MISERLY BREWERS.

NZ Truth, Issue 94, 6 April 1907, Page 6

MISERLY BREWERS.

A Bottle-washer's Troubles.

Those who run brewery concerns are usually fairly well in — they are not the poor of the community, anyway, nor do they receive charitable aid. They lord it with a high hand even over publican's who sell their hop juice for them. Bung does capitally m Christchurch, all of him, and many a pious person who don't drink, but who has shares m breweries, thanks his joss that ife is so. His investment is a good one, and the dividend always up to the knocker. Yet rich as these . establishments are m the way of assets and capital, the bosses treat their slaves of employees most damnably as to remuneration. This has been remarked m these columns before, but there is no iharm m telling about these miserable skinflints again. It is certainly true that the condition of the men has been bettered lately, but not by much, and they are still woefully underpaid. Now, there is one case which has come under the notice of this paper which should be mentioned. A bottle-washer-in-chief, or something of that sort, employed at one of these swankey factories, applied a while back for a rise m screw, which amounted to the munificent sum of 35 bob a week, on which he had to keep himself, a wife and two children. Now, bottle washing is a wet sort of game, and when one has about eight hours or more — generally more of it he reckons he more than earns his salary. And m cold weather it is a lively- sort of job. The application was declined with much emphasis, and then the man mentioned that he had a family to keep. "So you are married, are you?" said some haughty individual who helps to run the show. " Yes, sir," was the reply. "Then why the devil don't you send your wife out to work ?" was the brutal .question that followed. It needn't be set down here what happened, but the bottle washer left right away. Later on things were smothered over somehow, and the -.man returned to his watery job. And he is there now, and is still only receiving thirty-five bob a week. More foolhe, but probably he saw nothing better offering and took it over until he did. Writer doesn't suppose it wiU surprise anyone to hear that a stock-up Jew is associated with this squirt producing establishment— is very largely interested m fact.