ESSENTIAL WORKERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16757, 25 January 1918, Page 4

ESSENTIAL WORKERS.

3 « f NEW VIEW PROPOUNDED. f . _____ ) PATRIOTIC NURSERYMEN. j [lit TEr-EcnAPn.—own correspondent.] 1 CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday. ] The following motion was moved at the - Nurserymen's Conference to-day by Mr, 1 Q. A. Green:—"That, in view of the 1 classification of the nurserymen's industry ' as essential, and tho calling up of the j ' Second Division, it be an instruction to 3 the executive to take such' steps as it ; deems best to secure the retention of • , chough efficient tradesmen to maintain the \ industry during the war." Mr. Green said [' that a census should bo taken of the _i remaining eligible mei\ in the industry, , for the purpose of organisation and of l determining who should go and who should 1 stay. I Mr. Jones, in seconding the motion pro i , forma, maintained that there was no man in any industry who was indispensable. \ Other men who had been considered indispensable had been superseded, and their work in some instances had been done 1 better. The conference had passed a ! motion the day before declaring that it ■ was in favour of doing everything possible 1 to win the war, and ho asked the con- • ference not to go back on that motion and ask for exemptions, but to allow , every man who was accepted as lit to . go and fight. ; Mr. Green, in reply, said his motion I furthered yesterday's" resolution. NewZealand was going to keep up its supply of men, but it must not have a barren country for the soldiers to come back to. He was not asking for anything sweeping, but for something logical." Mr. F. 8, Pope, Secretary for Agricul- . tine, on being invited to speak, said he could only say what he had done himself . as a Departmental officer in charge of some | 700 men. There were some men of long , ( years' experience, who, humanly speaking, | were indispensable, and he had appealed i with success for several of his men. After a brief adjournment Mr. Green withdrew his motion, and seconded a motion by Mr. Jones to the effect that the : execution of the remit be left to the executive. This motion was carried.