THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, MAY 16,1901.
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I he-effects the wholesale ; nent of the Conciliation an<j ; Vrbitration Act will have upon u abour in future. The general : opinion seems to be that the in. Urease of wages will ultimately : .-e-acton those who receive the "increase, which, of course, is •nothing new in the history o{ social economy, but in this case the results are bound to be no ore universal and far-reaching than has ever been the case before :The eyes of the j&dusjteiab world are on this for it is no qjore,. mh: a.ny advantages . the workers- will I imitators in all | TlujljiifFe several dangers in con. with the working of the LJpet which will probably show themselves.-more plainly in a year, Qrtwo,/mdthe chief one is the, possibility of driving: out of.exist-. ence the small manufacturer and the aggregation of large trusts on"the principle already in vogue in America, and with such disat"trous results. In scores oi caseq men are struggling against' keen competition to gain a footing in an independent business, and very many of these must inevi-i tably go under when the all-l round rise in prices occurs.. ForJ of course, if wages increasai the price of goods increases,! If the matter would stop there.| all would be well, for anyone can! pay high wages if prices arei correspondingly good. But with-J out union among the; employers,! one man might be able to keep! prices down, and his less wealthy! competitor would, perforce, retire J and his employees must seekl fresh fields. But while, with ai lower, wage and more employ.! ment, all had a chance, with! higher wages and fewer of employment it would be a casei of the survival ot the fittest—J the weak must go to the wall—i for no employer would keep an! inferior man at a high wage! while there were better meni available. This will adjust itself! in time, and there will be fewenl tradesmen, but its adjustment! will necessarily be hard on al great number unless they caul make the land support more thata! it is doing at present. Another,! danger is that, unless a--heavy! protective tariff is imposed, there! will be Utile use manufacturing 1 at all, for we can import, almost! sas cheaply now. This tends to! lessen the demand for machinery! and, in fact, operates throughout! every ramification of trade. We! do not anticipate any lasting evil from, the enforcement of the Act notice, for any additional expense will come out of the pockets of the people in some, form or other. Like otherrefbrms, it requires time to prove whether it will be a boon and a blessing to men, or whether ife- wilibe-weighed in the balance and .-found wanting.B
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Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 150, 16 May 1901, Page 2
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456THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, MAY 16,1901. Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 150, 16 May 1901, Page 2
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