LOOTING THE WORKER.

Maoriland Worker, Volume I, Issue 6, 20 February 1911, Page 9

LOOTING THE WORKER.

Dear Editor,- Resounding phrases are useful in every movement, bxit a great deal of mischief may be' caused, and much valuable energy wasted., when phrases,, based on misconception, are used as guiding principles or even as battle cries. The phrase " Looting the worker '' is one of these mischiefmaking thoughts, tending to throw the energies that should! go to producing order and efficiency in the profitless direction of waste and disorganisation. When we examine thei position we find that at present the worker—or wage-earner as he should in this connection be more correctly termed—has higher wages and greater leisure than ever before, and also that he, unaided, is not the producer. The real producer is our great Mother Nature, in conjunction with the methods and machinery of our social organisation ; and in proportion to the efficiency of the methods brought to bear on her, so Nature responds in supplying our needs. If the worker, by the help of this organisation., £ets more than he could get by fighting Nature unaided, plainly he is not robbed, and every clearsighted person must see that at present he does get more. That there is something wrong is admitted, but it is something far more serious than the robbery of one section of mankind; it is the looting of humanity. All of us from the biggest to the smallest are spending the greatest part of our energy in robbing one another. Imagine the waste! All the thought and labour spent merely to change the ownership of something already produced instead of spending it in increasing production ! Here we have the sore spot. Relentless Nature will cure the sore, even if she enslaves half mankind. We see indications of her method in the progress of the great organised trusts. These organisations can pay higher wages, sell at lower rates, and still make a profit. They are lese wasteful, and their efficient co-ordination must prevail; no man-made laws will arrest a decree of Nature. Our inevitable end is humanity in shackles to the trusts unless we decide to own them. If we so decide we can placidly let the machines do us out of our jobs, we owning the products, because we are not anxious for work ; Aye only want to live comfortably with a few motor-cars and plenty of nice things to eat and; drink. Let us then direct our thoughts correctly and efficiently, and when we use a battle cry use one that will help iis to unite with one another, not one that divides us. " Let the nation own the trusts," is a good fighting motto ; " each for all " an efficient creed.— Yours, etc., WATCHWORD.