THE DOWNTRODDEN SALARIED MAN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 196, 14 May 1920, Page 7

THE DOWNTRODDEN SALARIED MAN

_ Sir,—May I request the courtesy of , ; just a little space in your columns to i voice the woes of a class which has suf- ; fered greatly through .the increased cost ! of _ living P We, tho salaried men, are j being slowly but surely ground to dust I between the upper and nether mill--! 6tones. The shopkeeper charges more, and immediately the labourer follows ■ suit. Both of /them benefit, but we are ■ left. . i We are caught between two armies in •' full rage of battle. On the one side are I the financiers and shop-keepers, the other ' army is Labour. Wo are being 6helled, \ and woe betide us if we do not join i one of the armies in self-defence, for, if i we do not, then wo shall be wiped out of existence. . ; Wo salaried men have- been cadets,,'; apprentices, underpaid ' assistants and '■ have spent long and weary years almost '. without remuneration to pass examina- i tions, we_ have, been at the mercy of i the councillor or the magnate, and now . : .• wo are almost the only class .' which is unablo to defend itself. We ! dare not even approach the councillor ; with a modest request for more salary. ■' Every class is bu6y yelling at the- i other: "Go hard, you chaps,' the "late ■! of the nation depends upon you." But, ! meantime, every second tradesman has 1 j just built a new shop and bought it new motor-car, and his wife has most : beautiful silk stockings.. A steady tide i is flowing around the foundations of our' j fortunes. The labour man has crept up •■ and ever up, until now his pay is, in j many cases, beyond that of tho official ■: who has had to sacrifice eo much. I-.; admit we'are fools, but we hate mak- j ing afuss, and wo have some pride in. j our work. ;j •We can never expect anything from i the councillors. They appear to believe,, j perhaps honestly, that their duty is to j grind down their officials. Personally I : do not think the ratepayer is so mean A as these worthy representatives would ] have us believe. In the Homeland j there lias been recently oi'Ranised a fed- ' erated society called the National Union j of Local Government Officers. This so-' ! j ciety has already had several dealings '•; with municipalities and has secured bet- ■ tor terms for some downtrodden ofn- .' cials. All honour to it. Is it too_much. '! to hope that our various chaoticTsocie- 'I ties in New Zealand may combino to -;! form a great union, from chiefs of de-'-.-j pnrtments down to the •humble and ob- ,i scure, borough official? . _,' '•'''] Our aim would be not to cause trou- i hie, but to_ create a voice ; of 60me '.] strength which may be heard above the j noise of the crowd. At present our pro- ; tests are merely squeaks. It is no use j for the mouse to speak to the cat. From. ■■■ time to time our great and wise rulers j throw •us a little sop in the 6hape of,'- j say, 10 per cent, increase, after the cost j of living has increased GO per cent, and i we accept it meekly and even kiss the .{ hand of the giver. ' j The writer has to state that person- j ally he is noF a sufferer, but that is I purely due to special circumstances. Ho :j is sorry for so many of his friends j who are hard hit and aro too patient | . to complain. . ■■] If the nation won't help us, then, J ■ when tho labour man passes ns in the ■ pursuit of a livelihood, we must aot like -j " the rats and 'leavo the sinking for there is no reason why wo should..; stnrve, so long as wo con take a pick j and shovel, or learn tho use of the saw; i or the adze. The lifo would, anyway, i bo free and without tho anxieties and j responsibilities whioh at present we j must endure on a beggarly pittance, j Meantime, what are wo to do?—I am, | etc., j DUST. ;