THE CRISIS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20215, 18 April 1931, Page 3

THE CRISIS.

[AN APPEAL TO WOMEN. LESSONS FROM ENGLAND. WAGES AND THE STANDARD OF LIVING. . (SPJSCIiLLT WRITTEN TOR THE PRESS-) [By Mrs. W. H. Dixon.j ; When prices have adjusted themselves somewhat, the 10 per cent, decrease in wages should not lower the standard of living in New Zealand. ■ We work, not for money, but for what money can pro- i cure for us.in physical, and mental sat-1 isfaction and contentment. A worker may be poor on £lO a weck or rich on £1 a week, according to the return he. receives for the expenditure of these' respective amounts. The Good. Samaritan, took out two pence and gave it to, the Inn-keeper—two pence!—two-thirde-of our little threepenny piece! But what did that represent to the man; Who had fallen among,thieves! Shelter, food, and; careful nursing during his time of need. > ■ ■■ - ; After the Out. . After the cut is made, the wage of a worker in New Zealand will, it appears to me, be still "in advance of a worker's in a similar capacity in_ England. When we came to Ne>v.Zealand from England two years ago I.could not see that the standard of living in the varying grades of workers was any- .higher than in Britain, in spite of ' the much higher actual wage received. At Home .the small .wage-earner . thinks in pennies; here, they think in shillings; or at least in* that-little coin so much in evidence here but so very rarely como across at, Home-r-the threepenny ,bit. Bananas are usually labelled 3d-or J}d each, and orarigea one penny or. one halfpenny! each —not so many a shilling as is the case here. Much trade is done on this single basis to the advantage, I think, of ( the English housekeeper. . and Boots. ■ , The women of New Zealand are much more' extravagant* - in the expenditure on wearing apparel. Clothes and boots aire, of courr", a great deal'more cpstly than at Home, but this ia not the only increase upon the New Zealand Woman's purse. - She buys to a larger extent i dresses that 'fdate." She models'her I clothes closely from the films or the lat-! i eat fashion books.. I found the woman I in England and even in France modified the; garment more to her individual requirement, ana 'could with'greater ease wear a last season's dress or hat. ' Shoes for street wear liere are far,.far. mor?. "fancy" than at Home. much of the footwear Worn in the 4 here would make the wearer feel conapicuV ous (dreaded thought) in I think the New Zealand wcmtancbuld save ' that 'lO per cent, oh - her' dress bill and still *bo ' well'! dressed •'indF" well "shod. " The rate ] of : wages lias fluctuated ' in ' land and other countries . at- Various periods. . The standard of living fcOy no "means risen of ysall'ejj' a'ccordinjjty,' . 'A6.'.&^|inple, 'Jfour years ago I interviewed n woman, of the agricultural labouring class, living in an English; Eastern county. -> I gleaned interesting facts. In pro-ivar, days her husband, earned fqurteen' shil-: lings' 1 a week as head jb on a iiuf.folk farm (the the inen'Under, .him 1 was lis or 125).,. They, paid Is 64 a week rent and brought lip six healthy, strong children. I ascertained from the village schoolmistress that" the children were well- clothed-.'and able- to benefit fully 'from the education provided.' The food .was-plentiful though plain.-- : Home-made -bread, that was not cut for a week after being made, gav& them something satisfying to bite at,keeping their teeth,-and consequently general health, in perfect condition.: Not one penny, t she said,, was on a dentist .in' .those.,pre-war days and very, very little on a doctor. They kept a pig and a few fowls, and the husband spent hj" ■ spare time in the garden. They were: happy, and quite- contented with .their , 10t.;,. Then came the* agitation for fixed and higher wages! In 1926. the husband was earning ,38s .a week' and constantly complaining. 'that the fairm worker was terribly under-' paid.. They ,had only one child on their hands now, 'but the rent was'6s 6d 'a weeks-r-the same house by the' way. Buses had begun running, to the town, and a weekly had become a hptbit. That-meant a cup of tea and a picture, show. There was not so much time, for the garden now/ but it was so. ,eaßy, to bring home a lettuce or-a cabbage fromtown. It all made inroads into'. that '3Bs, tiottgh. It didseenj silly to stew over a»hot oven whftn .the baker : brought to- the * dooi;, nice,new brea£ every day! ■ Pigs- were too much bother,, and terribly smelly, though she did jniss having a whole sid* to cut at. Now they could *ave very little of the 38s f and when the doctor's bill and the dentist's fees were: paid there-was nor thing. Why, even, the garden refused to grow decent vegetables unless doctored with some of those new-fangled' artificial manures! (In the old days road scrapings sufficed.) Frankly, the woman- confessed .they ,were neither -so,Vappy,' content, nor so well 'off as in the old fourteen-shillings-a-week days. ( r

"Emancipated Oat of Exlst*nco." Squiredom in England is being taxed out of existence. The worker has been emancipated. We have been taught that, the giving of soup and dripping from the kitchen of the Lord of the Manor was mere condescension, that the gifts of joints of meaj and flannel petticoats at with a tea party ;and heavily laden .tree for the children, that those fine, sit-down harvest home suppers, were patronage in its worst, form. "Give us a living wa ge''. the labourer said, and he got it. But is he any better offf Are we not emancipating • ourselves out of existence?' Are we not killing ■ the goose that lay so the golden eggs f Are we to judge life merely by the money put into our eagerly-stretched-out hand week by week f I honestly think that, the social agitator.; in the .first place advocated:,;advanced wages that .they might be expended to'secure happiness and contentment. - But can we measure lifd with a monetary rule alone, l*ot '(Give the working man a living, but "Give the worker a decent lire Should be the slogan "to-day. wages;bring a "There's yow money and , begone to you—'attitude .on the part,or the employer. -I am.notat all sure that the lot of the tied workman was not to be preferred. In his own interests the master fed; housed, and clothed his servant .well} .for., his death meant a, financial lojss. i ' * ' ' ■To get back to the subject of-the 10 per cent. cut. If we form > a fuo philosophy of HfO, realise that. many.or the best: things ■. in-rlif©. money ; cannot buy at all,' wait for tha-prices- of »conv•i' f-■v , ' *'r '• A. ■ ■■■ ' ■

modities .to adjust themselves tp the new rate (as they undoubtedly will) without sailing our natures by fuming and expenditure acGqrding.- the ,-new income, all will be well 'with the individual, and - the'

Liitlij • Eite^ances. A newcomer to the country notices ' : / iaii y . little, av&gances - not" ajipai'ent to the New Zealaiider that might be well cut out or modified without hardship—even to advantage. ' As an instance, those pleasant functions, morning and afternoon teas —they are in many, cases a double expense, for they necessitate a course of reducing treatment which is practised" here to such a surprising extent. The. Shopping Basket.; . The war taught the. middle-class, woman in England many economies. Une that might well be .fallowed here was the enormous value of the. shopping, basket. There was no. lowering oi dignity in visiting the shop, personally choosing nieat, fish,; etc., and carrying, home the same. .Cease using the telephone for ordering i and you will get, much more satisfaction. With 11 B°°d, roomy basket, milch of the wrapping and all of the. tying could be done without. The extravagant use of brown and string-in New Zealand is. enormous. I have seen such things as butter ahd lard, already well protected by covering, one by one''Wrapped in a new piece of ■ brown paper before being; made into a wonderfully' cdmpact brown-paper parcel, tied with string.-—Very ' nice, : but unnecessary the shopping-' bag. ! Multiply the time taken packing that parcel by the number of parcels packed a week, thd same with the string and the paper,: and estimate, the savVng that could be brought about, the possible reduction in the cost of commodities., Brown paper- and string in d hutcher's or fishmonger's shop in EwsJaiid , are unnecessary,- thanks to the shopping bag. Personal shopping atthe butcher's and . grocer's can be as•< murh "fun" as at the draper's and milliner's. Why; should one be 'looked, upon as a treat a-nd the other ti bore? - 7 Wise Economies. Wise economics will meet: the present Situation. Do not make the mistake of drawing in only on those things that feed mind and soul. Happiness and contentment are first considerations; An eastern j -proverb says, ''lf * you have two coats sell one and buy-" flrfwers of narcisstiss, for bread is food ' for the '• body and the' flowers of narcissus are food fbr' the soul."''Man shall' onot liVe'by btead' alone."' Healthy recreation and' indulgence in - some Hobby ia.a necessity to a well-balanced lile. To cut then) out ruthlessly would Ui folly. ,'■ . f - -■

Reduction in wages was inevitable. a : loaf is better thanno'bread—and we have nine-tenths. Keep a cheerfql, optimistic view, avoid 1 the line of thought. 'lnist the leaders, who* have been appointed, by public vote, , to affairs; do. not hamper them by mere carping,criticism. When war was declared. party politics were sunk ia England, the agitator, ceased toharangue. . The suffragette (who.had been burning down mansions, chaining lier,self to vailinga to avoid quick arrest, rushing on, the course during the pro* gress jof - a horse-raco with terrible ro- ' suits.*.' hunger-striking in prison with fp,tal consequences—all {o focus pubi lio, attention _on her cause) called a truce.-and unitedly worked to save "the' „j' ', No Room for Party.- : Th©; crisis in New Zealand- to-day is relatively as great. That inan is «" traitor who ati the present-xime ■ is a Party a*e. : -Only -by. a United pull ' by. a s&critipe. aH around ofligh >w, by. the- burning.' 7 by and flourishing a ' tolerant and. optiaiistiV "jautlcwk, j4s§ a ~cp-dperatioh' of tfie best braibs of "both inside " Parliament and . out; can '• we hope to wiij through.' v*ir country is in diire periL '' Who i r will -volunteer for this bloodless war- 1 I fare on her behalf? "Causes" will. II adjust themselves The enfranchisement of women iu . England' came m the end to be fact almost imperceptibly, wages were increased by 100 per cent, and more, -other necessary reforms becatae law. under this "No-party" or- "Co-party' rule, that .would have been • postponed many sessions under fhe'old Party' regime, and thfr Wat 1 Was won! . The ' Motherland. was saved! How, will Ne,w Zealand fare in this war .with financial distress? Thfe fate' of New - Zealand is in the hands of New. Zealtrnders.