THE LABOR MOVEMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 14637, 5 August 1911, Page 2

THE LABOR MOVEMENT.

[By J£.A.3 Brief contributions on matters tcith reference to the Labor movement arc invited. THE COST OF LIVING. A fortnight ago I dealt with this subject from the New Zealand point of view, quoting various tables of household expenses kept by working men. This convinced me that no casual laborer can live on less than 9s a day when in work. New Zealand, however, is no exception ; the cost oi living is j.tcadily increasing in England. During the past fourteen years it has gone up no less than 17.9 per cent. The following figures are from the Board of Trade's fourteenth abstract of Labor statistics, which has just been issued, and shows the general level of retail prices hi London of tins following foodstuffs: Bread, flour, beef, mutton, pork, bacon, butter, eggs, cheese, potatoes, currants, raisins, rice, tapioca, oatmeal, tea, cocoa, sugar, jam, treacle, marmalade, coffee,

This means that the present purchasing power of £1 ia England is less by 3s 6a than it w\ 0 in 1896, and 2s less than in J 1900. Evidently, therefore, increases of wages h.'i; necessary in order to maintain, to say nothing of improving, the standard of life. I ******* MUNICIPAL WORKERS' HOMES. j A Labor deputation waited on the Auckland City Council last week, and urged the council to grapple with the housing problem. It was pointed out that neglect to deal with the question was a direct encouragement of the insanitary conditions and the diseases arising therefrom. The deputation considered that it would be wiser to build sanitary houses than spend money enlarging the hospital. It was pointed out that the council had the. power to deal with the question ; the proposition of municipal house-building was sound from every point of view ; and that practically all the, councillors had pledged themselves, previous to the election, to deal promptly with the question. The council decided that tho matter be referred to the Endowments Committee, and that the Labor party depute members to act witn that committee. A year or two ago the Wellington City Council set up a committee to consider this question and recommend the council what best to do in the matter. Cr Dave M'Laren was convener, but the. committee were not called together for months; indeed, I am not sure that, they ever met. Outside this, the whole question of homes for workers has been left to the Government, though municipal law gives full power. In older countries this work is undertaken by the local bodies, and it is clear that if it were not for the Starr-Bowkett societies in Duoedin the workers would be in sore strait. Why should not our city councillors consider the mutter!' I offer the suggestion to them. * * * - v ? # * ■*• EXODUS OF WORKERS FROM SCOTLAND. Thousands of the sons and daughters of Scotland went forth from our sboies every week to seek a home in some foreign land. What drove them forth? Had they lost their love of old Scotland? Nay, but they had found Scotland eo barren that it was no longer possible for them to make a living within her shores worthy of human beings. Socialism meant that the land of the nation and the whole of the industry of the nation, instead of being owned by private individuals, should be owned by the entire community, and be worked for the public good, and the only way by which that could be accomplished was to train the working classes in the arts of government, bring them out of the paralysing tutelage of Liberalism and Toryism, ' and teach them tiie importance _of standing upon their own legs and doing their own lighting in the strength of their own right hand. In Glasgow there were 50,000 homes of one. room, while the land teemed with wealth, and progress; was spoken of on all fides. They were fold of the greatness of the Empire, and how wealth ivaj being piled up, yet there were 30,000 families huddled together in that great city in one-room homes. The workins classes should no longer be content with (ho hypocrisy of Liberalism or the pretence of Toryism, but come out of both camps and honestly tight their own battles under the baj.ner of IndependentLabor.—Glasgow paper. *******

PROFESSOR MILLS OX COMPULSORY TRAINING. The following clipping is from the 'Bulletin':—Mills, cf Mihviiukte. who is louring MaorLland under engagement to the M.L. Trade* Council Federation and Labor party, has been dropping - a sizeable piece of ice down the backs of his red-rag comrades in the Islps of Borrow. The redrag comrados have worked themselves up to explosion point on the subject of ""li--lary Uv.ining, and fir* in the. habit of frantically howling : " Down with conscription. We stand for Universal Brotherhood, iud the yellow brother will not hurt us!" Hearing "that Mills had been American delegate 'to tho Peace Conference iu Loudon, one brother at Mustertoii jumped up and asked Mills what, his opinion of compulsory military training was. By the time the opinion had been given the brother was feebly wondering what bad hit j him. '' My opinion.'' drawled Mills, " is j that, while militarism lasts—and it will j last for some lime yet—you had better j arm every citizen, establish a gun and > ammunition factory, and let every man j keep his gun ind" at home, j The voluntary system is a farce : only j men who are'drunk or cannot battle for a j job enlist, and they are the most, danger- j oils class to trust' in time of industrial j trouble. If every man is armed and trained, and has 'n gun, there will be no j use for troops during a strike—and if you j take mv advice you'll arbitrate, and noi. , strike—'and then," also, if (as is possible): international complications arise, Maori- , landers will be prepared."' Years ago the ; Ml., trades councils decided for compul- ; sorv as against volunteer service, and j though the local Labor parly has miei-j national arbitration as a plank, it isn t fool enough to v, ant to sit unarmed and ; address words of welcome and rninrade- j ship to the arm-d irrvador. who probably j w-oiddn't understand "colonial Hnglish/' ] anyway. * -X- ***** BRIEF NOTES'. The :*,(Tota.ry of the looal branch of the i Vt-,i- Zealand Labor party ban written to | Me-tars Arnold and Sidey inviting them to j io : nt that body, with a view of behwg , i:o!Tiina.tc<l for selection a.s candidates at j the General Election. ! * * * j During the pas-t iimmeiai y<";u- tha Pri:, - j sian Slat. - ! Railways Administration dt-- i tributod the sum 'of £i,oCo amongst ;-j ; officials and oniploycc-s ;ls rewards lor in- ■■ volitions a.nd irurrovemunit, in the diiv.r- j t.ion of &jio or economical w-orking. In j the Now Zealand eervii-Q a. man is net nip- j posed to use lus braiiif. lie is not paid j for it, and it does not, fay to do it. * * * j Having decided by "ballot against, work- : ing with non-nnionist:-. the Kaigoori fa j Miners' Union is convening a conference, of ! representatives cf .other workers engaged iu I the local mirnng industry to fur tin:]- con- j sider the matter. It :,; rcaiikeiy tlvit any i drastic stops will to 3.ak<?a t<rw:ri - d.s bring- j ing things to a bead bcfc.ro the expiry of j the present industriaJ agreement in 1912. i * * "# A genuine sigh of relief went through England when it was announced that Sir Joseph Ward was about to take hia dsjsartvrc -on his rsturn to New Zealand. People h:td got to know George Keid, and they didut "take him tco seriously ; besides. George* was funny, which Joseph of Maoriland is not. As an example of absolute- iustrpprcaiiblenciis. Joseph Ward, with his ceaseless flow of public speeeh<?« i and his en-dicta awl iilaiaiit Lhnrstyr. of hisJ

own trumpet, took tho cake. Poor Georg* Eeid gave up with a gasp after on« lap, and subsided till his rival in public attention packed hi&swag forborne. —Melbourne 'Labor Call.' * » • Some German authorities at Berlin predict the abandonment of great armies based on compulsory military service for every adult male. The nations, they say, will have recourse to smaller armies of trained lighters. Comparatively few professional 6oldiers will be paid to fight tho battles of a nation. * * » A minimum wage of 3Q& and an eighthour day campaign is now being vigorously conducted tt England. * * * The Government of Victoria is now selling State made bricks to the public for 38* per 1,000. 'Hie Labor Government of New South Wales are supplying Statemade bricks, to Government works at 26s per 1,000. In Brisbane, however, where there are no State brickworks, the price is £2 Iss per 1,000. * * # A PresayUaiai! minister (Rev. Thomson, of Petone, Wellington) said in a recent pennon : " ; There is one of our hymns that I must always decline to give out becausa of one verso that says:— The rich man in hj» castle, The poor man at his gate: God made them high, and lowly, And ordered their estate. Now,' I do iwb believe that poverty is ordered by God. It is rather the result <,f the faulty social conditions under whlca wo live, and lor which we ourselves areresponsible." * * * The Britiuh Shop Assistants' Union, which held its annual conference at Edinburgh recently, lias a membership of close upon 21,000." in 445 branches scattered throughout the United Kingdom. Lash year's income amounted to £31,000, and the amount paid out in unemployed and sick benefits was £13,271. The funds of the union at the close of 1910 Bhowed a balance of over £32,000. In addition to this union, which includes warehousemen and clerks umongit its members, there arc other three unions dealing with the organising of rshnp assistants and kindred occupations, and an effort is to bo made throughout the present year to bring about an amalgamation. * * # A yearly award is made to the best ambulance man in tho Queensland Railway Department under a iund which, was i created at the time the present Commissioner left on a trip to other lands. A medal is aleo- bestowed called the " Thallou Medal/' * * * A branch of the Chief Stewards' Indusi trial Union of Wcrkurs was recently formed j in Auckland, and already has a large roem- ! Iwship, and the financial position is good. • The local secretary is Mr A. G. Pyinan. The object of the. union is to obtain the confidence of and just treatment from the employers, and in return to endeavor to give, every satisfaction to both employers and the. travelling public. I wish the union every success. * * * The Chicago Unemployed Committee is making the following demands:—The immediate taking of a. census of the unem ■ pioyod, and of the partly employed. Providing immediate measures of rebel for the. at present unemployed men and women. Taking precautionary measures to provide work for the tens of thousands of people that will be thrown, cut of their jobs, jn Chicago and elsewhere next winter. * * * Acting Premier Tlolman, in the New South Wales Parliament a fortnight ago, said that the holiday rates of time and a half woidd be paid to tramway men who worked on Coronation Day, also that these who worked on the two holidays in tha following week would receive equivalent holidays at a. iater period on full pay.

milk. The figures foi r each yeai : were : - 1896 ... 92.3 1904 .. . 104.3 1897 ... 96.2 1905 .. .. 103.7 1898 ... 100.8 1906 .. .. 105.2 1899 ... 95.4 1907 .. .. 105.8 1S00 ... 100.0 1908 .. .. 108.4 1901 ... 101.9 1909 .. .. 108.2 1902 ... 101.6 1910 .. .. 109.9 1903 ... 103.2