THE 0. M. S.
[To the Editor of. the SPECTATOR.] SIR. — Your correspondent ".E." explains the Labour point of view with regard to the O.M.S. and the Fascist Societies, but there is another. To many people in Britain such a strike as that threatened by those who direct the policy of " Organized Labour " will appear an Act of Rebellion, an Act of Civil War, and as such they will oppose it to the utmost of their power and will regard " Organized Labour " with the deepest resentment for the remainder of their lives. Is it wise for any Party, even if expectant of victory, to incur the fate which History shows to be certain ?
I spent an hour in a Glasgow crowd one evening at the beginning of the Coal Strike: Its members seemed to me exceedingly good fellows, but their ideas were utterly imprac- tical. They talked of Revolution, but there was not among them a single soldier, or sailor, or ex-Service man. I speak with confidence as I was the involuntary centre of that crowd and took pains to find out.
" Labour " has not been kind to the ex-Service man, and I doubt if he will help it now. If he does it will be (Wel° the way the country has treated him. Two years ago I joined a little crowd of ex-Service men in East London, listening to an agitator. The men would as soon have listened to me as to him. It was pitiful to see the poor fellows, half-starved and' without overcoats, shivering in the wintry weather. But it was heartbreaking to hear the cry that broke from their lips when. " the Country " was mentioned. " We have no country, sir ; we have no country ! " Had the authorities kept together
Previous page
