LOCAL INDUSTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 54, 5 March 1927, Page 8

LOCAL INDUSTRY

(To the Editor.) Shy-Further to my letter of the o ud instant, I herewith append my reply to -Mr. Ward's question as to what is the natural balance between the primary and secondary industries. Normally the primary workers should number 40 per cent of the total number of workers in all iul dustnes, but all of these would not show; m statistical returns as primary workers for the reason that they are only parttime workers in primary industry, an d part-time in secondary industry, uad" would be given in the returns as secondary workers, ilakins all due allowance for theso workers, the actual number of primary workers should be approximately 35 per cent., certainly not lower than 33 pep cent. l ■ At the present time the number of ower O1tV" HV™ll^" in,dllstries « »«* son of ft HS iUly right t0 be h i' r«aber nrf ,r° UUt f im P«>rted coal, timuci, and other products. This' is a very serious mutter to the nation, because-^ wts o»ly displace' 100 n^U mvimf tune ■ unem l)loJ'lnc»t o£ 250 workers cming to inter-related services. reader*™ f"° d°V bt tlmt »«ny of. your thon^t H f" y laSt letter rai Bht ha™ thought that my one object was to "barrackj for higher wages; such would not be the ease in the sense that they would take at It the aggregate turnover of commerce (and industry) is to be increased if business generally is to progress, it can only be by increasing the purchasing power of the people at large. This does not necessarily mean wage increase. It is rather peculiar in the mental attituda adopted by the majority of employers toward the wage question; they quite fail to realise that wages are the foundationstone upon which commerce and industry are built. Their first thought when times of strniKcney arise is to cut wages; but is it not a fact that if the workers have nothing to spend the retailers will have nothing to take, and nothing to pay the merchant, and the latter will have nothing to pay the manufacturer?

Has it never-occurred to our employers, and the powers that be, that one of the greatest evils that we are surrounded with is the excessive, extravagant cost of distribution. Here is a field that offers big returns If handled in a statesmanlike manner. Has it ever struck you what a reduction in the cost of living, or, in other words, an increase in the purchasing power of the people would mean if the reduction only amounted to one shilling per week, I am assuming, of course, that that amount is spent in other directions. We have, roughly, 500,000 workers. ■ A.shilling per week on that number of workers means £25,000 per week, enough to employ another 5000 workers at £5 per week each. These 5000 workers, through interrelated services, would provide work for another 7500 workers, or a total of 12,500 all told. ' . ■ ■ •

Now, Sir, seeing that the cost of distribution as carried on to-day is anything from 30 to 25 per cent, more thau is just or reasonable, what a chance of expanding our industries, if only this question were taken up in a businesslike manner. If^ under such a proposal we stabilised wages at their present rate, without any thought of possible reduction, then, with the increased purchasing power, labour would be more contented and efficient, _ourr industries would expand beyond our wildest dreams, the farmers, would benefit by the increased purchasing power, as well as having a bigger market for their produce; owing to the expansion of their business the manufacturer and merchant would find their overhead charges considerably reduced, and we should soon be vicing with the United States in. its wave of prosperity.—l am, etc., W. MADDfSON. i