CORRESPONDENCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18622, 18 July 1930, Page 10

CORRESPONDENCE.

HOURS OF WORK FOR WOMEN. To the Editor of the “ Timaru Herald." Sir.—l read with the greatest interest your leading article in Saturday’s issue, and was very surprised that you should waste such valuable space on such a poor subject, the case having been magnified beyond all proportion to its value, and if the shopkeeper is looking for a cheap advertisement, you have done your best, but not all who read the case will think the same. The local Inspector of Factories is a most reasonable man, easy of access, obliging, and always most willing to debate any proposition put before him, very lenient with any mistakes made unwittingly, and ready to advise anyone seeking information on any subject within his jurisdiction. His library of books in the office of the Department of Labour, he is always willing to open for inspection <for reference or debate; therefore, if Jne saw fit to take a case to Court, it would be only after all other avenues have been tried to give the worker, whom he is mainly there to protect, the full protection which they plainly appear to need. Having entered into a race, it is no use anyone complaining about the conditions of the race; it is the same for all competitors, and, therefore, no injustice to any competitor until one of them tries to beat the conditions. —I am, etc., EMPLOYER. Timaru, July 16, 1930. (Our correspondent’s words of appreciation will, no doubt, be welcomed by the Inspector, but his criticism loses much of its point, because we said nothing about the Inspector of Factories. The contention insisted upon by our correspondent, that “if the Inspector saw fit to take a case to Court, it would be only after all other avenues have been tried to give the worker full protection,” is at variance with the Inspector’s explanation in Court, that he' was simply carrying out the instructions of his Department. There was no question of a breach of an award. The conflict arises over the Department’s interpretation of the Factories Act, which provides for a reasonable period of overtime being worked by women and boys. We did not criticise the Inspector, but we did say that the Labour Department is placing an interpretation on a clause of the Act which not only conflicts with commonsense, but must be regarded as unnecessarily harsh, if the peculiar requirements of the business involved are taken into consideration. —Ed. of the “T.H.”).

THE OUTLOOK. To the Editor of the " Timaru Herald.” Sir.—A number of “Weary Willies” are everlasting complaining of what they call the present depression, and i are bewa ing their misfortune. If j anyone cares to look back over the • history of this Dominion, since it be- ! came a commercial centre, they will find that our great little country has | had several such visitations, but has ! always come up smiling. Men of the j type of the versatile Johnny Jones, j who was the first white man to open |up trade in Otago to any extent, | suffered slumps in 1842, and again in i 1866, but they were not deterred, and | did not whine. Again a disastrous ; slump overtook the colony in 1878, | when the Glasgow Bank failed. This I was a disaster of some magnitude, i but the indomitable pioneers surI mounted it. Again a series of circumi stances led up to a difficult time in | 1893-94, which, but for the prompt action of the Seddon Government, i would have spelt disaster. I refer to the legislation passed to help the Bank ! of New Zealand to weather the storm. I In the year 1900, wool fell to 3d per j lb. There was a corresponding boom ■ in 1906, with a mild crash the followi ing year, but everyone got down to it and things righted themselves. The j Great War is too well known for me to enter into any details, but it is well ! known that the abnormal demand for j our products during that unhappy time, created untold wealth and an I unhealthy anxiety in our Dominion | for lavish expenditure. A slump in 1921 brought a short halt, but again ( the mad race went on. Various con- . tingencies have affected our prosperity lin past times. The Franco-German : War in 1870 saw our wool selling well. | Again in 1899, our products brought great prices, but these prices paled into insignificance when compared ■ with the commandeer prices of a few j years ago. A large section of our , population went up in the air with | joy, and thought depression would never come again, and the rainy day I was not provided for. I will not deny that our products are not bringing so much to-day, but whining will not help. It behoves each and everyone to get down to facts. This will lead them to a better understanding, and might induce the whiners to emulate the good old stock, who lived frugally when times were bad, and redoubled their efforts to bring back prosperity. Yes, Sir, that is the keynote of my theme—frugal living, plenty of work and self-reliance. This applies to every man and woman in the country, and if practised, we will not be long before we will be again looking back on what was considered a slump —I am, etc., OLD TIMER.