“UNION DESPOTISM AND TYRANNY.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4534, 22 November 1930, Page 3

“UNION DESPOTISM AND TYRANNY.”

ADDRESS BY MR. E. G

MARTIN,

There was a large attendance in the. Royal Theatre on Thursday evening to hear Mr. E. G. Martin’s address' entitled “Union Despotism and Tyranny,” the attendance being estimated at oyer 150 for the most part unemployed Hnxworkers.

Mr. Malrtin asked the meeting to elect its own chairman and Mr. .J. K. Hornlhlow was unanimously voted t.<> this position. In talking the chair Mr: Hornblow expressed the hope that the speaker would he impersonal in his remarks and that, the meeting would give him a fair henlring which

Eoxton audiences were in the habit of according any person who got on the public platform to express his views (in any subject.

Mr. Martin said that no doubt his audienice was familiar with the subject lie was about to deal with op account of the recent newspaper correspondence. He said he did not mind meeting a man fairly and squarely at any time and when lie threw out THE OITA LLENGE to Mr. P. T. Robinson to meet him on the public platform and discuss the present position in regard to the hemp industry and unemployment he thought that the challenge would be accepted in the manner in which the speaker gave it. Instead, however, the Executive of the Union had met at Shannon last Saturday and there HA TCHED OUT A TAT TEE SCHEME whereby the speaker was to pro.vide the musical instruments on which a certain section of the community was to play a tunc. Mr. Robinson’s reply to the challenge contained insulting remarks levelled against some of the leading citizens of Eoxton and it had been easy to regd the inference implied.. The. meeting would have been one in which personalities only would have been indulged in. The Union secretary was no doubt good at that, and -so also had been the speaker at one time, but he had now learnt that personalities led nowhere except to trouble. Air. Robinson in accepting the challenge also stipulated that- the audience should choosb its chairman land

there lay the little scheme hatched out by the Executive. Mr. Robin - son, if lie had been accorded sufficient support, would have come to

Eoxton and selected a chairman from out of the meeting knowing full well that Eoxton always elected a chairman from amongst its leading citizens, usually the Mayor. Mr. Robinson expressly debarred both Mr. Perreau and Mir. Hornblow from taking the chair and had he not made this stipulation the meeting would have been held. He further stipulated that the onus should be on the speaker in regard to the expense in connection with the debate, .but after all the hatching that had gone on he did not feel disposed 'to provide a l£ t joy night” at his -own expense. He further added that no charge should be made for admission which the speaker considered was a personal insult. He had spoken in many places and had never made a charge for admission yet. ■Under those conditions the speaker said, lie would not be seen on the public platform with Mr. Robinson: That gentleman' had called the speaker everything but a Christian through the press, but he thought that All - . Robinson should la? the last man to east aspersions :it any man. COST OE PRODUCTION. Eoxton was the battleground in connection with the present trouble, said Air. Martin, not Shannon. Eoxton .was confronted with labour disabilities that. Shannon was not. Mr. Robinson had stated that £l2 per ton should cover labour expenses for a ton of fibre. That statement had been made to mislead the public, and the public of the outside, towns , did not know

the true position with regard to

Koxtonj. At 'Shannon fiax could be delivered to the stripper at a cost of 11/- per ton at the time Mr. Robinson made his statement, but at Eoxton the position was very different. Here the millers had to

pay 11/- per ton royalty alone and it took nine tons of flax to produce a ton of libre. On top of that tliey had 'to pay cutting:, tramming, handling and river freight charges. At the time Mr. itohinson made his statement the speaker , challenged him through the papers that it was not correct, hut he had never contradicted him. To pay standard wages under the present circumstances the millers would be giving away £3 per ton for the privilege of losing money. THE SUSPENSION OE THE AYVAItD. Mi-, Robinson had stated that the resolution in regard to the suspension of the Award had been passed at a meeting of liaxmiilers and haxmill employees, but they all . knew that that statement was not correct and that there had not been a miller present when the re- • solution had been carried. Wbat Mr. Robinson desired to say was that the millers and men were hand in glove over the matter but the meeting had been called by men

who were feeling the pinch. Certainly no man could feel the pinch at

m PER- WEEK AN!D A SORT JOB in Palmerston North nor could any man hold down six secretarial jobs and feel the pinch. The figures quoted by Mr. liobiuson had (been taken from the Seifert Co’s, balance-sheet and the speaker had asked where Mr. Kobinson had obtained his- copy. It was talked on the streets of Poxton that the balance-sheet had

come from the Arbitration Court in Palmerston North, but that was as far as the speaker would go because lie knew that any statements he made that night would he mutilated and mangled before reaching .Palmerston North the following morning. He did not refer to the Press but there was another source of broadcast going on but the speaker was going to put the muzzle on this certain individual very soon. “TYRANNY.” When the* price of fibre wontdown, said.. Mr. Martin, and the men were put out of work because the millers couldn’t pay the wages Mr. Robinson had asked io see their books. Did any man who was making a purchase of beer or matches demand to see the retailers’ books? Would Mr. Robinson allow the speaker to look through the books of the Association? Many members of the Union had never seen a copy of the Union balance-sheet nor would they until thev pressed for it. He had seen WANT AND POVERTY UNDER UNION RULE

and Mr. Robinson’s letter was merely dust to be thrown in the eyes of the Eoxton men to bring them ujp as personal enemies of the millers. There were certainly one or two who deserved a dressing down, but when an industry was in such a state as the hemp industry was and the millers had stated that- they would lav tlieir cards on the table, except for eliminating the secretary, the men should have every right to meet them. Instead however, it appeared as if all the business was CUT AND DRIED AT SHANNON by.one or two who had pulled the strings.

Air. Robinson had stated that the meeting recently held in Eoxton bad been semi-secret. He questioned whether there could he a more secret meeting than that of the Union Ekeeutivo held last Saturday at iShaunou and he also questioned whether any such meeting had ever been held in a registered hall. At Saturday’s meeting a resolution had been passed to the effect that a ballot be taken on Ihe suspension of the A ward question and that a meeting he held in I'oxton on Saturday at which unfinancial members would be able to look on. He knew of some memhors who would attend that meeting in fear and trembling of, receiving a dressing down. Why? Wins not every man entitled to express his opinions? Tf the cause was just surely he should be able to express those opinions whether lie was financial or not. The main thing the Executive would do on Saturday would he to try and ram down the throats of the men the decisions arrived at at the execulivo meeting last Saturday. The Executive had NO RIGHT TO DICTATE TO MEMBER'S.

It was not done in other organisations. Surely the men were entitled to a. say even if they were unlinancial. They were in the unfortunate position that they could not 'keep their Union dues paid up but. whose was the blame? It lay in the leadership. Instead of that leadership being- democratic ami open minded it had led the men info the wilderness in such a- manner that they were now not able to earn as much as a crust of bread; The highest pay available under the Eoxton Borough relief work was 12/- per week. Surely A GLORIOUS EXAMPLE OE ‘ LEA DERSIHP.

IT any man says lie refuses to work for wages less than 14/- per day how does he justify working bn relief work in the borough at VI/- a week? It was ridiculous and hard to bottom that man’s mentality. Tie had met flax workers- whose constant wage to-day was (>/- per day. Another was working for 10/- a week and food on a farm, (>/- and 7/- a. day being quite common. Why they accepted such wages the speaker did not know because they were creating breaches of the general labourers award which stipulated that they must receive 1/9 an hour. He, with others, was working for the Miuiawalu County Council. That body had found it necessary to reduce the employees lime by a. week a , month. That meant they were receiving 30/- a day and according to the leading light in the Flaxwoiikevs’ Union I hoy should all line up and say to the County Council, “If you don’t give us the full month we won’t take anything.” Tf the men in the mills at Pox to n had pulled together and broken away from the DOMIINEERENC ATTITUDE

of those in the Shannon district tliey would have .been better oil’ to-day. They could have set up their owu committee anil worked according to the conditions prevailing in Poxton. It was ridiculous to compare b’oxton with Shannon. He couldn’t understand why the Union, secretary kept on quoting Shannon unless it was because he had a bal-ance-sheet which referred to that particular part of the district and didn’t know what it was; whether it was a Jules Verne or bedtime story. There was a lot of things lie didn’t know about that balancesheet but perhaps one day he would walke up. Poxton was in the unfortunate position that iit was not able to break away because it was not .financial and could not hope to swamp the crowd that would be brought over to the meeting. Two years ago when there was a long period of idleness these men came over to Poxton and told the local men not to accept a reduction in wages. The secretary said there would ;be no reduction in wages, but the Shannon t men / ('Concluded on*,page 1).