New Britain herald., 1930-09-09


 the rats all one night and then ap- peared on deck. was made to work as 8 sailor.~Our ship rounded Cape Horn and we traded up Puget Sound to Port Townshend. What is now Vancouver was then covered with the wigwams of Indians. I knew San Francisco in its wild lawless days when it was unsafe to be on the streets at night with five dollars.
 Got Shanghaied Again
 's.The last time I was there I had saved up $400, which, fortunately, I left in the ship. I was piled with drink and shanghaied!. When 1 woke up, was at sea again-com- pelled to work as a sailor. Thus I eventually came to eastern ports and saw Boston and New York
 T finally tired of the sea and at 20. came back to England. I got work on the Liverpool docks and married. A few days later I got all smashed up in an accident I got no compensation. Instead, my employer deducted from my very small wage what he had paid out to hire a cab to take my half-dead body to a hos pital.
 That taught me something about English employers. I set about or ganizing the dock workers and eventually it became a powerful body, of which I became secretary. I am superannuated now, and they have retired me on pension. was one of the founders of the modern labor party and ran for parliament from my old home town of St. Hell ems in 1918, and have represented it ever since. In one of my successful races l was opposed by the daughter of the very man for whom I worked at nine fQr 57 cents a day"
 One of his best poems was writ ten in 1920 when the coal miners were on strike and half starving and parliament refused to do anything for them. "Tatters M. F." wrote Tn ancient Rome | chap called
 Fiddled hard to drown the sound: Though once acclaimed the peoples
 Hero,
 Rome was burning to the ground. And now We have the public's
 Heroes
 Underneath the same old moon, Seven hundred British Neros.
 Fiddling at the same old tune"
 In the heat of a debate on the unemployment dole, when many old titled fossils in the house of lords and their younger sons in the house of commons were saying it would en- courage >idleness, "Tatters M. F." arose in his seat and declaimed: The Earl of Fitznoodle, in ermfne
 and red,
 Objects very strongly to the country
 being bled.
 Fitznoodle and pals from the day of
 their birth
 All claim to be owners of Gods giv-
 en earth; And from labor of others his mill
 lions he fobs
 Without genuinely, or otherwise. \ looking for jobs.
 But Fitznoodle is genuinely wrath
 full, dear soul,
 That working class children be put
 on-the dole.
 Such perquisftes ever and always
 should be
 For his son, Lord Tom Noddy. to
 gain his degree
 In his time, Sexton has hit off the foibles of various political opponents like former Premier Baldwin, for mer secretary of foreign affairs, Sir Austen Chamberlain ana former Chancellor of the Exchequer Win ston Churchill.
 Despite their jousts in parliament, he and Churchill are personally good friends. This was shown year ago when Premier Ramsay Macdonald announced the cabinent of his sec ond government. It contained the names of persons who had formerly been conservatives or liberals.
 T notice" says Churchill, some notable omissions. There are men who drew the plans for the labor ship, who helped build its keel, who helped launch it, who manned it in it's stormy hours. Now that the ship has reached quiet port, l observe they are still in the forecastle eating hardtack, while the new recruits are in the officers quarters eating plum duff. l mean men like James Sexton, who is not in the cabinet"
 There were tears glittering in the battling Irishman's eyes when Churchill said these things.