REALISATION.

Otaki Mail, 20 February 1922, Page 4

REALISATION.

(Chapter 12, Continued)

By F. J. Ryder,

Mother again called upon Mr Jones and told him he was the talk of the town, and most folk thought that his idea of lowering wages -was in their in terests. Since, she said, I thought that things would be hard until the great V.S.U. was got going, that on the whole | there was little done, but what it would in time become a huge success, and from what .1 hear there will be little chance of the people being able to get into the hall to hear you. Well, if that j proves to be the case, I must ask those that cannot gain admission to conic the following night, for I am very keen that those that I have so far interest ed should hear the result of my wonder | ful vision or dream. And do you really think you will be able to still keep this .great audience spell-bound as you have done in the past. Hers Mrs Jones interrupted, and said, oh mother, have no doubt about that, it's so realistic and so simple and feasible foi i such conditions to be brought about that I feel sure you will be able to hear a pin drop, And if you and 1 pray that it will prove a success I feei sure it will be. Now God bless you good night. ’ During the week mother had made it her business to call on Mr Jones and told him the town was full of talk about the idiot who was going to make matters better for the workers by lowering their wages, and I must confess that Mr Jones, David and I have talked of little else since we left the meeting, and wo are at a loss to know what you have, got in store for us, and to bo quite candid neither of us can see what you are driving at, and if it was not foi what you have told us in the past we should both say that you were a gone coon. But David says be patient mother, Mr Jones will show us how it’s to be done, and if I judge right it will be so simple that we will be astounded to think that we had been so foolish tor not seeing, it before. Well, mother you go home and tell your good .old man that he has made, a very good shot at it, and in the meantime don’t be the , least alarmed at the result of our next meeting. It will, I assure you be as , good as any we have had, and I do ! hope it will Mr Jones. And now I wd. I wish you good night. When Mr and ' Mrs Jones arrived at the hall tlic,\ found it packed from end to end and there was a dead silence when Mr Jones walked upon the stage. Now, ladies and gentlemen, as I have such a big task to perform to-night I hope you will be as patient and silent as you have been in the past. Well, I can see; bv the look of you that you think I lmve no hope of convincing you that with lower and still lower wages Hint you will ultimately lie better off. Now, when Daviit first met flo-rry, he told him he had a little knowledge of fanning. Well, considering I have b.ceu connected with the land all my life f know all about the farmer’s lot in aiul to start with I am going to tell 'you that he and his wife and family ) are the hardest worked people in the world and none of you can live without the farmer. Why. Mr dunes, all s thev have to do is to take it easy a"4 while they lay in bed the grass grows. Yes. that is all right tij! you know better, .but when t tell you that wim/1 wages were low and the cost, of living was in proportion the hems the lainiei worked were often 15 and id a day, and now 1 am going to tell you something I that should make you think. And it is this: if it were not for the word ) freehold I feel sure you would Vie , short of food to-day. The word free--1 hold is a nrith, and it’s that word that is holding the people to the land today, and if the people left the land it would be a poor look-out for you town folk. Now, you all know that nmeteuths of the cost of anything is made by labor. Oh no, Mr Jones, it’s capital , and high-priced land that makes the H. | C.L.. and that is just where you make | the mistake. First we will take a suit of clothes that costs a man jn round figures about seven or eight guineas. What is there for the farmer out of that seven or eight guineas? Welt. I , will tell you, about 3s or (is. just according to the price of wool. Now you sec the bulk of the money goes to labor and some of course to capital, but once the labourers belong to the Y.S.L. there will be none go to capital, and I it m sure none of you will begrudge the f ar ,ne« his os or (is. How do you make out when the V. f S,TJ. is an established •fact none of the profits will go io capital just because you are -quite capable of doing your own business if you on!.' . like, ami when you get down to tin 1 tacks, Vis the Yankee ealls it, you will see that all you have to do is to cut j out all drones, eliminate all -waste, j bring money down 5.4 value so that , there is not. the tendency to get a Pftte i money so that you may let it out at a j bigger rate of interest and live an idle life, for anyone living on interest alone j is a drone in life, and ns T pointed out . to you with the big hive of bees, we fire : increasing the drones,' but when the conditions arrive there, must be less - and less drones.and more workers, for I unless you out out the drones yoy .will J never keep all fed and clothed with a j * Jia.lf day’s work each day. Oh. Hint’s , -impos.-bble. Mr .Tones. Not a b:t of it, . i if you will only enter into voter work j with the same spirit as you enter, into k your -play and sport, then rim rest will child’s play. Now. in the case of j i clothes P .imvf shown you that practi-1 | eally all was used up in wages- Now, ; ’ von will naturally want to' himvy how j | you are going to bring down the rate of - i interest. Well, now, instead of ns nr } present von were getting the wages you j received before the war; instead of the t high wages you are.getting to-dar that , would eause a lot of money to be put on the market as it would not be want- , ed in circulation, then as soon as you got to work .on low wages you- would produce everything at * .very cheap rate, and here again the - amount; of I capital would .not ;be required to run

£ business, this would again bring down Jthe value of money. And by men eo- , together they could, if they so desired, cut out the boss's profits and thereby mahe more money available to let out on interest: I previously told yon that with more honesty and , a better spirit between labor and capital all the unseemingly great barriers would disappear, and what is more it is only the workers that can do it. Why mot make the capitalist do his share? '*NoW you have been making that mistake for centuries past, you have been trying force now use common sense and you will find you will make as much headway in one year as you have made i in the last 20 years. You seem to have 'got it into your heads to use force. , Now, in the old days they taught ehildien by force, now little or no force is used, so you see if you can alter one t liiug you can alter another. g I (To be Continued). J