The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERT MORNING. Friday, November 7, 1913.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3483, 7 November 1913, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERT MORNING. Friday, November 7, 1913.

Lt will bo noted that a very important

Is it the Turning Point of the Strike?

development in connection with the strike war occurred at Wei-

lington yesterday. We refer, of course, to the fact that it was possible to make a start with the loading of one of the many vessels that have been held up in consequence of the waterside workers having gone out in sympathy with the shipwrights’ union. The position, in brief, is that a large number of waterside workers who are loyal to the principle of compulsory conciliation iand arbitration have formed a new union and, as they were prepared to re-coinmence work at once, the Athenic was brought up to one of the wharves and loading was begun under the protection of an adequate guard. What' may be the effect of this decision on the part of a fairly large section of the men who are directly affected as a result of all the trouble remains to be seen. It is, no doubt, possible that this development may lead to sympathetic strikes in every direction. But on the other hand there is good ground for hoping that, instead, it may prove the beginning of the end of the whole difficulty. This very interesting turn of events, it is certain, will not be welcomed by the strike leaders, as they will not likely have forgotten that from the time that a similar state of affairs arose at Wailii matters in regard to the mining industry last year quickly reverted to the normal. As far as we can judge the response to the suggestion that a new union of watersiders should be formed and registered under the Arbitration Act has, on this occasion, been very gratifying. The authorities will doubtless be glad that it may nor be necessary after all to invoke the assistance of “free labor,” for that, of course, might have meant further trouble all round. What they will be hoping for now will be to find that there are still many others among the idle workers who will lose no time in resuming work as members of the new organisation. If such should be the case—and we trust that it will—it will assuredly then be futile for the strike leaders t 0 endeavor to bring about an extension of the strike seeing that nothing else that could happen could do so much to break down the strike as the fact that a large proportion of the watersiders themselves should have returned to work. The battle will, then, henceforth resolve itself in great measure into a contest between the advocates of, and the opponents of, compulsory conciliation and arbitration for the support of the workers who have not yet returned to work. We have, of course, no doubt in our own minds as to the side which it would be in the interests of the whole Dominion for victory to rest, and we trust that when the workers who are still in idleness come to think the matter over at least the great majority will decide to return to work as members of a union which will be prepared to abide by the judgment of the tribunal that has been set up by Parliament to adjust all industrial differences as between employer and employed. By this time, we should say, many of the men must be heartily sick of the whole very unhappy business. It remains to be seen, however, what will transpire, but we trust that it will now not be long before the conflict — which, we feel, is beginning to show signs of weakening—will come to a speedy termination so that efforts may at once be put forth with a view to making up the leeway that has accrued in connection with local and overseas traffic and trade.