The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1920. THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3584, 21 September 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1920. THE SPREAD OF REVOLUTION.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News/’

There is. now no doubt about the fearful explosion in Wall Street, New York, being the work of either criminals, mos-'t likely of men driven to the last stage of desperation. It may have been a somewhat similar expression of determination to that evinced in Italy, and in that connecjn it may bear some relationship thereto. The question that arises is whether frenzeid profiteering has not been pushed to the extremes that the most covetous-minded would fix in keeping it within the realm of safety that common judgment would dictate. The perpetrators’ chief aim was, apparently, to destroy the property if not take the life of’probably the greatest profit-taker in the world. The infernal 'machine was put to do its deadly work right at the basement of the Pierpont Morgan offices, wherein the business of the maker of m ’ lions per annum evolves his schemes for profit-making by the whole shipping interests of the world, with negligible exceptions. The masses of the people know as well as the Morgans do that shipping is the primary trouble ih tbe cost of living-problem, and they know that if shipping were controlled in the interests of humanity first and profits were made a secondary consideration so much of the adverse condition of human-life would be removed, and hundreds of thousands would not be driven to ruin or virtually starved out of the fight for life. Whatever the motive for such an ul ra-diabolical crime may have been, however, it was of an unsurpassed criminal character; it was a resentment for which no injury can constitute a cause. Its equal is only discoverable in the deliberations of the men who. in cold blood and without provocation, planned, designed, willed and put in motion the war that was to grown into the greatest calamity that has fallen upon mankind. It is nothing to the credit of present day civilisation that a second war should follow upon tbe first, which is no'less deadly and destructive to civilisation than its forerunner. It is a bloodless war inasmuch as it wastes life by a process of slow starvation, but no such orgy of crime, such abandon to the inhuman instincts can go long without workingout tha 1L upon which it alone can flourish. There is certainly no want of evidence of that fact; it is seen working out its hellish end in Russia. In Italy a somewhat better judgment is displayed, yet it is apparent tha lf the Government of Italy, is helpless to prevent the people rising against the process of slow starvation that exploitation ’ of the people is responsible for. The working-classes arc seizing, occupying and working fac- j Tories and land throughout Italy; tak- i ing possession of those means used i by profiteers to exploit them; to ren- j der it impossible to purchase the means for tbe people to live. Factoryowners have called upon their Government to force the populace to give up their works, but the Government fears to move for it realises that such j procedure would only result in a bloody civil struggle. The Prime Minister blankly refuses to precipitate a s'tatc of internecine destruction which he knows might end only when the beautiful Italian Empire became a heap of derelict civilisation. He recognises that neither Church no’’ State has the potency to calm the storm tliat criminal exploita--1 ion of the people has raised, and he urge<« ah abandonment of the exercise of the dishonestly usurped power and that the populace be met, regarded

and treated as human beings, not as inferior animals. The Authorities of

the United Slates are cognisant of the probahili y that the Wall Street crime will be repeated elsewhere; they know it is a single instance of that violent resentment against legal exploitation tyranny, widespread and desperate, and they are instituting protective and preventive measures which best judgment warns them canhot stay the hand of violence which has been raised. British people are axiomatically long-suffering and slow to anger, and it is likely that grumbling and strikes: will continue until the exploitating class makes the fatal mistake of compelling the Authorities to use armed force, then anything i may happen, for the British people ’ may bo slow to anger, but they are no less determined, courageous and thorough when-the limit of what can be borne is passed. The spirit of , revolution is spreading, not. necessar- j ily of the character of that which is destroying the Russian Empire. It has broken bounds in Ealy without causing bloodshed, and the process of gathering all the riches and power of the country into the possession of a few greed-convulsed exploiters has been stopped by the seizure of factories, mines and farm lands. The Italian Government is permitting raw materials and all accessories with which to continue production to go from ships, by rail, to the occupied factories and farm lands, for it is seen that production is increasing up to its furthest possible limit. Through production lies the salvation of Italy just as it does of any other warracked country, and it seems that the Italian people, fully realising that fact, have determined that the utmost \ volume of production necessary for feeding and clothing the people shall be made possible. The remarkable ; fea'ture is that the exploiting class are impotent to interfere by force with what is taking place. It is indeed a blot on civilisation that such diabolism as that of which the Wall Street wreck is an instance should be possible, and one is somewhat bewildered in efforts to understand why it should be piU mto practice. The one thing certain is that it is an answer to unfair trading by the greatest combines of capital in the United States and in_ the world, and the United Stages Government has admitted by its warnings that other answers- of a similai\ character are ready for pre-, sentation. Arc those answers to continue to make civilised peoples shudder that exploitation by a few may continue, or will the exploiting combines and corners regain sufficient sanity to realise that it profiteth little to gain the‘riches of the whole world and forfeit their own lives in the process. Suggestions have been thrown out that a stabilisation of trade on a more rational plane will take place in December, but the fact is apparent that an over-wrought people care -nothing for such suggestions, thinking they are inventions for extension of time. There is ample cause why ihe grabbers of millions in Wall Street, and in other parts of the United States should feel creepy at that state of human temper which has marked them out for destruction;*’ there is ample cause why ihe Italian Government refuses to use armed force to make workers give up the factories aftd farms they have taken illegal possession of, an'<f it can only be assumed that the workers are permitted to remain in possession because their production is going to work out the country’s salvation in the shortest time. There seems no explanation available of what is hap- 1 peuing other than that which is stat- j ed above, time will, however, solve the whole problem, and it will be | plain why the people of Russia are ' commit'ing race suicide; why the Italian Government refuses to precip- | bate a similar state amongst Italian ! people; why the Millionaire profiteers' l and exploiters are in momentary fear 1 and dread of losing their lives and j also why strikes, go-sknvs, lock-outs, j and cornering of essential commodi- j ties are dishonestly taking place in New Zealand that the people may be . bled for higher profits. It may bo the . game to play for the highest score, j but has not (lie game reached a stage of danger in Now Zealand as -veP as elsewhere!