CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12170, 20 January 1903, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

(We are not responsible' for the opinions expressed by . correspondents. The writer's name as & guarantee of goocl faith, musi.be enclosed in the letter.)

THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM. (T«> the Editor.) Sir, — We often notice in the public press, and. also in the reported utterances of the various candidates for Parliamentary honours, remarks condemnatory of the co-operative system of labour as carried on by the past arid present Governments. ■> Now, sir, although this system as well as. others may not be perfect, as an observer arid also a worker under this system iit various parts of the colony, I most decidedly differ in many respects from the attacks that are made upon one of the best ' systems -of labour "that has ever been initiated in this colony. Many of those whose effusions' appear in print on the subject, 1 venture ' to say have never used a pick and shovel in their life, and would not know one end of a gauge jumper ' .from the other. Let any . practical man in earthwork try to make big wages out of eight pence per cubic yard of earth, with an- extra four pence for' rockj then after paying for powder and fuse and tools and when anjr tools require. to be repaired pay 3s 6d for new steeling a pick, and have to take it 20 miles to get "it done, then pay a stiff price for all .. stores, besides in nearly all cases packing them by horse or more often on your own back for 7 to JO miles through bad tracks. Surely the co-operative labourer is to be envied. And I understand that the Koad Surveyor of the local, office has reduced the- price to be paid for shifting earth per cubic yard to five pence, arid rock in proportion, and this in the face of the fact that all kinds of necessaries of life are 25 to 30 per cent dearer than a few months ago. Flour is now selling at 18s per cwt at thje store. Meat is proportionately dear, etc., then add cost of packing, 1 who will Bay it is anything to boast about ? Then it must be taken into consideration that all the ' work injthis district and nearly all others, where the." co-operative. •, system- is in ■ vogue, is in bush country,, -and this means an immense difference when you take into consideration- the fact -the ' mass of roots that " the workman has to contend' with* to get , out his , yard of ' earth, especially * where the work is shallow, it is quite 'different to earthwork outside. I. have seen places where a good man -would be two hours getting out his yard of earth through the mass of roots .which had .to be cut- out. I noticed a correspondent in the ''Budget" of December 20th by^ the name of Wright, has a slap at the co-opera-tive men, Jt beg to say he is"Wrong, not Wright," as any man worth the - name of one, would with the horse and dray, he mentions, do the sanding in one ■ day, or the whole , thing* 5 , himself in six days, with a wiieelbarrpw. I have yet to learn that the Taranaki County foreman is any smarter than the average man, if so, they do not appear to stick to their job long. No, Mr "Wright," you are VWrong." .Prom Uruti to Tongaporutu, a distance of 15 miles, two men have been employed to keep the road open for ' traffic, clean out slips, watertables, ' etc., and in addition to that these two men have xaken off several bad points on Mt. Messenger, putting the road back several feet in the solid roclt, without fhe aid of x the horse . and dray, and although they may not have rushed things, I 'say that a "Taranaki" County foreman could not have done better. Mr Wright's postscript may be right,, but it smacks very much ,of local adver- ; tising ,for instance. "Awakino 60 miles ditto, also finest store on the. west coast." -However, 1 -am sure no » man -who has to. .work to earn .his living wbulS like to see the cd-opera--tive system , ' abandoned and the old cut-throat style of 'tendering for work reverted to.' In' hundreds of cases it was the cause of work being taken too cheaply, and someone had to suffer as well as the contractor, and that generally meant the storekeeper, butcher, blacksmith, etc. 1 think there will be great objection made" to the reduction in the price to be paid for work under the present reduction, as it is impossible, owing to the reasons already named, to make . a fair wage.— l am, etc., . (

CO-OPERATIVE LABOURER.