The Levin Chrønicle TUESDAY, MAY 6, 1919. THE PROBLEM OF THE HOUR.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 May 1919, Page 2

The Levin Chrønicle TUESDAY, MAY 6, 1919. THE PROBLEM OF THE HOUR.

Tho man who lives on a salary or on ■Withes is confronted today with a subtle* problem. Recognising this truism, tho Sydney Morning Herald asks, pertinently, "liow is lie to live, as be. 'ieels bo ought to live, in the comfort which was formerly his' and at tho same time make provision for his old age or for those who come after him, should lie die. before the full tale of bis years is accomplished?" It is indeed a pertinent question, because, as our contemporory remark-s, rising prices and increased taxation meet the wageearner everywhere Through the war he accepted these rising prices as the concomitant of war, but be finds that, now that the war in over, in very flew of the commodities which lie habitually uses has there been any relaxation of the strain. in some commodities, and tho;Ji* in most common use. there have been additional increases. It has been* said that money is merely the counters with which tho exchange of goods is affected: and hence it might lie concluded that, if there is a general advance for goods all round, the rise in what a man buys is counteracted by the rise in what he sells'. But unfortunately while the prices of goods riso quickly prices paiU for services lag severely behind. The market for labour, whether it be lminual or mental, does not respond so rapidly to the stimulation afforded by the higher prices of other goods. The man 011 a shilary or wages often only receives the same number of counters in recognition of hi.s services while his employer receives more counters f°r his produce. The I reason is plain. Taken in the hulk ] the man 011 salary or wagesi cannot re- i fuse, to sell his services and wait till I the user of those services bids up for them. The holder of goods can generally keep them until he gets the price j he wants for them if be knows the market is l short, since they cost only storage room and interest on money expended. The man who soils his services, taken as a class, is not in that position. He must receive money each ! ■week- If he does not. in 11:f a

result he starves, or in the best result lie has to live on his savings from past services. In any case he suffers a loss. That is why he will not put to the risk , •hid position by insisting on an increase J of remuneration. Hence the increase { in money wages always lags behind the ! increase in the price of commodities. Tt is much the same with nil increase of taxation. The man on salary, or on wages, the man with a fixed income, has no relief from paving that taxation no matter how much it may be increased. The man in business is seeking to pass it on, the effort is in some degrtfe successful, sometimes more and sometimes less. Where goods are sold in a retail way the lowe,st increase that can be made is often much more than will suffice to pay the extra taxation on the extra wholesale cost, so that actually an additional profit is made. Thus where the customer, such as, for instance, the man with .salary or wages, is ( lie who cannot retaliate by charging more for his produce, he carries his *>wn burden and part of the burden of someone else. It is because of these additional burdens so much unrest prevails at the present time. The man with a fixed wage feels that ho is being overburdened, that he is carrying someone else besides himself. Xaturnllv he rr'-ents that overburdening. Where he has combination. a,s in unions or associations, he can make demands which, in some measures, help to relieve him of that overburden, perhaps sometimes help him to put some of his own burden on to someone else who has not a union. Then the feel injt among the disunited is rendered more intense, and is not the less dangerous because it: is inarticulate. Purely, then, the vital need of the hour is an earnest concentration of thought by the besft thinkers ■of all classes in an endeavour to find an effective and e(|uita7ile solution of all those -economic problems in which are involved the well-being of the mass of the people. "Come, let us reason toffcther." so that each may be enabled to form an honest contention cf the other's point of view : and all may be fnspired tr? work together for the common weal.