THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1912. LOS ANGELES OUTRAGES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10530, 17 January 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1912. LOS ANGELES OUTRAGES.

A painful and iproifoimd impression li'ass, according to late English files, been mad© upon the American public by the confession of (the two McNamaras, who, alter an investigation extending over more than- a year, have been charged with the authorship of the dynamite outrages at Los Angeles. The most important question mow is, who were their paymasters, land that is the question to which American public opinion demands an Answer. There' is no doubt in the public mind that the long series of outrages are trade-union outrages, hut investigation is needed to show who are tiho individual officers of what is eallted "organised labour" directly responsible for instigating the crimes}, and how far complicity extends through the ranks of the executive and the rank and file of the organisation. The McNamaras -were evidently not working at their own charges. A series of over a hundred

dynamite explosions, all occurring in shops where the domination of organised labour was not recognised, could not have 'been carried out without plenty of money, without central direction, or without a complete system of sheltering the 'Criminals. Ihere , (have been many indications that "organised labour"—or, to give it the proper name, the American Federation of Labour —lias under its present direction ibeen changing for the worse alike in its amis and its methods. Its President—Mr Gompers—(has shown a sinister tendency to sympathise even openly with violence and lawlessness. Ill© impression thus created has been deepened by the way in which, die and 'bis fellow-toffic-ials illave ranged themselves on thte side of the MciNamaa'as, declaring tliem. to be the victims of an unscrupulous capitalist conspiracy. When •they took that line they, of course, were not aware of the strength, of the case against tne actual perpetrators, and could' .not foresee that these men would be reduced to confession. Their subsequent pose has .been to represent themselves as "fooled," and to lead the outcry for condign punishment, but they have not succeeded by these means in throwing public opinion, off the scent. Hhe complaint that they- have been fooled might have had more success if they had not added that they see no necessity for investigation on their own part iruto (the working of an organisation the chiefs of which are exposed to such a misfortune. It is now noted that (the Federation of Labour is not incorporated:, and is therefore outside the law and beyond the control of the State. Also people note that its affairs are as much a secret as were those of the Standard Oil Trust, and tihat it can raise and spend va&t sums of money for which its officials to be responsible to 110 one. The comparison with the Oil Twist is rather significant a.s showing how the American people are confronted with, the same evil of secret and irresponsible autocracy at both ends of tiie social scale, Tfc is reported that Mir John D. Rockefeller lias resigned the, ■Presidency and directorship of the Standard'.Oil ; Trust ,and that several of his colleagues (have followed his example. It would probably he a good thing for American labour or--1 ganisation, now lying under a cloud of (Suspicion, if Mr Gompers and his associates could be compelled to with- , draw from their misdirected Federation.