WORLD of WORK

NZ Truth, Issue 570, 20 May 1916, Page 8

WORLD of WORK

— BY "HONESTAS." ■ For quite a number of years prior to the outbreak of the World War.tbere was so much talk about the prosperity of our wage earner, that ho himself was m danger of believing that such statements had some foundation m, fact, notwithstanding: that the inadequacy of his earnings, with regard to their purchasing: power, had been forced upon him time after time. House rent, the price of food and clothing kept soaring upward, forcing the workers to ; curtail expenses, to. live m cheaper houses, when such were to be had, or two or more families to a house, when cheap, houses were unavailable, to seek to augment the family income by sending their children to work earlier than they otherwise would have done. All statisticians agree that for the decade preceding the declaration of hostilities m Europe the price of staple commodities had risen over twenty per cent, but even without such corroboration, the workers all over the Dominion had the" truth forced upon them by the fact that the purchasing power of their pound note could provide for them only 80 per cent, of what it provided formerly, and by closer economy being needed to make both ends meet. " Since the war began the worker has been appealed to to economise, but the inflated prices make this impossible. .To-day - the worker has absolutely no surplus left from his weekly earnings, with which to meet the extra expenses of sickness or temporary loss of employment, and even the few pleasures which he formerly indulged m have had to be curtailed. And while this is so he is awakening to the fact that while he and his suffer a few men are amassing great fortunes, a few companies have succeeded m cornering and controlling the commerce of the country, a select portion of the population is living m hitherto unknown luxury. And the realisation of these things do not tend to sweeten bis disposition towards his so-called "superiors and betters." • •■■ ■■■ • ■■■.' ■' • „ We are not wanting m our midst certain individuals, who live well on ample Incomes, themselves secure from want or even anxiety as to their future. Yet these same people frequently assert that the poverty around us is due to the extravagant habits of the poor, and the growing standard of living. Answering the last, first, "Honestas" would ask. Is not a high standard of living the best indication of a nations progress? And is it not, after all, the extremely rich who set the example of extravagance to their less fortunate felloWs? Besides, these assertions are no reply to the undisputed fact' that wages have not increased at as great a ( ratio], as. the cost of commodities; that the 'returns of our income tax department prove that the manufacturer. and merchant are reaping higher profits than ever they have done previously. The wealth of the country is becoming more and more unevenly distributed. As m ,the older 'land from which our parents come, the poor are getting poorer and the rich richer. The natural resources and Industries of the Dominion are becoming concentrated ° m fewer and fewer hands. The number of persons owning their own homes is growing beautifully less. These and other results, such as smaller living quarters, poorer nourishment, impaired physique, more child labor, are the na r tural concomitants ,o£ a. system of production wherein increase of wages do not follow inceased" cost; of living pro rata. Employers and plute pen-pushers always complain of the greed of the working-man, r They "declare that he Is always askmgifor an increase of pay. They do not consider that it is economic conditions that force him to demand such . increase, .until the i purchasing power/of his wages has been made up to its former standard. Not until the value of the product and not the hig-gling-.of the' market determines the workers' reward, will the country be truly prosperous. And not until the workers have a stronger grip on the legislative body can they hope fpr* the abolition of those special privileges that make such a condition of things at present impossible. ■■'••" • ."• ', Tasmania has had another experience of how its queer system of electing members of Parliament works out. For we do not know how many elections now the method of distributing votes and fixing quotas has resulted m a position being created that is a burden to every party. The trouble has also been that one Independent has managed to squeeze home, and with the parties so even, he has been more* important than all the other members put together. The recent elections resulted m 15 Liberal, 14 Labor, and 1 Independent The total votes for each party being, Liberal 35,912, Labor 36,018, and Independent 2457. The Labor Government finding Itself m a minority, handed In its resignation. While that was the proper course to follow, it does not alter tho fact that the position is still involved. By the tlmo the Liberate put In one man as Speaker, thoy will be dead level with the Labor Opposition, and the Independent will be able to rule the roost and play mischief generally. He says he believes In measures, not men, and he plainly shows the eatima. tlon he holds himself m, and the power ho controls, by saying that if he were sent for to form a Ministry ho could form one with two men from each side. It Is a novel suggestion that a ono-man party should "boss tho show," and It looks as if he can dominate tho House whether the members agree with his views or not. Everybody fs sajd to be tired of tho present fanciful methods, but nobody appears to be gams to alter it