Rangitikei Advocate. SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1909. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9399, 20 March 1909, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1909. EDITORIAL NOTES.

We quite agree with the statement made by the Minister, of Labour to the Furniture Workers’ Union deputation at Wellington in which he remarked that any humane employer having a man working for him would be doing a great wrong if he did not take him back when able to do so. The Unionists may also have been quite right in stating that :f the Minister’s ruling is correct there will soon be no more Unionists. In this case, then, Unionism is clearly opposed to humanity, and cannot therefore claim to be of benefit to mankind. The Unionists practically claim that a man who is not a unionist has no right to live, as they would, so far as they can do so, deprive him of the means of living. Minister Hogg is evidently beginning to realise that the encouragement given to extreme socialism is likely to beget very serious and embarrassing results. He urged the men to work in harmony with their employers, and stated that Capital and Labour should work side by sid6. The Minister’s sentiments are excellent, but what is the use of expressing such to men who have been taught by politicians that Capital is their enemy, and who have been given power to attack capital and despoil and harass employers. Mr Hogg alleged that the object of his Department is to protect both sides. If this is the case, then, as it has failed to protect one side, it should he abolished. Its abolition would tend to benefit the community as well as to effect economy.

HITHERTO the President of the Arbitration Court, Mr Justice Sim, has been regarded as a man who held the balance fairly between employers and employed, but his remarks the other day will cause this impreeson to be entirely altered. A case was before the Court in whiob a breach of the preference clause was alleged, and Mr Justice Sim remarked: “Employers should say to nonunionists, I don’t want to be bothered with non-unionists. If you want employment with mo you must join the union.’’ The representative of the employers objected that employers should not be cornpalled to force the workers into a union, but His Honor replied: “There would be no compulsion about it. All the employer need do is to say, ‘I decline to employ nonunionists.’ ’’ It is a curious state of affairs to find a judge Impressing on employers the necessity of boycotting non-unionists. The employer is no more interested in the private relations of his employees with the Unions than the men are as to whether their employer belongs to an employers’ union or not. Only in comio opera or xn New Zealand would it he possible for a judge solemnly to order employers to compel their men to join unions whose sole object is to induce the worker to do less work while demanding more pay. •

THE figures published in another column with regard to the staffs of the various Government Departments are more than sufficient justification! for a very complete scheme of retrenchment. In there were 9264. employees in the various departments and in 1908-9, ten years later, the number had advanced to 17,453, or by 88 per cent. During the same period population was augmented by 33 per cant so that the number of officials is increasing nearly three times as fast as the people who support them. The greater number of these officials are nou-prouucers, and though the country requires a certain number of such persons it is evident that they are increasing at far too rapid a rate. The railway employees may fairly be ranked among the producers because the function of the railways is to add value to products by taking them from places where they are not immediately required to where they are in demand. But while the lenth of open lines has increased in the ten years under consideration by only 18 per cent the number of employees has gone up by 80' per ee ut. The length of open lines Is uotqnite a fair test, but it gives a rough idea of what should be the natural increase in the staff. Among the most startling increases are Tourist Department 9 to 203, Agriculture 110 to 403, Public Health oto 128, Prisons 124 to 164, Lunacy and Charitable Aid 805 to 509.

THE disaster which has overtaken some of the business men of Bulls, and the total destruction of two of the most important public buildings, will excite the sympathy of ail in the adjoining centres. At the best it means heavy loss to all concerned, to say nothing of the loss entailed by temporary enforced suspension of business. The fire emphasises the need of a good water supply in every centre of population, and of a trained body of men able to cope with an outbreak of the kind. While the loss iu this case has been great we have no doubt that the energy of the people will enable them to soon recover the position, and h* again possessors of flourishing businesses.