NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 125, 22 February 1944, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Many'people probably were a little puzzled by the explanation made by Mr. Hill, national secretary of the waterside workers’ organization, regarding the reasons why the members of the Wellington union decided last Friday to resume work. “The men (he said) are returning to work recognizing that, inasmuch that they have a just grievance in the present dispute, the interests of the country and the United Nations are above their own dispute.” That sounds very satisfactory, but it is a pity that the greater importance of the .nation’s war effort was not recognized before essential work was summarily interrupted. If the priority of the interests of the Dominion and the United Nations justified the resumption of work on the waterfront —as undoubtedly it did —then the same good and sufficient reasons would have fully justified the continuation of work while the very minor issue in dispute was settled as provided by law. However, now that this priority has been acknowledged it may be hoped that it will prove effective in preventing any further interruptions of work. The paramount a interests, advanced in justification of the decision to resume, will remain paramount for the duration of the war, and probably for an even longer period. No local trouble could challenge that priority. And a strict observance of it need not involve any undue hardship to anyone for, if there should be local disputes, then the machinery for dealing with them is available without interruption of the work on the waterfront.

The decision of the rationing authorities in the Dominion to permit the tendering of loose coupons to butchers, and also for meat meals purchased In hotels and in restaurants, is probably intended to obviate some of the difficulties experienced in Australia. There, apparently, the coupon must be cut out in, the presence of the vendor, and this has caused no little confusion. The Federal (authorities have tried to meet the difficulty by permitting the whole page of meat coupons to be taken out of the coupon book, but if it is entrusted to anyone else, then a receipt must be obtained. The permission now given here should tend to make the rationing scheme more elastic and prevent unnecessary inconvenience. In Australia the system of giving change dockets in cases where the quantity of meat purchased does not come up to the limit imposed has proved somewhat troublesome, and the authorities have now stated that it is not compulsory for butchers to give change dockets. They are allowed some latitude in devising their own plans, but it has been reported that many retail firms try to induce the customer to take the quantity that the coupon will permit.

Two news items yesterday referred to the tobacco shortage. One made mention of the fact that the shortage was being generally felt throughout the country, and in certain remote districts famine conditions apparently prevailed. The other item reported a stopwork meeting by the employees of a freezing company in Southland, Tasting an hour and a half, for the purpose of discussing the tobacco shortage as it affected themselves. Wartime conditions have put people on short commons in a great variety of commodities, but the general disposition has been to make the best of a position that obviously cannot be helped. In the case of the freezing workers referred to the object apparently is to bring pressure on the Government to relieve the position so far as their own tobacco is concerned. But if tobacco is really in short supply all round, and there seems very little doubt about it, special supplies to a particular section can only be given at the 1 expense of other people. As the common run of citizens are not in the privileged position of being able to organize stopwork meetings, for the purpose of emphasizing their wants, they will no doubt have to grin and bear it. The thing is lopsided, of course, but th fit Is characteristic of the Government’s proneness to indulge clamant sections at the expense of others less demonstrative.