Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1949 COURAGE IS THE THING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 54, 18 February 1949, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1949

COURAGE IS THE THING

Atop of the main archwayover the entrance to the tiled skating rink in front of Napier’s Sound Shell is ,the legend: “Cour-age-is the thing; all goes if courage goes.”

That stands as a reminder that Napier rose from her ruins after the most disastrous earthquake in this country’s history, and has today probably more civic pride than any other town in the Dominion.

Nor is that spirit of courage against odds confined to Napier or to any one part of this country. In some ways if can be claimed as an attribute of the average New Zealander. Therefore it is not surprising to see at least one large employers’ association taking a firm stand in an industrial dispute. The Auckland Master Builders’ Association has decided to meet the direct action tactics of the Carpenters’ and Joiners’ Union with a definite refusal of its demands and an ultimatum that unless the “go-slow” is abandoned, all unionists will be dismissed from their jobs. Without discussing the merits or demerits of the unionists’ demands, one can freely criticise their methods and congratulate the Master Builders on taking a stand that is both natural and courageous.

It will be interesting to watch the Government’s reaction.

Let us admit frankly that there are still anomalies in some awards. Let us admit equally frankly that many workers have cause to be dissatisfied in that the wages they earn will not buy them the standard of living they feel have a right to expect.

But let us also admit that this is not in all cases the fault of the “big, bad boss” intent upon “grinding the faces of the poor,” as the rabble-rousers who handle the stupidly melodramatic propaganda of the Communist Party would have us believe.

True, there are bad bosses, mean, grasping merciless exploiters of their fellow men. But the way things are today that type finds it hard to hire staff, and it is no more than fair to say that the majority of employers of labour today are reasonable men prepared to make a reasonable bargain and stick to it. Can the same be said of the ardent unionists who pile demand upon demand in an apparent effort to break the very industries that feed them? It has to be made clear that there must be a halting point. It has to be understood that there is a limit to the costs that industry can stand. And it has to be appreciated by the workers themselves that further concessions to their demands for easier conditions and more pay must u ltimately ruin our -whole ecoriomic structure. r ■ Less work at higher cost can

mean only one' thing: Increased cost of living. And unless we jettison all our accepted ideas of economics and establish an entirely new system, costs will always rise higher and faster than wages. We hold no particular brief for the Master Builders’ Association. Nor do we pretend to examine the merits of the Carpenters’ and Joiners’ claims.

But we do condemn the bullying tactics adopted by so many unions today in place of legal means of negotiation; and we admire the Master Builders’ courageous stand, which we hope will compel the Government to face facts and take firm steps to deal with industrial unrest, the existence of which they can hardly be foolish enough to attempt to continue to deny.