PETER LLEWELLYN'S TALKS
Sir,-Seldom have I listened to such irresponsible talk ag that delivered by Peter Llewellyn on Sunday, July 15, over 2ZB. His confession of laziness gave one "key" to the somewhat poor outlook which he displayed. Of course, the other key to this "essay" is the journalist’s urge to give expression to some new and different idea. I would say that among any group of men engaged in work of any sort, whether it is a skilled craft or comparatively unskilled labour, I have always found men who find satisfaction in doing a day’s work and in seeing some tangible result of their labour, skilled or what is classed as unskilled. Here I wouid point out to Mr. Llewellyn that there is no such thing as pure unskilled labour. The days of the treadmill are over. If any man thinks that pick and shovel work, for instance, is unskilled, let him work for a while alongside one of the old hands on, say, a job of drain laying. He will find that the old hand is constantly using his knowledge and experience to make his efforts more effective and he will very quickly show that there is more in labouring than meets the eye. And if he will spend some time with the men who make and work in the holes in our streets he will find that they are applying knowledge and. experience of no small degree. It seems that there is a high percentage of idealists in the population of New Zealand, but unfortunately they sometimes pursue ideals which are incompatible. One of them wants the power poles abolished from every street while another says that we should not employ men on such tedious jobs as laying cables. None of them wishes to go back to the bush and they all appreciate the benefits of modern sanitation, yet Mr. Llewellyn says we should reserve such jobs as drain-laying for the criminals, It seems that we shall require a high percentage of criminals to make Utopia a possibility. To suggest that men should refuse to do such work and so force the "back Toom" boys miraculously to produce a machine for the purpose shows a lamentable lack of understanding.
A. G. P.
H.
(Wellington).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19510727.2.11.1
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 25, Issue 630, 27 July 1951, Page 5
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377PETER LLEWELLYN'S TALKS New Zealand Listener, Volume 25, Issue 630, 27 July 1951, Page 5
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