THE Kaipara Advertiser, AND WAITEMATA CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, NOV 6, 1912.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 6 November 1912, Page 2

THE Kaipara Advertiser, AND WAITEMATA CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, NOV 6, 1912.

WAIHI. THE trouble at the mines is settling itself fast and in a manner convincing of many things. Among these are the coming end of a very foolish episode, and the demonstration of the shallowness of the politicians who made a wild break in favour of the strikers one day in their places in Parliament during the week. If these men and some others who ought to know better, were to join s in demanding the suppresion of the right of strike altogether, the days of labour and capital would henceforth be pleasant in the land. Timidity and shallowness alone i resist the logic of events which has long demonstrated that the I strike is not only the most illogical of tyrannies but also the most invariable speller of diaster to the worker. It is o;nly the man who cannot see beyond his nose and who is afraid to open his eyes who fails to understand that the good sense -of labour and capital alike is against general movements of unreason. These take shelter in panic-striken imagination of facts —they see a unanimous desire on the part of labour to strike for the absurd, and an equally unanimous notion on the other side for " looking out" men into submission to the unreasonable. Once committed to their untenable lines they make much of every error of the Arbitration Court, forgetting quite that whatever they may say against that court applies to all other courts. But nobody wants to abolish the courts of law because sometimes a poor devil is sent to gaol for the crime, committed by another. Fortunately the time has come when the power of " paralysing " is understood well to be at a discount. The Huntly owners instead of falling down to grovel before a phantom, took the rebels in their mine who were misguided to give support to a thing so senseless as the Waihi strike, took them by the throat, daring the worst. The phantom (Semple and Co) thereupon, instead of vomiting fire and brimstone to destroy the. world, advised the men to take it lying down because there would not be enough strike pay to go round. This the phantom chooses to call " maintaining the fight." What of the Government ? If its Arbitration Bill does not abolish the strike it will be a disgraced Goverment.