The Hokitika Guardian MONDAY. SEPT. 20th 1921. THE ADJUSTING PERIOD.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 September 1921, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian MONDAY. SEPT. 20th 1921. THE ADJUSTING PERIOD.

Tim papers read liy .Mr \Y. ,1. Hut ler nr tlio local association of commercial ;iml t>usitifss lio'n uro always of a thoughtful bout, and turn tin' sca.rchlight of persons! i-otisiiloiatioli oil issues which aiv apt otherwise to In* ovorlooltod. 111 tlio latest paper before the Progress I.engilc. Mr iiutler bad a good deal to say w ith which there will be general agreement. His paper indicates a siueere desire to probe matters in the hope of letting in light j and by t he illiiiuiuation. pointing away to the rasing. of those eonditions which are the bane of existence at present. It is a line (1 f thought being pursued all round the world just now, and out of it all should ,-oine knowledge and understanding whieli should luring enlightenment. anil so open up a pathway to industrial improvement. 'Pile easing ol prices for labor is held to lie a prime factor to reduce the ,-ost of living in order that file cost of production may be reduced. This is having world-wide attention. In America they are leading the way along this road to a recovery of pre-war times. Dealing with tin* subject. a late hanking letter written in the I'nited States mentions the wage .reduction becoming general in that country, and nil the general situation remarks that the wage-workers in agriculture l/a vc the situation before their eyes, and have yielded to it promptly. The wages ol farm hands have dropped approximately one-ltalf, Farms hands were close enough to the situation to see that it was that or nothing. The factory workers, railroad employees and town workers generally are many of them working for the farmers and will have to face the saniu situation, rnemployment exists on a large scale because goods cannot

be sold and they cannot be sold. localise the industrial situation is out of balance. Recovery will conic as the balance is i'stored and cannot conic otherwise. It is gr-atly to the credit of the wage-ear-ners as a class that the process of readjustments has proceeded with as little friction as lias been the ease thus far. Generally th re lias been wilI lingncss to m ike concessions. It is not advisable that tic movement should be unduly pressed. It is better to take inure time, although delay means that the losses are greater, for the wageearners are entitled to know why lower wages arc necessary. 1 hey arc interesting in having the necessary readjust meats made in ' id- the! industry may be on a ba-is that will afford steady and full employment. Wage reductions will have to go much further in the manufacturing industries and m transportation betore this situation is reached. It luis been contended, and with milch force that living costs should lead rather than follow, wage reductions, and they have b d at the expense rf the earnings of farmers and at the expense of profits and divdends. but they have reached a poyit where further price reductions are dependent upon wage reductions. These redietious. however. will not mean a loss of purchasing power to wage-earners, tor the very reason that wages are now the principle factor ill prices, and the cost of living, generally speaking will decline accordingly. On the other hand if fort Iff reductions are not made in the industries indicated, living costs are likely to rise. Already the farmers are organising for the purnose ot curtailing the production of agricultural products. Tim cotton cron this year will be 25 per edit below the average amount inquired under normal conditions to meet, the demand. '’lans nr* being developed to curtail the production of foodstuffs. I hose policies are justified by the combination of wageearners and others to maintain wages and the prices of town-made products at an.unfair level above farm prodiets, The whole system of res»t r iction i< wrong and in the end defeats the purpose in view of bettering living conditions for those who practice it. When everybody practices if the results will be obtained for every group of workers by a fair attitude toward others, and by a common policy to obtain full p coduet ion.