THE FLAXMILLING INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1626, 18 December 1912, Page 8

THE FLAXMILLING INDUSTRY.

Sir,—The suggested move of the flaxinill employees for a general rise in wages on account of the .present rise in the price of fibro is not altogether unexpected by those who study the trend of industrial matters. Put aside tho credible impression that the idea emanates from a paid organiser, and let as imagine that the claim has a bona-fide origin. The flaxmill worker sees only that the employer will, probably, while the present prices last, make twice as much as he has been making during the previous year.. 'The position really is that he stands, at last, in tho position of being able to expect a reasonable return for his sunken capital, and -his patience. What of the. lean years that the industry has teen through—of the many men who risked their little all in. the business—and of the many who were not able to carry on and reap their reward—of the present heavily-mortgaged properties of most of those who have managed to survive? In most flax districts at everymilo there are to be seen the remains of an old venture—the deserted mill, with its decaying, walls and the grass, growing under the boilers. The employer is not to havo. his reasonable reward! We —who risk nothing—who, in many cases, make more than the small employer— are to have the lion's share, even to the extent of crippling, tho industry. Let us share the profits: and, when low prices forbid profits, and the lean years come again, let us turn our attention to the prospering of some other industry. When we have sucked that dry—well! there always remains the Government 1 to blame. Let us formulate beautiful economic schemes for the sharing of profits in every industry; but let' us not take into account the possibility that we may also be called upon to share losses. _ Let us propound our theories on the subjocts of "production, distribution, and ex : change," but let us always beep enough capital for a steerage ticket to Sydney. —I am, etc., SALJIO.