The Labour World.

Southland Times, Issue 19230, 21 May 1921, Page 10

The Labour World.

(Conducted by D. Scott.) From the Maoriland Worker:— < Says “Quick March” for May 10. “Winter—and out of work! Numbers of returned soldiers, willing to work, eager to work, lack employment to-day, because pri ces of wool and meat have fallen, and ‘money is tight.’ Many private employers and Government Departments are reducing staffs, and the order to ‘move on’ has come to a number of returned soldiers. ‘Move on!’ Whither? For these men the 'move on,’ not long ago was to the fighting front, amid the plaudits of patriots innumerable. Whither is the move on, now? Is it to the ‘No Man’s Land’ of unemployment in winter?” Well, what about it ‘Quick March ?’ How is this state of affairs to be remedied? Through private enterprise and the Government which it owns and controls or by the application of human intelligence to the problem? There is a way out so Labour believes and the application of its principles are possible just as soon as the readers of ‘Quick March’ and the general public decide to put a better system of society in place of the present one. ROBERT SMILLIE. BY GEORGE LONSBURY. Nobady, man or woman, in our day has served the working class more courageously or with a more disinterested devotion to a great ideal than has Robert Smillie. The industrial history of the past 25 years bears the stamp of his worth and work. From the age of 14 to the present day, when he is in his sixty-second year, he has been a worker—first in a shipyard, then in the mines, and lastly above ground toiling day and night to serve, not himself, but the class from which he came. He and his wife have been satisfied to remain in the working class and of the working class. Their home at Larkhall is just a workman’s home; their little cottage at which they stayed in the country when on holiday a labourer's cottage. It matters not what salary he was paid, he just remained what he had always been—one of the toilers. It is this which, in my judgment, stamps him as one of the biggest men of our time; for him and his wife the sort of atmosphere which gets around some of us and which declasses many of us, had no charms. He has left the Federation. He will take away with him the memory of work well done and the good wishes of every member of the Federation. And for us who are outside and know him only as a frjend and comrade, we can only hope and pr§y that he and his good wife have yet years to give to the service of the caijse. We want him in one way or the other as a leader, and as an insplrer. he ivght him to stand with us in these days ancL help each one to stand four square in tlje? fight for truth and right.—Daily Htfidd. .'THE CHILD IN THE PAWNSHOP.

• • “One of the worst features of the •days of depression and unemployment ’is the child in the pawnshop.”—English paper. The child went hungry down the street Where men were rich and overfed, Sent out to pawn the quilt and sheet That comfort might give place to tread No man who cast his wealth away Looked twice upon that common sight; He had no kindly thought to stay That pain, or make the darkness light. Yet half a grinning waiter’s tip, Tossed over with a reckless hand, Had set a smile udqh a lip More sweet than these could understand. A young child’s blessing! Ah! the touch Of greed would spoil it e’er she spoke. These rule the world; and under such The child of Labour bears the yoke. Familiar with the meanest things, Born to the hunger and the shame, She feels the bitter lash that stings, And knows on whom to cast the blame. Blessed be greed that gives no alms, That earns no blessing from the poor! Dead are the ancient, pious shams; The wrath grows hot, the end is sure. This child shall mother men who stand Conscious of rights made clear by wrong, Who know their foe and make demand Because united they are strong. And, of all union, binding most Is this which grows of pain and tears; Hearken! A mighty, marching host— The children of the hungry years! W. INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS. Lord Askwith has made a valuable contribution to our knowledge of industrial problems in his book, “Industrial Problems and Disputes.” It is really a review of his work during the last twenty years as conciliator in labour troubles. He discusses in the opening chapter some of the causes, and among them he considers the chief one the fact that a lad leaving school after receiving a good education very often starts on a job where he has to do well a certain part of a job. This applies particularly to some of the large manufacturing industries. It is not to the employer’s interest to turn out an all-round man but one who can do a particular thing well. The inevitable result is that a man becomes embittered and disillusioned. He has to find an outlet for his energies and gets it in trade union and labour activities. Quite recently there was a statement made by one of the Employers’ Federations pointing out the lack of apprentices. Lord Askwith considers that there will have to be better methods of handling the boys; (1) by completing their industrial education commenced at school, and (2) by a changed method in the workshop handling of labour. As he says and we can see it, the industrial world moves more speedily . Men and women expect more. They read, travel and discuss more than was customary twenty years ago. The conditions of life, the standards, amenities, power of movement and amusements

have rapidly changed. Better conditions of work are therefore demanded and each step in better conditions may give rise to a desire for more. Lord Askwith has something to say on unemployment and it is his considered opinion that the first essential is education, so that youth may have opoprtunities to obtain a fair chance of advancement and if obliged to take the position, through lack of opportunity, brain or initiative, of a “hewer of wood and drawer of water.” a fair chance of turning his physical strength from one business to another; second, insurance against unemployment, so that during temporary slackness of trade there may be opportunity without loss of all current income, for change of work or .employer, or time to await renewed possibilities; third, unity of purpose ano co-opera-tion between employer and employed in each trade, so that in time of prosperity mutual arrangements may be made to deal with persons engaged in the industry in times of adversity, each trade arriving at its own scheme.