BOOKLAND and Thereabout

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 82, 4 October 1912, Page 8

BOOKLAND and Thereabout

SYNDICALISM.

«■ BY TWO Or ITS ABLEST THEORETICIANS, COON FOR AND F. M. ATMNSON, IN "THE ENGLISH RFVIEW." (Concluded.) One of the greatest syndicalist associations in the world is tho Industrial Union of Italian Railwaymen, inrinding practically all tho employees of the State railways , except the higher officials. Still fnr from being a perfect organisation, faced w : tli many internal problems that must be solved beforo it realises its whole power, it is even now a strong and intelligent factor in the life of the country. We cannot in the Jare&ent article attempt more than a very slight indication of its complex »ctivit;»" and the important part- it plays in tho Italy of to-day. By its method of Organising according ±o the technical nature of each man's occupation, while the problems of the whole service are kept , before thy :■ md of every member and his opinion and vote called for on each, the men are educated to a keen interest in everything that concerns the whole work of the railways. That they have arrived at a considerable degree of success is proved by L he fact that, conscious of their increased collective efficiency and ther set before themselves the xevolutiorary aim — "the railways for the railway men."

T. : iis is not simply a vague syndicalist war cry, but is inspired by the actual conditions of the. railway system. The. State in 1903 took ov..r the railways at a great price, proposing to give better and cheaper service, but the technical incompetence of the bureaucratic administration has demoralised the system and brought about a growing yearly deficit in the returns.

Innumerable sinecures and well-paid offices w-are established but the State neglected the technical side and with increased financial burden came greater confusion in the working.

On the other hand, through, their organisation, the workers have been eagerly learning details of every kind of work necessary for the proper effective managing of the railways, and now they seek to get control over their administration, so as to manage the railways for the nation. /.They propose to do this as a co-operative society, which would be made up of the members of their union.

The. administration would dispense with bureaucratic control. The highest positions would be occupied by men chosen for their knowledge, initiative and capacity by the workers themselves, while at present they are held by m n u who have political influence or have automatically risen to them. Being free from politics, the co-operative railways could suppress the thousands of clerical jobs and increase the number of productive workers, securing; a safer, prompter and

cheaper service

The workers would receive a certain minimum wage, and would share in the net proiits as well. Necessary capital would bo obtained from profits, from shares subscribed to by the men themselves, and from issues of preference shares. The State would retain in some simple form the right of supervising the administration without directly interfering with details. It would establish the tariff and regulate the necessary service, of trains, and would, if necessary, contribute part of the cost of alteration if imposed.

So severe is the breakdown of the State railway system in Italy, so clear-

Iy have the railway men shown their professional keenness and capacity, that oven conservative economists of Tvorlfl-wj'lo reputation and experts such as Vilfredo Pareto have declared that the one practical solution of the trouble is, ■ Since, private ownership is » public nuisance, and State ownership a veritable disaster, to intrust the State railways to tho co-operative enterprise of the organised railway men.

The State Itself made a step in this direction with the railway law of April 13, 1911j which recognises the tinion of tOie railroad men by giving to every trade within its organisation a voice, through an elected representative, in the technical development of the railway and in the discu9s.ion of all administrative problems connected with them. The Government has proved its recognition of the fact that it cannot run the railway industry efficiently without tn* direct, co-operation find advice of the employees, or without considering the lessons of their daily practical experiences.

The gist of syndicalist theories and action lies in their dogma, "The social revolution is a practical problem." It is a practical problem, a.nd a vast practical work, which, changes men and institutions, succeeding in proportion as men and institoitior.s change nationally and internationally. For though some organisations of workers may be more advanced than othera, though some may even begin to put their powers in motion, the syndicalists claim that the movement will realise itself completely only when it becomes international and universal.

Accordingly, they e-ndeavor to make their work international. They have a practical programme-: First, -to secure national industrial unionism, the air algamatious of trades unions into industrial bodies capable of taking action at all points of an industry; secondly, to bring to closer relations the different industrial organisations of every country, and at the same time to bring about an international affiliation and co-operation.

tliero ar# the open, fights, through which, whether they win or lose, workers learn their powers and their shortcomings, and ihow to extend or counteract them.

Out of all this intense continuous activity comes the formulation of the syndicalist' theory of social progress; that the world of the future is for the workers, and that to prepare for this future world the workers must organise themselves into harmonious, compact, professionally conscious unions, individually increasing their technical knowledge and efficiency, collectively fitting themselves for the successful management of their industries. They maintain that the problems of social evolution reduce themselves to problems lof organisation; that progress does not operate independently qf man's will, but is created by virtue of his conscious desires and organised action. According to fhe syndicalist, progress toward his ideal society will only be realised by the organised will of the working-class.