AROUND N. Z.

Industrial Unionist, Volume 1, Issue 9, 1 October 1913, Page 4

AROUND N. Z.

ORGANISER’S NOTES

At the beginning of August I arrived in Wellington on an organising tour. There is a good deal of I.W.W. men kicking around, but owing to things being mixed between the S.D.P. and the Socialist Party I thought it advisable to leave the formation of a Local until my return from the West Coast. With the help of our anarchist friend and comrade P. Josephs, and the cooperation of many rebels, I had 11 propaganda meetings in 14 days. Which isn’t bad for Windy Wellington. The Socialist Party, who are a bunch of real undiluted I.W. Wites, lent me their hall for a Sunday night meeting, which was very well attended. 1 spoke on the folloAving Sunday at Dixon Street. Several meetings were held at the Post Office Square during lunch hours, and conducted by F.W.’s Dowdall and Harding.

Another meeting was started in the Watersiders’ Room, but Brass Buttons showed me the door, and I finished on the piles down below, and talked Direct Action to the wharfies. I got a very good hearing, and sold a lot of literature. Wellington will be a militant place for an I.W.W. Local here in the near future. The I.W.W. is the only hope. On the 19th I caught the Mararoa for Christchurch.

A day later I was introduced to the P.R. Union, who are a very live organisation, print their own paper, the little “Repeal,” I had the pleasure of addressing them and of speaking from their platform in Cathedral Square on Anti-militarism. They have some budding orators with long jail and detention records, and they will be great adjuncts to the movement of the proletarian.

After being in the Holy City for a while I called a meeting to form a Local. About 14 turned up at the initial attempt. They formed themselves into a propaganda Local, with Ernie Rear as secretary-treasurer. They have held three business meetings, and now they have quarters in 180 • Castel Street, over the U.S.S. Offices. They have a nice room, and nicely furnished, and all rebels peregrinating are requested to call in and introduce themselves.

The Local has some energetic members who are alive, and I have great hopes of a real militant bunch operating in the Holy City for Industrial Unionism.

On the first Saturday in September, Syd Kingsford and I held an I.W.W. meeting at the Clock Tower, "at 8 p.m., and got our names taken for obstruction. We had a good crowd, and on the 17th we had the heartfelt pleasure of parading before Lance-Corporal McKinnon, a portly important person, with a dread of “Labor agitators,’* and Air. T. A. Bailey, S.M. We, of course, pleaded “Not guilty,” whereupon the important lance-corporal grunted something unintelligible for a few minutes, After which three sergeants testified to WMaig our monakers, and warning us the meeting that we were

naughty. After which I went in the box and told my little tale about being unaware of causing an obstruction. Thereupon the padded arrangement sprang up and down like a blankv marionette. After that T.A.B. decided we Avere guilty, and fined us 10/- and 7/- costs.

1 spoke in the Square on Sunday afternoon, and made the acquaintance of Orlando, and abbreviated gentleman with a violent thirst, who recently arrived from Bealay, via London. He started to embrace my legs when I was on the box, and muttered “ somefing abaht the loife ’a stowker.”

Generally things are moving for I.W.Wism in N.Z. We will have half-a-dozen Locals by Christmas, the tendency is all in our direction. The politicians are losing their grip, and the feeling is towards the repudiation entirely of nose counting, and the advocacy of Direct Action, Sabotage, and Revolutionary Unionism. Four fellow-workers arrived from Broken Hill, on their way to Waiuta. They tell me that the -I.W.W. is very strong on the Barrier, that the pollys are losing ground, and that Jack King is .accomplish ing great works. In Christchurch I also met a striker from Lawrence, and I had a very interestingconversation with him. I am writing this at Grpymouth, and to-morrow my tour of a month begins on the Coast, the home of the fighters. This will be a real IA X 7 W. country. Keep the old banner _ a boys, we the dope. Let’s have a fighting organisation, and \ve’ll get somewhere. The workers are sick of mirages, they Avant the substance.

Long live the One Big Union and the General Strike.

Tom Barker, Organiser