Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), Tuesday 4 October 1927, page 1


CENTRAI RESERVE MEETING

! ÀN ADDRESS BY . MR, 'GULLY

A LIVELY JXTERRUPTIOy '

V UNEMPLOYED rWÖRK ^ PREFERENCE IS ADVOCATED ;

FOR THE BRITISH BORN

Efforts wéro mn de to-day to prevent' the. attendance of unemployed at the meeting convened by Mr. R. Gully for the" Central Reserve, but .tho gathering proved to bo the most entertaining that has yet been held in connection with the unemployment question. At 10.30 o'clock, the advertised time of starting, there were about 100 persons in tb© reserve, but within half an hour the attendance waa fully 400 and the crowd revelled in the speech and the interjections made. For fully half an hour Mr. Gully had to contend with a woman who advocated the cauBe of the foreigner and there was much witticism imparted into his replies to her at tíméq infuriated questioning.

- "Will Continue Agitation.,-j

Afc tho outset Mr. Gully said that his meeting that day was faced' with op-position because- another unemployed meeting had been called for the Stad-ium. Despite that opposition ' how-ever, ho wished those nreseht to under-stand that he would continn0 his agi-tation against tho foreigner. Touching on relier work Mr. Gully said that 50 men were given jobs yesterday, and that probably another 50 would be put on to-morrow. Just where the_ money was coming from was questionable When it was all probed it would prob-ably be found that the monty had been taken from some already voted Mr. Triggs for expenditure on roads \n the district. The Government was! riçhfc up against it for money and ? probably if- Lang and company went out *of oower on Saturday the workers might find a change in the matter of relief employment. It was his intention that morning to move a resolution on the .preference question, but would wait until some- more' people had gathered. He wanted a full vote rjf the unemployed on the question. The crowd on tho corner would not sion his agitation. If he could not get crowds in the reserve be would no to tn« Doh Corner and would kcepgoinguntil free-

dom of speech was suppressed. Mr. j

Gully said that he believe^ that t'w»

resolution he intended fi move would]

make an appeal to all out or work. Australians must be given preference oVer foreigners in tho matter of em-

ployment. Ho had been informed

that day that all foreigners wcro rushing to the Labor Exchange for work and that they had all agreett to tell ¡tho ßtory that they had fomi children. He could not say where they had them, perhaps they might bo over-seas. There was nothing to say that they did not have the children. Per-haps they might adopt tho scheme of one foreigner who wanted compensation for children, and to provo that he had them he brought along the photo-graphs of some other children.

- Mr. Wetherell's Challenge. _

Referring to tho challenge of Mr. -Wetherell, Mr. Gully said that some people had said that he had squibbed on tho issue, but such was not the case. On Sunday next he would outline the lines on which he was prepared to meet Mr. Wetherell in debate,

- What Foreigners Will Do. --

Mr. Gully said that ho had boen sub-jected to much abuso in his. agitation. Yesterday a man -.wanted to fight, him. He was not a fighting man, but-would remind Iiis" challengers that if the time came and'he was put into a corner ho I would fight his way. put. Tho heads pf

I the oinion 6aid if' tho Government j wanted ? to flood the country with

foreigners they, as members of the W.I.U., could not reasonably refuse them admission into the union. Well, to be consistent, they should have gone to the management Pf Block 14 which employed none and claimed that the foreigners should be .given work there. The foreign question could not be taken seriously enough. The people of Broken Hill were faced with a water famino and they must remember that if tho rest of the mines closed they would have to stay here- while the foreigners would pack their belongings in a red handkerchief and march out. The foreigners lived under the worst conditions, and it was not feasible that when tho pinch came thev would stand and fight. They would leave that for the Australians to do. Much had been said that he had come here when things had been tailor-made for him, but that applied to a lot of other prominent people in Broken Hill.

Mr. Gully said that his reason foi not seeking election on the unemployed commitee waa because it was electee at a mass'meeting of unionists. H« did not think that men working had a right to elect a committee to re-present tho unemployed.

- Complaint Against Newspaper» ,«r

Mr.^Gully complained about the treatment he hftd received from the paper he had to pay 2d. for-while it »ras available to the public at a penny. He said that paper had curtailed his reports, and would no doubt come out with big headlines about the failure of Gully's meeting.

- Men on Relief Work. -

Mr.. Gully said that he had read the -ist of the names o£ the men already ;iven employment, and had been able co pronounce them all. He took it therefore that preference had been men the Australians. If that state if affairs did not continue they must .rise and say that Australians must *et preference. If they did not stick ip for their rights the time would not >e far distant when they would be valking workle?s along tho roads and Ueemg loreigners employed on them. Then they would say that they wished y.hey ha,} listened to Gully. He chaiénged' Quintrell and the W.I.TJ. heads x> take a vote on the foreign issue. I He meant a really dinky-di vote with

»ut Southern Europeans in it or sliding j -ianels in the ballot box. It had al ¡ ready been said that the unions wen i 50-50, that meant 50 per cent, foreign

ers and 50 per cent. Australians. I they were not careful it would be 75-25 with a chance of a Yugo-Slav or i I Maltese being president.

- Ï Woman's Protest. -

At this stage Mrs. Dini stepped for I ward and caused a sensation. She said I "'Gully yon aro a uar and a traitor t «he working class. You are not agains the foreigners. Yon are against th heads of the W.I.U. You arc ofte their scalps. You are a traitor to th working class. Yon are frying to sen the men back to longer hours an night shift.

1 A Voice; Oh shut np, yon are tel

ribly excited.

Mrs. Dini: How much, do ire owe 1 ( the foreigners?

'. A Voice : Give her some back.

Mr. Gully : I do not want .io retal

; ate on a woman, She seems very e:

cited

! Mrs. Dini: The dagoes ar» whit (than you are.

Mr. Gully: They won't work here. A Voice : Get up on the platform ai let's hear, yon.

Mr. Gully : I am sorry thai you ha got to be sent home-and misa all t good things of Australia. Ia tn what's worrying yon?

A Voice: She is an angry woman. Mr. Gully : And I wann the womi to get cool. I believe in the old soi "If You've Got to Go, Let Them Go And when they have gone I would e thank God that I hare done gomethi for White Australia'.

Mrs. Dini: You want the boss make tho men work eight and hours again; you want to put th back on the nighf shift. I have si who are better men than yon, Gully

Mr. Gully: That, of course, is a m ter of opinion, madam. I hare in i pocket a letter which ia signed workmates as to my work in the mi Perhaps "Vidi" does not know; that Mrs. Dini: I am "Vidi."

Mr. Gully: I thought you w something like that. -

Mrs. Dini : You are a loafer am

liar.

Mr. Gully: I hare letters from,

mates to say that I am a good J honest worker. Why did you w that letter, "Vidi" ?

Mrs. Dinit I wrote it from soi thing that I was told.

Mr. Gully: I thought BO. If I ] to-day said tihat all dagoes were g men you would be up here with y arms around me instead of criticis

me.

¿Mrs. Dini: You are a Har.

Mr. Gully: There is a quotation the Bible which, says that he who c his brother or sister a liar ig in dar of hell's fire. (Laughter.)

Mrs. Dini: So you are religious. Mr. Gully: Yes, I do not wor

images.

Mrs. Dini : Who worships images Mr. Gully: I don't know; do yoi Mrs. Dini then made some ren

I about Mr. Gully's beauty, to which Gully replied that he had not pu for any bpauty competitions, but he not think that the lady had ever lier photograph in a newspaper i winner nf a c-ompotition.

Mrs. Dini «non again broke in! long rn niblin" statement, and

caused Mr. Gully to say, "I have

i some chowey Lere in case you run

short.'»

Mrs. Dini: Yon are like tho man who has broken Italy.

Mr. Gully: Who.is that?

Mrs. Din!:. Mussolini, but you have not got the brains of Mussolini.

Mr. Gully: I am sorry that I have not got a periscope to penetrate your

head.

Mrs. Dini: You are after the pork chop. You are out to the detriment

of the unions.

Mr. Gully: If I -were after a pork chop I would take my coat and vest off and crawl to the mob on the cor-ner. (Applause.)

Mrs. Dini: There will be foreigners here when you ar« gone.

Mr. Gully said that once when Ï man walked down Argent-street it was a novelty to see a foreigner. Now ii was a novelty to see a white man, anc It was hard to tell whether they wen in Broken Hill, or a foreign country He had nothing against Mrs. Dini.

Mrs. Dini: I have as much agains you ag you have against the foreigners

Mr. .Gully: Then my God you hav<

a lot. -

' Mrs. Dini: You-aro only out t divide the. workers.

Mr. Gully: I am Bimply fighting tha men of my flesh and blood shall ge what is their rights in their .pw country. (Cheers.)

Mrs! Dini: How much of Austral!

do you own?

' A Voice: If he is examined at th Protestant Hall he would see all th country he owns-the dust on hi

lungs.

At thiB stage a man in the back < the' crowd began to. make utterane concerning Mr. .Gully, Ho sudden ended' by saying: "A man ought n to waste Iiis time on you."

Mr. Gully: All right old man, y( invited yourself here. Bun away ai 1 will not lose any sleep over you.

Mr. Hargreaves at this stage me tioned something about Mr. Gully's s sociation with conscription. Mr. Gul replied: "There goes the poor old hoi again. HQ has been ridden to dea and chaff is dear. Give him a spell.1

Mri Gully, continuing, said that i kinds of side issues had been dragg in against him, and all sorts of r herrings had been dragged across t trail to stop his efforts. He said th nothing could be pointed at his unie ism. He had old papers.home wheh would like printed about somo of t great unionists of a few. years ago.

At this stage intejections cai thicklv from the back of the . crow but Mr. Gully obtained silenco by : questing his interrupters to come to th« form he was speaking from a declare their attitude on th© forei question. Tiere was no response

his invitation. ,

A Voice: Finish with Wetherell fi and then takft the rest on

Mr. Gully : A lot of people think tl T havo squibbed it with Wetherell, have not squibbed it and will nesquib it to any man. I will deb th© question with Wetherell but th will be no Southern Europeans thei

Mrs. Dini: I'll be there.

Mr. Gully said that he would t; the question to tho union for a ball

Ho would appoint his own scrutineers and would slay in. tho room where tim ballot was taken, and it could be taken from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. ile would also be prepared to havo a voto taken in tho open, and would abide by thet de-cision of the crowd on the question.

Mrs. Bini : You will cause civil war. Mr. Gully: You will not bo in it.

Mrs. Dim : 1 will deal with you first. Mr. Gully: You would bo like tho general in the war that I have read about. Ho said that ho had only 20Ü rounds of ammunition and that the men were to run when that had been fired. Ile had reminded them, however, that he was lamo and would g° at once.

Mi s. Dini : Have. you been m my country?

Mr. Guljy :If you mean Italy, Yes.

Mrs. Dini: Then have you not seen white people and Australians working

there?

Mr. Gully. Not many.

A Voice: They might be in gaol.

Mrsl Dini : You are all the time harp-

ing about Maltese and' ' Italians. I Don't'you know any othets? .

Mr.'Gully, l will make'it general. I will say Southern Europeans. . .

In Wply. to Mrs. Dinr, < Mr.- <3ully said that tho foreigners had*no right to employment nv preference to whites because they liad no stake in the country. -

Mrs. Dini : The.foreigners are coming into the country, because.ut all the railway- stations, in their own country they ate told to go to Australia where thejr- can get cattle stations for tho asking...

^MV^.trulIy : Well I wish they would ^Çout' on the cattle station, or kan-garoo., stations for that matter.

Mr.Gully said that the reason that half of the foreigners came was be-

cause of relations here who said to the-bosses, on the mines: "Me pusha one truck, you give my brother in Italy a job and he pusha two trucks." . He added that the W.I.U. collected hun-dreds of pounds a year and sent it to Newcastle. Now that the unem-ployed wanted money there was not a brass razoo in the place to get.

A Voice: If you begrudge the few bob,that you have given go and get

it back.

Mr. Gully: That is the trouble; I can't get it.

j A foreigner accused Mr. Gully of pimping on the Big mine. Mr. Gully challenged him to produce proof, of this, adding that all he got from the tig mine was tho sack from his brother.

Mr. Gully referred to Mr. Wetherell's dramatising in picturing two Maltese children being taken from their mother and thrown out of the country by Mr. Gully. He .sai^ that he had pictured two Australian children on the other sîSe of the street having their, bread taken from them by Maltese.

Mr. Gully then moved the following resolution--"That this mass meeting of the unemployed of Broken Hill, call upon those in authority, who have the power of putting on men on relief works, that preference be given to the Australians and British born, and that no Southern European» b«» emnloved

r .' J J~ r« ." '»"

Mr. A. R. f'Floss") Campbell se-conded the motion nnd said that he was with Mr. Gully to the hilt. K the crowd

had anything on Mr. Gully ïhey had^

nothing on liim.

; Tho motion was j then put and de-clared carried on a show of hands, someono calling out, "Two dagoes against

it."

Mr. Gully, when questioned how ho proposed to move if the authorities were against the motion, said thaVhe would liave to devise some other line of action.

Mr. Gully was later requested to put in a requisition for a special meet-ing of the W.I.TJ. to take a vote; on tho closing of the hooks against foreigners. He said he would do this;

At one stage of Mr.'Gully'g speech Mrs. I>ini got un on the form along-side of him and jostled him. Mr. Gully ignored ¿her.

At the close of the meeting the hat was passed round and the sum of £1 8/9 was collected to defrav expenses for advertising, etc.