PRICE OF THRESHING.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2607, 13 January 1894, Page 2

PRICE OF THRESHING.

TO TIIE EDITOR. Sir,— Kindly give me space in your valuable paper for a few words on tho above subject. “ Machine Owner ” admits kiudaess of unionists ill fixing the price of threshing for tho coming s. a-mi in rather a sarcastic manner, and in tlxo same strain considers they would bo usefully employed iu fixing tho P™ 0 to be paid by the farmers 1o them (the machine owners). We don’t wish to interfere in that matter at all; but this is tho point, Mr Machine Owner: How ia it that somo of yon can afford to lay on your oars, comparatively idle and living at your case, from tho time you draw in until you go out again, and how is it that one of tho machine owners could afford to t ike such a pleasant trip round the Australian colonies a year or two ago '! Is that sort of thing carried out through tho sweat of your own brows, or tho sweat uf tho brows of your employees 'I Answer that question honestly and truthfully. “ Machine Owner” thinks the men w;'l be disagreeably disappointed when starting time comes at the prices that they have feted, on, I fcU to see tfw

disappointment will come in. Does “ Machine Owner ” think for a moment we don’t earn out miserable pittance ? Is the 12 to 16 hours hard slogging per day not worth being decently paid for? And again, what about the manner of living ? Do you, Mr Machine Owner, treat your cattle in the same way that your employees are treated ? You drag a little sentry-box round with you to have the food cooked in, and in several instances we calmly have to take our meals on the stubble or lovely grass, rain or no rain, while yourself and another two “do the big,” inside the sentry-box. Is that doing as you would be done by? Next, you say you will not pay these prices. Very well, but you don’t own all the machines in the district, and other owners are not all so unkind as you are. There are a number of broad-minded and large-hearted men amongst your brother machine owners, and they will gladly pay the small rise we have asked for. Does it ever occur to you, Mr Machine Owner, that you probably may have worked as a casual hand on another man’s threshing mill, and that you may have had nearly double the wages you are in the habit of giving to your employees ? If .such does occur to you, how do you reconcile the two things together? Does that little monitor Conscience ever stand before you and ask you any questions ? Meeting of machine owners! Yes, certainly. Reason the matter out like honest, straightforward men, and don’t ask other men to do what you would not like to do yourself. I have not touched on the financial part of the question as yet, but, if needs be, 1 will treat on that in a future issue. In the meantime treat “ those union people ” only as men, and not dogs, for we are just as anxious to pay 20s in the £ as you are, Mr Machine Owner.— I am, etc., Look Out.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — When 1 wrote to you last I did not think I would raise such a storm in a teapot. However, I think it has done some good; it has given “ Unionist ” an opportunity to display bis ignorance, and “ Worker”—veiled prophet-like—to <?7op his mask and show his teeth. The great cry all along has been by the Unionists, “ Oh, you go cutting one another’s throats, why don’t you have a union among yourselves aud charge the cockatoo enough to enable you to pay more to your men ? Nothing can prevent you getting it, you know, as the stuff must be threshed. The farmer is mortgaged, aud he must get his grain in the market by a certain time, so if you stick together there is nothing to prevent you getting more money.” Now, however, this is all changed, “ Worker ” says we make too much profit. Now I wish he would have a glance over any threshing machine owner’s accounts for the two last seasons, aud I think he would be of a different opinion. 1 don’t think there has been anything to complain of iu the way of wages up to the two last seasons. The price has been the same for six or seven years, and until these wet harvests the men cleared after their board from thirty-five shillings to forty-five shillings per week. The prices now are the same as then, but the weather is against continuous work, and heuce the trouble. But what does “ Worker ” and such ss him care how the owner gets on so long as himself is right. T could give you several instances of how men treat their employers, but one that happened in the Temuka district last season will suffice. A mill owner had been working all last year, till close on the end of the season he got into a couple of days’ bad threshing. Here the men jibbed; they wanted a shilling an hour. The mill owner was in a fix; he was bound to cany out his contract with the farmer, so hb says “ You can have a shilling an hour till the ei d of the season.” He got through with this bad stuff at a loss, and when he shifted into good threshing. Later on the men jibbed again, as they could do better at 9s per thousand. This is a sample of how they study the owner’s interest. My advice to millowners is: Meet these extortioners with a bold front, employ none of the New South Wales foul-mouth agitators. There are plenty of men in the district to man the machines. If we get anything like fair weather men can make decent wages at 9s per thousand, aud surely if mills cannot work more than three days a week reasonable men wont expect a week’s wages for it. Once moie I would urge on employers to meet and fix a price.—l am, etc., Threshing Machine-Owner.