CORRESPONDENCE

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1533, 13 November 1883, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE

CONTRACTORS and EMPLOYEES. [TO THE EDITOR.] ■ _ Sir.—Adverting to the subject introduced by your correspondent of the 6th instant "Veritas" I was struck with the volume of his eorrespondance on a subject that is interesting to more than a few hi this community, 1 wondered who "Veritas" was, so I said to tho man in tho street: « Who is this ' Veritas'! Where and how does ho live f and tho man replied "I dunW" and to judge by tho manner m which ho left me I guessed that he did not care. However my curiosity was somewhat tickled at the idea of a being possibly living ia our midst, and endowed with such a faculty for writing on a subject abouit which ho bows just a little—" a little knowledge is dangerous"—so I w«nt further down the street and asked the man at the corner "Who;is' Veritas'?" anf he replied by a'-look of wonder at my apparent ignorance, then he added: "Veritas!' 'Veritas! Why he is a' man of education and bright talents, but (here ho shook his head) they are somewhat dulled of late by a; lack of enterprise, andself-rsliance he has none as you will easily, see by reading over this last letter of his, which is tho result of little yams that ho has heard from time to time amongst the' stump dodgers" that he is wont to associate with." (Hero ho animadverted on what seemed to him to be the depths of degradation that some' of our men of genius stoop to. : After being satisfied thus far that "Veritas" was neither a long-handled shovel, an axe, or pick man, I soon forgot that he had written, and but for 1 the fact that a number of bush navvies and contractors were in town on the 9th and 10th inst, and everyone seemed to be more or less concerned > to know ■ who is "Veritas" 1 probably wuoldnot : have thought it necessary to trespass ■ on your valuable space By replying to : the severe: strictures,that he hurls ' down on the devoted heads of what he ' calls a" nigger driving elass of employ- i ers," : ; The system which " Veritas" is. 1 pleased to call "rotten" is one which i has gradually been adopted with the : experience of a progressive and en- j lightened people jbocjuw of the good':

' effects it products amongst the people i generally, and, is.the, loast capable of i abuse, TJndertliia system it is written on all the portals to success " there is no. fence against fortune," and the incentive given to competitors under tbis inscription redoubles this when success ■ is attained. If the successful tenderers does not know he soon finds out that "competition is the life of trade," and whon a man knows that, he is not likely to be caught napping when he ought to be wide awake. The workmen under this system are made better men than they could be under the system proposed by " Veritas, 1 " for the good and sufficient reason that it puts one and all of them on their merits, each man knows that no amount of fawning or tale bearing will recompense his" boss" for the money he receives on pay day, and so he wires in to work like an honest fellow. " Each bares his arm for the ringing strife That marshals tha sons of the sou • And the sweat drops shed in their battle of life, Are gemß in the crown of toil." And so it is too with Inspectors who are infinitely better men than they could be under a system which would enable the " servile sneaks" and place hunters to tody to him, and I take it that these are a class of people that will always bo with us so long as poverty continues to pinch poor suffering humanity. After having said so much about, and in defence of tlw 'present contraot system, I must acknowledge to feeling mentally and physically unfit to reply to those parts of" Veritas" letter where he makes use of such classic quotations as " starvation prices," "drives them to within an • inch of their lives,"" like gaily slaves," "killing pace," "blood money," "braggadocia," "bullying," k, and then to say on the heel of all this beautiful language that it is " positive truth," seems to me to be superfluous. ABl always take it that a man capable of using such strong language, and so beautifully put as " Veritas" has put it in this case, no one would ever doubt it (possibly he himself had some doubt on that score.) In. drawing my remarks to a close on this subject, allow me to make a suggestion to "Veritas" on the score ofsupplies, and that is that he organise an army of . cooks after the mode of the Salvation Army, only have it stipulated, that there is to be no hallelujah lasses in it, and Twill warrant that the contractors of the district will guarantee him, 50 per cent more than the amount he sets down as sufficient to provide for the workmen, I am die,, "Homo Operis,"