Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, JAN. 30, 1926. INSECURITY: THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF INDUSTRIAL TROUBLE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16946, 30 January 1926, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, JAN. 30, 1926. INSECURITY: THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF INDUSTRIAL TROUBLE.

The objective of the International Labor Organisation in the performance of its duties is “the protection of the worker against all sickness, disease and injury arising out of his employment, and provision for old age.” Acting for so many nations, some of which are much behind others in the advances which are possible in order to ameliorate the conditions of the workers and their families, great progress has not been possible. The work of seven conferences had been directed rather to discovery than to advance. It is only by ascertaining what has been dono in one country or the oilier, that, has succeeded in its object, that definite proposals covering the whole field can be brought; forward for international consideration. In the investigations which are being carried on New Zealand has more to give Ilian to learn. But even in New Zealand, where much has been done for the protection aond, compensation of workers and to provide for old age it would bo' foolish to pretend that there is not much more which can be done. When the Court has done all that it can do to provide a living wage, being the highest wage, considered in the light of the cost of living, which an industry pan pay and survive, there nnfst always remain with the individual worker a dread that he, or his, may, in the end, he dependent upon charity. The dread of evils that may happen, in many minds, outweighs the hope of attainable good. Insecurity is responsible for much of the strife, international and individual, going on in the world to-day, which the hustle of modern conditions stimulates rather than allays. In New Zealand the pensions scheme for old age has done much to meet this dread of destitution. Men and .women know .that if they retain the power to work until old age comes that they can obtain a pension; sufficient at least to maintain them, or by its’surrender, to accept the care of an institution apart from the stigma of having to subsist wholly upon charity. The only remedy, so far discovered for the evil.of insecurity, and the misadventures of life among the people of any country, which is at all adequate, and does not, pauperise those who are benefit ted by it, is national insurance. Every person, by virtue of being a human being, is entitled, as of right, when totally incapacitated to be maintained. To'make, this possible and .to remove all the stigipa which inevitably attaches to charitable aid, every person from the earliest years should be required to help to build up the fund from which aid for all is derived. This is no new discovery. It has been known for many years. The difficulty of organisation has prevented it from being carried out. Last year the Minister for Labor stated that a wider field of social insurance was being considered. Ho held out hopes that a scheme might-shortly be forthcoming. A national scheme may thankfully be received from any quarter. It would bo better that it should no.t primarily lie associated with the Labor Department. National insurance is vital to Labor, as being the class which would benefit the most, by it. It is, however very much wider in its reach, than Labor, and should, when matured, be brought forward as a national, rather than a departmental matter. The fear of destitution, and insecurity of continuance, which attends all forms of manual labor, is responsible for the restlessness of Labor all over _ the world. It has produced revolutions. It is the root cause of nearly’ all industorial disturbances. And tno pity of it is, that the evils entailed Dy disturbance far outweigh the gains. Mr. F. H. Rose, who is himself a member of the Labor party in the House of Commons, has again reviewed Labor - s year in the Daily Mail Year Book for 1925. Ho calls the year reviewed “Labor's critical year." lie is able to give the cost of industrial disturbances in Great Britain for every year during the last twenty-live years. The aggregate loss of time through strikes and lock-outs in tho last quarter of a century amounts to 327,000,000 of working days,, But this total, great as it is, do?s not include time lost in strikes during the war period in the munition factories, which have not been counted. Nor do the figures include those who were indirectly affected, as being workers in other industries or factories, and who were thrown out of work by the cessation of the supplies ordinarily produced by the strikers. Mr. Rose puts the time lost by these as equal in number to the lime lost; by the strikers, though hp thinks it would be much more, lie savs: “Thus wo have a total loss of Xiw-1,000,000 working days lost to the community as the direct; and indirect influence of the strike.'' Putting the average earnings of the workers over the twenty-live year period as low as (Is 3d per day, the dead loss in wages alone. must be £218,000,000. To this has to lie added tho expenditure in strike, benefits and union contributions, which would not lie, less Ilian another ten millions of pounds. Mr. Rose sums up: “But these calculations cover only the workers’ losses and only those of a material ■■'character. Tho loss to other sections of the community must be enormously greater, while tho moral losses are beyond the ambit of human calculation. I am fully assured that a thousand millions of pounds will hardly comprehend the material loss to the community.-” Strikes in Great; Britain have not gained any advantages for Labor. This can bo easily proved. There has been no setoff to the enormous losses which strikes have been directly, or indirectly responsible for. “Real wngeS are actually lower that at the beginning of the century.” A few sheltered industries may be cited as exceptionally favored, in which wages are above the pre-war standard, but these j do not effect the general rule that, the : strike has not‘been a factor for gain, Mr. Roso is not a pessimist. Ho says*.

“Every step towards industrial pegca is to be welcomed; every effort to find \ a' substitute for the cynically brutal experiment of ‘down topis’ is to bb fostered and encouraged.” Mr. Roso / lias no remedy; ho writes, vaguely, that, industrial revival may . lay in the direction of “the simple security against class disruption and the districting mischief of class con. diets.” The pernicious and rather immoral doctrine of ‘the survival of tho fittest’ rather bars the. door to the introduction of national insurance into the systems of modern civilisations. It is contended by many that-'success is and should be dependent upon struggle. That national insurance, which provided for everybody, would .undermine effort and sap individual energy. That, even the character of. the people would suffer; that, the standard of the strong would be'levelled down to that of the weak. The character of a great people could not, wo think, be so easily undermined by an honest effort to equalise human conditions. Continuance of evil conditions cannot lightly, bo justified by the success and comfort of the few. 1 Is -it not reasonable •to think that, that which opened the door of hope to the many, and allayed the misery of the anticipation of final ovil,, might: invigorate rather than weaken national character? And would not every youth, who, when he came to manhood, remember that lie had helped to build up the national fund for everybody, bo more exacting.that every One should at least do his fair share in the day’s work? Would not those who, downed tools for a .word, went slow for a motive, or struck in order to coerce, be less favored, when every ‘ member of .The community, knew,- : anti person ally felt, that such luxuries’; wpjcb being indulged in at his personal cost? In Nature the world depends upon law? 1 that arc stable. ’ It were strange, if human conditions, within that world, / could prosper upon that which whs unstable.

Next, year’s conference of representatives of New Zealand Public Libraries will be held at Wanganui. '

Additional appointments of probationers to schools iii the .Gisborne district have been made by the Hawke’s Buy Education Board as follows:" Mr G. if. Bell, .Haiti; Mr B. A. Wallis, Mangapapa. | ’

Some. excitement occurred in Butene road this morning, when a Jersey bull which was. being driven along by two men made some show of becoming excited. A number of women cyclists who wore making for town, changed their direction and made over the nearest fence, while members of the other sex were hardly less speedy in making their way tin safety. The bull, although apparently in a bad temper and becoming roused, was driven out /of tho way safely. .

The love of a bargain, inherent in every woman, was responsible for the breaking of a plate glass window in Rosie’s shop this morning. „ The fact that, a fire sale was being 1 held-at-tracted a tremondous crowd and.shortly after nine o’clock hundreds were waiting to enter the shop. , The pres-' sure on the windows proved too groat and one of them broke with a crash. The traffic i?i and out of the shop was regulated, shoppers being let in at tho front door and allowcn to go out through the back entrance. At lunch time there were still many bargainhunters waiting on the footpath.

Many of the°Ma,oHs; who were present at Whareongaonga, yesterday, predicted that the blasting, operations' would be a complete failure, the belief apparently . having no more secure foundation than J the fact that t-T>oir sacred' well had gon&f"'' dry for the first time on record. This’ well is situated a. short distance up one' of the volleys, and has been declared tapu because it is reputed to conceal an unusually large l , eel. Whether the beliefs in • connection with the welt are true or pot is not known,'.blit Certain it, is that the well usually holds a supply of very good water. It is equally certain that the fact of it being tiljpu has not prevented the well frbm siinctliifr in common with most btlict wells from tho prevailing drought-. Yesterday there was not a sign of walei* in.it, and some of the natives were consid’ernbly perturbed.

Whareongaonga, tho site of the Gisborne Harbor Board’s quarry, has many historic associations, among the irihst notable being the fact that it was the spot at which the famous Te Kooti landed after his escape from the Chatham Islands. It was also the scene of a number of minor tribal wars among the Maoris, who tell many interesting stories in connection with the place. In these circumstances it'is-not surprising that the Harbor Board staff is"'expecting to find many interesting curios during the excavations which will take place within the next few years. Steps have been taken to preserve anything which, is recovered, and a museum is being established at the quarry. Already a number of relics have been unearthed, the most interesting being an old type of Maori axe, which was recovered thisweek.

Dazzling showers of sparks,; fountains of lire, multi-colored iloral designs, rainbow wheels of large dimensions, add scores of ol her much-varied) firework displays, combined to convert the Cricket Giound into a perfect fairyland' last night. A large crowd assembled at the grounds to witness the display, which was organised by the Gisborne/ Fire Brigade in aid of their demonstration expenses fund. The show was given by tlie Wainoni Park Company, ana its success stands as a tribue to their skill in the field of pyrotechnics. Several imposing sets were fired, the display commencing with a, flight of rockets, bursting high in the air and releasing a shower of golden rain. After a lengthy programme winch greatly delighted the spectators, a final piece announcing “The End” was fired, amid) a burst of applause. An illuminated! procession from lhe Post Office to the Oval was cnndueteil by the Fire Brigade and.the band 1 prior to the display. >

Robert Burns, that poet atrd bard who lives immortal in the memory of all Eng-lish-speaking races, , and particularly Scotsmen, to-day, was born on January 25, 167 years ago, and last evening the Gisborne Scottish Society celebrated his anniversary in a titling manner. The function took the form of -a social and dance, held in the City Hall, and prior to this a dinner was held,, at. which Mr J. R. Kirk presided. In proposing the toast the “Immortal Memory of Burns” Mr Kirk gave a stirring history of the life, achievements, and failings of the Scottish bard. Other toasts honored at the dinner were: “The King,” proposed by the chairman; “The Scottish Society/’ proposed by Mr F. W. Riach and responded to by Mr C. Fraser ; “The Lassies,” proposed'by Mr W. Coutts and responded to by Mr Jas. Crawford and Mcsdames Scott and -Dempsey; ‘,‘Old Scotland,” proposed by the chairman; “The Chairman,” pi'oposed by Mr J. Nesbitt, Vocal, instrumental, and elocutionary items which were much appreciated were given during the evening by Misses J. Baxter, N. Wilson, M. Holmes; Mrs Prentice; and Messrs F. W. Riach and D. Turbitt. Mr W. Robb, was the official piper and Miss M. Allen presided at the piano. .

Mr Otto Hansen has disposed of his champion saddle horse Yaba \ aba. to a WfUfoa horseman. 'Die consideration was substantial.

Home tine catches of tfsh have been made by a netting party on the Waikanae beach during the past week. Yes- * terday the party caught 90 fish. Gisborne motoring firms were advised to-day that a start is being made with , bulk supplies of petrol at a reduced price in nine centres of the- Dominion, but in Gisborne the price is being advanced Is 6d per case. The Gisborne Harbor Board’s dredge, the Korua, and the tug, Pelican, which were expeceed to leave Auckland yesterday, will not now leave until towards the end of next week, probably on Thursday. The journey to Gisborne will occupy two or> three days, alter which a week will he required to place the vessels in commission. While, jvaiting • attendance at the Money Order Cilice this morning a Gis home resident had a startling experience. A large piece of plaster was dislodged ' from the ceiling, apparently, by pressure from above, and struck the customer on the, head. The blow had no serious consequences, but the incident gave the recipient a bad shock, and others standing near by were similarly affected. Following a dispute with his employer, John Roberts, a taxi-driver, went on a drinking bout yesterday. When under the influence of liquor be ran foul of Constable Murray, and a sharp scuffle ensued before he was finally landed in the loCk-up. This morning he appeared before Mr E. C. Lewey, S.M., at the Gisborne Magistrate’s'Court on a charge of' being disorderly while drunk. A plfea of guilty Avas entered, and a,fine of £1 imposed. .. A.five-roomed House at.Makauri, owned and Occupied by Mr. Chris. Jensen, vvas 'completely destroyed by fire yesterday, the building being razed to the ground, and practically all the contents lost. Tlie origin of the fire is unknown, but it is thought to have started in the kitchen. The building was . insured with tho Commercial Union office for £4OO, and the contents were covered by a policy for £2OO in the South British office. Of the largo number of town-planning schemes which were submitted to tho Government some time ago for the formation of a model suburb at Oakci, a few miles out of Auckland, the four which were considered to be the most suitable have been displayed at the Dunedin Exhibition. One of the four successful schemes was that of Mr 11. A. Mitchell, chief draughtsman to the Gisborne Harbor BoaM, Avhose work has been the S' subject of much favorable comment. Willi reference to tho forthcoming appeal of the citizens campaign committee for tho securing of funds to onnblp the Y.M.C.A. to erect a boys' work building in Gisborne, a largo body of business men who are working for the object will be meeting daily during tho progress ,of the campaign, for luncheon in the City Hall. A ladies’ committee has been formed of those who have volunteered to arrange the luncheons, and they desire the assistance of other ladies in the preparation during the Aveck.