CO-OPERATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 9334, 10 February 1891, Page 6

CO-OPERATION.

TO THE BDITOK. Sib, —Having carefully noted all the various moves on the board of life that have been made of_ late years by Labour and Capital in their endeavours to checkmate each other, especially in the colonies, I have been surprised at the short-sighted tactics of Labour, and the want of “ savee ” displayed by Labour leaders, failings which proveconclusively the game has been played by men who have not studied their moves. In more than one instance, even here in New Zealand, the Labour party has been “ Fool’s mated” owing to the incompetency of its leaders; and now, whilst they possess a power by which they can materially benefit themselves, they stand still and—grumble. I take it, the labouring class are striving for shorter hours of toil and increased remuneration. Very good! The Socialistic principle universally enunciated by the people is, in effect; there must be a fairer distribution of the world’s wealth amongst the world’s population, and that a condition of society which enables the rich to grow richer, and impoverishes the poor, is no longer one to be tolerated. These principles aie being upheld and propogated by the most powerful minds of our day, and the time is fast coming when man’s emancipation from poverty will be an accomplished fact, and the force by which it will be accomplished is cooperation. Co-operation! This is the power possessed by the labouring class, and by the application of which labour can materially benefit itself pecuniarily; and, yet strange to say, because Unionists are lacking in real unity, this power remains unutilised. Resident in Christchurch and its suburbs there are several thousand Unionists, and a large number of working men who are not Unionists. The late strike has cost most Unionists from £5 upwards, and the result haa been comparatively nil. Now, if all these were to put but £1 each into a co-operation under efficient management, the result would at the end of a year, from commencement of operations, prove satisfactory in all respects. We want a larger consumption for our own manufactures. Co-operation of the working class can accomplish this. Result: More labour employed; more money in circulation. The principals of some of our large trading monopolies employ foreign capital which they obtain at about 3J per cent. This they employ through middlemen at a return of about 7-* per cent, to be again retailed by exchange of commodities for current coin at a rate of about 25 per cent interest. Thus the working class are heavily taxed through their purchasing power ; and whilst they slave, individuals are made unnecessarily rich. These facts will show that the working man can at once commence the redistribution of wealth by manipulating his own purchasing power through co-operation to his own profit. No working man should pnrchaseforeign manufactured goods, when the same class are manufactured in the Colony by his fellow workmen. An increased consumption of our own woollen manufactures would bring down the price of the article manufactured, whilst at the same time employing more labour, the simple fact being the Colony’s manufacturing plant stands idle half his time, but is chargeable with interest on capital invested from J an. Ito Dee. 31. Now, the whole plant should be constantly going; and if our working men were true to their professed principles, it would not then be able to produce sufficient to supply their requirements, but the interest on capital invested being borne by double the present amount of manufactures, the article produced could be supplied at a lower figure; and then if these manufactures were the working class generally, through their own co-operation, collectively and individually, their pecuniary benefit would be considerable. I have quoted our woollen manufactures only as an illustration, but the application of the argument should include our every industry. Strikes are commercial plagues that the workingclass should get clear of with all speed. Their main tendency is to Co-operation produces and builds up, and would be the best friend of the working man if he willed it so.—l am, &c., PENATES.