TRADES AND LABOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 137, 11 June 1932, Page 11

TRADES AND LABOUR.

AUCKLAND UNION ACTIVITIES

(By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.)

UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. This Evening, June 11 — Felluiongers Kxeeutlve. Monday, Juno 18—Painters, Thursday, .lime Hi— Tratlca and Labour Council.

OTTAWA DELEGATES.

Since my notes of last week, the representation of the Dominion at the Ottawa Conference lias undergone a *li<rht change by the decision of the Prime Minister to withdraw from the delegation owing to the fact that ;t is not desirable that three Cabinet Ministers should be absent from the Pominion at this juncture. When it was announced a few weeks ago that three Ministers were going to Canada, public opinion was. dead against such an expensive trip just now, when the pruning knife is being applied so drastically sli round. Reform, United and Labour newspapers for once were unanimous in their outspoken condemnation of such unnecessary expenditure, and it is pleasing to note that the Prime Minister has bowed to such a united public opinion. Even now this opinion is strongly adverse to the .Minister of Employment leaving these shores while so many of his schemes for the workless are practically unproved. It is held that the Hon. Downic Stewart, Minister of Finance, ie quite competent to -look after the interests of the Dominion at Ottawa, with the aid of his expert advisers. But this is where the conflicting interests come in, not always for the benefit of the Dominion as a whole. The importers, who are not necessarily in harmony with the producers and manufacturers, say that their interests *re not adequately represented by the Minister of Finance, and hence their need for special representation. If that is the feeling, they should be represented by experts at their own expense. I notice that Mr. Coates has been asked in Wellington whether he will also withdraw, but lie has given the Asquitbian reply of "Wait and see."

TO-DAYS ELECTIONS. To-tlay in Australia marks the conflusion "of one of the most strenuoue political campaigns that ha 3 ever occurred in the history of the Commonwealth. It is polling day for the two States of Queensland and New South Wales, and from Twofold Bay, in the south of New South Wales, to Thursday Island in the extreme north of Queensland, the whole country is recording its Totes for or against a Labour Government, while the surrounding States are anxiously looking on. Labour candidates put forward by the Lang party are contesting 85 out of the 30 electorates, and with 55 of a party in the last Parliament, the question is, what will the party number this even"ng? Polling hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 60 that listeners-in in the Dominion cannot except to hear progress rcDorte until after 10, New Zealand time. ' For hie seat of Auburn, which he has jeld for 19 years, Mr. Lang has a doughty opponent in Mr. Colcman, as well as three others, including a Comanmist. In the list of nominations, which closed on May 25, I notice that no less ;han 26 Communist candidates have nominated, all in seats which Langites we contesting. Out of the hundreds of aominations, there are five women only, :wo being Independents, two Stevens followers, and one, a Communist, at Newcastle. Mr. J. Dooley, the cxPremier of years ago, when he led the Labour party, is contesting the mining constituency'of Hartley, as an Independent, against the sitting Labour member, a third candidate being a Communist. Mr. R. J. Hcffron, for many j-ears an official of the General Labourers' Union at the Auckland Trades Hall, won the Botany seat at the 1929 elections, and is nominated for the same teat against three others. Mr. T. R. Bavin, ex-Premier, in his constituency of Gordon, has a straight-out fight against a Labour nominee.

There are no "beg pardons" in Australian political campaigns, and this one jias been exceptionally virulent and nitter on both sides. Last week the chairman of the Associated Press (Sir Hugh-Dcnison) issued instructions not \o take any political advertisements from the Labour party or its candidates, no that the party had to run ite "Labour Daily" out into the backblocks in the interests of its candidates. For the last fortnight 00,000 Labour speakers were scheduled to speak in every town or centre, or 5000 per night. Children wearing fancy costumes of a white material, bearing 2in block letters of the slogan, ''Lang is right," have been.parading the streets of many of the working centres. }, have a .photograph of one euch group.

In Queensland the Labour party hope \t win with over ten of a majority in Ihe new Parliament. The civil servants tppear to be the king-makers in the northern State. They and the railwaymen put the last Labour Government out of power because of the "way they X'ere treated by that Government. The succeeding Government inflicted drastic ♦tite upon them, and now they arc back on the side of Labour again.

In New South 7/ales it is hard to foretell the result.. Both parties are confident they will win, and all their reports and utterances are for the purpose of creating an atmosphere of sue; cees. A politician must always be an optimist—if he were not, he has no business to nominate for a scat. With heavy discounts on the reports from both sidee, I form the opinion that whichever side -wins, it will not win by much, and that possibility is not a satisfactory ont: to the State.

7/7£ and 11/6. "You will want to ask me how I account for the fact that an article that in its processes of manufacture costs 7/71 retails at 11/6," said Mr. F. W. Marquis, the head of Lewis, Ltd., in a speech reported in the 'Manchester Guardian. ,

'"You may inquire, 'Is the service that the retailor renders worth 3/10J? This is a problem that seriously concerns the retail trade, because against this nominal gross profit there arc heavy charges. I chose a shirt as representing merchandise. ICobody ever goes into a shop to buy a shirt. They go in to buy a ehirt that fits them, and such is the diversity of the human epeeies. that in order to secure that the customer shall be able to obtain this without delay a considerable range of stock has to be kept. ''Therefore, when you read that 11/0 is the retail selling price, may I remind you that that is the price at which the retailer hopes to eell? The margin of cross profit that the retailer endeavours 'o get, of course, varies widely over different ranges of merchandise. It 'uercaees almost proportionately with ho probable speed of sale on the one hand and the probable risk of deteriorai icn (in the other."