MR. WITHEFORD'S OPTIMISM. He Wants a Bloodless Revolution.

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 220, 17 September 1904, Page 6

MR. WITHEFORD'S OPTIMISM. He Wants a Bloodless Revolution.

THERE are some superb optimists on the Government side in the New Zealand House of Representatives, but all of them bscome the palest kind of pessimists alongside the "World's Entertainer,' Mr Witheford Perhaps you have read the paragraph fraught with such tremendous possibilities If not, sit back and listen "Mr Witheford will ask the Government whether, to encourage manufacturers, it will make i-epresentations to* the British Government, with a view to raising the standard of labour throughout the world, and prevent the making and distributing of sweated goods m any part of the British Empue We presume that standard should be written with a capital "S," and means the standard under which labour fights, and not the test or criterion of the labourers' abilities. The Auckland City optimist presumably wants the New Zealand Government to say to the British Government, "You've been top dog long enough Kindly climb down, and let labour wave her ensign above your aristocratic heads " " In fact, Mr. Witheford wants at one fell swoop to induce the ruling classes of Britain to cease to rule, to suddenly develop the kind of philanthropy that will piompt them to pay the very best wages to everybody, reduce their own wealth, and sow happiness broadcast * * * Mr. Witheford wants a bloodless revolution, and he wants the Government of Great Britain to effect it "throughout the world " The British Government has undertaken seme steep contracts m its time, but it hasn't shown any overmastering passion to upset Vested Interests, and to prohibit the toiler from working for the very lowest wages, and being thankful for nothing to the men who gives it to him. It seems to- us that the organisation necessary to effectively prevent sweating m the old countries and e^ewhere would have to> be so enormous that every second man would be a policeman. * * * How is a "sweated" article to be recognised? If it were recognised, who is to stop its sale ? If its sale is stopped, won't the wages of the sweated workers, however miserable, stop too? About half the workers of the Continent and England are "sweated." A strike of workers would mean starvation and Yankee goods. Absolutely the only way to bring about the industrial paradise Mr. Witheford foresees if his scheme were successful is to first of all convince the "ruling classes" at Home that they are entirely selfish. * * * The first thing the British Government will do on the receipt of this re-

presentation from the New Zealand Government will be to pass an Act empowering it to seize all the private estates m England for cutting up. It will then pass an Advances to Settlers Act,* abolish the House of Lords, make an eight-hours day compulsory, fix a minimum wage for all workers, and do several other New Zealand things Then will the 1 standard of labour float proudly in th? breeze, and Mr Witheford will be satisfied But, in the meantime, In might as well endeavour to get the fee-simple of an agricultural ?rea m Mars.