[ESTABLISHED 1875.] Manawatu Daily Times The Oldest Manawatu Journal. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25,1914.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 12751, 25 March 1914, Page 4

[ESTABLISHED 1875.] Manawatu Daily Times The Oldest Manawatu Journal. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25,1914.

THE dictum of Judge Heydon, of tlie Australian Industrial Court, that in good times tfie worker should get more than a living wage, will commend itself to those who have given thought to this subject, not only because otherwise he will never make any advance nor better his position, but because when times , are prosperous the industry employing him can afford to give him a larger portion of the profits. His judgment recommends that the lowest wage for light |» labour should be 8s 6d, for ordinary labour 8s 9d, and' for heavy labour 9s. The living wage should rise or fall according to a general table of the Commonwealth statistics as to variation in the purchasing power of the sovereign. This decla- ( ration deserves attention and | examination. The Judge had to , deal with existing facts, and not I with considerations of political I economy, though these ma--1 terially affect the question. For I' some time past the Australians, j like some other people, have i been decreasing the purchasing power of the sovereign, and it is decreasing still. This is a serious matter to the wage earner in any country which depends on the outside market for its sovereigns. With the exception of borrowed money—which of course involves interest charge, and has to be repaid—nothing comes into these countries except the equivalent for the value of what it produces and exports. The purchasing power of the sovereign here is decreased, not only by the outsider, who pays us the sovereign, but by our foolish policy of plac- j ing obstructions in the way of | trade and commerce. We send j out more produce every year, and the fleets bearing it away do so at less cost, but we erect barriers at the customs houses

which more than nullify any benefit we might otherwise receive from cheaper and quicker transport. ■ This is the main reason why there has been such an increase in the cost of living, which means the same thing as the decreased purchasing power of the sovereign, referred to by Judge Heydon. The cost of living in Alaska, - for instance, is' enormously high because of na-

tural obstructions to trade, and five sovereigns will only buy what can be obtained for one sovereign in more favoured j countries. Here we erect artifi- ' cial obstructions which have similar effect. Some people are inclined to think that the increased rate of wages is the cause of the higher cost of living, but this is not the diuect cause. It is an effect, not a

cause. It. is true that shorter hours of labour and limitation of output affect the cost of living, but as against the former there is probably increased | efficiency while the latter will *

not he of long duration, nor docs it operate in many industries, and cannot in the producing or wealth-creating. Wages advance because of the obstructions to trade and commerce. If the worker has to pay the cost of surmounting these obstructions his wages must be increased, and consequently there is justification for his demand for more, and will be until our people realise the folly of restriction of trade, which must always injuriously affect any country pursuing this policy. Unfortunately for the worker he is no better off when his wages have been increased, because their producing power has fallen, and the tendency is for this to fall in greater proportion. We believe that when the workers and the producers realise how they are being handicapped by our fiscal policy they will unite in demanding its abolition. In a future article we shall deal with some other aspects of this subject, which is one of the greatest importance to anyone who earns wages or who is in receipt of a fixed salary, neither of whom can "pass it on" to the consumers.

THE people are no doubt expected to experience a thrill of satisfaction from the work of the Public Service Commissioners who by the inauguration of new methods are effecting savings in the working of some of the Departments. So far they have managed to save the taxpayers £4OOO a year, and are thus doing something to justify their appointment. But there are yet many loads of red-tape to be removed, and no Department is free from it. It will no doubt take time to thoroughly reorganise all the Departments, and so far the work done has been of benefit. Of course it does not come within the scope of the Commissioners' operations, but it may be pointed out that while they are devoting attention to effecting savings, the question of whether some of the Departments should not be abolished is left untouched. The Commissioners have been dealing with the Land and Income Tax Department which represents vicious and impolitic methods of taxation. The landtax adds a special burden to the man on the land in addition to his share of the burden of customs and other taxation, and the income-tax imposes further penalty on those who have already indirectly contributed at least a third of their income 5 to the Customs Department. Both are class taxes, and this fact alone should condemn their use in a democratic community.