THE RAILWAYMEN AND THE COST OF LIVING.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2721, 16 March 1916, Page 7

THE RAILWAYMEN AND THE COST OF LIVING.

Sir,—lt seems to me that tho .resolutions carried at Petone and by the various trades unions from time to time with reference to wages and the cost of living are too paroohial, and a lot of valuable time and talk is wasted. Why don't they pool all their interests, and all send delegates to one big meeting end give everybody a rise all round and be done with it-, instead of each trade union nibbling their bit out of the "cost of living .cherry" by degrees? As only' the oapitalist. and exploiter are _ responsible for the increased' oost of living, there is no need for the bricklayer to lay so many bricks a day (lie oould lay twice as many and tho effort would not hurt him), nor for the Corporation dust carts and drays to travel so fast; nor for the carpenters ; and builders' workers to toil so hard; nor travel so far away from their homes without being paid extra; nor to tako less 'than' half an hour to wash their hands and put on their coats at knock-1 off time; nor to light their pities less than 250 times a day. Neither is there any necessity for tho Railway Department to charge 6uch low rates. What's another penny a . mile for passengers', and why not oharge passengers by weight, the 'samp as goods ? And Why should babies under "three years bo carried free? And if they put another 4d. a. gallon on milk, that's only a halfpenny "t pint, it would bring in enough rerenue to pay *lie extra shilling a day. And wny shouldn't the people who want to use the IJpst Office pay threepence for their letters, instead of a paltry ? The Postal Department <iould then afford to pay for mails instead of sponging on the Railway worktrsl. And why siiou'dn't a bloke get ss. hour for trucking flour over the ?harf? Those who require to use flour Jrould havo to starve if, it wasn't for the "wharfie.," Then, again; look at tho i>i'ice of bread (I'm a baker)! It could "Easily stand another tuppencc a loaf. \nd milk only 4d. a quart; it ought to "6e 6d. (I'm a milkman now). Tlien look Jst the ridiculous price of meat! I reckon chops and steaks ought to be up ;o a shilling (I'm a "family" butcher Sow, and I get my meat for nothing). Then what about plumbing—the poor plumber; what does ha get? I had a new rubber put in the valve 'of the p.w.c.; it took ten minutes, and the job was half a mile from tho plumber's shop, and he only oharged Bs. Gd. It should have been at least half a guinea. How's a man to live at these prices? About three feet of spouting reoaired by another plumber only cost 16s. It would have been cheap at a guinea. (if the job had been situated at Pencarrow). . How can you expect house rent to come down when the workers only take six hours to.do ten minutes' work?

Then what about the tram fares? Either the sections should be shortened or the fares inoreased. Fancy, only one' permy from Aro Street to Manners Street. The fares could be doubled easily enough if the passengers would pay. I'm sure the tramway men arc not, paid half enough, considering how they get squeezed sometimes. The demand of tlie railwayman is most reasonable, and in order to prevent the matter cropping up again in the course of a year or eo, after granting the demand, 1 would make it 2s. and be done with it. What's a paltry bob a day. "The railwaymen must receive more.. money, and tlio. railwayusers must find it." There is one, and' one only, solution of the difficulty. It is very simple, and is called "the golden rule": "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye oven so to them" (Matt. 7). The world rejects this precept, and is paying, and will have to pay dearly. That their eyes niav be opened is tlis prayer qf ' JOHN PLOWMAN.