THE SCARCITY OF LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 77, 24 December 1907, Page 9

THE SCARCITY OF LABOUR.

; ;; §THBi FACTORY.- HAND ' (Specially TfiiiTTEN >ok The Dominion;) . A.:?-\< '".'■■ ■■;';■ Y-lIIr " ■■~,.,'.: , ' ■'As.pointed out in previous articles, with the';exception of direct importation.'of the hands roquiredj+ho remedies of value which : suggest,- themselves aro but few and oven epmeipf'. thcs-sfail under closer .'scrutiny. Sources of Supply. .. \ . , that largo families aro frequently enoountored in country settlements docs not nelp.c'the matter-forward, to. any extont, for : . it' is impdssibloVto bring ; the young people, populous centres whero the work; awaits thorn. The,wago which an employ or could afford to give to lparners would' for their support in the houses ■;■•,'• and it, would be. economically wrong to increase the rates of pay to a sufficient ';, degree. Neither would the granting of;,extra.' allowances to those .living in. lodg- •"■ irigs,7-<jvonif this were.'practicable—meet all objections, for : very, 'strong : exis; ; againsji,''youths!, of either, sex. being' severed from'all homo influences during the peculiarly important years'.following tho ago of . puberty.-, Tho'; ''living-in"..^system.' is, ■' of course; "quite ;Out of.tho question, in this, the Dominion of New Zealand, and it is-unlikely' ■that tho provision of lodgings at cost price by.religious bodies will over attain to much ; importance as a factor in the problem. It is thus';impracticable to.bring the.worker to ' / and,;as regards the'reverse opera- , tkm, taking the '.work tp.'the'worker,"it is to ■'■' bo'feared: that J , '"home-factorios' : ';-.on'' the • Swiss:,'or South GeTraari" model;.would not enswor, in .this;country, and this for. a mimboHof. reasons.,which will suggest themselves 1 enough all it; rnust'-be'recognised'that'. in, most'country ,'■ ridings 'I there' , already sufficient tu'ifal "work ; to : '. engross a the. 'available ' labour vif^pnly"tlie;rising t gerieratipn''will see it. ".. '

." On thg "Coast/ ,: : ; .' ;;-:'■ -';.';;.' c, ' : l.'ButJhV certain, districts: there is neithor. agricultural nor any. other work to profitably 'employ'-.'.the: members.- of, the large families which:.;so often .obtain,., and one such district' is;that .which.; includes Rcefton,; Grey mouth', Kumara; .Jlokitika, , and Ross;; that is to say,,,'most^. of r ,what'-is known : as "the West Coast. "■•',., It', isit-ruo'that. there! are several , quarti!.; mines.; ground ■ Reefton,' but this . . hardly :■• affects ? the / presont phase, : of [■ tho; 'labours question,':-as .tho miners are usually -~ oxtremelj... averse - to, their sons succeeding them; in r such art unhealthy-occupation, and practically all the,!recruits aro Australians^ r Also'-it is. tho, fact that hundreds of thpusaiids'of tons, of. coal are. raised annually in. tip,- ■Groymouth ; : district, but'.-,the colliers, again, "come .from; other .parts, of tho: world. ~ The\nprmal West:: Coast.youth is not; attrac- . ted by. , , the .coal.mining' industry,: and since . the- land;around- him is, genorally ; , spoaking, .-poor;.'there:is no course open to him except migration. The more 'enterprising of the girls leave the district, and may.be found'in most of 'the' large towns,, thoir s'ervicesj being: ip great: demand as mirscs, doniostics, barmaids,: etc. Such a: plentiful Buppljv-of .'labour- being ; available, thero is certainly r .some*prima, facie .'justification for hoping for! tho success of any marinfactuiung businoss-establishediin. Westland, but ,unfor : tpnatelyj' .oiher;. matters', have ■to:• be • taken .ihtoicpnsideratiori. l To begin with, tho districtV;possesses ; no; harbour;;in-:; tho modern; eensOj-of-.the term,, Vf estport',being-;isolated; sp-;.f,ar-,as railway.,'communication ,is con-. : co/oed,fr<im.tho.rest of."tho Coast," and. it fojlbws'ttJiat. competition wjth (factories in .;. contfesV-inoie, fortunately, situated can. onlybe'.vcarried :on successfully .at , home,-that is to'sayi-that' .W.estland. factories, will have to rply,-'for ■support' upon. Westland.'.. .people. clone:' , • Reasonable "'working' wouldithcri be quite out of the question, and this,;;coupled" with .•the./-.riecessarily'. modest Ecale>on which operations, 'would bo conduct ted,'"destroysiall; chances,of success, set far ,88 ■;clothing^ arid; boot' factories' are!] eonc!grried. v ;'J'i;oyisipn' factpries arc'put out Oi'. court by'-tho' insufficiency of tho supplies of; ; raw: material.locally procurable.: Two, or! threq' small 'factories''for canning whitebait ; run.:intermittently 'at Hokitika, .and if ever ' the- market: in .jam recovers, a , works might, be'set: up somewhere along theprojected fiepftori—Westport railway, ; but .these represbrit.the .maximum possible '.'. A ■ " n . a l:4?'?^ ; conclusive "argiimont'.' against the. v , establishment' of., manufacturcs on the- West" Coasfcis ..that, ; thoro''is ' no- reason to', bolievo' , that.i the considerations which deter young : people; from entering tho' factories 'in the ■•' -centres would .not ; bo .equally potent m.-.tho, casp".'..of.,- the-: majority, 'of '-'West- . Coasters.' , .'; ;_•;; ;.;''•.,-. ■: :":■■■■ -.-"i

Possibilities jritho Suburbs.' : " ....'vßufiin the! suburbs' of: the 'cities "all- over. tn;e>:country;. 1 there i'ia ;a' certain 'amount of . feinale','' labour;, still '., unexploited. •'ln some. cases ,tha girls ..are; chary: of paying' car-fare, or of encountering tho discomfort duo to the necessarily early .hours of rising, and if the • factoryMvere : nearer these drawbacks would of course :'■ disappear: . There would also be this ■-thatvif. working close at. home, tho girls "> Would''bo: able.-in' other parts.of ;tho.town to rotam v :that. peculiar... morbid type of self- . respect ,, -;touched,'upon ,in.:'.the previous .article. ; iSo'ifar. as.-the 'mariufacturer -was concerned,, the extra-expense;in. the. matter of freight ..on.!, raw. material 7 and 'finished ,prpr duct;-would- be.'-more : • than-counterbalanced by. sayings in other .directions, for it'is the handling more than .the actual carriage, that, . entailsVhigh'-' freight 'charges,: and the rent and'r.ites-on':the. : business premises would bo considerably ;lower.- There is. no vital rea-sohy,why.-ctno'industries of a city should be roiind-its geometrical, centre, and beMrev-.maiiy.jears havo. electric power' will bo obtainable; '• in ■'■'-. all situations ■ within reasonable distance of .town. Tho machinery—especially in the clothing trades —need be of no great weight, so that any ordinary, building would answer require-, ments, "and it- would be quite feasible for a ■ BUburban branch to confine its attention to one or two of tho lines of-its parent establishment. This suggestion would certainly soom worthy,if consideration, and some relief—although only a. small, amount—may bo anticipated. along these' lines'.. ''' '"■'.'' Unattractive' Trades, '>;•: :' / 'Certain trades altogether fail to appeal to »':boy .leaving school, and it may boasked ' whother: anything can be done to make them more -attractive.--One such'! is the boot manufacturing, and it. may be said ; at onco that .it ; is small, wonder, if tho supply of labour-for this is inadequate; After fivo years apprenticeship at boy's pay, tho young journeyman .i'finds: .himself ' receiving 'tho wagesof an unskilled-.labourer.'' He has no hope of eventually setting up in business for himself,; or of raising himself into ■ a lu'ghor branch of his trade; Eo is practically precluded from deriving any pecuniary benefit from the exerciso of such, inventive faculties as'ho may possess on improvements in shop machinery, since the machines are mostly supplied on a royalty basis by a.great Ame- ■ rican Trust, which looks.askance.on-r-or- at least, does not welcomo—improvements of foreign,origin. The boot manufacturer's profits',are not unreasonably largo in spitd of high .tariff duties,' and a general ■ riso of wages -is quite out of. tho question. Somo benefit' might, ' howovor, accrue from a return to the piece-work system, and tho installation of a "Suggestion-Box" might do some good. (It is a , fairlj"'gerioral"custom , in'tho United States to ko«p a locked box in the workshops', into which employees arc invited to drop written suggestions for improvomonts in process or machinery. If a suggestion is acceptod and proves of valuo its originator is rewarded). But after all is said and done it is questionable wiiethcr the boot factories of Now Zealand will eve? bo ablo to compote with their gigantic rivals in other parts of tho world.' While tho limitation of apprentices has undoubtedly dono good in individual directions' tho rule-is not sufficiently plastic to euit somo of tho more rapidly developing industries ■ of 'this country. The manufacture of furniture' bo quoted. At tho time when tho enquiries were boing made upon which' this nrticlb'sis based, there wore probably not half-a-dozen cabinetmakers disongaKod in'the-whole of Now Zealand.- and

orders were being refused for want of hands. At tho snmo time the mastors wero receiving numbers of lot tors weekly from parents anxious to apprentice their boys, but these applications could not bo cntortnined. Signs aro not wanting, however, of the development of a moro reasonable spirit in this connection. In any caso tho limitation by law of' tho number , of apprentices is too vast a subject to be treated as a side issue in a newspaper article. , Demand for Colliers. .!, At .the-present inomont it is an actual fact that work could bo found in New Zealand for- 600 colliers. When tho projected coaling station is established by tho Admiralty at Point Elizabeth or elsowhero, and if tho Paparoa ■ anthracite proves as good as expected, tho mining of coal will be still more soveroly pinched for want of hands. In spito of tho high.wages which can be oarned'.by gnqd workmon, tho industry fails to attract .its duo share of tho youth of Now Zealand. .Everything that is economically possiblo is dono towards Tendering the work healthy and safe, and for tho technical education of the minor the Mines Department generously caters with schools established in various parts of tho country. In a modern colliery thero is an almost infinite number of gradations among tho.cm-' ployes from the "putter ,, at the bottom of tho ladder to the general manager at tho tbpi nhd each rung mounted moans a rise in wages and an increase in authority. There arc a largo numhor of mines in tlie country which are compelled by law to engage a certificated manager. Briefly, there is no business which offers so ■ many' opportunities to tho ambitious and level-headed youth and .yet-the worage lad will havo none of it.