Page:"Red"·Fed·Memoirs-Hickey-1925.pdf/50

 and usually being men who took an active interest in their union and attended the meetings, commenced an agitation within their organisations for them to join with others in fighting for better conditions.

It would be correct to say that the best organised and the most militant workers were rallying to the Federation’s standard. It is a noticeable fact in Labour unionism that the hardest working men are the best unionists. Compare a coal-miner with a waiter, or a ship’s fireman with a shop assistant. A comparison between a clerk and a waterside worker is not favourable to the former, and so on throughout industry.

The so-called unskilled worker is invariably a better unionist than the skilled craftsman. That is, he has less fear of his employer, is more outspoken in his utterances and in his opposition to what may be termed the pin-pricks and the thousand and one unpleasantnesses that are the lot of the average wage-worker.

And it was elements such as these, that, for the most part, comprised the Federation of Labour.

At the General Elections of 1911, two active Federationists contested seats with the Federation’s blessing. These were P. C. Webb, who challenged Sir A. R. Guinness for Grey and Speaker of the House, and P. H. Hickey, who entered the arena against Mr. H. Poland for Ohinemuri.

In both cases the candidates were defeated, though polling a substantial vote. In the Grey electorate it was a straight-out contest, the voting resulting as follows:—