WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 November 1916, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

LABOR UNREST. AUSTRALIAN CONTAGION (Spcc-ial Correspondent.)" .

Wellington, Nov. 15. Hie coal crisis in the Commonwealth is causing a good deal of apprehension here among business people who refuse to accept the repeated assurances of the Labor leaders tiiat so long is New Zealand refrains from prejudicing the cp.use of the Australian miners there will be no trouble on this side of the Tasman Sea. In some eases employers have persuaded themselves that a great industrial upheaval is to take place about the middle of December, and arc sccosiing their friends at street corners and warning them of the catastrophe that is going to overtake the country vher. the wool is coming into town and the harvest is at hand. These timid souls made a similar prediction last year, and even got the ear of (he Government io their doleful forebodings; but nothing eame of the signs and portends they had discovered, ami Labor, speaking generally, has remained on its best behaviour ever since. It would be idle, however, to disguise the fact that the position is morp critical to-day than it was twelve months ago. Recent happenings in Australia have bad a disturbing effect here, and- the local Labor leaders are not quite so unequivocal in their assurances of contini'ed peace

THE WORKERS' VIEW. One nf these gentlemer., holding a rcsponsible position on the .::ecnth\ o! a large union, when discussing the sub ject this afternoon, said there was no! the least danger of organised Labor deliberately setting out on a strike as tho present time with the object of bettering its own conditions or improving its wages. That class of industrial otrif:had been suspended at least fur the period of the war. But if wall the'connivance of the Government any attempt were made to ship coal from Xew Zealand to Australia before the grievano of the miners there were redressed, there certainly would, be trouble of p. very grave and far-reaching characii* The local workers had trouble? enough of their own to bear in the shape of high rents, high prices and irregular employment and were the times normal tiie public would hear all nbout them; but the times were not normal, and the workers were content meanwhile to earry their burdens as best they could. If, however, they were asked to assist in saddling even worse burdens upon their fellow-workers in Australia they would not hesitate to assert their rights as unionists to the utmost of their ability.

THE EMPLOYERS' SIDE. A largo employer of labor jj Wellington when told of the views expressed by the unionist just quoted. said lie would have no fear of a strike in New Zealand if the only contingency that "ou'd bring it about were the shipment of coal to Australia. But from his own experience and observation be was inclined to think many of the worker-; were less disinterested in their sympathy with the Commonwealth misers than they professed to be. They had got it into their heads thai'everybody Inning the use of capital was mi-king huge profits at the expense of the work era. This was an utter delusion. Largs numbers of business men ;■ jid shopkeepers were making much smaller profits now than they were making be fore the war. Yi-t demand.; for higher wages were being made in every direction. and whore they were tot granted the employer was being threatened wit!; speedy and sore retribution. The disgruntled worker comes to think his lot as hard as that of the Australian miner, and brooding over his troubles be falls an easy victim to the mischief-maker who insists that Capital in all its ramifications is the natural enemy of Labor.

OF VITAL CONSEQUENCE. Probably this statement 'if the pesi tion fits a considerable number of casci in the cities, where competition tends to keep prices down to a reasonable level; but it docs not dispose of the contention that the primary producers are prospering exceedingly out of the necessities of the Mother Country, which, incidentally, impose ■ very heavy tax upon the 1 val consumer. Just, at this moment tne farmers are haggling with the. Minister of Trade and Commerce over the price they shall be paid for their wool, '"he ifinister has offered, oji behalf of the Imperial authorities, to jive them a 45 per cent, advance upon the price they received in 1013-14 and to hi'ml over tu them 50 per cent, of any profit that may be made upon the wool not required for army purposes. Bv.t the wool-growers are demanding the l'uil rates prevailing in the open market, and if they get what they ivant the local consumer will suffer accordingly. High prices for the country's own products are doing more than anything else is to aggravate the Labor unrest here, and the Government's handling of this problem must prove of vital consequence to the whole community.