INDUSTRIAL UNREST

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 66, 10 December 1921, Page 3

INDUSTRIAL UNREST

NEW ZEALANDER’S IMPRESSIONS OF -ENGLAND HARD WORK THE ONLY CURE Mr. and Mrs: L. O. B. Tripp, of Wellington, arrived back from England on Tuesday evening, having travelled out via Suez Canal and Australia. Asked for a review of the industrial conditions in England as he found them during the last six months, Mr. Tripp said:

“We arrived in England earlj? in June and so came in for a month of the coal strike. What impressed me most was that though the strike had been on for some months, there were no disturbances or riots. The English people seemed determined to accept the position, do without coal as far as possible, and preserve law and order. The order and discipline of tho people in London was an eyeopener to me, and though 75,000 troops were called out to keep order and the transport going to supply tho larger towns with food, they were not wanted, and were demobilised. It was obvious to me that the miners could not obtain their demands; because public opinion was against them, and every employee I spoke to told me the strike was not justified. Unfortunately the miners’ and other strikes are largely the 'cause of so much unemployment now in England.

"However, it is clear that the men are beginning to realise that it is only by work that the means of paying wages can be produced. Many leading trade unionists aro pointing out to their fellow workers that the doctrines of the extremists, such as ‘going slow,’ preaching class hatred, and trying- to injure the employer, are-much against the interest of the employee, and are to-day partly the cause of industrial unrest and unemployment. "A remarkable book on the industrial situation has been written by Mr. A. W. Appleton, the secretary of the General Federation of Trades Unions, entitled ‘What We Want and Where We Are: Facts, Not Phrases.’ I do'.not know if the book has arrived in New Zealand, but I hope that it will be widely read. I have a copy with me. Referring to strikes, etc., he says: ‘The immediate effects of all industrial disturbances which have not as their basis real economic advancement will be higher prices for food, for clothes, and every other thing tho poor use. The suffering will be accentuated by unemployment beyond anything yet experienced, for if workmen disregard contracts the employers cannot contract to produce goods, and the merchant cannot contract to sell them either to Britain or overseas. This is as certain as night, follows day. Apart from honest and continuous endeavour and from honour in bargaining, there can be no confidence, no enterprise; com* merce will stagnate, employment will rail, and women and children will starve.’

“Industrial unrest seems to be always with us, but when we .realise what the men and women of England did during the war, the sacrifices they made, the large debts they incurred, we must expect unrest. However, I am satisfied that the Englishman is settling down to work, and thougk he has suffered much by listening to extremists, ho is beginning to see that the ‘go slow’ is no use to him, and that he must produce tho goods. Unless England can produce goods at a price to compete with the markets of the world, she will not have money to pay for needed food, as she can only produce enough food to feed a fourth of her population. The Press and many Labour leaders are pointing this out. and the public are beginning to realise the position. Now you are hearing of cases where workmen and employers have come to terms and factories have been restarted, the workmen being satisfied with a considerable reduction in wages and the employers agreeing to take less profits. Tho consequence has been that the employers are able to contract to sell their goods abroad in competition with the world. “I am satisfied from what I have seen of other countries that in spite of oitr bad times and present depression we who live in- New Zealand should consider ourselves lucky, and that it is difficult to find any country in the world that has such a future as New Zealand. Though there has been a serious slump in prices, our produce, particularly lamb and butter, is very highly spoken of in England. Wherever I went I found ■New Zealand lamb for sale. It has a splendid name, but I am afraid that a certain amount of mutton, is sold as lamb. "I had business to transact in the City, and had the pleasure of meeting many leading business men. What, pleased me most was to find the high opinions they hold of New Zealand and the New Zealanders. Of course our soldiers are largely responsible for this, nn d. tbe High Commissioners and our visiting Premiers' have done much toward keeping our end up. It was interesting to find what an accurate knowledge the financial men I met had of Now Zealand, and what a keen interest they take in our Dominion.”