A LESSON LEARNED.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1922, Page 5

A LESSON LEARNED.

EXTREMIST COMMANDOS. HANDFUL OF BOLSHEVIKS BRING DISASTER. TROUBLE WILL NOT RECUR. “When we saw commandos, Ipd by extremists, drilling with sticks, in and around Johannesburg, we were amused, and did not take them seriously,” said Mr. W. H. Robinson, son of Mr. J. P. Rribinson, formerly one of the Rand mining magnates,' when interviewed by a Times representative, on his arrival in Wellington from South Africa on Tuesday. “But the files of New Zealand papers that I have seen indicate how serious the trouble became. One is very happy to know it is all over. I am satisfied that such a trouble will not occur' again. BURGHERS’ PATRIOTIC ACTION. Pressed for reasons for this reassuring opinion, Mr. Robinson said that the prompt action of the burghers (or Boers, as they have been known to the Dominions) was the best insurance possible against a recurrence of the trouble. “The whole thing was engineered by extremists—Socialists, Syndicalists and Bolsheviks—aided by funds from abroad. They have been fomenting strife in the Rand mines for a long time. Half the gold of the world is produced from there, yet half the mines nave had to close down, as the huge wages demanded made their working unprofitable and impracticable. The miners’ leaders are not willing to accept a general rate of wages, that would ensure the mines continuing.

THE MINER AND HIS STATUS. “To understand the position thoroughly, you must know that the status of a miner—that is, a white miner—in South Africa, is different to that of the Australian or New Zealand miners. On the Rand, the bulk of the work is done by colored labor. The population of South Africa includes a million and a half Europeans, five million natives, and nearly a million of other colored races. The miner has as many as twenty-five colored boys working under him, he is more of a supervisor. The basis of his pay is difficult to set down at any actual figures, but men on piecework are able, in good times, to earn between £BO and £lOO a month. The “boy” averages from 3s a day up. ILL-TREATMENT OF NATIVES. “The propaganda of the extremists on the Rand embraces treating the colored laborer badly. If you treat him well,-you will get good results from him; treat him badly, and there- is always the chance that he and his kind will combine, and further embarrass the peaceful conduct of the industry. So many colored boys are available that a- miner can afford to have two personal servants, one to do his cooking and one for general work. He can pay these boys up to £3 a month. Actual manual labor, as it is understood, does not concern the miner, and this is especially true in the Transvaal. “HOOLIGANISM AND INTIMIDATION.” “It is very pleasing to see how the burghers volunteered in force and helped the Government put down the policy of hooliganism and intimidation that the extremist, leaders were practising. The Government acted tardily, but there, were apparently reasons for this. Neither they nor anyone else were aware of the power of the organisation the extreme section had built up, nor did they think that such a display of indiscriminate force would be shown. It is a lesson for South Africa, how a few loud-mouthed agitators can lead the members of a peaceful industry into disaster. The miners are cosmopolitan lot, but they are anxious to work in peace with their employers. Thej r are not to blame, but of imported Bolsheviks. Had it not been for the burghers, things would have been very serious indeed.”