CAPITAL AND LABOUR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1758, 29 November 1917, Page 3

CAPITAL AND LABOUR.

SCHEME TO IMPROVE RELATIONS.

Some of the elements in the more or less constant quarrel between Capital and Labour were discussed at the meeting of the Wellington In-, dustrial Association recently. The matter was introduced by a paperread to the meeting by Mr L. T. Watkins, in which he dealt mostly with the need for the better training of apprentices, and the need for cultivating a belter spirit among the workers which should lead them to place a higher value on good, workmanship generally. Present at the meeting in order to hear this paper were Professor Easterfield, Mr H. A. Parkinson, Mr W. S. La Trope, and Mr A. N. Burns, all interested in the question as teachers. Mr Watkins spoke first of the permanent feud between Capital and Labour, who, he said, should be allies in industry, and not enemies. He considered that in this struggle the craftsman was losing ground, by comparison with the unskilled worker. Although wages had increased, it was very difficult to get youths to enter trades. In olden days, he said, the master was himself a craftsman, working with his men, and relationships were friendly. Now byevolution the shop had become the factory, and the master was no longer known by his men. He was assailed as “Capital” by united Labour. In order to get back some measure of the old relationship he made one or two practical suggestions. His first proposal was that the association should issue invitations to an equal number of trades unions and employers’ unions with a view to founding and carrying on an arts and crafts guild in Wellington. He that the executive of (he guild should consist of an equal number of members of employers’ and employees’ unions, and such representatives of scientific and primary education as the guild should invite to act. ’The chief functions of the guild would be the fostering of high ideals of citizenship in regard to the value of performance in art and industry, more especially in the supervision of apprentices and apprenticeship. He even suggested that some of the old ceremonial as practised by City of London Guilds in the indenturing of apprentices in meeting of the guild, and iq granting the rights of Freemen of the city to men who had completed a satisfactory period of apprenticeship and becoming efficient tradesmen should, be adopted. He suggested as a proviso that the guild should not have power to deal with any matters coming within the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Court. In the course of subsequent discussion,’ Professor Easterfield said that it was of the greatest importance to the Empire that the differences between Capital and Labour, which differences were working great harm to the Empixe, should be minimised. The suggestion that such abody as The suggestion that such a body as had interested him, but he would have to examine it carefully before giving an opinion upon i(. He had not had (he personal experience of dealing with apprentices (hat every member of the association had had, Mr W. S. La Trobc said that the idea of u guild representing both Capital and Labour had been in operation in the control of certain industrial classes at the '"Technical Schools, where there had been Boards of Control representing workers and employers to prescribe courses of work and to grant certificates to students.. Ho agreed that the present factory system was destructive of the old spirit of craftsmanship among workers, and he thought that the first essential to better agreement between’ Capital and Labour must be the revival among the workers themselves of something of' the old craftsmen’s spirit. He suggested also that the consumer might have to be educated 1 to some extent to appreciate am] value good handiwork) as distinct from machine work. Mr If. A, Pqrkiqson am] Mr A. N. Bqnj.s both complimented Mr WaL kips op bis pupep. Their remarks had soipe reference to the technical or vocational training of youths. Mr R. G. Denton said that o«o of the obstacles to such a scheme as that poposed was the limitation of the number of apprentices. Under the present system it would not he possible to absorb many apprentices even if (bey were available, Mr C. J. Ward discussed at some length, and with some knowledge, the decay of the apprenticeship system, He thought that the factory system should be “humanised,” and that more should be done to make apprentices good craftsmen, and also that more should be done to make tbeir work less unpleasant. Some factory conditions in New Zealand were simply a disgrace. A vote of thanks was accorded to, .Air Watkins for his paper. It was agreed that consideration of the proposals made by Air Watkins should be held over until next meeting of the association.