BOOT PROFITS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 519, 28 May 1909, Page 4

BOOT PROFITS.

; EVIDENCE OF THE.EMPLOYERS. . "WORK AND WAGES. . The hearing of the rbply of the employ ore in. tho boot ti;ade dispute occupied the .Arbitration.- Court yesterday!; .'His Honour Mr. Justice Sim- presided,' there being associated with him Messrs. S. - Brown (employers' representative) . and J. ;A. .M'Cullough'' '(workers' repre'sehtative).;': f .'... • - The union, representatives before the' Court - ?were:—Messrs.. A; -'Hi- Cooper, (Wellington), 'GnR! WSiting ..(Ohristohurcb),. and P ; liogaav (Dunedin) and the employers'- intor'estsywore upheld by Messrs. J. A.. Frostick '(Christchurch), T. Hodgson (Auckland), and Wv;fM'Kinloy (Dunedin)., Aesociated with tbesb!latter there were Messrs! G.'A. Coles (Coles and Co.,' Ltd.; AlickLand)/ W. Murray '(Murray.'and Co'.', -Auckland), F."o'Brien (M. O'Brien'and Co.j Christchurch), J. Kings'land, sefi.v-'andlJ.'Ejngsland', jun. (Kinisland and Sons, Invfercargill), James Hannah (R. Hannah-'and Co. '(Wellington), and' W. Brun;skill (Staples and C 0.,. Wellington)^. ■ : ■': 'ATTrTODE.;,'; , Mr. J. A; Frostick, continuing his.'addross, spoke .of. the .effect! of, .the -tariff.:; The con.sumption of.bbots' times greater in. Zealand: : -tlia!V'!in!Australia. He'wouid ■giyo a comparisoniof tho'imports for 1907 to of opportunity there was for. mariufacturers..tb compete with British and .'foreign- makers. "The total imports of-' boots' tb' : New Zealand during 1907 had been; £290,776,. and the dutypaid'had been £69,443, whioh included the .preferential rate, and this made a total average of 23j- per cent, all; round. .'.Thiswis'. tho general protective dirty..oir'bpats,"as "against 33' per: cent..!aJ valorem for .the' Commonwealth. Tho' industry in ■ Australia 7i. per cent, imore 'protection. If it.were' possible for- tlio bbbts;;npw- imported to';bo made' here, their manufacture'would give employment' to about 1500.'persons. <Mr. : ; Cooper had'remarked'to the: Court-that .the boot trade was in an exceedingly 'healthy condition, .and men should hayovadditional protection,-, that'•-. in ,1906'Doininiori,' faoiories ■'. tad turned '.out, I 1y190,000 pairs,. but Mr.- Cp'oper had omitted | tb: ; mention'that;'in;the .same' year 1,388,928 pairs; had : been."imported,, ah 'increase oh ! tlio. previous .year's'.importation.'.'; They had .imported. in that, ■ year nearly 200,000 pairs morovthan I 'worb made locally. The' figures did not include any!but,dutiable goods. The .Court must be-gui/led by'the. condition of the 'trade, andjmust consider what it. was possible, for tho'employbrs'tp;do'with!out runnirigthe • risk of .'uijurinjr,: th? business", of making u'nhecessary, restrictions'. . One"of the most: im..portant,! statenients .made. by the. union. waa. 'that tlie men were/.not. paid according to niorit.;; If'.that wore, true,'the .Court would •have had a serious problem to. face. He had the 'ofiginal;alteratipns.-.and! condition's'made. ip;l9os.';to..tlxe',previoU.< !award,-'.am):clause. 3 of- the agreement admitted that. as a general, rplo the employers had paid workmen ac.cbrding.io..merit'.^,',.',,!..''. ;■ ! ~-,. ;! ■ -A union .repres'ehtatiyo: We: don't admit itJtb-day;-"':"'"' "':' : ;ff-f.' ''■"" .';.' ' ■ . '' .-. ' : Mr.:;:Frbstick Went on.!that the condition, of-'the tradb-had .notchanged since then, and no:.drastic.ialteratioh;was required.'. Cla'llso ,l|of,that,agreoraent.'set..out;that;each'. man, was . to'; uso.;'eyery : ,endeavour, to' qualify.';fpr'tho 'highest 'wage'"he might bo able .to'command.. Thb Court had beon told byj Mr. Young that there was still a third of .work left in .the .men if they cboso. to exert '■themselves.,! If wages must bo based on profits, they- must also be .bawd-on tlio'lofscn. sustained.;'-'Excluditi'g^a'.few -.men;-: who had '!ajvariety of impqrtations'and others' ~iduring-;the past -twenty, .years, 'ono ooiild 'not; find a'ciso 1 : where' a' boot! manufacturer liad retired from the business w;ith acomfpetency. " The profits 'in' the boot trado .were 'Ojceedihgly.-limited.;, ,;In-.the years-1907-'and. 1908, the'.value of impbftations-tbNewr'.Zea-. -land. had;increased by £13,995, and'a-de-!fetease':had ~bcen,: i )oticod.:in'.:thc imports in ! -''AustraHarfor,i!that 'period of"• £13,814; '• Since iBBB there.hadt.bben::a;,steady- increase in the -;consumption-;of,dutiable.goods;': In:1888 the> 'cbhsumption' of'-'imported-boots was .89;.p0r, !head'of the.population,' andin.l9o7 t\a con-, sumption was; ;1,42.: per/head;', : Eighty per cent, of thbipboplP: of - the Dominion .were, ■ worker's;l'"a-nd -it-,must, be assumed that .they : wero nbt'.'loyal to!their,own industry; other'wise'they" would : see that'.they and their families wore the productions of their, own faotorie-s. ..These..wero 'circumstances over which "the employers -had-rhb' .control.--;Tho, Bootmakers'".Federation- had been i urging Upon thbi'Gbvernment; -to; establish ■;. btate. boot 'ifa'cfories, : ' : ;%nd''it.'-'-was;.understood that thby'; wished -to- be - co-partners, because they had publiblv'offered a considerable Bum of money "if the "Government would accede to. their rcqudst.: If: ; tho Court gave preference to.union-men, aiid-tinionists went-into tho 'State factories, -the Employers would .navo-.to-■put'up i'Tb-tet";'-notices in all their factories, and their' powers-'of : competition• would. ■ bo greatly restricted. Ho. believed that thecost of. tho'-,nccessariesof.'life*was reallyless -than ,a; few ';years' agoj'.'filthough'[rents ; might have gone 'lip.■'• : It was* tho hope, of the' employers !that. the dispute would now be settled for isbmo years' '-;;:",' ■■'.'•-,: % '■■'. EVIDENCE QN;IMPORTATIONS: f f, ... Tho /first! witness; callod/by tho cmplbycrs was James'Alexander-Hannah, of the .firm .of Robert fiannah ; and r Co., Ltd.. His;;firm, lie said, had how erecfed;'a new building and wore putting in :; madorn!'!appliarices. Ho had visited Amorica;' ; and3&ad'.noticed:that,the: rate'; of !work : there was 1 much greater'than.'in New .Zealand;: audAlio' 'work • was --done -quite j as Well. : In'Ainericajthere was. scope for special-' ising, :!but'ih Now'Zealand'it was necessary te; make - n-great; variety, "of- ; boots, ■ whichnaturally increased the cost of production. 'A largo'number''of'the Dominion'retailers were.entirely .dependent, fof their, living upon thesalo of bbpts;mado in.New.Zealand! -His firm imported'frbm-Australia- as well as from Other places. ' Tho 'landed cost of some ;Aus-. tralian' lines>'was 'lower ''than' the*! cost .of similar:boots'inadb in■■■' New "Zealand." The firm imported■ both fromi!-Victoria;and"New South Wales!--"--;''''!'. '•■■•"''■' 'Mr; M'Cullough: What is the value of youi imports from Victoria?'■;■,■,; ;;:■ . Witness: Last year the, imports, were to the extent of about £100'0 ; ' :; Trio boots of Aus-. tralia are more attractive,;because the manufacturers arc able to specialise there. '■'•' • - To Mr.! Frostick: .Machinists in .' his!' firm were paid;32s,6rl.,;and lit appeared .that tha union desired'tb'rnakb.tbe present maximum wage the .new! minimum. , To Mr. Cooper': Some'of .'the imported lines ;could,not-bn made in.NeW Zealand factbribs. : Mr. Cooper:..ls' it a fact' that your firm 'and othershave lately hosn'pushing Amerioan goods not. •;■ .Mr. Cooper: Do.not you encourage- the retail shops: to sell the imported goods?—No! wo .frequently .write to our. branch "managers hrgihg them-to'sell bur.own' lines every timo.- • Mr. Cooper: Has tho. increase'in the tariff since,l9o7;.giveii.you:a;better opportunity, of .■competing, with American lines?—l'have hot noticed any difference: in tho!factory, but it is;bouWd to make a difference in tho medium'priccd goods. '■..',•,'..!:, ;.--.\. .;Continuing,; .'tho; -witness, emphatically denied-that instructions had been issued to his; Gfovinouth mahagor to push imported lines. ~Ho would object if the union asked that a; boy should ,b'n taught threo machines in fivo years,, as lip considered it for apypnb' .to .learn;[ threo : thoroughly in that time.'; -.;.'■ ■*, ■'-'■■'-'.'- .-.' ;; '■' ,-■-■ ". '.'William. M'Kinlay---bebt manufacturer, established in Dmiedin'fqr thirty years, stated, that ho would'riot pay only tho minimum waie ,tb a'man canablo ,bf."cutting tho best .leather!.::Ho p'aid'his merf £2 10s. and £3. a wcok. ;He employed about -.a dozen machinists, and ; found that the, girls, often left tecefc married. :.-;;. ,r> : ■- .... ■ " Alfr.ed -Paino^iwas. called to give further evidence on hocT-andredge-paring. . . ~ ' iCharlcs J.-'Ward,: factory,, manajtcr:for R. Hannah, and'Co'.,, expressed tho'opinion that an who .bpuld turn oilt ,350 pairs. prr day.w.buld.'/easily.'obtain employment at ;£3 a-;wcok.!:'. ~'!..-,.'.: : . V;.-;. !"..■■! : ; Walter Murray, an. Auckland manufacturer 'of twelve years' standing, declared that the trade had boon .elevated sir.ee tho old wage system had been abolished., ' I . 7- '■'■ '-'THE ; ; .Gcorgo-/Alexander." ..Coles, of Auckland, stated.that hb'had.'-been.in the business for 26 years, arid'hot :,tintil this.year had he,been compelled "to put. off, factory hands. James Arthur IVostick. raauaging director

of Skolton, Frostick and Company, Christchurch, also gave ovidonco on the development of tho trade during the past twenty years, and dealt at length with tho effects noticeable through tariff . alterations. Further: evidence .on similar lines was given by Thomas Hodgson, .of.tho Northern Boot and Shoe Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Auckland. Ho said that ho had boon in the trado 'for 29 years, and had been with the Northern Company since its incorporation in 1882. Tho highest wage;-obtainable by any man-in his factory at present was £3 per week, but if a man gave one-third more work the firm would voluntarily grant him an increase When the piecework log had been abolished tho workers obtained better wages airround. Intimation was_ made that the parties would conJsr this morning at 10 o'clock, and it was agreed ,to result of tho deliberations for tho gnidanco of the Court. His Honour expressed tho hope that a settlement would be arrived at'on a number, if not all, of' the disputed points.