In Our Opinion

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 60, 3 May 1912, Page 1

In Our Opinion

DISCONTENT oan brine reaction as well as progress. Keep educating. IJ-LOPLE all'licteil with "blue blood" in their vein, are seldom overburdened with brain?. _ 4 CIAPITALIST!. have a deep-rooted belief ' in the Public so long as tlie Public does not interfere with Capitalism. s rrUIE same people who slud hypocrite X cat tear, over th© los. of life sustained in the Titanic wreck would witness the spectacle of Sew Zealand s wins toafehiiig forth to war ami its horrors with a smile and a cheer. THE way to mate convert.* to a good cans©* i=> to scatter literature. A Hartley pamphlet or a l-'ord pamphlet, judiciously placed, will probably do more to beat religion, and_ militarist* foes than any other method. Try it. ■ ♦ —■ KEEP tho fires going! Let the conscription potato be kept so hot that every succeeding Cabinet and every succeeding Prime .Minister or Minister for Defence will be glad to drop it from a paralysed grasp! _ 1 PASSIVE resistance is one of the few '. things in which one cannot be beaten by another playing the same game, for so noon as that other plays tho samo game, It's like putting two lots of the samo acid into the one jar. There's no more resistance! Just think the possibilities out for yourselves. THE "Hutt and l'etono Chronicle," a fervent supporter of conscription, asks: "Do New Zea landers forget the shooting down of the strikers at Pittsburg by the hired Piiikcrton police, hired by Csu-iicgie and his co-partners:" No, they don't. That is the reason why they oppose conscription. Ilenieniber what .Myers aaid re 'law and order' 1" 4 <TTNDE_- the Conscription Act two fur-;.-U ther jailing* at Auckland took place last week, when 11. t'\ Wise, an able and plucky anti-militarist propagandist, and A. N. Williams, also a prominent member of the Passive Registers' rnion, wero imprisoned. Fearing the growth of public opinion, and doubtless really ashamed of their "defence" methods, the newspapers fcavo censed to chronicle the jailing of ___ti-coii_ci'iptkmists. JI7EITCCT, Labor M.r. for Wangamii, is i-V reported by the press to have said in Auckland that'tho Labor Party was dead against strikes. Why this continual insist- . •iioo of that fact in iii« fare- of the late | Unity Conference <!vc.isions? Wo must all recognise, if wo havo the semblance of common scn-e, that under the competitive liystem industrial wars will Lilc-e place. This attempt to parade tlie Labor Party m a party of industrial peace is she_r ■hypocrisy. If tho Labor group is ever going to"do anything it must be mixed' up in strife and turmoil; it cannot help Itee-lf. Lot ii-. t» honest and admit candidly that one of the /actors for workingclass progress ie strikes. We shouldn't go put of our way to look for strikes; but wo Twmhl be wise to recognise them as inevitable, and prepare accordingly. The caupe at Labor will not be -strengthened by ob■CHT>i»g, per empty platitudes, an obvious-

"laTE attended Amundsen's lecure in Wellington, and heard the intrepid Norwegian tell tho story of his trip south to the Pole. As a lecturer he is* considerably handicapped by his' foreign accent, certain words' proving a greater sou-re* of trouble thuii the snow and ic-e of the Antarctic. He is n modest man, this tall, spare Pole discoverer; never onco throughout the whole of his interesting address was tho pronoun "1" used, it was always "we," "us," and "ours." For which fact Amuwlsort'e audience liked him. It is a story of daring and grim doterimnatioii that this conqueror of tho'frozen south" iia* to tell, and we could not help wondering, aS wo listened to this palpably nervous lecturer, of tlie powers of organisation, plan and system which were enf eased ih that well-fitting cveniiiff dress. i Wo, too, are pi-epaiing our industrial Amundsen..- for the greater organisalioii ; called for in our social life. • • KI_PRESENTATIY..s of the gold-min-ing companies of the Dominion have : m*et in Wai hi and formed a New Zealand (aoldmin* Owners' Association "for the purpose of protecting the. industrial and legislative interests of tho industry." Practically, this organisation- aib-cady existed, tho unanimity with which one com- ! pany backed ono another through thick and thin being ample evidence of that. The formation of this organisation was not hampered in any way through the diverse political or religious views of the mine owners' representatives. They were all employers and their ekss interests '• were the nrsfc tiling to be considered. _, _ AN exchange raises an interr.-.tiiij? point regarding the possibilities of a strong Socialist movement in .New Zealand, it points out that Soei.-i.!ism lias gained the greatest headway in (\\o*e countries where the curse of militarism and conscription weighs upon tlie people; the reason being, so it says, that the only loophole for reaction against that crushing system is the Socialist movement. The samo paper is very pessimistic, residing the future of the Sew Zealand movement, inclining to the opinion flint the workers will bring under their banner all those opposed to conscription. Since the paper in question is anti-Sosh. such a state of affairs would, in its opinion, be disastrous. a A WEIRD organisation is the Institute of Marine Engineers. A correspondent forwards'us a clipping from a New Zealand paper of last year, in which a report of an address by tho retiring secretary (A. R. Hislop)' is given. Says in part this guardian ot his class: "fie had never met a fairer set of men than the employers of engineers in the omiiiion. . . The engineers of New Ze-a--■,l wei-« in a fair position. In. addition to receiving good rates of wages, they had privileges, such as sick pay and annual leave, not enjoyed by the profession elsewhere. . . Included in the membership of tho Institute were all tho principal employers of engineers in New Zealand. They stood in tho unique position that they were tho only society where employers and employees- were banded together for the good of all. Unique position, indeed. The average worker will wonder what the devil the Institute exists at all for. # — TO maintain tho existing amicable relations between employers and employed" is the object of tho newly-re-gistered Wellington Clerks' Union, winch is the outcome of a protest against the inclusion of clerks in tho Wellington Amalgamated Society of Mel-chants' Assistant*, as "wage-earners, manual or cl'ra-i----cal." How long are the quill-drivers to retain their snobocrn-tio uotiuiis that they aro "supi-riah" beings to the toilers who work with their collars and coats eft'? No class of workers is so sweated and tiridorpaid a» the clerks, and yet, be«fn:?f> of tlie genteel nature of their callim., and tho idea that possos'-es them that they do not belong fo tho common 1-*H of wage-slaves-, they havo never allied themselves with tho workers generally i> secure the amelioration of their lot. Wi.en, too, will iihfy realise that there can m-.ver b© harmony between the employe *s and tho employed? Might as well expt-ci the epi-ter and the fly to dwell in amity in the samo web. and the lion and tho l..mb to. fristo and frolic together on fb.> .;.m« oommoDv

AN interesting light is thrown on the effect of bad conditions in tho social life of New Zealand by some statistics compiled by Dr. Mcllraith, and recently published. "Tho marriage rate," says the doctor, "appears a most faithful barometer of commercial prosperity. He shows that in times of commercial activity, when trad© is active and work ■' plentiful, that the Workers are _ more ready to marry than when trade is bad - ami work is scarce. . There is no pimle iin this—it merely points to tho tact mat 1 tho material condition of the people is tho deciding factor in their lives. "Retrenchment schemes and soup-kitchen policies do not induce a high marriage rate according to the tale told by the [index numbers for 1888-89," thus showing that the people of Maoriland, in common with those of every other country, i aro averse to incurring parental responsibility without some guarantee that tood and shelter will be provided for those whoso support is undertaken. A cause for the decrease in the populations of some civilised countries is pointed out by i.he fact here disclosed. Tn France-, where close settlement has been carried out to its utmost extent, and whero the peasants are recognised as being among tho most thrifty folks in tho world; the population is on- tho decrease. Lady Salteun found that the peasant proprietors of Prance, Denmark, Italy, and Savoy arc burdener. vv-.-h mortgages, the interest- of which is equal- to private rent. Thus we see that no matter by what method the workers aro robbed, whether by means of interest, rent or profit, it results in them shrinking- from parental responsibilities. There is one, and only one, euro for tho stationary character of our population, and' that is for the workers to get a fair deal. When they securo that which ip theirs by right— the tail product of their labor—tliero

will not be such' outcries from co-called statesmen to "keep the cradles full." That question will havo settled itself. 1) THE time eeeme to be coming soon when the regimei-tal parsons in "God's Own Country" will be engaged according to their capacity for running shows. There is usually a lot of the actor'a art required by a successful ; preacher, and l thus it may not be a very difficult matter for the black and whites to accommodate themselves to the new conditions. Colonel Allen Bell, officer commanding the Waikato Kegiinent, has been pointing tho finger of scorn at the regimental chaplains' obsolete methods. "The formal service held in a military camp on Sundays is merely a parade productive of unuttered profanity on the part of those who have to attend," says our gallant Colonel. This is pretty rough on the khaki*-clothed followers of the Prince of Peace; but we suspect the Colonel knows what ho is talking about, as later he remarks: "Chaplains should , not be officers, should not hold any military rank whatever, should be organised and t_>ained in the work of running regimental institutes, camp entertainments, and amusements of various kinds." From which we may conclude that tho Colonel knows something. The teaching of diw:ipline necessary in army •life—the object in view behind all the ; training— is to make- the soldiers kill, if 'necessary, without compunction. If after a week's training by the Colonel towards tho object mentioned, a regimental gets up and preaches Christianity, it would tend to neutralise the work of the commanding officer of the previous six days, ,honce the outcry. The chaplains may take nope, however, as Colonel Bell, though olosing tie customary avenues of their employment, has opened others. Soon we may expect to cc© the regimental* ottapl-ine acting as* end-men in the regi-

mental Christy Minstrel troupe, or maybo acting as M.C. to the regimental ' "buck-hops." There is yet hope that the army parson will develop into a j first-class showman* ! __ ♦ i IN dealing with the mine troubles in Britain, Mr. J. T. Paul, in tha j "Otago Daily Times," asked, "Who ar© tho mine-owners?" "Some are widows," said he, "who have invested their all in this branch of industry; some are work- ; ing men or men who have saved money and invested it in the industry. . . . i The Syndicalist proposes to despoil a section of very estimable peoplo of the fruits cf their toil." Poor widows!' Poor working-men! It is very refreshing to sco a "Labor" man advancing 6iich arguments against his own class—arguments, too, which have done such yeoman service iii the mouths of the propertied classes in Britain. Is Mr. Paul a Socialist, or is he not? We have heard the claim advanced that he is. \Y T hich is the "section of very estimable people" who are going to be deprived of the fruits of their toil? Is it th' pore widdys an' orphans or th' pore working-men ? JT. Paul ought to make himself clear on\ this point. We havo heard that severalwidows of working-men havo not been able to acquire many shares in coalmines. Some others, such as the widows of several recently-deceased lords and knights, may, "through tlie fruits of their toil," have been able to acquire Shares, but if Mr. Paul is out to look after their interests, what is ho doing in the Labor Party? And the working-men, too—really, Mr. J. T. Paul, you bring tears to our eyes when you mention these good fellows. We dare bet fourpence there are several working-men. who own thousands of shares in the collieries of Britain! It makes us wonder if J. T. Paul ever heard that there are about a million underground workers in Britain? Surely not, or such a rabid Labor man as ho would have mentioned their claim to some consideration. If these men stopped work altogether "the poor widows and working-men" would not get i much return from their shares in the I coal-mines of Britain. This ought to prompt Mr. Paul to ask himself: Whc produces the coal ? And when in his wisdom he has answered it satisfactorily, h« might put to himself another questionr Who has tho just right to it? Poor widows! Poorer working-men! Poorep** Paul 1 • _ MY! Talk about going tbe entire ani« mile. Here's a whole-hogger for yon. His name is Keith Marshall. Wrote to Wellington "Post" t'other day. His effusion was hailed with rapture in the editorial "holy of holies." Thafß a : moute. Here was a man after the editor's own heart. Two souls with but a single thought. Two minds that work eJS one. T'hou'gnt the punitive provision, of the Defence Act were not drastic enough. He would treat an able-bodied man fee an "undesirable." Who refused to prepar, himself for the defence of the country, He would treat him as socially and polically dead. Ostracise him. Boycott him. Fancy a man with a lithp in his name advocating the boycott! Dreadful! Keith meanth bithneth. He would not bo content with making him ineligible for the old age pension, Government employment, etc. As at present. Not he I No! He would go further. Very much further. He would debar him from the ordinary conveniences enjoyed by "good" citizens. Mark the "good." Make a note on't. Want to know the conveniences? Here you have 'em. Loans under the State Guaranteed Advances to Settlers. Use of Post Office Savings Bank. Delivery of all letters and telegrams. Issue of season and concession tickets on State railways. Etc., etc. A maximis ad min;ima. He would stop 'om all. This would make the life of the recalcitrant so harassing. That he would 6peediJy recoirsidor his views. Say, reader, you've heard of reincarnation? Of course. Well, Keith Marshall is the chap. He ie it! He's the reincarnation of some petty despot of the Dark Ages. Don't you thinK so? At a meeting of the Wellington Typograpl 'oal Union- on April 27, it wa« unanimously decided to mark the jubiloe of tlie inception of the Union by a dinner to be held on July 27. As far aa c»n be ascertained, tho formation of tha Union was accomplished on July 26, 1862, although it was not until 1872 ; (10 years later) that the present organisation came into being, through the lapse of tbe first-mentioned one. »