THE BOOTMAKERS' STRIKE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 92, 22 April 1891, Page 2

THE BOOTMAKERS' STRIKE.

(To tho Editor.) Sir,—-Your correspondent, the Secretary of the Boob Alanufacburors' Association, acting, apparenbly, for that body, has, in your issue of last Saturday, made ungenerous sbabements in reference to a letter bearing my signature which had previously appeared. Leb me say.in sbarbing, my sole and only objecbin writing was an abtempt bo show tho principalsof.thoboottrade here bhab in allowing their factories to be closed, they were simply playing into the hands of Southern men. With the' personal and scurrilous stabemenbs of your corresponded I will nob deal. Apparenbly with this style of argument he is an adepb, and I willingly yield him bhe palm. The writer Bays 1 admitted my reluctance .bo signing bhe sbabemonb. I will admib ib again, for who would rejoice having to pay higher wages? Presumably quoting me, he says, I acknowledged my insuflicenb acquainbanco with the whole of the wholesale trade. I know this much, however, that manufacburers competing in bhe same markeb should be placed on bhe same level as regards wages, and bhab bhey who underpay in this instance, though by ever so smart a trick, occupy a lower level than mere ignorance. It is averred thab the payment of the federal statement would open bhe markeb for Sydney goods. Even supposing some of our Northern merchants imported such goods, I should advise no one bo wear bhom when it ruins. _ A Home trade journal, through its colonial correspondent, speaking of the method of boob manufacburing in some factories in Sydney, says: The boot is- lasted by one man, passed to another who places the solo ou, and then hauds ib to tho cole-sewer, who in turn passes ib to the heeling machine; then a boy trims the heel, another blacks the edge ; it is then finished, and having gone all round the shop, it should, in the opinion of tho writer, be taken out to Sydney Heads and drowned wibh the refuse ot the town. The cheap lines of English nailed goods are a libtlemore unsatisfactory. I saw a strong navvy's boob wibh bho sole ripped up bub a few days ago. Whab was apparenbly a strong solid boob proved an awful delusion when the " innards" were exposed bo view. Paper board and fragmenbs of leather were held in place and kepb ridged by means of a piece of wood, nob British oak, bub plain common deal. This precious work may be introduced onco, but mark, ib will not survive the winter.

I am questioned relative bo my statemenb bhab bhe average wage.of a benchman is £2 ss. The facb that a few weeks ago the men of themselves offered to work on weekly wages ab £2 per week of course proves my point, since it is unlikely bhey would offer to work for less than tho average. "We guarantee good bench hands (would earn) £2 158 weekly." Exactly so. Why not then take such men and give them what bhey ask, according to the " federal " statement, viz., £2 10s, since thab is the weekly wage specified ? The startling assertion is made that ''there are over, twelve, factories in Auckland where free skilled labour is engaged." This "free" labour consists of bound, apprentices and men who have surrendered bhemselves for a term. With a lachrymose style my critic says that "manufacturers who wish to cultivate local manufacture, and especially the celebrated peg work, should Deleft free to doso." Quite so ; bub ib musb be clearly understood the celebrity of this work is due, not to its excellence, but to its cheapness, judging by the statement of one of the Auckland delegates at the Wellington Conference, viz,, bhab bhe same amount of work was nob

put in the boob in this city as is done down South. Tho famous nature of this work then rests on no higher ground bhan bhab for which Chinese vegotables are renowned, viz., cheapness. As to bhe rates of wages in the various centres, taking the lines that ib is complained in Auckland are raised tho highosb, we find the previous statement ran thus :— Men's kip shooters, nailed, pegged : Wellington, 2s 2d ; Christchurch, 2s 2d ; Dunedin, 2s 4d ; Auckland, Is 6d : federal stabemenb, 2s 3d. Kip bluchers, pegged : Wellington, Is lOd ; Uhriatchurch. Is 9d ; Dunedin, Is lOd ; Auckland, la 2d -• federal statement, Is lid. Calf shooters, pegged : Wellington, Is lOd ; Christchurch, Is lOd ; Dunedin, la 9d ; Auckland, Is 7d: federal stabemenb, Is 9d. No wonder Auckland pegged work is celebrated. Ib follows therefore bhat the wholesale prices vary. Men's kip shooting boots, per Christchurch list, are 13s 6d. Auckland supplies afac simile ab lis and downwards. Kip bluchers pegged : Christchurch price, 9s 3d ; Auckland, 7s 6d. Kip watertight: Best Chrisbchurch, 14s 3d; Auckland., 12s 6d. From bhe foregoing ib will be easily seen thab masters here could concede bhe demands of the Federal organisation and bhen be under Soubhorn rates, tho advance asked on bluchers being 7d,----shooters, Bd. I havo dealt namely on pegged nailed work, since bhe outcry is mainly on bhab score. As advanced by me and confirmed by the amanuensis of the Association, bhe rates of women's work remain almosb tho same, so bhe public will fear no increase in bhe price of bheir foob goar in that direction. Jusb a word or so ere I leave bhe subiecb. I would nob have bouched ib did I think some good would nob have come oub of my former letter. The speedy termination or otherwise of tho strike will afiecb me personally neither one way nor the other. I was led bo rejoice, and I do so still, in tho facb thab the boot trade of New Zealand have made the grandesb advance towards the mutual understanding and conciliation bebween labour and capital, that has ever taken place. Tho machinery embodied in the Federal stabemenb is such that acting under its provisions a strike can never occurin bhe trade again. Unionism may have its errors, bub during the lasb one or two years ib has abolished bhe horrible sweating dons of London, and raisod our trade bo a higher level than ib over before enjoyed.—l am, ebc, T. Fkohsek.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Wibh your permission, I should like to say a word or two in regard to a letter in lasb Saturday's aboub the bootmakers' strike, signed by S. H. Dawson. He leadß oft by saying bhub nob one half of the people writing aboub tho strike know whab has caused ib. I think, Mr Editor, ho is one of thab half, or ebe ho would nob wribe such utber rubbish. This is whab he said caused bhe sbrike, thab some manufacturers in Auckland were offering and paying higher wages bhan the Union stabement. The other manufacturers bhen asked for a new sbatemenb bo pub them all on the same level; and bhon he said they have got ib, which is wrong, bhey have nob got ib. They have all gob one bhab is considerably higher bhan any of bhem were paying, namely, the federation statemenb, which bhey will nob accept. And thab is bhe cause of bhe presenb strike, and not as he pubs it, that some of them thab wore first bo offer higher wages before will nob accept bhe abatement now. Thab is nob the cause of the strike at all; ibis bhe fedorabion statement they will nob accept. As I said before, ib i 6 considerably higher than any of them were paying before. I also noticed he.made a very ungentlemanly remark by saying bhe delegate* who represented Auckland manufacturers ab tho Conference were nob qualified for tho position, or thoy would have remained until the termination of the Conference at Wellington to discuss every item of bhe sbatomenb there. Now, if Mr Dawson had any sense at all, he would know that they were nob allowed bo sib ab bho Conference. In bhe first place bhe local Association wired down bo them and told them thab if bhoy could not geb a local statemenb thoy wore to wibhdraw ; and in tho second placo the Conference would not allow them bo sib unless they would bind bhemselves to a federation statement, which they could nob do. Thab is bhe reason, Mr Daw son, they did nob stay until bhe ond of the Conference and discuss everything on the stabemenb there. I would advise Mr Dawson next timo he writeß a letbor bo your paper to bry and wribe a litble common sense and nob a lob of rob, and bo bry and stick bo facts.—l am, ebc., One oi>' the Tkade.