"WANTED-A BOY."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1547, 17 September 1912, Page 4

"WANTED-A BOY."

THE TROUBLES OF FACTORY MANAGERS. The position regarding tho scarcity of boy labour in Auckland, and, indeed, in the whole of New Zealand, is becoming' most serious (says the Auckland "Herald"), and factory managers and those extensively employing boys havo despaired of solving one. of difficult problems of the 'labour 'world. Some inquiries' made by a "Herald" representative show that the position is daily growing worso.■• > .

One factory manager who was seen took a most pessimistic view of the situation. "Lot us get right back to the cause of it," he said.. "In. my opinion, there are too many avenues of pleasure for the presentday boy. There is a tendency for living on a higher plane nowadays, and this lias been so inculcated into our youth that nothing is good enough for him. Ho cannot be persuaded to take up an ordinary apprenticeship, with the certainty of a good living all his days. He must go for tho high wage from the time, he leaves school, and often and often he is left stranded in his early manhood, without a trade to fall back to. For after all, it is only a comparative few who succeed in tho higher Ijusiness and professional world, and tho rest arc left standing. ( "A remedy? Yes, there is a remedy, and it lies with the present Government to seize.its opportumt> and promote nn immigration scheme which will erabraco the' relief of tho shortage of boys'. My suggestion. is that the High Commissioner's Office should interest itself in the welfare of some of London's destitute boys. A few hundred of, them could ~bo obtained at once, and, there you would have at any rate a temporary solution of tho problem,"

The boy labour difficulty will be one of tho problems discussed at the forthcoming conference of the four provincial industrial associations, and ' representations will probably be made to the' Government in the matter.