COAL MINERS’ WAGES.

Evening Star, Issue 12257, 26 July 1904, Page 8

COAL MINERS’ WAGES.

TO THE EDITOR. » Sir, —Your correspondent Mr Hood, has agailn come forward,' and in this, as in the others, fails lamentably to grasp the subject he tries to show he is expert in. In quoting nine pay tickets out of nineteen, I nave taken over 40 per cenl? and stated the time taken to corn it. Mr Hood quote*, about per cent., 'and is very careful to avoid the time they have taken to earn ft. Another deliberate attempt to throw dust in the eyes of the public. Make no hi.iitake; the average is not 6s Id per inai per day, but just nearly double that sum tils figures are splendid reading ; in fact, 1 have read them twice, and I have .bee thinking of sending them to the school master to teach the miners’ little boys ho-,' an upholsterer can cither stuff a crutch o. champion the miners’ cause. Now, my %u have paid in that pay under iicticeStlt highest price paid In New Zealand as far a I know of for some of the coal—namey 4s 4d per ton, in addition to 4s 6d per yard In quoting 2s 4d for coal for the fan, j took the lowestrprieed class of coal for tha purpose, so that was anotSbr attempt u throw dint in the eyes of the public. ] am quite prepared to show- the whole of th pay tickets, not only for that partkmla pay, but for the whole twelve months, u. one condition : that Mr Hood publishes t.. whole of b.s. But let him remember i eu: get the whole of those returns as well at he.

There is _not one item an my letter of th ISfch, on No. 3 dame, that he can dispute He sneeringly remarks: “We should have added a few- more items, such as axl grease, cotton waste, oil can, manager! •■alary, shareholders’ dividends, director; guineas, dividends on watered stock, etc.’ Perhaps it would surprise Mr Hood to kmn that we have paid £l7 16s 10d, in ope yea; for oil, so it is not t'he small item that In would make it out to be. I do not thin our manager’s salary is as big as his, and will swear he does ten times more soli graft. Our office charges may he set dow at nil, seeing that we do most of our ofiic work after working hours. Our share holders’ dividends have been pretty far and I am sorry to say they have on.! amounted to one halfpenny in tho £ pe; annum covering the last fourteen years. We have directors, but no guineas fo; them, and they have never received a sing, one. As to .dividends on watered stock, ] am sorry to say we have never been in tha enviable position. What we have quoted above are indisputable facts. We an prepared to place proof in you; hands, Mr Editor, for you to decide. It is not we who are paving tho way , for an advance in the selling price of coal It :s those irresponsible persons who sit in conference, who have not thought out the subject. If they want fancy legislation, they will have to pay for it. But let them pay it like men, and be done with it. When t'he Christchurch resolutions are put hi force they wifi have something to squeak about. The public wifi then rub the du-<t out of their eyes, and thank Mr Hood 4b r sending them to the druggist to purchase 'their cool by the ounce.—l am, etc., T , „ Employer. July 20.