The Truth About the Lock-out at Reefton.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 69, 5 July 1912, Page 5

The Truth About the Lock-out at Reefton.

STILL OUT. Tho miners at Rcefton are still out against the insidious attempt of tho local mining magnates to enforoo cortditions of labor menacing life and limb. Tho men woro lockedniut. Now, they are determined to> remain out of the- mines till tho conditions to prevail underground' arc in keeping, with common, decency and safety. If the management imagined at the outset, that tho servility of the unfortunate black or yellow miner of the Rand was characteristic of the. white* miner of Now Zealand it is about time the fallacy had exploded and' sense had penetrated tho skiilta of officialdom. GROSS MISREPRESENTATION. It is very peculiar and amusing how the newspapers and tho capitalist parties interested endeavor to create a hostilo opinion against tho Reef ton men. Wo are assured that the lockcdout men wero misled by a few of the "red-tio brigade." What the color of ono's tie has to do with the point at issue it is difficult to imagine. If a tie, why not a shirt or sox or so onP The real reason, however, is that it is heped by mouthing of "red ties" to convey the impression that those "awful Socialists" were wholly responsible for the trouble, and that in tho absence of these Socialists there would have been no trouble. If such were the case it would reflect extreme credit upon those Socialists. Unfortunately, however, it is not so. Among those affected aro men who vote tho Liberal or Tory ticket just as consistently as their bosses —remarkable phenomena, but true. NOT A QUESTION OF POLITICS. It is not a question of politics at all, so why drag, or rather attempt to drag, in tho Socialist Party? Why not, with equal justice, trot out the Liberal Party? Tho Reef ten men aro lockcd-out because thoy refused to perform work single-handed which meant grave danger to life and limb. That is the solo reason. Despite what the Evans person or anyone else may say to the contrary, tho whole issue is sum-med-up in those few words. The Rcefton men are not bothering their heads over much about politics or tho color of one's tie at tho present moment. What they are bothering about is the cruel and crafty attempt of an unscrupulous company to blast their lives and cripple their limbs unduly in order that ihe dividends of absentee scrip-holders may be enhanced. Let the impetuous' South African youth grasp that fact, and he will display a little more business acumen in dealing wilh men in the future. DIVIDENDS ARE THE THINC. What matter though the lives and homes of a few fool miners arc blasted so long as a youthful superintendent can add lustre to his name by demonstrating to the board of directors his ability to wring more profits from the bodies of his wage-slaves than could his predecessors? And what caro tho id',; parasites who grab tho dividends how those dividends aro obtained? Money, and yet more money, to spend in fin

gratification of desires is what tho shareholders want. What does it mat- ' tor to them if some blanky miner m Now Zealand has his lungs cut out &r , his head split open in tho process? , What does it matter if a home is left husbandless or fatherless so long n» ' the "blawsted colonies" continue to pay , toll in the form of dividends, dividends, and dividends yet again? t (REFUSAL TO BE SERVILE TOOLS. The Reef ton men, however, refuse to 'be exploited to tho extent the bosses wish. They draw the line at that. Notwithstanding the desire tho boodlegrabbers have of expending the miner's energy by making him face death i and disaster under any circumstances, , the miner refuses, firmly but resolute* ' ly, to play tho part of a catspaw to that extent. The miner knows that the scourge known as miners' complaint is most prevalent in the Reefton district. He knows that tho deep mines of the field, with their unsafe stopes, impure air, and quartz duet, would be veritable death-traps if the [ mine-owners were allowed to have their own way on the question at issue. The miner is just as anxious to provide for those dependent upon him as the next, and for that very reason refuses to sacrifice the life which makes possibloth© well-being of his loved ones. THE MEN ARE SOLID. The pleasing feature of the Reefton struggle is the solidarity of the men. All differences have been dropped in tho face of a common danger, and tho men are whole-heartedly united in their determination to refuse to allow a system to be introduced that would mean grievous injury to health and safety. If the men refuse to allow themselves to be browbeaten or influenced by interested parties, they must win. The shareholders will give way rather than see dividends disappear altogether. The smug complacency with which they would seize upon increased dividends in the event of tho men's defeat will only be exceeded by the resigned way in which they will bow to the inevitable! And 'tis good to teacli the wealthy the blessings of resigning to the inevitable. WAIHI AND REEFTON. Despite attempts made to belittle one dispute and exalt tho other, we havo got to recognise that they aro practically one and the same. Tho same organisation and tho same officials are standing together behind both the Waihi and Reefton disputes. The Mine-owners' Association is behind tho Waihi dispute. It is behind the Reefton dispute too. The Employers' Federation is behind tho Waihi dispute. It is behind tho Reefton dispute too Shareholders in the Waihi Company aro also shareholders in the Consolidated Company. They aro behind tho organisations back of the bosses in both disputes, Tlioso who want workingclass defeat at Reefton want workingclass defeat at Waihi. Those who endeavor to divide tho issues in either place aro tho workers' enemies. Both issues aro tlie same. In both instances tho enemy is one and tho same. Jo that one enemy let our ranks bo aa united as the enemies'.