GOVERNMENT BY “DIRECT ACTION.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2932, 5 September 1925, Page 3

GOVERNMENT BY “DIRECT ACTION.”

THE QUEENSLAND BAIL UP. What has taken place in Queensland, with reference to the strike of Railway employees, should prove an 'object lesson to the people of all democratic countries as to where the fever of Labour dictatorship under the stimulus of socialist teaching, is driving our communities.

Queensland is supposed to be governed by Parliament elected by the votes of the people, but is it so? We read in the Press reports that the strikers have “demanded a complete surrender of the Government” and from the look of things the Government (calling itself Labour) is disposed to comply with this demand. The men’s case was heard by the Arbitration Court and judgement given. This award was rejected by the Railway men and they say to the Government give us what we demand or we will bail up the transport industry of the country, which, of course, will stop other industries as well. They not only threaten but proceed to put their direct action threat into force by striking work. Who is to govern under such circumstances; the so called Labour Government elected by the people or the self constituted authority of these uncivil servants? At first the elected Government says it is the authority to decide and it announces that it will stand by the Arbitration Court in accordance with its policy. Then the strikers declare that they recognise no authority but their own class and will ignore the Arbitration Court, the Railway Commissioners and all others —the Government must accede to their demands.

The next step we find taken is that the elected Government climbs down. It abdicates in favour of the “direct actionist government.” Instead of acting as a Government responsible to the whole of the people of Queensland the Premier announces to a Conference of Union and party delegates that the Government has no objection to increasing the basic wage all round if -the Unions will only go through the farce of applying to the Arbitration Court for a revision of its previous judgement.

The Australians at least have a sense of humour and we cannot bo surprised that the strike council should suggest to Mr. Gillies that he dispense with the formality of approaching the Court, which means shoulder his own responsibility. Then conies a grievous complaint from another section of Civil'Servants that they are actually being worked 39:} hours per week and they demand that their hours be restored to 36:}. Why they bother over the fractions is somewhat of a puzzle to us. STOP WORK EOR EVERYBODY. The first news we had of this trouble in Queensland was that it arose from the railway men insisting on their right to hold stopwork meetings. When the Railway Commissioners objected to this practice the men decided that if they were not allowed to stop work when they pleased they would stop work altogether. Now, we have the message over the wire that the whole railway system of Queensland is stopped —No! there is one exception; the State President of the Australian Railways’ Union an : nounces that delivery of perishable goods had been carz-ied out. The Union being the governing authority has granted this concession. From one stopwork meeting there has arisen all manner of forced stop work assemblings. Cane growing industry, meat industry, mining industry; and many other minor industries are stopped or stopping. By the introduction of irresponsible Government at least for a time the practice of stopwork meetings is being made general. Certainly no country may continue permanently on such lines.

By the tinije this is published the strike may be over. The elected Premier and Government may have bowed to their masters and have fixed up terms on which the unionists will allow the State to struggle along. Still though the strike must end the viscous anti-democratic policy of Government by direct action willl not, we fear, be repudiated and put aside permanently. There is too much of bolshevik teaching abroad in Queensland to allow anything like . permanent industrial peace until the poison has worked out of the body politic. “Whom the Gods would destroy they first drive mad” and it seems as if the gods of a false llabourism were bent upon destruction by the extent of madness that has been engendered in what are reputedly democratic states. We find the Labour parties declaring that they ;stand for parliamentary government; constitutional political action; change by methods of educational reform on such pleas they gain votes —but note this, whenever the mood takes them they are for stopwork meetings, strikes, uAion control, class dictatorship and the whole programme of what the Communists confirm definitely—Government by direct action. (Contributed by the New Zealand Welfare League).;