BULLY BEVAN.

NZ Truth, Issue 104, 15 June 1907, Page 5

BULLY BEVAN.

MANAKAU'S MIGHTY MAGNATE.

How the Unfortunate Flaxies are Fleeced.

A Few Items of Interest to Union Officials.

One time, when flaxmilling wasnot the way to rapid fortune that it is now, it was an ill-paid occupation and the refuge of the dead-beat and the incapable, but with fibre running up to between £35 and £40 per 'boa m the elderly country, the profits from the industry ' enable the millers to pay a decent wage* Formerly the boss, like the lawyer and doctor, lived largely upon the misfortunes of I others, ami the cashless ooit-of-^ork was a stranger to be taken m and fed and made to graft at a sweated .wage. The out-of-work had no option, and there w«re plenty of him. The mills harboured the toughest cases m the country, and the towaile/ts m the vicinity were continuously pain-ted a violent red by the flaxies during Hjhe week-ends, or when the weather in<terfereid "with! milling operations.. Nowadays flaxmilling is a reputable occupation, the condition of the hands has been largely ameliorated,, aim beer isn't the all-absorbing,, devastating factor that it used to "be* Still* the old brutal conditions survive to a certain extent, . ami it tis with the ultimate object of compelling an improvement m a • few isolated cases that "Truth" proceeds to throw the glare of its 10,000 candle-power searchlight upou the doings of ono particular establishment and one Specified boss, who is other things beside a fiaxmilter: : He is a Wly half-caste bounder named Tom Bevan, ' jun., ««id he is king, emperor, and nig-ger-driveri of the Manawatu centre ofManakau and its envir.onm«n'tsThe firm of miserable Thomas is well-known to business people and UNFORTUNATE WORKERS , as that of Swiainson and Bevan. Swainson has gone to some placa remote from ordinary ken, and his dusky partner's- family, haa since formed itself into a company, which owns nearly everything to Manabau, including the pub and some stores, and the souls of the unfortunate . men who blew into the place m mistake for Sheol and have never been able to get out of it. In the awful old days brutal Bevan was a ferocious nigger-dri-ver, and things would have become iiatoterable had not his more humane mate m the business put mam occasional spoke. These times Brown Thomas is answerable to his oomvpany for lots of thwTgs, and be can't let h ; is aboriginal instincts break out to such an extent as formerly. But he is employing men at such low wages that an ordinary person would have to dig a deep shaft to get down to them, and as he has got JYTaoris mostly working m the flaxmall, the Arbitration Court- and the labour unions and other x organised bodies, who take am interest m these matters, are herewith invited to justify their existenoe by insti'tuttog an inquiry into tire inhuman 'and unlawful condition *of things at Manakau. Just an example of Bully Brown's methods. A young fellow who ,hsud g-ot, xid .; bf his surplus cash tramped the country; and floated into Manaloau just when -he was wawted'. Hei» a. fitter by , trade, three yeairs out from the Old Country, but his luck has always taken him into rural districts, and he has never had an opportunity of obtaining a certificate from the responsible b,o<d<v that loots after these matters m Wellington-: In reply to , the 'time-worn {query, "Any dhance of a job," boss ?" the boss asked him what he could., do, and then offered him three weeks' work driving the flaxmill engine at the munificent screw of £l a ' week and Ms tucker. The. customary driver was taking ft holiday. The applicant nearly FAINTED WITH EMOTION when he' heard this generous offer, but .'he managed to pull himself to-g-ether sufficiently to demand 255, which he got after much haggling, and he started work. Now, as^a certificate is required to run these engines, Andrew Collins and (his Union breth- [ ren are requested to keep an atten- ! tive ear t ' cocked /to tfois statement and to pther siJatements of interest that may from time £0 -time occur m the course of this indignant narrative. They are protoijfoly aware that 9s per day shajl be paid for this class of work in' a flaxmill, and they are asked to observe that an otherwise honest hard-up was compelled by . the pangs of hunger to accept 4s 2dand tucker^ which cqsts twelve Wb » week. When the permanent driver came back Bully Bevan remarked to his cheap hireling : "You can mend that traction engine, now-" The bellicose halfcaste, by the way, is a general . contractor as well as a flaxmiller, and uses a traction engine for cairtati'g wood, ■ timber, flax, etc. At this time, the engine was disabled, and the astute owner' was-, threatened with- the alternative of limporting an expert fitter at great cost to repair the damage. The work (chipping the slide valve) could- only be undertaken toy an expert, wfoq would charge T4s per day. Our friend the fitter stipulated, that if 'he repaired the enlgane,' he should be given the job of steer ing it, and after much' subterfuge an »tihe part of the boss,, he promised this employment, which would last for six months. At the end of a week Bevan asked how long the job would take. Our friend replied, a couple of; days, with assistance.. Bevan then told him to consider himself under a week's notice 1 , and when the engine was 1 m Working order he SACKED THE FITTER and took on a Maori to steer it. The , fitter, who wanted t6 run the engine for three months to "qualify for his certificate, took the matter before Magistrate Thompson, claiming 25/ per week and 12/ for tucker. The man's case ' does not appear to have been put very well m Coucfc. At &nyrate, his bewildered Worship said he was not satisfied that the fitter had been re-engaged as:driver, and he lost his case. A good man never goes short of, a, job, arid it was not l^g before the; victim . obtained employment ma saw-; mill at Otaki,, but even there he was; pursued by the malevolence of the infuriated half-oaste. One day he snw : Brutal Bevan talking to the boss ofijj the sawmill, and suspecting that he i ■< was the subject oJ conversation, he'i

'remarked "'BeVan wants you to give me the' sack".". Tfooboss admitted it, but observed he didn't have ,the bag handy, and wouldn't give it to his new employee even if it happened to be within reach. The fitter )aaw Bevan later, and reproached Mm with: his , low-down *t/tempt to rob him of his job. The Maori, who isn't '.used to running up against snogs like this,, was considerably annoyed, and •threat' en'ed to complain m the right quarter that the fitter was driving m engine at the sawmill without a- certdficate. As the engine m question is a 10 h.p. hauler, a certificate isn't required, and the fitter told him so, and enjoyed the purple indignation of the brute robbed of its prey. The above is only one case, The bad, brown, badgering, bungling, bickering bull-flog,, bully, Bevan habitually takes advantage of the starving I condition of chance travellers ta j get cheap lafoor. Maoris, who don't know enougfr to demand proper, pay run his flaxmill. He has to tetf his scotching and .paddocking to wW « men to get it? done properly, but uo has ■ ,' . A 1 MAORI STRIPPER KEEPER, bench feeder, washer, catchers, shakers,, rouseabouts, and chaff-cutters., "Truth" was solemnly infotaied by, a man who said he would take his affidavit <m it, that -the only pay; received; by two Maoris oil the 'chaffcutter was cigarettes and tucker." Are you listening, Andrew Collins ? Furthermore, three, married carters are employed with three-horse teams "at 30/ per week, whereas the regulations: stipulate as pay :— One-horse team, 30/ ; two-horse, 35/ ; tbre&-horse, ; £2. This is interesting for 'the Carters' Union. Also, the regulations state that where fifteen horses are, used, a special man should be employed to feed and turn them out, but at Sevan's sweet establishment every! carter has to turn out at 5.30 a.m.) and work, with an intermissiori for ! tucker, till 9 p.m. This is to save the Wages of an extra man. Where are you, Andrew ? The men have to get their clothes and stores at the Bevan Company j shops, and by the time these are paidi for there isn't much coming o ut of the miserable wage, and that may ije, spent m the Bevan Company pub. It. is alleged tha-t the full amount of wage is not paid by cheque nor m cash, but only the balance due. after, stores are paid for, which seams to be an infringement of the Truck Act, It is also- stated that the price of goods to Bevan's men is higher than m other stores m the country, and it, is suspected that a full investigation, , of accounts would reveal extraordinary things.. But we think we have said enough to justify a searching inquiry by the labour authorl-Ucs, and to make things uncomforta.'ble for this little tin god, who is a large brown person, and who, m addition [to other things, runs a wholesale fou-v siness at Levin, contracts to make water races, carts timber, does a bit orf farming, and buys and sells cattle. If toe runs all these bueinfessee m .the same way as he does the flaxmill hisr awfulness is pretty extens^ive.