Worker (Brisbane, Qld. : 1890 - 1955), Saturday 3 August 1901, page 2


The Vanguard Round Table

Parliament has as-sembled! The figure-head has mouthed the alleged King's Speech!! All the usual, and some unusual, ceremonial has voto uuMnndl in. mad to wnat dohkmb? A** the gib* ano»y of w^e^Ves $xMut' ing under our groily immprrtiiadnnJtttt economic eyatem going to We their load made one whit the lightfer? Ace Hie , dlrfranohtted mm wad woioep'of our State UWy to receive the slightest benefit? Certainly not, if the Speech is any todica toonof what tfMfletsion is likely to produce. Head the whole wretched production through from »tort to finish, and there is not one word shomngeven the fainteet oonoeption of sound Governmental prin ciples or the remotest qualifications lor irtfctesmanship. All the usual commercial jargon h there. All the old threadbare platitudes about our vast resources, loyalty torfbe throne, the eternal drought, &c., are again requisitioned, but one looks in ▼am for any foreshadowings of adult suffrage, old age pensions, a Department of Lftwur, oompulaory oonciliation and ?rbitratiQn, a wages board, or eetabliah roent of a minimum wage, non-alienation of our public lands or kindred measures, in short for anything evidencing a greater oonoaro for human life and happiness than for 'Property' and 'Commercialism.' Half a million of a deficit, an everincreas ing shortage in all departments of the State— yet not one word of financial in tentions does the Speech disclose. As usual the session opens witii the expressed determiiiation of the Government to work only half time. Labour men must strenu ously oppose thiB. Either there is work to be done or there is not. If there is not. why summon Parliament at all ? If there is, why not do it with a will !. A fair day's work and work every day of the six until it it done should be every honest member's desire. We outside have to work un ceasingly Mid III addition provide our full share of the expenses of Government. We have therefore a right to expect that our delegates in Parliament shall work as diligently. Let us ttdpe that the Demo ormtn inside the House will devote them selves in no half-hearted way to the people's battle. Let them remember t»hat to Labour ites at least Parliament should be something more than a swell dub. Let them insist that the real business of the country shall be transacted on the floor of the House in full view of the ? eyes of the people and not as How in the smoking room,1 or over the bHliard table or round the dining table of the Queensland Chjb. With a solid fight ing party inside the House, prepared all the lame to us** their Parliamentary position as a vantage ground for battle, and a strong enthusiastic, well organised party outside, what might we not Ho? To this end we must labour; and although the realisation of our fondest hoped may be yet afar off, still the rising sun of social emancipation is even now showing well above the political horizon. We may not reap the full harvest, but we can nevertheless assist at the seed time, and mayhap when the grain is being gathered, bur children in the full enjoy ment of greater social and political liber* ties, freed from the bonds of economic slavery, will remember with gratitude the workers whose hands were ever at the plough. * « * I often wondered Dioo«KE8 on what they were for, 'Governors.1* imposing their gran deur and their lord tiigh-and-mighty airs upon this inoffensive community. Now the secret is out ; the whole show has been given away by acting Governor Griffith. He is doubtless not unknown to you as the Chief Justice of Queensland ; he could well be called the ' chief injustice' of this country since he lifts a salary of £3500 per annum, a eum nearly double that pjaid to the O.J. of the United States with its population of nearly 70 million*. And that is by no means the worst thing that can be said about him. The occasion was the opening of the Maryborough Show recently and Griffith discoursed on the advantages of imported Governors. After expressing his assurance that ' he certainly could not be suspected of any ulterior motives and designs ' which everyone who has followed Griffiths career since '91 will of course, heartily refuse to endorse, he referred to the Governor as the visible link of the unity between the State and the Empire. Then he said ' there was another aspect of the matter which was scarcely less important. The people of Australia were a long way off from the centres of civilisation ani refinement and those who had travelled must realise how one felt the lick of. refining influences.' It was a 'matter of inestimable importance that they should be periodically refreshed by receiving amongst them those who were acquainted with the newest phases and latest usages of society, men who would in troduce a breath of fresh air from the older countries of the world.' There you are, gentle reader, now you know why this ignorance-cursed community imports these glided darlings and see what we get for our money) These facts should be noted

specially by the workem ; remember that you get lor the Ja*H»/iannu#l expenditure upon vioe-regal matt&s a noWfi and munifi oent return: l. Insirubtion%» tfie taifcwi of society. % Air fresh from a Governor, Don't, lor heaven** Mice, aay it is not value for the money ! You will find both item* of great assistance, especially if you , happen to tarn yoar living (not bv being » Chief Justfoe) but bjrcarryingbrioittt growr ing corn, shearing sheep, or some useful occupation usually followed by the people who ' lack refitting influences.' * * .. * I met an old navvy Adah Tramp cobber of mine one Spins a Yarn. morning last week. He was fully ac-coutred in moleskins, bowyangs, tucker bag, billy, and shovel. He was heading out West End way. The clatter of his heavy watertight boots on the pavement proclaimed his hurry. He was at the same, time energetically reducing an old clay pipefull of cheap working-class tobacco to smoke, which hung in his wake dispensing an odour strong enough, I observed, to alter the course of a few non-smokers im-mediately behind him. "Where are you going, Mick?" I inquired. He slackened his pace a bit and, taking his pipe out of his mouth, answered in a strong rich brogue that set a bloke thinking of the green fields of Erin, 'Oi'm goin' to shovel mook fer th' profit iv a gang iv thramway sharks, to ern a few bob, to buy a bit in tucker, to keep up me muscle and shtrength, so that Oi'll be able to go to work shovelling mook fer a lot iv thramway sharks, to earn a few bob—" Hold on, Mick," said I, "your story has no end. The Labour men will alter all that." 'The divil a wan'llalter it only oursilves,' answered MicK, vehem ently. 'Of m iv the same opinion as that

celibrated counthryman iv moine who declared himsilf agin the Governmint whin he landed in Amerikay. If the galoots iv civilisashun only undershtood the philosofy that made Pat shpake that way they wudn't be crawling on their bellies to poly tishuns and mashtere, but shtandin' shtrait and free on their own two Hers. Good-day, mate.' I stood for some time on the kerb watching, his burly form disappearing, wondering if there might not be something more than wind in what my old cobber had said. * * * The incessant prate SjrGeorgeCalder- of the capitalistic wood Wants a organs owned and con Labour Monopoly, trolled by the shark ing financial institu tions of this preat State of Queensland, having for their directors, men who are ever ready to east their votes in the House of Parliament to down Labour, and by so doing rob the employees of their full fruits of labour muet be combated and fought with stubborn resistance. Capital has so long ruled this* colony that the time has ar rived for all men to combine and aim at founding a monopoly of labour. Capital, havingalready done this, sutely labour can not be blamed for doins likewise. Take for instance the monopoly of the profession practised by ex-parson Rutledge ; can any thing be more absolute '? Then, take the doctors, what a monopoly they hold. Yet Philp and his political hacks Ao notiie nounce them for combining for the uphoid icg of prices charged for professional at tendance ; shipowners, sheep and cattle ; owners, in fact every calling indulged in by the creme de la creme push combination, is quite right and proper. Yet they are ever straining every nerve co denounce combi nation on ? the part of the shearers, wharf labourers, boot operatives, &c., as some thing horrible, trying all they know to pre judice- the public mind against Labour Unions, whose members are rightly strugg lingtobefree, and ever ready toad vooatecol

and map ? i-» ?5Sp£ -ft*«Bs€pSWi' upon wbomwec^at poajbly 5»PMp cjettt oondwpna^ofl.1 Blark jwl ft*,- «»e late Sir X. H*Uwhith durittff wnioft lie olaoed before t£a eteotore of QuBen«1*od Ifaefollowing : **Wr dawre i» to reprew injurious monppoCeB, *U%y Beetional jeaiousie*. Mid prevent *fe» creatioii of privileged daw*.* Inooodnwm, I m& the time is not far diutant when workere will thorougWy believe in* b«e and inde pendent Labour monopoly ; repogniain^ that freedom can only be obtained and maintained by and through the aid of Labour Onions. * *.-.-*.'?' 'Bzhpk*?o* gi*a4^lnoole ideal Socialism. ___ and my sympathies are with those enthusiasts who work, unaelfifthly in its behalf, but human nature is aga»nst it. You wilt have to change human nature first, and it is a alowprooees. It has token agee to bring civilisation to the preeent standard, and it will take ages more to mate mankind fit for the co-operative commonwealth.' Such are the atgumenta of a good many folk, who often in all fcinoerity. use them as reasons for not identifying themselves with our movement. At aurclubroom recently similar arguments were used, and, needles to say, with some of us it took the wind a little out of oursaUs, for a moment or two, at any rate. When one seriously reflate on the history of the human race, its long and weary struggle for the light, ite many digression* from the . path of justice, the selfish, brutal oppressions of the strong and

powerful against their weaker brothers (of which the South African war is a faint' reflection), it may be excusable to feel a momentary chill put on your ardour. But there is no need for despair. Socialism is an economic and ethical truth and must prevail. Its methods, if not its name, are ! even now being adopted. The modern | system of wealth production compels the ; organisation of industry on a larger and I larger scale, thereby preventing jvaete and ! useless toil. The Trust is the most perfect ' system of private enterprise in which com I petition is a stage of the past, a fact that ; accounts for the rapid growth of this ' new i great power.' But the nation properly ! organised is even greater than the Trust. I The Federal Government has passed the i Postal Bill. Not one of the reactionaries ; would dream of opposing this' Socialistic i measure on the groundB that private enter | prise would serve us cheaper and better. ! Throughout the universe the postal industry I is now carried on by the nation for the~ [ nation. Further than that, it is organised on au international basis. Briton and i Russian, German iand Frenchman co operate harmoniously in the world's mail service, in spite of the inherent selfishness in human nature The benefits of this social co-operation are so evident that in almost every city municipal enterprise is displacing private monopoly. Considering the obstacles ' vested interests' are able to place in the way of those reforms, their progress is really wonderful. Public neces sity, spurrei on by economic developments, will land us in Socialism in spite of our selves. ? # ' * # At one of the meet Nan on ings of the Vanguard Environment, somebody -. contended that environment had far less influence on humanity than heredity. In some wise' environment can be matte, to influence heredity, as, if we change the environment of one generation for the better and make things much

11111 fpeppff «wa,Jtojl5w, as a matter of ^^^#^aleVhund«d years man ^!g|j**^m«?g w»»tfc indulging ?WJPP f WWO Jje found giving away f^^ll^c^ *Uotments. f he in ttttwi» p|^ig iHMu^ea environment would fe^^S^S^K?^ m no^ 00Bt«»ue ??SmMBBR&*E&f '1 heredity is Wf&iWmmpna would carry the beneficial effi^ forward for some generations before ^f»*B^t«»*lly stamped out and stifled - £!^ ^*e* * ftn evil environm»nt „' 'The Labour An «AM Commends nual'— or as it i* now ♦?The Labour named 'The Re AUNDAL.' former's Year Book' __ (or 1901 is tcj hand. WQ* seven years its editor and publisher Joseph Edwards, has unselfishly and sealously laboured on behalf of the public a tion, Which is dedicated to the w«ary and oppreeeed of every land, and is crowded With matter relating to organi^atioti- w.,rk ing towards a reconstruction of Moiety. It it'-;tibt- literary guide to the progiW.sht* movements of the twentieth century, and, -ia invaluable to the .student, the repiresentative and the propagandist WoRKERItKS who wish to be i»f irnied i. ceming the myriad Labour budi.-- j. rat ing throughout the world will cfl^an from ;i perusal of the articles in this section an in sight tiuto methods of educational prupa ganda pr-^nant with suggestion and h^lp. fttlness. Oo-operation, Munidpalisirj, Trades Unionism, and Parhainfinary Legislation are questions sympjitht-ucaliy and concisely handled, the u-armf-ntj white brief, being splendidly i».i.oi-i to convey ideas ami givfu in^trsi ;i :?. \ chronology of events, a numbz oi :*-t-e biographies, a handy list of h--k~ and pamphlets, and a budget of m^-v.-A -tati.-^cs, are all features of the bo-A-, th- -An*a-fication throughout bein^ -s« nngly simple and the arrangement -u.--y to grasp. In the section entitled 'filial articles' will be found much of ? . jui mal strength and interest. Si.in.-v \Wb!i on 'One Hundred Years o( La; ur. W. B. P. Bliss on 'The Socialist M ,.wm in Great Britain,* Robert i).mu'..\ u ? The Coming of the Trust,' Edward ?: Social ism Briefly Defined,' are iii^m u ; -writings full to overflowing of the gluii :u^sage of social r^eneratiou. War, h nx, land. finance, education, teraperan - . w umeuV work, brotherhood efforts, .--.i.-.-r»-i and -secular agencies, international ;nngre-t^, &.c.» these matters are dealt wit), pointedly, yet comprehensively by expert writers, who probe and smite in epigram an 1 rhetoric. Friends cannot better 'lend a hand' in a great cause and at the same tim- -? -jurf an almost indispensible book than -y order ing a *'Year Book' from tin- \ anguard secretary, price Is. Cd.