THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21538, 9 January 1932, Page 16

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

By J. T. Paul.

NEWS AND NOTES

Men’s hearts ought not to be set against one another, but set with one another and against the evil thing only.—Carlyle. STRIKES UNPOPULAR. Not very long ago (says an exchange) the Miners’ Union officials in New South Wales could rely on a strike almost anywhere at a moment’s notice. But there is a change. The rank and file are more inclined to think for themselves. There is not that blind regard for the orders of the officials that formerly prevailed. This has been illustrated by the failure to draw miners into the dispute between the seamen and the Broken Hill Proprietary Company at Newcastle. The miners concerned were those in the collieries that supply the company with its fuel. There was a striking instance of the new spirit when at their meeting they refused to be driven from their work. A factor in such times as these is that there is too much unemployment and too many unemployed, and in addition there is now no comfortable maintenance for strikers. The miners were certain that if the collieries controlled by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company were shut coal would be obtained from other sources. Consequently the officials had to meet firm refusal, in strong contrast to the obedience to executive orders that would have been certain in former times.

THE SWEATING EVIL, Judge Drake-Brockman, in the Full Federal Arbitration Court at Melbourne, granted preference to female members of the Amalgamated Clothing and Allied Trades Union. This variation of the award came into operation last week, and will expire at the end of 1932. The judge ordered that the union must not require that its members shall be engaged through the union, and that it must admit to its membership any competent employee of sober habits and good repute who applies for membership and pays the required subscription. This variation applies to Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. The judge said he was satisfied that there was sweating in the industry, and that, in the present conditions of the law, any employer with a will to sweat could do so and still keep within the law. It appeared desirable to him that both in the interests of the women workers and in the interests of society generally the court should use such powers as it had to check the spread of the evil. The powers of the court, however, were limited, and he strongly hoped that Parliament would endow the court with sufficient powers to deal effectively with the sweating evil.

WAGES AND PROSPERITY. In an article in the Nation Mr John Maynard Keynes, the well-known British economist, says:— “If wages are cut all round, the purchasing power of the community as a whole is reduced by the same amount as the reduction of costs, and again, no one is further forward. “Thus neither the restriction of output nor the reduction of wages serves in itself to restore equilibrium. Moreover, even if we were to succeed eventually in re-establishing output at the lower level of money wages appropriate to, say the pre-war level of prices, our troubles would not be at an end. For since 19X4, an immense burden of bonded debt, both national and international, has been contracted which is fixed in terms of money. Thus 'every fall of prices increases the burden of this debt, because it increases the value of the money in which it is fixed.’’ In another article Mr Keynes said:

“If a particular producer cuts wages, then so long as others do not follow suit, that producer gete more of what trade is going. But if wages are, cut all round the purchasing power of the community as a whole is reduced, and no one is further forward.”

THE AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS. In the issue of the Australian Worker following the election there was some particularly caustic comment on the part played by the Lang Labourities. The following conveys soma idea of the feeling prevailing in Labour circles:— “ On Monday morning [the election was on Saturday] the official organ of the Lang faction exultjngly exclaimed on its contents bill, ‘State Labour May Have Ten’! Which, being interpreted in the light of events, meant 10 seats in the newly-elected House of Representatives. “So this is what it all amounted to! It was for this Jack Beasley plunged his knife in the back of the Government he was pledged to support. ... “Merely to increase the number of his. faction in the House of Representatives from five to ten! ... “And the record of foul contemptibleness was capped by the exultant boast of the official organ of the Lang faction that as the upshot of it all they might turn five seats into ten.” It is interesting to imagine what the Worker editor would have said had he forseen that the Lang Labour faction had really suffered a reduction from five in the expired Parliament to four in the new. At the Mordialloc carnival Mr Scullm said that he felt no bitterness in his soul, nor had he been over-elated" when he became Prime Minister. “ I have passed through two years that have seemed like 20 years,” he said. “It was a period of great difficulties. For about 20 months of the 24 we did not know whether we were going to crash as a nation. We could not contemplate it without anxiety. However, I feel that now we are on solid ground, a firmer footing, and yon can make progress when you are on a firm footing. Of course, our great problem is that of unemployment, and we must solve it. It cannot be done by one group alone.” At the declaration of the poll for Batman, in which he was defeated, Mr Brennan, formerly Attorney-general, said that he did not blame working men and women who had voted on this occasion against the Labour Party, and be would ask others not to pass harsh judgment upon them. In such circumstances men and women clutched at a straw, and a change was their last hope. It was necessary now for all parties to come together to devise ways and means of relieving the destitution that existed.

INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS. That one of the imperative needs of the day is the providing work for some 25,000,000 of unemployed throughout Europe was urged by the executive of the International Federation of Trade Unions at a recent meeting in Berlin. The executive agreed in principle with a scheme to this end propounded by Albert Thomas, director of the International Labour Office under the League of Nations at Geneva.

The scheme was put forth by Thomas at the Fifteenth International Labour Conference held at Geneva in April last, and covered a programme of great public works serving the common interests of Europe, to be taken in hand by the different nations interested. The chief points on the programme are the construction of a European network of motor car roads, a network of highpower electricity, and the extension of the European canal system. The roads suggested include one between Paris, Vienna, and Athena, another from Paris via Berlin and Warsaw to Moscow, a third over the Alps, and a north-south road from the North Sea to the Balkans. The installation of automatic coupling on all European railways, instead of the present band-coupling practice, was also suggested.

If these works were carried out, it was claimed that they would employ several hundreds of thousands of workers for about five years.

The proposals were referred to the European Committee of the League of Nations, whose Credit Sub-committee was simultaneously asked to consider their financing. The countries represented in the European Committee were also requested to make sharply-defined concrete proposals dealing with work which could be done within their own countries and which would at the same time promote the interests of all Europe, apart from the advantages to their own country. This characteristic feature, it was felt, would justify the demand for international credit.

The replies from the different countries proved interesting. Great Britain stressed that those countries are most deeply interested in European labour schemes which border on each other. She could only suggest the scheme for the construction of a Channel tunnel as a link between Britain and Franco, but considered the political difficulties in the way of this too great to be overcome. Russia declared that there was no unemployment in that country, and therefore no necessity for plans to create work, and no need to claim international financial assistance.

Austria emphasised that finance was the kernel of the whole problem. She suggested an internal network of roads in Austria and a scheme to make the Danube navigable for ships of 1200 tons. Belgium urged direct connection between Amsterdam and Paris, and a great canal to link up Antwerp with the Rhine, claiming that these would be to the interests of all Europe.

Bulgaria, Esthonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Rumania, Spain, and Turkey made sharply-defined concrete proposals including in every case road-making and railway and canal construction, and in specific cases the construction of seaports, aviation ports, agricultural settlements, and improvement of the land. Germany declared that if she were granted a long-term credit of 100,000,000 marks she could accomplish public works of great general utility, including a road from Hamburg to Basel, and the setting up of power stations. Many smaller countries, such as Jugoslavia, Finland, Iceland, and Albania, also declared their interest in the idea, but did not make specific proposals because the time allowed them was too short. The projects of work of the various countries are distributed over periods varying from one to 15 years. Adding together all the estimates for the plans hitherto proposed, some of which have already been begun in certain countries, it is reckoned that employment would be found for over 265,000,000 working days. The commencing sum which would be needed to carry out all these public works is about £100,000,000.