THE UNION LABEL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 5 April 1907, Page 2

THE UNION LABEL.

Th'.' Traili* Council Conference Kxccutivi' has is>ued one of its periodical reports. The advice given to the Ciovernment bv this Executive m relation to the Land Bill need not lie taken any notice of, merely because the Trades uud Labor Conference incentive has nothing whatever to do with the land and its advice is as useful as the advice of a fish-hawker would be on naval strategy. Tim T.C.C.K, however, may be credited with having some right to apeak about unionism, even though its advice that 'all goods manufactured in the colony shall have the union label attached"" should lie received with derision. In the. first place there ant not many goods manufactured in the colony at all. Would (hat there were more! In the Second place, few, if any, goods of New Zealand manufac-. tuie lind their way out of the colony, because other people outside the colony cannot alford to pay the prices we should ask, besides manufacturing cheaper articles themselves. In the third place, if "all the goods" manufactured in New Zealand are for the use of New Zealandcrs, there is no reason to stipulate that they are. unionmade, ami a simple "Made in New Zealand" is sullieient—and necessary. it is shown that we cannot in the least compete with outsiders in manufactures. Despite the fact that the duty on imported articles is extremely heavy, most imported articles—at least the better quality—arc still cheaper than colonial manufactured ones. The idea of insisting on "Made in New Zealand" being stamped on every article manufactured in this country is excellent, because the buyer would be able to compare the-price asked for the home-made article with the price paid for the imported article, and act accordingly. No buyer is gnnled by sentiment. He will iii-t. buy a union-labelled or "Made in New Zealand" article unless it is as good and as cheap as the article he gets from abroad. That "every article" made in New Zealand should be stamped with a union label, means that no. article made in New Zealand could be made by any person oilier than a unionist, so that this would enormously—supposing manufactures increased — increase the sinful operation of "preference ii> unionists." a coercive system that must ultimately cease Hi any country that desires to mete out common justice to till alike. Union-labelling "all" New Zealand goods would lie to inform Hie buyer that the goods represented the lowest skill the country possessed, not because there are not skilled unionists, but because there are no unionists who need be more skilled than the most incompetent unionist of the lot. Why; Because of the lack grading of workmen. The incompetent can get the wages of the competent. He can demand a job from an employer who is prohibited from employing a competent non-unionist. The employer can be fined for employing a good man not "labelled" when there are poor "labelled" men about. There is a way, of course, for Hie non-unionist to protect himself and to sink his own individuality and independence. lie may join a union. Under the union-labelled goods , enactment—should such an enactment , ever get past the theoretical stage—he would necessarily have to become a ( unionist or starve. We do ::ot abuse

unionism, lint we do emphatically proI W against any class of men dominniitijr Hie manufactures of the country. .MnnuhV-tiiivs in Kcw Zealand arc not yet of considerable importance, lint in (lie days id mine they may he. Under tin- coercive "preference to unionists" nnil "union label" system of working, manufactures would die ot inanition, workers would atrophy for want of a spur (o ambition, and there would be tho smallest possible market for poods tie- price of which was lived by a band ol non-workers who insisted tliafc every man was as like every other man as every pea is like every other pea.