COMMODITY VALUES.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 December 1930, Page 11

COMMODITY VALUES.

(To the Editor). Sir—“ Worker’s Wife,” in -criticising my letter to your paper inserted on December 9, says that? I seem to think 14s a day a princely wage. Now, I think nothing of the cost'; what I '“wayi maintain is that a man is worth tlie commodity value that he can create and put into useful circulation. I certainly think that, under present conditions ol the commodity value the primary producers and their assistants are receiving for their products, 14s a day is over the odds, plus the fact that if a smallet sum was paid more would benefit. At present the lucky few are benefiting, while the majority of unemployed go short. Evidently "Eltham” and her family were not farming at the beginning or the 1930-31 season, but got from under befbre the going got too hard. Now, taking the early part of the 1939-30 season, and the 1938-20 season, the commodity value of the 1930-31 season is only 13s as against 20s in the pound for half of last season, and for previous seasons the same. A sharemilker milking 60 cows this season op 2—5 shares will only receive about £l3a for his share after paying and keeping a man to assist him. Out of that he has to find his own working plant, horses, waggon—sometimes the milking machine, power, benzine, etc.—and out of what he has left he has to maintain his wife and family. While the primary producer this season is only getting 13s commodity value as against 20s in. previous years, he still has to pay 20s for all the goods he needs which are produced or manufactured under award rates of wages, and he also has to pay out of his 13b, 20s. in the pound for all handling of his products after they leave the dairy factories, or, in the case of wool, the paddocks. I have yet to see where a labour union coming under the award rates, with the single exception of shearers, has suffered a reduction either in the scale of wages or the hours worked. The primary producer, therefore, cannot- afford to pay out of this 13s as against 20s as charged still by award, rates and hours, the commodity values the unions are putting on their work, so, therefore, he cannot employ builders, plumbers, bricklayers, clothiers, bootmakers, etc., and has to limit hi# purchases, thus further limiting circulation, and giving less labour. Union labour, under arbitration awards, and protected by heavy tariffs, will not see that they are driving the primary producers to the wall, ano. that the primary producers must take measures to protect themselyes, or lose everything, in which case the labour unions would suffer worse in the end. Arbitration Courts, and union laboiy, having ruined many secondary industries, and crippled and stopped others from expanding, have yet to see what payable single industry they have created, with tho exception of the labour agitator and his myrmidon. You have the flax industry, just about on the rocks as .art example 1 of the greed of the unions for the utmost pay for limiteji service. Yet we now have circulars all; over the country asking people to subscrilie money to create a new industry, which, when it gets in full swing, and the arbitration courts are still functioning, labour will drain dry of its monetary resources, ruin the shareholders, and put more unemployed on the market. Primary producers and their assistants are producing all'the fresh capital com-' ing to New Zealand this year, and are getting the least for their share of the values they have produced, and we all must remember that they have to take the market price for their exports, and cannot be helped, either by arbitration awards, or tariff duties, as all subsidies have eventually to be made good out of their exports from New Zealand.—l am, etC ’’ C. H. AUSTIN.. Stratford, December 16, 1930.