SHORTAGE OF FARM LABOUR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22192, 20 August 1935, Page 13

SHORTAGE OF FARM LABOUR

Sir, —May 1 ask for a small space to reply to "An Aussie who has tried." 1 would like to tell him 1 have had numerous jobs since coming to New Zealand, good and indifferent, both in the Waikato and Dargaville districts. In answer to his other question, 1 am satisfied with my present position, for otherwise 1 shouldn't be here, for a man is not compelled to stay anywhere where he is not suited. 1 have in the past worked 15 and 1G hours a day during haymaking for 15s, and am still alive to tell the tale, and I would do it for 7s 6d rather than ask the State for charitable aid and be content with a few shillings until 1 was eligible for the old age pension. 1 always thought a " Digger " was a " sticker," for 1 can see only two reasons why a healthy man, with a pair of hands and feet, would rather go on relief than scratch for himself. (1) He is frightened to do a bit of hard work. (2) Or he is of no use to the*- average farmer, for 85 per cent of the farmers of New Zealand will do their bit for a trier. In closing, Aussie wants to remember he was mad<* for this world, not the world for him. A Homie Who Tried.