In Reply to " Worker." TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 9

In Reply to " Worker." TO THE EDITOR.

Sib, — I read in your issue of tho 21st July c statement purportirg to be from "A Worker." Ido not know whether lam doing right to take him seriously, but as the writer did not sign his name I cam* to the conclusion that he certainly had gome sense left. I ooneider it would be lamentable if his remarks are allowed to go unnoticed, as I know writings like his tend to make the position of the unemployed no bettor. He says there is a dearth of employment this winter, just as there ie every winter, and he ds going to remedy this dearth of -work by living- on. practically a starvation hos'ip, when every sensible man and woman, knows the consumer tfi the individual who makes work necessary, and therefore the more he or she consumes the more employment there will be. He goes on to state that many tradesmen, have been out of work, and implies that because these men have only been unemployed a short time they have no right to let the public know they want work. We will take the case of the carpenters, as they are the fir-t on the list. He says that of 60 out of employment 42 had been out for a week. 10 for a fortiiight, eight for a month, and cno for two months. Now, these men, if th°y ha<l been faring- as well as carpenters often <10, had nob had steady work, an-d they perhaps lia<l only been employed {or a short space of time previous to their unemployment, and if, through necessity, they had been one of five existing on the bountiful r-ppasts the York Health and Houeinc R-jfoiiii Association's bill of fare would ha.\o rendered them, I hardly think they would havo had vitality enough to walk to the Town Hall and hold up their hands to indicate they were out of employment. Then, again, we will cay Mr Warren is right in <his statement as to the average | wage of this Dominion being £94- each worker per aa>num. We all know that nearly all adult male workers in steady

I employment do, or should, get more thar I£9* a year for their services, but the individual who does not get the average could not afford as many luxuries as " A Worker" would iike *o burden him with, through the agency of the T.H. and H. Association's menu. The lowest .minimum wage that 'an adult mate worker should receive for his services, considering thq> cost of necessaries «nd luxuries, which make life bearable,' should bo nob less than £3 per week, or £156 p*r year? " Worker" >goes on. <to Bhow- us some examples of what Kg calls thrift. I could also give him many examples, but on account of nob having too much time at my disposal I will give him ' one which' is, I think, a fair sample of nearly «vc\-y worker who .has prospered financially, having had to come to this country to work for wages, with no money or friends. No. 1, through the conditions .>f labour exist- * 'ing at ttome (which " A Worker" would like to force -upon us here), was compelled to "emigrate, or exist on a fare 1 something after the style of the Y.H. anid H. AssooJaAion'e. He eventually landed in New, Zealand with 6efe in his pocket. Through the force of his circumstances, he was compelled to turn his hand to tube first job that offered, which happened to be al ploughman's billet, though he never had! been, between the stilts in his life. The person who engaged No. 1 engaged him asf a lowa* rate of wage than -was current at the time, which he - was only too glad 1 to accept. He worked on for some years at the princely wage of 15s a week and his food and shekel, in spite of the fact that he knew other men were striving for better conditions and bigger wages, for tha fraternity" Which h& belonged to. Eu> managed through living miserably (or thrift. " ad "Worker" calls it) to save nearly all of his' £39 a year, and ultimately he gpij married to a woman who, like -himsel.;. put £ s. d. before rule of conduct, and, therefore was thrifty. At thie time the employer of ,No. 1 had, through saaluigr under false colours, Blossomed into a Labour member for the House of Representatives/, and on account of No. 1 being what "Worker" would call a faithful servant—that is, keeping down wages, working from daylight till dark, scorning labour union offioiais, telling the boss every happening about the place, etc., eto.,— he got into a. GoTemment billet, and at the present time, he, like "Worker's" No. 1, « fairiy w«U off, with his town sections and! other riches too numerous to mention. Where are the workers who have all these years, while No. 1 and others of hia calibre have been making, wealth for themselves, been trying to better the conditions of labour? You will find a lot of them on the casual worker or unemployed list, having arrived in that position through the action of arrogant employer* and unprincipled workers, who, l*e No. 1 aae doing their best to bring the conditions Of h*Onxb»Ck to *k* same «*»-« as they were in the place he emigrated) from. In conclusion, I would aflK "Worker" (if he is a worker, which I doubt) before he lets his thought* loosa as*u* to consider what harm he is doiu« to the welfare- of hie fellows by his stupid - twaddle about living on a specified Tare, which Ido not think he ever tried. Wo all know that the less a man consumes the less it will cost that particular man to live. I would u/ge "Worker" the next time he takes a notion to write an article that he write something that will tend to make the worker's lot a better one, particularly the casual worker To that purpose I would ask him to advocate the settliag of tho land by the .Government, on a Leasehold system ; restricting a private person from selling infoxioatin* liquor; placing a graduated tax on all freehold property;* arbitration for the price of commodities, as w*il as the- price of labour; » n°n-partv Government, and that all wealth should revert back to the State, or, in other words the people, who are the rightful owners ob it Therf- are other causes existing which? i are keeping the worker from his equitable share of ownership of this world s riches-, but they pale into insignificance when compared with some of the causes I have mentioned. .1 also think a lot of labourers are unequipped foe, ■ the struggle op account of not belongjaiß to some friendly society, and if "Worker" would plead in favour of com- ! pulsorj .membership of all adult males to a friendly societ> and the abolition of all secret societies, he would be doing more ijood than prating through, your columns about thrift. Not but that secret societies i hay« been of me in the past to combafl other unfair and intolerable ovils; but I thrnk they belong to the dark im aiid 'the sooner they are called in. the better for aU. Thanking you in anticipa^ tion, and hoping some abler pen than maio will take up the cause of the men wn« find the hardest part of work the looking \Xort^u S ti'2. . W.HKX.Y.

The prevalence of epidemics of measles and diphtheria in Lyttelton has recently, greatly reduced the attendances at the schools. The Wee* Lyfctelton School h»a been closed for several days, and at toe end! of last week the District High School was. compelled to close for a fortnight. In regard to pb» appointment of an agricultural instructor for* South Canterbury* the South Canterbury Board of Education had before it 21 applications on the 17tl£ None of these was considered suitable, and it waa decided that the position should be advertised in English and Australian papers. A salary of £400 and expenses is to be* offeicd. Eor woolpresses. windmills, pumps, and pumping plants, consult Nimmo and Blair.