Oct. 8.
WHte the strike of British seamen in Australia, South Africa and Great Britain hus: been @ disastrous one: for all concerned, it lis served one very useful purpose in. emphasizing' what was slowly coming to be! realized—the true position of Communists in their relation to' both orthodox Labour and Capital. It is an undoubted fact that in the British Empire, especially during the last four years, the insidious activities of the Communists have done much towards driving a wedge between employers and employed, and to engendering a pronounced class hatred equally' harmful to both. It is equally, undeniable that in their plotting; for industrial unrest and their advocacy of red revolution, the Communists have been success ful to some extent: but the great: majority of workers, in spite of the covert methods and unconscionable propaganda of the revolutionists, remain true to the British precepts of law, order! and constitutionalism.
The seamen's strike forms an excellent example of Communist intrigue, deception and misrepresentation, and a brief outline of the situation leading to it may not be out of place. On July 6, the National Maritime Board at Hor outing all d and employed in the British Mercantile Marine—came to agreement that the wages of ranks on British ships should undergo a reduction on August. 1 to the rates obtaining a year previously, when, after very friendly negotiations, an in-ease conceded by the shipowners. The agreement of July 6, for a return to the old scale, was unanimous, it being recognized by both sides—employers and—seamen—that British shipping was in a parlous state and that in the best interests of all concerned a reduction was clearly indicated. The agreement and reduction were confirmed by the Executive Council of the National Ses men's and Firemen's Union, which Council the majority of members are ordinary sea-going men; and later was confirmed by a much larger body, known the National General Meeting, presenting the whole of the branches and ports in the Uni ed Kingdom. The proportion of members present was 75 per cent. and the reduction -was ratified by a unanimous vote. That, we think, establishes beyond cavil that the seamen The reduction duly came into effect on August 1, and it peared that nothing untoward would occur to disturb the harmonious relations which—in striking—contradistinction other key industries—had existed for many years between seamen and their employers. During the third week in August, however, came the bombshell from Aust that seamen on certain British vessels had been induced to strike by the fi brand leaders of the Australian Seamen's Union, who have preached Bolshevism and revolution for many years, and have on more occasions' than one tried to put it into effect. The trouble*in Australia, we know now, was a pre-arranged signal for similar trouble: to break out in South Africa and the United Kingdom, and in all three countries the joint forces of agitation and intimidation caused hundreds of thousands of tons of British shipping' quickly to become idle. There is not the slightest doubt that the: majority of the strikers, who ostensibly came out as a protest against the reduction, were subjected to Communistic prop-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.