamship companies, coal and ore, tea companies, meat companies and others, are all linked together and seemingly centred in the Cunard Steamship Coy., Ltd. The Alliance case is to present a Capitalist combine and argue that if Capital does it Labour is justified in doing the sarnie. The League holds that the existence of these giant trusts and combines is a distinct danger to be grappled with, and that all the powers of constituted Governments should he urged to check their operating to tli<? disadvantages of the general public. Labour men cannot consistently condemn these Capitalist Trusts as an evil and at the same time establish a Trust more dangerous in principle than snv other, since it aims at controlling the departments of State without any mandate from the electors of the Dominion. T> e explanation of this movement is that certain of the leaders are men imbued with communist ideas who see in the Alliance a means of revolutionising the country independent of the political procedure. These men have one principle which is that “the end justifies the means.” The One Big Union idea is being presented as merely a strengthening of Trades Unionism, and in this way thousands are being deceived into supporting it. At present the Alliance lias a large measure of coutrbl over the Mining, Transport, Meat Industries and, in fact most of the key industries of t! !e Dominion. It is now seeking to capture the Post and Telegraph Service. Our opinion is that the time has arrived when the Government should examine into the matter of whether the designs of this Labour Trust are not really treasonable in character. It surely cannot be that the people of New, Zealand will supinely submit to the Creation of a State within the State and do nothing until the tyranny of the Trust tlwomes so great as to require resort to force as a remedy. When an organisation declares its intention is to control all the industries of New Zealand, whether it is a combine of capital or labour, it ought to he mads an illegal and outlaw combination as speedily as possible. (Contributed hy the N.Z. Welfare League).