WHAT THEY THINK

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 102, 8 April 1936, Page 4

WHAT THEY THINK

■ '. *»**• '"j STRATFORD AND 40-HOUI ¥/EEK. | SOME i BUSINESS,; ; jME^ 4 VIEWS, q ill 1 ; Approval and Disapproval B 3 sj Trades and Industries. J . ~:'] t BAKER DOUBTFUL. l i I :*», Several Stratford businessmen 1 j interviewed by The Post to-day j-j were inclined to see some merit in the universal 40-hour week ij scheme which the Government in- ) j tends to put before Parliament . ! early this session. All were ■ j unanimous, however, that if the ;\ 40-hour week were introduced in.. •! industry and retail business and •1 wages maintained on the same i j weekly basis, a rise in the cost of j living must result. ' "It would practically put up the cost ;of house-building by 10 per cent.," i said a prominent builder. The in--1 creased costs would be considi | erable. Besides the wages of carpen- ■ ters there were painters, plumbers and J electricians to pay. The price of join- , ery would also rise, and the price of j timber at the mill. ; No Speculation. People would not be likely to specu- ! late in building if this Act were to l come into force, he continued, for if a subsequent Government were to re-' i instate the 44-hour week, such build-! ! ings would be too highly-priced to | meet the market and would be left ! stranded. j ! It would be better, he suggested, for j I both parties, to work a 44-hour weekj j with increased wages. If a nine-hour | i day were worked the two-day week- j I end would still be preserved. i j "If a man cuts his hours of work i down he can never build a proper! i home for himself and his family," he ! concluded. ''' j I The manager of a large engin- I eerir.g firm said that if it could j be combined with an extra hour's work a day, the five-day week , would b.e very convenient for his ! i work, since it was not profitable to j start the machinery for four hours j only on Saturday mornings. ! It would mean, however, a lot of j overtime, on account of urgent repairs to milking and dairy-factory machin-

1 SOME : BUSINESS,; ;jMEN'S

I Getting Used To It* i 'j "It is a matter of getting used | to it," said Mr. W. Hoskin, president of the Stratford Chamber of I Commerce. "We thought we were | hard done by when they brought ! in the 9 o'clock closing on Saturj day nights." ! i lie was of the opinion that it might t i De quite a possible scheme for fac- : tories. ! Baker's View. "Unless we get some recompense, I can't see how it is going j to work," said a leading baker. i The bakers had been fighting for a I long time against the price-cutter, I and he could not see any possibility ) of a general rise in the price of bread j being sanctioned. i The Government had just had the ! price of wheat raised, and if the wages | costs in the baking trade were to be increased, with no compensation of i any sort, the bakers would not be able ! to manage. Cost of Clothes. A draper expressed the opinion that j it would increase factory costs in his ! business. Prices were already going! I . ~ ! up, he said.