PUBLIC OPINION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8350, 10 February 1913, Page 11

PUBLIC OPINION

THE FUTURE OF LABOUR To the Editor “N.Z. Times.” Sir,—The Labour Conference has come and gon&, and as lar as til© public is able to judge the old simile ot the mountain sn<i the mouse will best describe the result. It would appear the mam object of tho federaliomete was to capture tne unity wing and draw them away it possible from political action, otherwise the same old platitudes \veie talked, tbo same old grievances recounted, tbo same old threat® hurled at the Government. Messrs Semple ami Go. a advice to the unity wing is to leave the political held and organise on tbo industrial field ,* this would put S. slid Co. at the head of the army tor tbo purpose of continuing siUy sectional strips, keeping the country generally in a state of industrial turmoil to no practical purpose. Io be euro there is a mention of a further increase of power by organising all Australia and then linking up with it. Ibis will take a few years, it may take many, durin D which S. and Co. would have quite a busy time going to and fro across the lasmau bea. Supposing success is reached at last, what then? How- is the capitalistic position to be annexed? By revolution or legis'ntlon? If by tll6 what guarantee have we that alter tno battle the right men will come out on cop? The patriots may turn out despots; suck things have happened in the history. ‘Flic Semple, Webb and Hickey triumvirate I How docs that fiouml? Or If by legislation, why wait until this wondrous organisation is accomplished? There is no necessity. Lot us commence now. The wage-earners should require no ■ organisation other than what their common-sense will bring about; they require only to use their brains honestly and industriously.. Lvery adult has n vote, every adult therefore starts from scratch—‘'Jack is as good as his master not only is this so, but it means one vote one value. The value behind the vote entirely depends on the holder of the vote. If there is intelligence behind it when it is cost it goes to the mark and makes. a centre every time; if there is t stolid ignorance behind it, it is a poisoned arrow shot at random into tho body politic. If Labour has anything to grumble about in this country, it is Labour s own fault. The great bulk of our wago-earji-ers work eight hours a day, some work ten, a few work more; it is their fault if they do not compel such legislation as will make this country what it might and ought to be, viz., an object-lesson to the world. Seventy-five or eighty per cent, of our wealth-proauoers are wage-earners. All measures are decided by a majority. They have tho majority. Why blame the 23 per cent., the employers, for the trouble? Who are to blame but themselves? Millions of money havo been spent on then education, and they have not developed brain-power enough to protect tnemsolves. Let there be no mistake; they are responsible for legislation all the time. The men we send to Parliament are not rulers, they are messengers sent to register the will of the people- The legislative power must como from the people by means of the vote: the silly talk about class-consoiouaness wants wiping olf the slate. As Professor Mills very pertinently says, there aro only two classes in the world, the useful p'eople and the useless. The useful man will spend his spare time and develop his brain-power in acquiring useful knowledge, and assist in making hia country worth living in; the useless (and we have lots of them) will spend his loafing round the beer and whisky bars, or go to clubs and spend tho night in card-playing and billiards, or make a fetish of the turf, football, golf, and every other sport; in fact, it is not their country they live in—it may be anybody’s for all they care. Let us set up a standard of morals, and like men try to live up to it, and we shall hear no iqora of class-conscious-ness. Such terms may ho necessary in the 013 Country, but should be inadmissible in this young country tliat is in our hands to mould and shape as we desire. There is too much loose talk on all sides about Socialism from people who do net understand tho ABC of it. Socialism is but another name for the golden rule, and when tho people learn how to live up to that, Socialism will have arrived. Many lessons must be learnt before then. We have a long way to travel before the Olympian heights of Socialism are scaled. The world has never yet seen a pure Democracy. We must be Democrats before we can be anything better. Evolution will bring us to our goal but revolution will thrust us back to savagery. It is patent to- all who give it any thought that wo are living in an ago of greedy commercialism brought about by a system that it is vitally necessary to reform. If a man wishes to do good work he must have a good tool or machine to do it with; tho sooner he throws tho bad tools on the scrap-heap and gets an improved one the better. That is our trouble; much of our legislative machinery must be scrapped before wo can begin to move along the lino of progress; If tho Labour Party would take politics seriously, go to school for a time and get acquainted with the first principles of the science of government, we should begin to see some streaks of light towards the dawn of better days, not only for one party but for all; and towards that end the United Labour Party have been doing good work. By this Ido not wish to infer that the Labour Party are the only ones who should go to school. Not at all. lam satisfied' many of them have more knowledge of economic problems now than nine-tenths of their employers, but that is not the point. They have the majority, and if they had the knowledge they would have the necessary combination and the power. As I write, the “Clarion” comes to hand; I open it, and find my point of view supported by two famous men ’n the Socialistic world 1 , viz.. Prince Kropotkin and Robert Blatohford. The former, in duscussing the future of Labour, says: “This immense change o»n naturally not be brought about by a few leaders or legislators, but must grow out of the aspirations and actions of great working masses. . . The workers of the Latin countries, at any rate, value their personal freedom even more than material well being and are not likely to buy this latter at the price of subjection to any kind of rulers. Also the blind faith in elected rulers, oven if they were taken from the best leaders in the Labour movement, is dying away amongst them.” And Blatohford, writing on the 21&t anniversary of his paper, remarks: “But I believe very strongly that propaganda is worth more than the ballot-box and the strike combined. Nothing we can give tho workers is of such immense value to them as knowledge. If we dropped parliament and avoided strikes for ten years, and put ail our money, time, and brains into a great educational effort, I believe the gain would be enormous.” Now, these two men have sacrificed their lives in the cause of the workers, and their conclusions are entitled to our respect. Let us not forget that often times "the longest way round is the nearest way home.”--I am, etc., ’ INDEX.