The Maoriland Worker WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 1920

Maoriland Worker, Volume 11, Issue 475, 21 April 1920, Page 4

The Maoriland Worker WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 1920

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WBOB iNtyTHE SCHOOLS. The logic of oppression, like oppression itself, is always bad. Ins'ti.tutiwft th>t support oppression never fall to cloak their designs unfl&fe Uft assumption of concern for the couaoonweal. The Welfare League (declares itself a non-class and a nonpolitical body; but it lies clumsily »nd of malicious intent, in so doing. [At the polls it fought the. Labor .cause, which is. not merely the cause ipf the largest class in the community, but tho cause of the community Itself. Now this precious League opposes Labor's efforts to secure representation on the school committees. This on the plea that education should not be a matter for politics. This proves clearly what a rotten notion of politics that reactionary Ibody has. Education is a matter that should be political in the very best sense of that much misused and misunderstood word. The sophistical "Evening Post, - ' bavins a rotten policy, the policy of vested interests, to uphold, endorses the League's manifesto, but admits that Labor, as a class—not as a party—has a right to representation on the school committees. Now, the position is that Labor is a "class," not of its own volition, Ibut of stern necessity. Labor seeks to be not a class, but the class—the one big class, and the one true community of the future, because all communities and all human societies (rest upon and are maintained by Lator. The cost of education is paid for by Labor, both in a general and a particular sense. But Labor as a Class gets least, education, although it has to bear all the cost of it. Even df the "Post" reasoning wero admitted, Labor should have vine-tenths at least of representation "ou education boards and committees*. But the "Post," like the League, holds that the Labor "tickets' , are composed of men jvhosc only qualifications are political, that is that they belong to the Labor Party. This is not so; it is other than so. Labor men have a keener appreciation of education than those of any other party, and a better of the requirements of the age in matters educational. In the narrow party sense, education should, not be a political question, but it has foeen made a class, question—by the opponents of Labor, who have reserved to themselves the benefits of a liberal education. Thus it is necessary for Labor to assert its rights, and in this department, as in all others, fieek to become the dominant fnflaence. Labor seeks no privileges in education; it seeks only justice. It [would be wholly against the policy and principles of Labor to seek class privileges in education. What Labor seeks is to do away with class privileges, as well as classes, and what the Welfare League and its Press champions desire is the maintenance of the present education system, Hvhich deprives tho children of the toilers of equal rights to the best education the State can afford. These are the facts of the matter, and not all the sophistry of class interests and (hypocritical pretence of concern for the public welfare can refute them. Labor in seeking to capture the school committees is fighting the battle of the community as a whole not tho bastard community of the day, artiflcally / divided into "sections" and classes, ibut the community of the future, Which will be proud to acknowledge that it rests upon free Labor, and not •pn the degradation o£ tho producers of wealth, without whom education jwould be impossible. Labor's right !to control education is nart of its right to control tho whole machinery of the State in the interests of all citizens. ,who render useful service to the State. iflhe Welfare League and the "Post" are viciously class-conscious in upholding a system that gives the workers the merest scraps of education, and makes tho possession of money the open sesame to the dpojrc Qf knowSedge. * * * #- JPBOFITEEmse. At last som.etltfns; tangible has ao» fcrued with rofcrenoQ to the profiteering QUrse., a Wellington., .grocer having (been, fin'ei £IQO for soiling, a bottle of Mellin's Etood, for 3/6;. tb,e usual jcharg»inWellington, being 2/9 and in !Auckl?m<i 2/6. The- Magistrate (Mr. E- reckoned that an advance of 164 per cent dn coet was top. much for a grocer to impose on a mother (who- Had; a naby to look after, and that If a- seflftlty Bad to be inroooed it Should be a substantial one. • There will be.few to find fault with euch a

mple has to be made of someone to jring shopkeepers generally to their bearings. The only regret will be that the scapegoat was not a large drapery company instead of a comparatively small suburban grocer. Action was taken against a drapery firm in what appeared to be a worse case in Wellington some time ago, but the summons was dismissed through a legal informality. This particular matter of the suburban grocer was brought to light by an Auckland visitor to Wellington. The point we would like to make in relation to this most important subject of barefaced robbery of the people is that it should not be left to casual travellers to bring offenders to book. As the law stands, a person, from purely philanthropic motives, has to act the part of an informer to tho Board of Trade, and then, if the Board is satisfied about the facts, it may take action. Why shoutt! private individuals have to assume the role of informers, and be put to loss of time and money? Why should not| Government officials be tho informers, j and why should not a systematic course of detection be adopted to collar the big fellows as well as the small fry in order to throttle this hideous monster of profiteering? The fine of £100 now inflicted should have been imposed on many a wealthy company many months ago, and this gluttunous grab might have been checked. As it is. the same of grab has been in I full swing ever since the war was on. and the people have been bleeding at. every pore to fatten most unconscionable extortionists. The war is over now. ' For Heaven's sake let us sober j our senses and down this damnable | rascality with all the force of the law. * * * w ! R.4ILIVAI JIATTEItS. When there is rough -weather it is not unusual to read in the daily Press about, "shipping sheltering." When-, ever there is anything of vital import- j ance in connection with the adminis-1 tration of Government in this country, j which the Cabinet should deal with promptly, we find tho Massey Government sheltering itself behind Boards and Commissions of Inquiry. In regard to the railway business, the procrastination which has taken place on the part of the Government is simply shameless. The latest thins that we hear" from Mr. R. Hampton, the president of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, is that on the main question of wages there have been conferences with the Prime Minister which have been abortive, the Government taking welcome shelter behind the report of Mr. Justice Stringer. Why should Mr. Justice Stringer be imported into the railway business? Is not the Minister of Railways competent to dispose of the affairs o£ his own Department? And has not the Government sufficient confidenco in its Minister of Railways to pay some attention to what he has to suggest after due inquiry? Mr. Maseey pretends to be very much hurt that Mr. Hampton should have rushed into the print of the daily Press to candidly confess what has happened, and he now seeks shelter behind the Public Service, Commissioner and heads of dopartment.fi to announce to the public that if the demands of railwaymc arc to bo satisfied it mena extra taxation. Audaciously Mr. Massey has informed the daily Press that the conferences with the railwaymen have been, on the whole, of a most friendly character. Well, Mr. Hampton, speaking for tho railway servants, does not sivo much evidence of contentment. It would appear that the "friendly ,, conferences have simply added to the discontent of tho railwaymen aro to be satisfied it means cernexl, procrastination is the order of the day. Procrastination is another name for Masseyisyn wherever the wages of the hardest workers aro concerned, .. rtv;l;S. * * * *■ THE I IV£,pAY WEEK, The five-day week is becoming a Ijve. question in New South Waies, and is even threatening to become- a political i&sue. Those whj) see \n it an "extremist" raovn are preening the question on to the Government, and puttln-3 faith in the- well-known "moderation" of Mr. Storey and. his colleagues. Already the bricklayers, who regarded themselves as, quite competent to scttlo the matter themselves, have, been fined £100 by the Industrial Court for what is called an illegal strike. Whether this was a strike .within til? CrrjUiary, meaning of the word, or a law-made strike, is not clear. If it is the case that the men have given tip tb.gtr rjgfrtnot to work.

them on the folly of so doing. That the claim for shorter hours is' not so extreme as leading commercial men in New Soiith Wales thipk it is, is shown by the judgment of Mr. Justice Powers, who granted th.c application of the flour-mill workers iri the Federal Arbitration Court for a 44->hour week. In the course of his judgment the" judge made, the following very just rejp.ark I s:WT.4e workers generally have decided to -work: shorter hours than th,ey did before 1914, and if theycannot get shorter hours from Parliament, and if this Court will not even consider claims for shortening apurs, the workers will secure them in their own way by not working more th.an the hours they fix, whether reasonable or unreasonable. Where the hours fixed are unreasonable, such course will cause unemployment and industrial strife. This Court must, I think, reconsider the position as to claims for shorter hours, especially as the Federal Parliament cannot properly legislate on matters left open to the States. It ir> the Court's duty to consider what is just in these daye, not what wa3 fair twenty years ago, or what the employees recognised as hours of duty because they had to. It does not srem right to continue to shut the door against claims for shorter hours than the recognised hours in industries before the • war, when it may bo clearly proved that the long hours arc not necessary; any more than it would be to shut the door agaiijst claims for moro than the recognised rate of wages in any industry before the claims are brought before the Court. The only .question to be considered in the latter case is, are the claims for wages fair at the present time? It is not fair to contend that men should be made to work longer than reasonable hours because the employers have not provided enough machinery to supply the present demand for flour. It could just as reasonably be used as an argument to require* them to work 54 hours a week if the demand for flour for export inn-rases. I propose to fix the hours of duty at 44 from May 1 next, to enable the respondents to make arrangements for working under the new conditions."

The "reductio ad absujduni'* would, be reachjed if the hjotel a»d restaurant workers; had their way and £Qt two days' holidays in connection with, the Prince of Wales' visit. They wa&t to do. honoMp tlje Prince of flunkeydqra. So, they say* Well, winy- shouldn't they flunkey as well as other people? Why should they work h.ard-r-put in extra time and be kept busy while other peoplp spread their tasß in p,ea* cpcb fashion, for the admiration °! the vice versa. It really might be a good th4n§ i| everyone went on strike, for two days in honor of the Prince's visit, and let the matter end there—every man and woman spending the two days in such mann,er..as he or she thinks fit, auite apart from useless, boresome gatherings calculated to make everyone's life a burden as well as that of. the unfortunate Prince. When one reads wnat the young fellow is destined to go through in tho -way cs£ inane, demonetration. the instable suggestion comes up?-"UnEasy lies the Head that wears a crown," or has the possibility ahead of him. «■ * * »' _ "The time has arrived in this country when we have almost got to say good-bye to the Arbitration Court as it is constituted at present," remarked Mr. E. Kennedy, during discussion at the Conciliation Council Conference, on a suggested settlement of the Wellington boilerraakers' dispute. "It has outlined its usefulness." He added that the industry has been' punished by the Court; it had been penalised in Christchurch and in other centre?. At Auckland, when engineers had asked for a bonus, their action was described as impudent, in view of the fact that a portion of the men were on strike. "Men don't go on strike deliberately," said Mr. Kennedy, "unless there is some injustice under which they suffer."

"Ouring the past two or three years the Court has created more disputes than it has settled, and for every dispute settled it. has caused four or five more disputes. T\e settlement of the drivers' dispute had almost caused a strike."