THE INDUSTRIAL WOULD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15553, 7 September 1912, Page 7

THE INDUSTRIAL WOULD.

NEWS ANP NOTES

Bi rar Ho.v. J. T. Pacl, M.L-C

lions-of information and brief rommcnts on question* coming under this heading, wo always welcome, Hooks, paniprt.ett, etc, font to tho author of tins column will also bo noticed.

MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. To-night (Saturday).-C'hcmieal Manure .Workers. . , Momlny.-Rungo Workers; liourewivos

Tuesday.—"lumbers; Metal Workers Assistants. , l Wednesday.—l/abour Day Association. '.Thursday.—Furniture. _ Trades; Industrial . Exhibition. Committee. Friday.—Engineers. Salurday.-IJukcrs. .'• THE FOLLY (")F .CUTTING ONE'S THROAT. Tho anti-Arbitrationists have talked much about the power of organisation as a method of defence and a means of building big unions. Indeed, tho ideal of many of them is Ono Rig Union—that is, that all industrial-workers should be organised into one big union. Tho idea is quite impracticable, but simply adds ono more impracticable idea to many others. Tluj men who have had their way in the Auckland General Labourers' Union repudiated tho Arbitration Act and persuaded the union to cancel its registration. It wis then strong in membership and so far perfect i» organisation. 'Hie Anti-Arbitratiom'sts talked largely about the evil effects of arbj-tration-in future said they, the union will bo an object-lesson in' organisation and tactics When the registration of the union under tho Arbitration Act was cancelled lho'•membership was considerably over 1000., To-day it is reported to be a mere J remnant of its former self. ihe men who were going to "stagger humanity" ■ by showing Iww the workers should bo organised and liow they could win without arbitration were compelled to retreat when 'ho first difficulty cropped up. Tho Auckland general labourers worn called out on slnko to end tho contract nyjlem. Tho system of contract will ho ended when all the contracts which could bo let aro finished. So that the contract system will come to nn ond when there is no more contract work lo bo done on the drainage works. Boasting, oven loud boasting, can never lako the plaeo of sano action, and lho Auckland general labourers aro finding it out. The boasting Jeadcrs have' led them into a blind alley.' Tho Membership of tho union has dwindled, and my advico is that there is a strong feeling in favour of tho organisation of tho general labourers under lho Arbitration Act. It

ii not suggested that all the general labourers favour tlm act, but experience lias proved.the unwisdom of culling the throat of an organisation lo gratify tho ambitions of some nicn who pofo as direct octionists and sland for sundry other mixed ideas. ;• STATE COAL MINES.

Tho Government has declared il« intention of continuing tho Stale coal mines And distributive depots. It has boon argued in some quarters that tho Stato should not own and work coal'mines. Hut our expertenco has justified this Stato experiment. Victoria has followed us, and there is an

agitation for similar enterprises in tho other Slates. •' For instance, the Queensland Worker just lo hand declares " the absolute and pressing necessity of tho Stato owning its own coal mine," and says:— "It is utterly preposterous than an undertaking'of such hugo magnitude, as SUitoowned railways, consuming as it does immense quantities of coal daily, should not bo supplemented, as a logical and inditipcusabto corollary, by a coal mino of its own ' '

" Wo aro supposed to !>o governed by a Cabinet' of business men"; but whero is the business-wisdom of continuing the proBent tiddiywinking arrangement, wherob.v this great publio department obtains its coal supply from private individual ownors, just as the houeowifo buys her fuel a load nt a. timo? Why. tho thing is downright absurd..

Apart from tho principle attaching to State-ownership the acquisition of a coal mine by tho Stato for the supply'of its own largo daily requirements is a commonsenso proposition, and one of such excellence and urgency that nono will dispute it— except a Cabinet of " business-men." THE PROGRESS OF VICTORIAN • FACTORIES. Tho Victorian Government Statist has just published most interesting facts and figures rotating lo Iho factories of Victoria covering llio period from 1004 lo 1911. ,_ Leaving I out the values of tho land, buildings, unci machinery, and dealing as far as space allows witli tho wages side of tho published figures, .somo interesting deductions aro\ arrived nt. In 1904 50,554 workers were engaged in tho factories, as against 73,573 in 1911. In iho same period tho factories havo increased in number from 4298 lo 5126. Wages have increased from a total of £4,957,712 in 1904 to £7,722.319 in 1911. It.is perhaps duo to tho operation of wages awards that while tho owners of factories took for interest, expenses, and profits more limn half tho valub of tho output in 1901, this not including their own wages, the share thai fell to them in 1911 was some £1,887,700 less than that distributed among the workers.

Expressed in porconlagcs. tho inoreaso of factories within tho soven years was 22 per cent., and tho incrcaso in employees 46.7 per cent. On the same basis the value of land, buildings, maohincry, etc. advanced by 34 per cent., tho onfpiit by 80.3 per cent., nnd tho wages paid by £6 per cent. On iMr Laiighton's figures Iho rales of watjej paid to value of output advanced from 20.7 per cent, in 1904 to 21.4 per cent, in 1911, or 7 |>or wnl.-tli.-it is lo say, 14s in every £100. . The value of tho raw material used increased in comparison with value of output from 57.8 per cent, in 1934 lo 60,1 per cent, in 1011. Tho employers' margin for profit fell in tho same timo from 19.9 per cent, lo 17 per cent. Tho number of employees in targe factories has increased in far greater proportion than In small factories. The proportion of mala and female persons employed remained pretty nearly the same throughout. In 1904 women wero 33.7 per cent, of tho total, whilo in 1911 tho percentage was 34.3. Of Iho wages paid in 1911 enormously flic greater part fell to the percentage of 65.7 males employed. Their receipts lor tho vear totalled £7,357,735, against the £1,553,234 paid to 'women and girls. Tho average yearly wages of men and hov employees in 1911 was £106 12s 4d. Women anil girls received an avcrago of £41 3s 3d per annum. SUN YAT SEN AND THE RKVOLUTION OF SOCIETY. _ Sun Yat Sen, the great Chinese reformer, is a man who lias nuido history. In April of this year he,relinquished the ollico of Provisional ProsidrJit of tho Chineso Republic, lie made a noteworthy speech, and the following paragraphs arc trom a report in a Chinese nows|xiper;— The Republic is established in China, and though I am laying dowti tho office of Provisional President, this does not mean that 1 havo erased to work for the cause. After 1 relinquish my temporary office still greater matters will demand my attention, Some year* ago a few of us met in Japan and founded tho Revolutionary Society. Wo decided ii|wi three great principles: — (1) The Chinese to be a free raco; (2) tho peoplo to bo supremo in government; (3) tho people to be supreme in wealth production. Now that tho Manchus have abdicated we have succeeded in establishing tho first two of these principles, but it now remains _ for us to accomplish tho revolution of society.

This subject is much discussed in the world to-day, but -many Chineso are ignorant of what is involved in such a question. They suppose thai the object of the regeneration of China is only that we may become a groat and powerful nation anil assume equality with tho Great Towers of the West; but such is not tho end wo have in view.

It may appear to many that revolution against a. raco, or revolution against a Government, is comparatively easy. But the revolution of eociety is a matter of extreme difficulty, and only peoplo of high attainments can accomplish tho desired change.

. Somo may say to us. "We have so far proved successful in Iho Chinese Revolution, why no} be ooiilwit to wait and too? Why seek to accomplish what Britain and America, with tlieir wealth and knowledge, liavo not yet. undertaken? This would be a mistaken policy!

In Britain arid America 'civilisation is advanced and indtistrr flourishes; henco the difficulty, of accomplishing a revolution of society." In China wo havo not yet reached tlial stage; therefore such a revolution is easy for us. In Britain and America it is difficult to dislodge the securely entrenched capitalists and tiioir vested interests. In China neither tho capitalists not their vested interests' have as yet appeared; henco our revolution of society will bo comparatively easy. If wo do not at the beginning of our Republic take tlioujht for tho future, tw

nnd-bye, it capitalism is allowed lo develop, its oppression may lw wortc than the despotism wo have just thrown olt; and, again, we may lie compelled to pass through a period of bloodshed deplorable to all. DAY LAHOUR OR CONTRACT. Judging by parliamentary lobby gossip, tho question of continuing or discontinuing tho co-operative system ol railway construetion will l)o u. vexed one in the near future. The co-oporativc workers themselves arc taking a luuid, and will he heard from very shortly. The question of the merits and demerits of day labour \m just boon discussed in the Australian Parliament. Two great Victorian newspapers—the Age and Argus—have taken opposite sides on the question. It uppeare to mo tlmt the Argus is hopelessly prejudiced on the matter, and so not a reliable witness. I purpose giving one or two extracts from the Age, and it must be remembered that the Ago is opposed to tho Labour (iovcinmcut now in power. The Age repudiates the charge that the Australian' working l " a ' 1 ls , a 'wfcr. As the charge is sometimes made agaimi New Zealand workmen, tho comments of the Agearo interesting: — " One of the Liberal members from Sydney—who ingenuously confessed that ho IJiiitcd work of nil kinds—pledged in the House of Representatives his personal knowledge for the fact that there is no honesty in a gang of workmen. If one amongst thcni. he says, shows any disposition to do an honest day's work for a good day's pay, he is at once told by his mates to slacken his pace, and, failing compliance, his life is made a hell on earth. In lliis way, tho day labour policy of the Government, 'it was slated, is being carried on at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds dishonestly paid away by Labour Ministers to Labour voters, who support at the polls the men who enable them to plunder tho Government. That is tho picture as Conservatism paints it. It is quito admirable as an artistio effort to blacken the party in power and the men who put them there. If it wero true, it would indeed be a severe indictment, which tho country should punish with summary chastisement; but, if it bo untrue, it will be regarded as a dastardly calumny against an enormous body of men and ofliccw"

Tho Age repels the calumny. In its opinion the case for day labour has been proved. "It is tho only economical method of doing certain works." (After quoting from departmental officers' reports on the question, tho Age concludes:—

" It may bo 100 much lo say that those reporlsof responsible officers arc tho last words in the controversy between contract labour and day labour; but at least they show two things very essential to tho present circumstances. Tho first is that, provided supervision over manual workers as good as that maintained by contractors can bo exercised by the Stale, tho argument is al| in favour of eliminating tho contractor as a parasite and expensive middleman. The second is that in tho present series of charges against ' tho man on the job,' against his gangers, overseers, inspectors, architects, and Ministerial heads, tho allegations havo been built up on hearsay and gutter gossip, having political animosity for their root and origin. It is quite true that in all great works lliero is a percentago of wasters amongst the workers. That is true in offices, in schools, in mines, everywhere, being incident to humanity. It has always been true, and is not peculiar to tho present time, as is alleged, if we may believo Iho testimony of tho heads of departments, the supervision is as good as it would bo under contractors. Bad and lazy workers nro weeded out and dispensed with; and tho results in tho cost of the several works done under day labour arc tho best justification of tho system. It must bo said of tlic grotesque Minister for Home Affairs lhat, in spilo of his spread-caglo exhibitions of buffoonery, ho has in this.affair absolutely loft his detractors in a state of collapse " JOTTINGS/ In tho New South Wales Industrial Court, Judge Scholcs Ims hold lhat under tho Watorsido Workers' award seamen and wiiarlies could not work side by side in steamers' holds. Tho British trade unions.aro dissatisfied with the reluctanco of tho banks to advance striko pay upon investments, and a proposal is under -consideration for tho uiiioiie to pool their accumulated funds as the capital of a 'i'rado Union Bank.

One result of the operation of tho National Insurance Act in England is that tho Shop Assistants and Warehousemen's Union havo increased their membership from 25,000 to 50,000. Other unions havo increased their membership by from 10. to 12 per cent.

At a recent meeting of tho Now South Wales h'iro Brigades Employees' Union it was said that firemen wero liablb to bo called at any timo during the 24 hours, except on brio day in eight, and it was argued that an eight hours' day should bo instituted, as had lately been done in tho i'olieo Department

A private members' bill to provide for tho election of legislators on the system of propnrtioual representation was defeated in the South Australian Assembly Inst week by 20 votes to 15. The .bill was introduced by Mr Parsons (Ministerialist), and was supported only by tho Labour members.

It was slated at a meeting of the Newcastle* Labour Council last week that if all tho colliery employees in the district did not within three weeks become members of tho Miners' Federation thcro would bo a general stoppage of the coal mining industry. By way of retaliation, the Wheelers and Shiftmen's Union next day notified that ail its men who joined the Miners' Federation would be regarded as non-unionists. There aro signs of serious trouble ahead.

The South African Miners' Phthisis Rill sweeps away fixed contributions and creates a phthisis insurance fund, to which, after the net comes into operation, cncli underground worker must pay 6d in the pound of his monthly earning. The employer has to provide an equivalent sum during thoso first two years; after that timo jio must subscribe towards tho fund at the rnlo of ls.6d in the pound on all amounts paid by him to white employers underground.