TELL-TALE LETTERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 155, 18 November 1912, Page 7

TELL-TALE LETTERS.

INSIGHT INTO FEDERATION'S METHODS. MISSIVES FOUND IN TIIE lIALL. Auckland, November 14. A good deiil of correspondence was found strewn on the floor of the Waihi Miners' Union Ilall when the building was captured by the free laborers, and it throws some interesting light on things in general concerning the strike. "PILE ON THE AGONY." One letter, which was written in Melbourne on October 18, was signed "P. H. Hickey," and a tag to it was as follows:—"I would suggest, when the next summonses are issued against union officials or members, that every available man and woman, to the number of hundreds, if possible, be subpoenaed for the defence, to make the trials last for days. . Pile on the agony; turn the law courts into a farce; make the whole show a laughing stock. It can be done with hundreds ready to give evidence. Men, women and children—summon them all. ■Here is a suggestion in a big strike of 'Welsh miners: The strikers got hold of the 'scabs' and inade them 'kiss- the Boo' and declare that they would cease from 'scabbcryi' Out of several hundred 'scabs' only one refused the oath. It is worth thinking about." SIDELIGHTS ON EGG-THROWING. Another letter written by a Waikino woman urges the throwing of eggs and rotten tomatoes at processions of workers. liiter alia, she states: "Pay special attention to engine-driver -. He is very fond of eggs, so you might oblige him with a few purebred Orpingtons. Please let' Mr. Parry know that 'scab' women are going up in quantities by the 12 train; they may like eggs, too!" THE IRRITATION STRIKE. A letter signed by J. R. Hunter, secretary of the State Miners' Union, runs: "We, the committee of the State Miners' Union, .viewing the position of affairs at Waihi, especially the gaoling of our comrades, consider the time has arrived for drastic action. We therefore suggest to you the advisability of inaugurating the irritation strike: (1) To select all primary industries that can be relied upon, and issue instructions that oft and after a certain date i the output be reduced by what proportion you deem necessary; (2) that you stipulate a penalty for disobeying the mandate, as :t is necessary that every member shall remain at his work so as to prevent the other side from declar-, ing a strike or lock-out; (3) that you draw up a demand on the Government for the release of our comrades. Issue the same to all unions in New Zealand, or what you think best in that direction." A FUTILE MISSION. The secretary of the Wailii Union, in a communication to the Millerton Union, says: 1 "They (the engine-drivers) absolutely refused to hear us, and when we came back to our union with their answer the' ball was bounced, and where it is likely to k>b I am unable to say. But I will venture this much, that there is not much likelihood of one of our men being lowered into the Waihi mines by any of these individuals while there is a loaf of bread available." HEIGHTS AND DEPTHS. Nothing was too large or small for the records of the Union. From the heights of discussing abstract questions of economics you drop with a thud to a grimy, ill-spelled note like this: ''Can you tell me if Mr. So-and-so, living near such and such, is 'scabbing' or not? The reason I ask is bec.iuse he wishes Mrs. Blank to supply him with millc, and she is not going to supply any scab." MINUTE-BOOK ENTRIES.

The minutes of the strike committee, of which then: are about sixteen, apparently. contain some queer entries. For instance, there is a formal entry of one ,of the members being given permission to visit Waihi beach 'for the day. , The committee evidently kept a pretty tight rein on their followers. On October- 8 is this significant, entry: ''That be .given the sum of • £2 to meet the expenses of getting two work-seekers out of the town." There are several references to the same sort of thing, and the fact that one' individual received 3s 1 to get him out of Karangahake is duly embalmed. STRIKE PAYMENTS. Particulars about strike pay are not numerous in ' the records. In August the weekly pay-roll amounted to some £7OO, while towards the end it ran as high as .{8)519 for the week. •• This has been commented upon in some quarters, as it is the general impression that the number of strikers decreased as the strike progressed, particularly in its later stages. The total in each instance quoted above includes payments to two Auckland merchants for provisions supplied. LEFT,IX A lIURKY. The late officials left everything in a hurry when they decamped, and the office ■ files and records are now being put in order. It is rather a significant fact that in all the voluminous records and liles scattered about there is not so much as the scratch of the pen from Mr. Semple, the Federation leader. All the communications from the Federation officials are .brief and to the point, in distinct contrast to some of the oilier leLters. especially those from sympathisers, who are lavish in their advice. Some of the communications, though typewritten on the Union's official paper, were couched in .anthing but official lan- , gunge. Here is a slab from a letter to the headquarters of the "Red Federation" in Wellington, and it refers to an incident of the strike: THE ART OF EGG-THROWING. "This morning a large number of women waited on the- train coming from Waikino with those 'scabs,' and pelted them with rotten hen fruit. They say a b«vw • »•..»„ they throw at. : I. can tif»nx> Unii, is not right, as far as Waihi is concerned. It was very funny to see those 'scabs' scraping the over-ripe hen fruit off themselves. One of these creatures was hurt underground to-day by a fall of earth, but I am afraid it is not badly hurt." One letter, addressed to Mr. John Payne, expresses thanks, and goes on to say that they never expected to lind sympathy inside the House of Representatives. PARRY'S LETTERS. Parry's letters are singularly illiterate. and contain a queer jumble of catch phrases from text-books on Socialism, with inii.-h bad grammar and weird spelling. Writing from Mount Eden gaol, lie gives a rambling account of how things are going, tells about a sermon on ''Law" by Bishop Crosslcy, finds fault with his Lordship's reasoning, and expresses the belief that lie (Parry) could run off a pamphlet on economic questions if he had tin data "which I have in my home." Tie concludes: "Thanks, with best wishes from all to all—in one word, 'solidarity,' which is destined to drain the intoxicating cup of persecution to its better dregs. Yours for industrial freedom. Parrv." His correspondence is mostly composed of that sort of thing. Most' of the letters begin "Bear Comrade," or simply ''Comrade," with sometimes ''Fellow-worker" for a change. Among his letters is a long one dealing with events in Auckland last February, at the time of the trouble witli the general laborers: and it complains a lot in this style: "la dealing with this phase

of the question I said, clearly and distinctly, granting that we smashed the door to splinters, ivc was the representatives of the wealth-producing classes, prepared to meet in the non-producing classes in order to explain our rights—that, or getting as much as we could for our labor power."