Labour Australia

The death of Thomas ("Bondy") Hoare marks the passing of one of the forcible and colourful figures, one of the "old hands," of the Australian Labor Movement.

Much the same can be written about "Bondy" Hoare as we said about the late Charles Reeves, who died a few weeks ago. 

As a young man, "Bondy" first attracted attention to himself as a Socialist agitator among the mining committees. He joined the Socialist Labor Party, which, twenty-five years ago, was quite a flourishing organisation, and stood as a parliamentary candidate under its banner, and fought strongly against conscription in 1916.

A forcible speaker, "Bondy" helped to create the militant fighting spirit that prevails among the miners.

But the Socialist Labor Party was frightfully sectarian in its outlook, rigid and dogmatic. It reached the sublime peak of sectarian idiocy in its handling of "Bondy."

He was elected Northern Miners' President in 1922. The S.L.P. then spoiled him for "accepting office in a counter-revolutionary organisation, the Miners' Federation."

It is incredible to us to-day that Socialists, blinded by sectarian dogmatism, could act in such an insane fashion, but that is the fact.

Despite his expulsion, Hoare was unable to free himself fully from the sectarian standpoints he had imbibed from the S.L.P.

Because of this, he was unable to appreciate the tactics of Leninism, to understand the Communist Party, despite the fact that he represented the miners at a Moscow May Day, and was an admirer of the Soviet Union.

This caused a number of conflicts between the Party and "Bondy."

Like Charles Reeves, "Bondy" was unable to free himself from, the misconceptions of the non-Marxist-Leninist organisations. He was unable to advance with the revolutionary movement, opposed it, and could not function as a loader of revolutionary thought, because of this political limitation.

The workers will regret the passing of "Bondy" as that of a man who was a fighter for the proletariat to the best of his ability, and according to his understanding. We will draw the lesson that only a correct theory—Marxism-Leninism— enables one to give the fullest services to the masses.