WAGES AND PRICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20840, 6 April 1931, Page 12

WAGES AND PRICES.

Sir,—ln a recent issue of the Herald I read the report of the addresses made by various labour leaders to the demonstrators in the Domain on March 29. If such claptrap goes down with wageearners as common sense, then they certainly are to be pitied, Ihe argument that increased wages is the solution for unemployment is so utterly silly and futile that I wonder at any nian having the nerve to advance it. Higher wages for a few unionists at work would be extremely nice—for them —while it lasted. If, however, every worker were getting higher wages, each would perforce have to pay more for what the others produced. Who would benefit? Would the increased wage buy more of his requirements? Yes it would, but only of imported goods produced by cheaper labour overseas. That is just how the higher wages would be spent, with the inevitable result that there would be a still greater drop in the demand for the focal worker's products, less work than ever for him to do and less wages than ever to be earned. It is this sort of argument, so utterly opposed to the dictates of common sense, which leads me to believe that underlying it all is a desire to irritate and incense the workers by ever-increasing unemployment, until they might be foolish enough to put Labour on the Treasury benches. If the workers of New Zealand want any object lesson on the ability of a Labour Government to ameliorate the lot of the workers who put it in power, let them look to the Commonwealth of Australia, and they will see to what a pass Australian workers have been brought by a system which has, like our own, yielded to tho asinine demand to raise wages, shorten hours,_ and curtail the training of artisans, until as a consequence the very well-spring of prosperity has been choked. Rcsticts.