PLAIN TALK TO FARMERS.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 60, 3 May 1912, Page 14

PLAIN TALK TO FARMERS.

Sir, —In meditating on the Auckland trouble and tho threat of scabbing from the "backbone" of tho country, tho following incident has como to my mind :—■ ' The cook at a certain sheep station! in Victoria had instructions not to scrvft any more rations to swagmen.! Not lont*; after this decree had been issued, tTiero turned up at tho station a burly old sundowner with tho usual request for rations, in answer to which the aforementioned orders were communicated to him. "Who gave thoso orders?" retorted the "swaggio." "The missus," was tiho reply. Tho grass being long and dry, ho had an effective weapon. Said the offscouring of tho earth: "You tell tho missus Bryant and May ain't dead yet." Needless to say, this injunction had tho desired effect. Rations were turned on galore, and also a precedent was established that thereafter, no swngman bo refused the pannikin, of flour, tea, sugar, and meat, plus a piece of brownie. (Shearers will understand.) Now, Sir, it has occurred to mc that the "backbone" of the country would do well to remember that there may bo just such spirits as tho one quoted in this country. What would C. J. Parr and his satellites care if the cockies lost all their inflammable material, so long as they got thoir turn served and the interests of capitalism conserved? Just a word as to my motive in penning these lines. It is not that I feel embittered towards our misguided or misinformed brethren, for we are brethren having an affinity of interest. Wo are preyed upon, directly or indirectly, by the'ono common enemy, who rob us at the point of production, and set us at each other's throats in war timo and in industrial strife, yea, c'en in peaceful times, with their rarbanus competitive system. I am sure it is just a matter of being led out of the mazes that havo kept us in thrall and befogged us so long, of understanding each other and being understood, when wo will unite as brethren under ono banner to insist tho exploitation by the pan-iitical Maternity of our poor bo.viHored and down-trodden class. I for ono would bo lomj soiry that tho cockios should liavr! to learn the lesson of loyalty to their class by stringent reasons, but thoso lessons have t" lo learnt soonor. or later jf r , o i. by careful tuition and education, by some other means. j It does not tako a very great stretch i of the imagination or a great gift of! seership to discern the signs of the | times. Mankind has suffered tho injus-j tices of traitorship, tho oppression and J robbery of tho bandit class, until it is well-nigh ready to burst forth into a thousand revolts. Rather than this spirit being engendered by and confined to a few agitators, it is tho very rovorso. As far as I have road and observed in regard to the Labor movement, the present-day Labor leaders are like Paul at Athens, inasmuch as they can "scarce restrain the people." Tlie uneducated, down-trodden mass of starving, suffering humanity has diagnosed tho cause of its ills in capitalism, and tho world o'er the people aro growing ever more determined and united in their purpose to put an end to the reign of capitalism and, so doing, sweep away all its attendant evils. And the farmers must bo enlisted in the ranks. —Yours, etc, Waihi. SOLIDARITY.