UNSKILLED LABOURERS AND SOCIALISM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14923, 22 February 1912, Page 4

UNSKILLED LABOURERS AND SOCIALISM.

According to your report of the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, held on Friday, 9th inst., and addressed by Mr. . t Leo Myers,, president, oft' "Industrial Unrest," Air. A. Burt, in the course of the dis- § : cussion, let fall certain remarks which call' ; for some attention. He stated that strikes invariably emanated from the unskilled, worker, never from the skilled worker, who ; , - knows better. Other than pointing out thafc|J-k; the first part of this statement : betrays an ignorance of labour matters complete * and ,' appalling, I do not propose to deal with it y;It is the truth of the latter part I desire to put to the test. Mr. Burt said that it waa i because the unskilled worker was mow ignorant than'his skilled fellow worker that | ho " struck." Now, this is either true, or i& is not true. The supreme question for tin workers at all times is that of wealth-produc-: tion and distribution—political eoonomy. Long and applied study of economics has f -j* ';' compelled the most thoughtful section of tie' 1 - working-claps to invariably declare in favour of .the common. ownership • of .the" natural resources, frofti which all wealth is produced, and the machinery of production by which the* workers produce all wealth, as against their private ownership. This would mean ; that the world's wealth would be owned and possessed by those who produce it, and tha , ' final ending of on idle parasitical claaa. No*, many of the unskilled labourers (who cause - all the strikes) have studied economic#, and have come to the foregoing conclusions.: Mr. - • Burt is not a worker. He, I take it, i* an j.J employer. On his own premises,,if a skilled />; worker is so much more; intelligent thah an § unskilled, then a large employer ought to be ' an intellectual giant. . Now, I would ask Mr. y Burt is ho prepared to debate the question, "Is socialism and organised workijtg-class effort towards socialism in the interests of'."" m tho working class and of humanity!" and sustain tho negative against myself, or anyother of a dozen navvies, members of the -vjVj General Labourers' Union, I can ; name?•■s>;s! They are willing to range up, in & rgw, and, / Mr. Burt can pick out his. opponent from among them. Further, if Mr.. Burt ;is too -% i I wary to accept this challenge he might CO6- . . voy it to any skilled worker lie'/kOTWii'W •£',}« !to the president of the Chamber of Com- ' merce, or anyone else of the 'emidoTiilctlatiM:^ in Auckland- P/FfiASEi- " - ? | in Auckland P. Fbaseb.