CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3820, 19 July 1928, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor)

Sir, —I noticed in a letter appearingl in your issue of the 17th the writer used the word “scab. ’ Che letter bears a strong.resemblance to some letters that appeared in your paper about a year ago under a different signature in which the word scab was freely used, and it occurred to me that if its full signifence was fully realised the less we see of if in print the better. During the great shearers strike in Australia in the early 90’s a disease amongst sheep known' as Scab was at its worst, it was in the nature of large sores all over the body, most repulsive to look upon. These sheep had to be shorn, and when the sore broke through the struggles of the sheep or a prick ' from the shears the resultant odour was so offensive that many a strong man collapsed and had to be carried old to tin 1 open air. So, when the shearers were looking for a stronger term than “black leg” for those who attempted to break the strike they chose the most vile and loathsome thing they could think of and that was “scab.” . They believed that at last they had found a fitting epitaph for a man who would betray his fellow shearers. Is it any wonder that, decent men would shudder at the thought of being called this name, but unfortunately there are those amongst us who are not so particular, but rather boast of if. Yours etc., OLD TIMER.