The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1913. THE SYDNEY GAS STRIKE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 246, 7 March 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1913. THE SYDNEY GAS STRIKE.

Tt i< historical that tlie last prayer of several great men upon tlieir deathbeds lias been "More light." Lots of lis in laranaki have an almost daily sympathy with this appeal, both literally' as well as morally, and at the moment it is undoubtedly commending itself to the I warm attention of the good people of Sydney. Their troubles are not to any extent ours, but the gas strike that is at present in progress is another illustration of the way in which a whole community ean be affected by the action of a few. It sueins monstrous that in . a civilised part of the world nine-tenths of the people should be put to discornI fort, annoyance, monetary loss and absolute danger of life and limb at the will of a mere minority. To throw a large city into comparative darkness is practically to oiler an inducement to crime, and this has been recognised by the fact that the authorities have found it necessary to import a large number of police from the country districts for tin' protection of the city pending the ■ lightening of its darkness. Theoretically every man has a perfect right to sell his . labor in what market he will, but it would be a poor world if everybody were j to assume that a personal grievance should take - precedence of a national i peril. This is practically what the Sydney gas strikers are contending. But the attitude of the men is even worse than is conveyed by any ethical considerations. They have been working under an award which was voluntarily sought by themselves, and they

should be prepared to fulfil their part ; )f this contract until such time as they : ' :an properly apply for a review of it by I' statutory authority. We have seen something of this irresponsible despotism af labor in New Zealand lately, and it would be well if the Labor Party would realise that autocracy of this character is liable to alienate the sympathy of many people who are both ready and anxious lo assist it in any honest and legitimate endeavor 10 better llie conditions of ihe toiling millions. What the rights of the Sydney men are in their demands we are not prepared to state, But their right to disorganise the whole of the domestic and commercial life of the city i> something more than questionable, and is at once an admission of a principle which, if applied to themselves, would be properly and bitterly resented. The legislation of the conntry lias supplied a method for the settlement of differences of opinion between employers and employees, where industrial questions are concerned; and no man has any moral right to throw down his employers until lie has shown that he suffers an injustice and has exhausted every legal means of remedying it. A neglect of this principle has led, in less long-suffering countries, to anarchy and civil war, with their attendant horrors. The one commendable feature of the unfortunate incident has been the orderly behaviour of the men, but there must also be an admiration for the civic loyalty that has prompted the Lord Mayor and so many prominent citizens to step into the broach and help to alleviate the discomforts of the large army of citizens. The men have only themselves to blame if tliev force the Government into passing legislation of a much more severely restrictive character concerning strikers than at present exists. Frankly, it is not "playing the game" for any body of workers to casually toss their burdens on to the shoulders of their fellows, while they have legitimate means of lightening them.