CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 July 1922, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE.

AN INJUSTICE; (To the Editor.) Sir, —I notice that some blacksmiths have at last felt their conscience a little by reducing the price of shoeing by one shilling per set. For a long time the owners of the faithful quadruped have considered that they are paying too much for shoes, and so they have, as a short perusal of the following will prove: Shoeing iron at present is on an average of, say. £3O per ton (a high average). Now, every blacksmith will frankly admit that a fair average weight for every set. of shoes turned out is, say, six pounds. Very well, work this out .at an average cost of 12/6 per set, and it shows we are paying 2s Id per lb of iron, or £233 6s 8d per ton. Admitting that an ordinary -blacksmith gets through, say. ten tons of iron per annum, it means that he nets £2332 16s Bd, less £3OO for the cost of his iron. Besides this, there is a large amount of removes and slippers that have all been paid for once, and other, repair work and wood work not calculated. So, if the blacksmiths cannot pay wages and all necessary calls, well, then it is a very hard world indeed, and he deserves to. pay income tax.—l am, etc., “COW COCKIE.” Lowgarth, July 22.