WAGES AND PRICES.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18923, 11 February 1927, Page 11

WAGES AND PRICES.

TO THE EDITOR Of THE PRESS. Sir,—l should like to 6tipport "Small Farmer' in his version of "facing manfully" the situation of unemployment. It is getting more evident every clay that the bulk of tlio salaries and wages paid in this country arc out of all proportion to tho labour done. The trouble startod soon after tlio establishment of the Arbitration Court. Of course, the Arbitration Court does not deal with salaries, but an a sequence, when wages aro risen, the salaried nuin makes his appeal 011 tho old ground of increased costs and thereby obtains an advance in salary. The fact is, the Arbitration Court van only function for sheltered industries, and tho manufacturers appealing again ard again for further protection proves one of two things, either tho output is too little, or the profits arfc too great. Tho Labour man with tell us wnges roughly havo advanced sixty per cent. In many instances tho labour output drops fully sixty per cent., thereby adding inci eased cost, to the consumer of ono hundred and twenty per cent. It can easily bo seen how unduly hard this presses on the farming community, who nave to sell tho bulk of their labour to people over the seas. It has been suggested that farmers should be represented on . tho Arbitration Court. This would be increasing tho cost without any tangible benefit in sight, as it would he one voto out of four. The Court has never entered into the question of an earned wage. It stipulates the wage must be found, and the other fellow simply passes it 011. The manly thing would be to meet this question 03 an institution put in the balance rnd found wanting, and hence one to be' abrogated.—Yours, etc., A.B. I