Mr. T. Mallalieu, general secretary to the Felt-Hatters Union and
President of the General Federation of Trade Unions, has spoken out strongly about the Council of Action. His words deserve to be very widely read. They are the words of a clear- sighted and brave man, who, we have no doubt, expresses the feelings of the vast majority of British working men :- " The one serious concern to me," he said, " is that the men who appear to be engineering this movement are fairly repre- sentative of the men who were endeavouring to inspire ' direct action ' for political purposes. What I take particular exception to is that they should have pledged the organ zed Labour movement to follow their lead in downing tools on any set question on which they may feel indignation. I am notprepared to follow Robert Smillie, Robert Williams, Frank Hodges and Ernest Bevin on every question of the day. These men are well enough in their own places, but it will be a bad day for the movement if they are to be accepted as aotu leaders and the other people have nothing to clqwledged
follow.
. . It is easy to imagine an utter depletion of the trade union funds which have been amassed by the various unions of the country for purposes other than those for whigh they have been collected. . . I know no six nor twenty-six plod whose dictation I should be prepared to follow without question. What I foresaw when I first read of the establishment of the Council of Action ' was the possibility of its becoming a per- manent body to dictate to the movement."
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