The Daily News FRIDAY, MAY 29. TOM MANN'S MILLENIUM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 135, 29 May 1908, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, MAY 29. TOM MANN'S MILLENIUM.

No cause was ever advantageously served by gross misrepresentation of matters oi fact. Fifteen years ago there were crowds of unemployed in the streets of our bi« centres. In 18115 the citizens of the Knipire City subscribed lutiiL, in order to alleviate'the then existing ilisltv-s. and cmplovinonl was found for a lew hundred men in culling down the hill in front of the recentlycreeled Victoria college, with a view to tlie creation of Kelluirue Park. Those who were so employed esteemed themselves extremely fortnnale compared with those who were nece-riarilv left

out ill Ihe cold. The wage- paid were 3s lid per day. At that time any number of labouring men could lie found to work for Is per day. To-day the wages for ordinary labour are Ss per day. and the liibotir'i- clogged with re-lriitinn-and conditions. 'Set, la-l week, aililre.— iug an immense meeting in the Wellington Town Hall, .Mr. Tom .Mann slodll I up to tell his audience that during lie pa-l liflecn veal's the wages ol the labourer had o'ulv advanced 10 per cent., whilst ihe cost „f living had increased 20 percent. So far a- the State i„ .on corned taxation through the mediiimship of the tariff ha- been reduced, so thai pries for the necessaries of life ought to lie cheaper. If for Ideally manufactured goods the prices are higher, then, manilestly, the increase is due to the higher rates required to be paid for labour. Taking the increase in the rate of pay for ordinary labour as a fair criterion of the increases that have taken place in all branches of skilled labour, il, may he asked whether those who talk as Mr. Tom -Mann ha* done really expect the manufacturer and other employers to pay 100 per cein. more for the labour they employ and continue to sell Their products ill. the si ■ price? Air. Tom Mann is, of coiii'-e, a .stranger in this country; and. he doe.-, nut pretend to speak from his own knowledge. lie has lieen stuffed with alleged fads by prejudiced and inilanicd minds, whose statements, he might have known, upon any subject, ought to be received with the greatest caution. Since the time of the first granting ol the right to construct a railwav, it, ha, been recognised that the rights of tlie owneiVj of property must give way before the demands of Ihe general interest. 11 was a big struggle before llr light was granted to a company lo construct a railway through a gentleman"* park, bin, in every case ample compensation has been paid, and Unit has been the mean-, of reconciling the claim,, ol exclusiorii.-K lu |his Dominion, appaicnlly. we have gone a step further when by taxation the holders ol freehold laud were penalised if their land exceeded (."511,000 in value This State has declared that in Ihe public interest no man has a right to hold more limit C 50,00() worth of land, and in ten vear,, lime il is not improbable that the'luuil may be reduced. In this country power is given to a corporation to condemn a building for lieing old ami insanitary, and to obtain an order for its destruction within a stated period, no compensation being paid to the owner for any loss. The absolute suprcmacc of the public intercKt lias been allowed; and what the public, rightly or wrongly, chooses to consider ils interests, must be granted. This appears to be (he stage we have at present reached. Mr. Tom Mann asserts (hat the time of lue people as the universal owner and provider is coining, and if those who own something do not good-naturedly and good-humoredly part with thai, something, then there will be -barricade-."' the trumpets shall sound, llv loc.-in will ring, and there will be all -oris of other things, some of them, no doubt, bloody. Il is very kind of Mr. Tom Mann |o issue forth thi- timelv notice. Prior lo the French Revolution precisely similar language was u-cd. a perfectly awful coiivul-ion followed, an.l almost 'im'nicdiatelv the verv greale-l autocrat and individualist the' world hi,, ever known appeared. Again, when in 1572 the Germans retired from Pari-, with a perfectly amazing energy the Commune bur-t forth. Hut Ihe Commune fell before the anil- of the lie public. These thoughts impel the qlles. tion- If the role of the people as niii-v.-r-al owner ami provider i- oi,l\ c. be placed for a comnarativelv brief period i- it wni-ili while calling upon c.vcrvhoilv lo good-hu rc.llv ••pari." or coin- lo the trouble of .■reeling Mr. Tom MannV barricade ami guilfoline if the,don't? The story of the Paris Commune is a very pitiful slory indeed. llefore the people leave the home willl which they are familiar—il has ils faults, of course, as evcrv home has il may. perhaps, be as well, if only for a moment, lo cou-ider where the road about to he followed will lead to. lietore a man -tarts lo pull down Ihe old hou.-e he usually provides himself with a plan of the new edifice projected, and has a tolerable sound conception as to how if will work into his purposes, lu New Zealand Mr. 'Com .Mann and his lolloweis trade upon abuses prevailing in the older lands of the world, and because of them they invite the people to hurry to the work of destination: he does not say one word as to what the new economic structure will be like or how it is to be managed. Will it he free from defects? Will the kitchen arrangement,,- from which a million of inhabitants are lo draw their supplies lie perfect' Will the cooking he up-to-date'.' Then is ~verv domicile to be equal in size and equallv provided with conveniences ami comforts? The tollmen and the pipes -upplied. it is lo hj" presumed, will be all of equal quality and value. The continues of our women will be all alike No one will ride in motor-car- or all will shire in that felicilv. Then conn- ill the work of -election and di-li ibul ion: who is lo undertake il ami how is il to be ;>'- eouipli-liod"! 11l -hurl Micro are lliou--amls of .pic-lions Ihnl arise, upon all of whi.di the people have a right to be fully saii-lied before 110-y rush lo the la-k of con-lfueling barricades or erectile bloo.lv guillotines. To ilav no more lhau the mores! indication of their s<-o| an he given. They will, however. .-mr-tcsl U selves.