FARMERS AND THE F.L. UNION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13958, 19 July 1909, Page 3

FARMERS AND THE F.L. UNION.

To the Editor of the "Timarn Herald."

Sir*—The action of the Farm. Labourers' Union in lately sending _ notices to farmers, warning tliem of the nxoinmeudatious made oy the Judge of "the Arbitration Court, «ems, to saline luast of it, most ill-aUvLseci at the present juncture, and serves as another illustration of how certain leaders of the Union are ever ready to seize an ■opportunity to harass the employer, no matter how disastrous such action may Ik.- to the workers. Surely they must realise that the present crisis in the labour world is no time to debar a mail from obtaining work, and yet this- »s what they are doing. Only lately the labour bureau —an institution that is dominated by the Unions — refused to supply farm labourers at iess than 25s per week, and in onp instance that happened the other day, the cas.> of a ploughman having to live in a hub and cook for himself at :if)s wr week was reported. The "Union" would have the farmer employ a cook to look after the wants of the man in the same way that they contended that a hoy should be kept to clean out the stables. Whether the fanners can manage to provide these extra hands is quite another story, in which they refuse to be interested. One might almost imagine that they I haul forgotten the great tight put up by the Farmers' Union, and the refusal" of the Court to make any award. If so, let us remind them of the tact, .ind once more tell them thatthey have no status in any Court empowering tiVtfl to interfere with farmers and" the wages they pay The wa«-es now current were established during the years C*i our prosperity, but the conditions that enabled farmers in those good times to pay such high rates 110 longer exist. ♦Votluce has fallen in value, the rate of interest lws risen, money is scarce, and pTOiit* oft the farm have been very much reduced; it is therefore necessary to reduce expenditure where possible. This being so, it often becomes a question witirthe farmer whether he can keep up the usual complement of labour :it

the present high rates, or must sacrifice some of the work on the farm by going short-handed. The Union seenu to ignore this aspect of the case-, though the change in our circumstances must, be well known to all. As au illustration, let them take tiie exports from Tiniaru for the past halfyear, and write off from 4s to -3s per head on the o24.<X)t) carcases of mutton and lamb exported, representing the results, or nearly so, of our years work in fattening, and then* -say if the loss of from £IOO,OOO to £130,000, as compared with last season, does not affect the prosperitj- of South Canterbury, and the ability of farmers to pay high wages. 1 will allow at once that the situation generally is buoyed up by the recovery of the wool market (though unfortunately the bulk of our farmers', wool had been sold locally bi»fore the rise) and also by the present and prospective high price of wheat. — I am, ete., FARMER.