INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION AND POLITICAL ACTION.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 29, 22 September 1911, Page 17

INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION AND POLITICAL ACTION.

'-,- , ---. l :: - {.-■<: ?. ~~*". ,-:,, t 'ff ; 1 'Sir, —•Re' i letter r 'by t/ 'lv'lr. J. Towwsend in your issue of July 28, will you grant me-.space for a< few-words? Mr. TownseUd, quotes ■figures to show that the A.W.U.: became a stronger organisation : after- _ going, tai-ithe Arbit ration Court than >it was .'previously. I am not prepared, to contradict him, but would think, jf Mr. ..Townsend understood the.principles ,:..of--- Industrial Unionism, he iwould,bo, one of its best supporters. And asiJ.Jor arbitration, has.it ever occurred to him that the Arbitration '.Court is, .presided over by a man appointed .by ' the. nominees m the employing, class ?. He speaks of -sggn out on strike weeks and m'o£ths, and in thej.'end .being : ..compell*_i to go back at.lthe .' 'employers' tettns, and instances'.scapbiii'g as,,-j one of the causes which ; "help.s to .break, the men.... Let us" ha-ye JThdustriai. Unionism properly, applied, and strikes Would: practically disappear, a*id '~ scabs would cease to be...',.' Imagine every worker in New Zealand,in. a. Union of his calling and all the.; Unions banded together as the 'N.Z'F'.L;, and;, I venture to say that we could dictate our terms to the .employers occasion. Let the then composing one of those unions have' occasion: to 1 report to the Federatioti that they aije working under disagreeable conditions, and the executive of the Federation could then notify tlie employer /employers responsible that' if letters Were not rectified by a given -.jdate,- there would by a general strike^tfiroughout New Zealand. One couldliin.agii.ie the result. To Miy'way of --thinking a strike lasting for. weeks and* months would NOT ensxaer—the mereEthrfeat would be sufficient.. „ .?/>; /. With respect to Mr.:.:. Townsend's final request to the Editor, Mr Hickey and others of'the F.Li" to sail in and fight, at the, ballot-box- I, say for tho sake of our movement, .Don't. I don't belong to the crowd that croaks the refrain "The time's not ripe." The time is.ripe,, and ..has been so ever since/ the evils of the competitive system manifested themselves. But ono thifg at a time. Let us complete our industrial first, and th«n. we will be able to consider tlie advisability of political action, and h/Me our. hands free "to ! devise a plan of action .whereby; we could capture th 4 Iffflrliamentafy machine, for it is also .'/-ecessary in'order toY bring about th« of our hopes. I went to the local hall on Sunday, 6th, ana fceard Mr. Hickey, who is announced to stand for Ohinemuri, give an address. I; wish him luck. Rut unti. we are sufficiently organised to run several Paddy Hiokeys ; in ever constituency in New Zealand, I shall not attach much importance to Labor in politics. Instead of putting men of our class into Parliament, one and two at a time, let us wait and work until we are in A the position to swamp the Government by the strength of our numbers. To place working-class candidates in Parliament in ones and twes is liable to render them weary at tkeir inability to accomplish anything **S; value to their class, and exposes tK>m to the danger of being '"won over."—l am, etc., JOHN AITKEN. Karangahake, Aug; '8.