PARASITES OF UNIONISM.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 5 September 1917, Page 5

PARASITES OF UNIONISM.

“GO BLOW’ ’ IN AUSTRALIA. HYPOCRITICAL PATRIOTISM. A denunciation of the forces con.iibuting to industrial unrest in Australia was delivered by the Prime Minister,, Mr. tV. Hughes, rec-ently. He spoke upon a motion by Mr. C. G. Tudor, Leader of the Opposition, “to direct attention to the want and misery in our midst caused by the lack of •employment and the high cost of living. ’ ’ In the course of his speech, Mr. Tudor' declared that Ministerialists who had been Labour members would bear him out that the "executives of Labour, organisations never advocated strikes.

Mr. Hughes: I cannot admit anything of the sort.

In reply, Air. Hughes said many people se-emed to have forgotten that we were at war and to imagine that we could go on in precisely the same way as b-sfore. He had submitted to the workers of the country M. Arandervelde’s appeal to the working classes of the world to help the workers of Belgium, who had been driven from their homes like cattle, and compelled to work in Germany for 3d a day, and he had listened in vain for, one voice of sympathy and h-elp from organised Labour in Australia. What did it mean? It meant that these things carried no weight with those who were running organised unionism in Australia. The war and its horrors meant nothing to them. To them it was just like a cinematograph show passing on the screen.

The Prime Minister* said h-e was ready to do. anything that was open to a practical man to relieve what ever distress existed. He had been struck by the paucity of practical suggestions put forward recent deputation to him. There had been two. Th-e first was that the Ministry should start making ammunition. Here were certain people, who, to. his own knowledge were pacificists, but who endeavoured to tear the ski-es "down for peace. Yet they asked him to make bullets and explosives to make the slaughter worse. Words Aver-e feeble things to portray his feelings with regard to those people. (Laughter, and Opposition uproar.) TACTICS OF COAL MINERS. Something had been said about starting new industries, continu-ed Mr Hughes. There were tw r o observations to be made about that. One \yas that money was needed, and that it was not easily obtained. The other was that if new industries was to be started and developed they must turn over a new r industrial leaf. (Hear, hear.) It was absolutely essential that the repeated stoppages of work should cease. Take the coal-mining industry as an example There was a great strike some months ago to obtain an eight-hour-bank-to bank system and several other coucessions. A tribunal was appointed, which had given the men all that they asked for, without the cost of a penny to themselves. The wages they earned were very much higher than - before, and still they would not work continuously. (Cries of “shame.”) They had not stopped altogether, but the effect had been the same. The men had actually threatened to strike because th-e Government was having stacks of coal built up. It w r as at the request of their representative that employment should be found for the men that orders had been given to the mine owners on behalf of the British Government for the coal that was now being stacked. Yet because that was done, the men threatened to strike. It was a striking commentary upon the whole situation that, while the adjournment of the House was being moved to discuss employment, there -was a great strike in N-ew .South Wales. (Hear, hear.)

If there were to be new industries established in Australia, either by the Ministry or individual amployers, an assurance must first be given that the industry would not be stuck up at the sweet will of the employees or of one or two of them. As the result of long and the exertion of considerable presflfre, the output of Australian zinc had been sold. That had been the means of securing employment for thousands of men who would otherwise have been idle. Yet there was a possibility that those mines might be closed down any day. Only last week the ilTen had taken a day off as a protest, against something or other —he forgot what. There was hardly a day went by but, on some wharf in Australia, there was a stoppage. Great Britain urgently needed meat from Australia, and the export of the meat was of the greatest importance to the Commonwealth. Yet recently two vessels loaded with meat had been held up bcause the men absolutely refused to work unless paid more than the award provided. CURSE OP THE MOVEMENT He ventured to say that 95 per cent of members of the unions were in

favour of continuous wcTrk. The other 5 per cent would hot work if dynamite was put under them. They were parasites on the community. (Hear ? hear.) They attended every meeting of the unions,, and if a man dared to raise his voice in favour of industrial peace he was called a “scab” and a “blackleg.” Such men were a curse to the community. The average Australian unionist was loyal and could do more work than his brother workman from Great Britain, but men had wormed their way into unionism—now that it was powerful enough to live on, instead of being a call for sacrifice as it was in the old days—who were a curse to the movement. If the unions would only vomit out these men there would be very little unmployment, and the country would be happier and more prosperous. (Cheers.)

Turning to the question of' high prices, Mr Hughes said that he would not retract one word of what he had ever said against the m'Sn who were exploiting the public. (Hear, hear.) There were men in the country who, while they mouthed about patriotism ? were filling their pockets. (Hear, hear.) He was not going to mince his remarks about them. They fell into the same class as those parasites on unionism. The great maority of electors would rejoice in the downfall of both sections—those who Uved upon the unions and those who lived upon the people. He personally would rejoice in an opportunity, if he had it, to deport both of them. (H«ar, hear.)