The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1918 SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

Taihape Daily Times, 27 February 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1918 SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

With which is incorporated The T»u hapo Post and Walmarino News).

The very much talked about great international Allied Socialist conference has taken place, and, not contrary to expectations, it was a' very much divided council. There are some who raise distinct objection to being termed destructive revolutionists, but search where any enquirer will he finds nothing;whatever of a constructive character advocated. While we have forced upon us such an undeniable demonstration of what anarchic socialism is, while the Hendersons confer and collaborate with the Genius and. Tor tskys ,and while our New Zealand Hollands openly claim to being .blind followers of the British Hendersons, it is idle indeed to disclaim the well-earned appellation vT destructive revolutionists. Can any sane observer of the processes of Lenin and Trotsky claim one redeeming act that would warrant any other name being given to the party they represent? These misguided pc pie thought that they had only to smash down one social fabric and another to their liking would as a corollary take its place. They arc asked what will happen if they succeed In preventing Allied Governments from sending more soldiers to complete the breaking of German militarism, and they tell us that peace will result. They tell us they will confiscate all huge fortunes and bring about a great social levelling; could they give any evidence that it would be a levelling up, a constructive levelling, and not a levelling down, bringing that which is best in the present social status down to that which is worst? If so they would at least have a semblance of claim to being heard, but in all their ravings and writings one finds nothing but pull-down, destroy, anc smash. These international socialists have had their opportunity to demonstrate to the world the blessings to workers of the power and practice of socialism and they have conclusively proved, with not one tittle of evidence to the contrary, that they are destructive revolutionists. Their leaders —Hendersons’ Hollands, Lenins, and Trotskys—are nofleaders, Inasmuch as they cannot control the forces ready speech has won over to their cult. When the time came for them to lead, their forces became a miserable, pitiable, murdering, plundering and chaotic rabble, ten thousand of whom could not save themselves from a paltry hundred of Germians. These anarchic socialists— destructive revolutionists—have had full sway in Russia; may we appeal to our readers to judge them by results? The so-called Russian socialist leaders were in personal conference with Henderson; they discussed with him the campaign, and Henderson came hack to England expressing his satis-

faction with what was being doneTaud

his conviction of its ultimate success. He immediately set about convening British socialists to the Lenin-Trot-sky-Henderson socialist gospel, but before his campaign had proceeded far the rottenness of the doctrine became apparent, and labour unions immediately commenced to take very definite steps to separate themselves from the cult responsible for such hideous consequences. After the Russian fiasco Henderson and company engineered what they intended should be an inter-'Allied socialist conference, but it -was far from being that. However, the Hendersons met greater intelligences than their own; they met men who had some experience in the leadership of the workers’ cause. It is regrettable the Hollands from New Zealand could not be present u> hear and learn what the socialism of experienced leaders is. German trade unions had sent a message—they did not attend—inviting American labour to discuss peace terms, just such another invitation as they had sent to Russian labour. The American leader of socialism was very brief in his reply. He said, “We can’t talk now; either you smash your autocracy, or 'we will smash it for you.” Had the Trotsky-Henderson-Holland leadership' been of a similar quality the world would have been at peace today. Mr. Gompers wants to be secure from slavery before commencing to build up anything approaching a social Utopia of the Henderson-Trotsky kind. Mr, Gompers tells the Hendersons and other foolishly confiding socialists,. that Germany would not allow a delegate to leave Germany unless he was a tool of the autocracy. “American labour,” said, “would gladly attend an “Allied Labour conference for the purpose of speeding up the war. It transpires that British socialism according to Henderson is precisely similar in its exclusiveness to that of Lenin and Trotsky, distinct evidence that it was evolved by the same councils. It seeks to shut out all other brands of socialism; everything but that advocated by the Trotsky-Hea-derson councils is spurious and must be put down heedless of what brotherly blood-spilling may be involved; but independent labour unions observe the presence of the destructive revolutionary past and they have cut themselvs adrift. It is very clear from the evidence ready to hand that there is no difference between Trotsky and Henderson socialisms, therefore events speak much louder than words to us. Let us suppose that the in tew Allied socialist conference had adopted resolutions on the lines of Mr. Holland’s speeches made during the Wellington North election campaign, dare any sane man with any love and regard for his wife and children contemplate the certain consequences? Suppose all the Allies did refuse to send any more men to stop Germany from over-running the world, leaving those we have sent to he butchered in their trenches. We say again, dare any sane man or woman contemplate the result? In the New Zealand Parliament there are two parties claiming to represent labour, one is composed of the disciples of Trotsky and Henderson, the other favours the attitude taken by British independent labour unions; one seeks to bring about destructive revolution, the other would reorganise and reconstruct society on

more just and humane lines. It is a real something that we in this country will have to contend with; if the people persist in allowing the present autocracy to continue selecting members of the House and in prolonging its own life the masses will be driven into the arms of the Trotskys, Hendersons and Hollands, and while riches should be flowing into the country for increased production, we shall be convulsed with strikes, lock-outs, and other labour troubles that will result in a reign of disaster. It has come to Russia; Henderson has only temporarily failed in Britain. We, in New cZaland yet have the moulding of our future well in hand, but we are compelled to realise that hold has commenced to slip away. Let us not live in a fool’s paradise; let us, like sane beings, admit that what has happened we are not immune from; and let us shape our legislation so that it presses equally on all, taking care that it does not create and build up privileged classes on the one side ana oppressed on the other. The day is past in the evolution of the British peoples when such conditions will be tolerated for long. There must be more workers, more producers, and less leeches, less parasites, in the remodelled social fabric. There is no revolutionary cry from men on the land, then put more and more, and moie, men on the land. Let there be an increasing multiplicity of individual responsibility and an immensely decreasing individual dependency; let there be conditions that will render the spending powSr of the people more uniform, for then only will there be contentment. More responsible producers and less dependent producers would bring joy into the legiti-

mate business community, and so lessen the cause for complaint against trusts and syndicates, which are always accompanied by governments of an autocratic character that the masses are ever seeking to destroy, and which they will destroy, even if they are forced to ally themselves with the destructive revolutionary party in doing it.