The Star. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11955, 14 March 1917, Page 4

The Star. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1917. EDITORIAL NOTES.

CHINA JOINS IN. The decision of the Chinese Legislature in favour of severance of diplomatic relations with Germany will no doubt be quickly followed by declaration of war, and thus the one remaining avenue of danger to the Entente Powers in the East will be closed. The da-iger did not lie ic China. herself but in the possibility oi the (■Orleans making use of their ieoimg in that country to plot movements against Japan and Russia and against British shipping in China seas. Germany has considerable (winiierci.-u -concessions in China, and German traders are prominent in all the large seaports. The blow to enemy trade. the !«si remaining large field oi (W.Tir.aii business in Asia, will be heavy: n. wdl shut the whole Asiatic coast to German commerce and demolish •» Ji<- last refuge of the enemy on the mainland. China s

action is in large measure result of pressure by the Japanese Governtreut, which had very good reason for exerting the strongest influence to destroy the schemes ami pin.-: ceaselessly promoted by the enemy i mbassy at Pekin. China's part in the war will, of course, chiefly bo pa.: myc. iter principal usefulness will lie in the interning of German subjects, the total stoppage of German trade and the maintenance of watchful guard along her 4500 miles of coastline. The Chinese Navy practically ceased to exist as a fighting force in 1895, when the northern fleet was destroyed by the Japanese at the capture of Wei-hei-wei. Previously the navy consisted of two divisions, the northern and southern, of which the former was by far tho strongest. The present fleet consists"

ol several moderate-sized cruisers, armed with S-inch and 6-inch guns, | some modern gunboats built in Japan, j Aid a number of torpedo-boats and J coast and river patrol vessels. There ( are no doubt sufficient ships for patrol | work, which is about all the active ser- 1 rice that would be required of China, j Tho suspicious attitude towards Japan ! which has existed in China lias largely ; disappeared before the rejw.ied mani- ■ festations of Japanese friendliness : since the the war began. Tho Tokio Government has made it plain that Japan does not intend to adopt, a policy of self-interest in China, and that it- earnestly desires to preserve harmony with the Allies and friendly Powers having interests in that country. Recently the Japanese Foreign Minister. Viscount Motono, speaking in Parliament, declared, after an allusion to Japan's special business interests in South Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. T.Wat his Government desired the most friendly relations with China. v Tho Imperial Government," he said, "positively declares that it has no indention of specially supporting certain parties in China. The thing most essential for tho Imperial Government- is that China shall smoothly progress to a state of civilisation. That which causes the Imperial Government the most unbearable anxiety is that China might fall into a state of disintegration a.s a result of the .uninterrupted continuation of internal disturbances. I think that, since it is most necessary that China should maintain it 3 dependence and preserve it 3 territorial integrity, the Imperial Government must exert all its energy in order to prevent if possible collapse and dismemberment of China. Japan by virtue of geographical relation and of political and economic interests internationally occupies in China a sp < position. However, wo must not ior . . "that the foreign Powers also have great interests in China. Therefore, Japan, while on the on© hand working for the protection of its interests, must, on the other, respect tho interests of the other countries with which the Empire has special agreements and in general will endeavour to reconcile the interests of tho Empire with the interests of the powers. I believe firmly that, in so far .as it concerns the common interests of the Powers, to adopt this attitude is the best course." This straightforward statement of Japan's goodwill towards China must greatly have influenced feeling at Pekin in favour of a detinue alliance with the Tokio Government. It is tolerably certain also that tho Chinese appreciate the dangers which lie in allowing the German intriguers io have unrestricted play; and the ruthless submarine warfare, in which many Chinese sailors and firemen in Allied fillips have perished, must, have clinched the decision to rid the country .of ilu; Teuton peril.

WOMEN'S INFLUENCE ON TRADE. Verily it may be saicl that the great European war has already been 'responsible for a greater revolution in the • status of women than would hare resulted from a century of agitation, and it is difficult to imagine that the return of peace conditions will result in driving ivomen from those spheres of labour where they are doing such excellent service. 'ln the hour of the Empire's great need they have come forward in order to release the. male portion of the community for service in the trenches; they are discharging their duties excellently ; they hare shown that in almost ©very calling they can hold their own , against the men. When they have thus come to the rescue when their assistance is so sorely required it would be base ingratitude were they compelled against their inclinations to forsake these callings in order to make way for the men, who in due time will return in thousands from the battle fronts in order to resume civil employment. The man power of the country, however, will find other and perhaps more remuneratie employment in channels very different from those which were followed in . the piping times of peace. The shopwalker and the counter-attendant can forsake their old-time effeminate callings and go on to the land, where they will have an opportunity of becoming producers, instead of distributors. Previous to the war there can be no question bufc the great majority of the city shops were heavily overmanned ; men; were v performing work g^l^|.^a\itcL 4 haYe is nbw

being done, efficiently by women and girls, and even to-day when the Empire is calling aloud for men and more men to meet the implacable enemy we find many apparently able-bodied men serving behind counters, measuring tapes and ribbons and selling ties and studs and boot laces. If tho war has done nothing else it has shown clearly enough that much of this is wastage of man power. Thero can be no doubt, as an Australian contemporary points out, women's pfluence is among the most powerful factors that make for tho welfare and character of a country —or its retardation. Ultimately, what they will either comes to pass in completeness or becomes the dominant element in civil and commercial conditions. This, the writer points out, is particularly true of Australia, where ruany manufactures are little more than in the earliest stages, and women are the principal buyers.

Centring his remarks on these truths, Mr C. C. Salmon, a prominent member of the Federal Parliament, which is now about to be dissolved, gave an address a few days ago before the Empire Trade Defence of Australia—which is a women's society with a commendable degree of good work performed already to its credit. One dangerous trend that -Mr Salmon pointed out was illustrated in his statement that while n 191.0 Australia had a trading balance to its credit of over £10,000,000, it was in m.j-16 £12,000,000 to the bad. No explanation can succeed in interpreting such a state of affairs as a sign of prosperity or enterprise, or see in it a satisfactory augury for tho future. The speaker added the obvious truth that if Australian people would fnly support Australian manufactures they would very soon he able to buy the Australian article as cheaply as the imported one. Thar is an economic fact. It lies mostly with tho women of the community to establish it as a working principle in Australia. There must be manufacture in large quantities' before that manufacture can be cheap. It is essential that the manufacturer must be assured of an adequate share of the trade of his own home market. In the absence of a practical assurance on that point, as Mr Salmon pointed out, it is of little use to talk of higher wages and better working conditions. A large proportion of people overlook this. One of the vital facts of the address was the announcement thai most of the imported articles consisted of those used by women, to whom Mr Salmon appealed to do their national duty by directing their purchases so as to extend local industry. A scientifically adjusted protective tariff is the main requisite; but, if individual women would act »n the .spirit enunciated by the Empire Trade I>efenco Association, they would be a very powerful auxiliary in the making of Australia

PIECEWORK. During the last few months a considerable amount of discussion has taken place in the French Press on the much debated question of piecework, the question having been brought into prominence in consequence of the French Government's action in letting many contracts for Avar material to companies which have adopted " the practice of paying by results. Those who hold a brief for the workers have, with a few prominent exceptions, j shown themselves adverse to the prini ciple of payment by results, and genI erally speaking it may be said that j that system finds comparatively little support from the workers of the Republic. On the other hand, there is a ttrong section which contends 'that the system results in greater inI dividual effort, with increased proi duction, and in the controversy whic-h has taken place many of the old familiar arguments which have been used from time immemorial have been brought, into requisition, without, however, removing the gulf which has always separated the two sections of : iie community. Writing in ''L-'Human-ite recently, the well-known author, Af. Pierre Hamp, dealt with the attitude of tho French workman toAvards the wage question. He contended that he preferred to contimio earning an average wage and "leading a d'jll life without intellectual resources or enjoyment," to making the effort of earning higher wages through intensified, work. 'file synd'eato of engineers of the Seine indignantly declares that, it is a well-known fact thai thi! workman doe* not fix his salary. but the employers, wmo arrange matters to suit themselves roI "f how it "frill affect their | workpeople. A ir.obili.sed turner says that the article in question is but 'loo true in its contentions, but. that ho would tike to point mit that it is not the meanness of employers, but their dishonesty, which prevents a workman j from getting a higher salary. "When j a workman, and more especially a | mechanician earns a salary which is ! above the average rate, either owing to his initiative or energy, immediately the employer takes steps to safeguard his own so-called interests.

M. Ramp, continuing:, says that instead of seeing that the more a workman cams the more work he is putting out, and, therefore, the better it is for his firm, the employer adopts I the notion that the man is being too highly paid and forthwith reduces the rate by 40 to 50 per cent. The turner goes on to give the example of a firm in Saint Denis, who in 1906 told its workmen that they might earn as mnich as they liked } that no reduction would be made. As a result, certain of the men earned as much as from three four, francs an hour and even more. But At tlie end of the year the firm made a substantial reduction in its prices and generally retrenched. The workman must, therefore, not be judged for failing to rise above average salaries; it is simply because such proceedings dishearten him and prevent him from intensifying his work Another workman, who is now a Soldier in the Territorials, writes to say tha't his wife engaged herself for soldiering work in a fir mi in Paris, which paid at the rate of 4s 2d per hundred the helmets turned out, and it was expected that ICO helmets would bo turned cfcit a day. After a. little time the number was raised to 250 at th© rate of 3s 6d per hundred, and afterwards to 400 at the rate of 2s Sd per hundred, and, adds the soldier, "I

happen to know that; it is the intention of the firm to reduce the rate of wage to Is Bd." " Believe me," says another workman," writing to M. Hamp, "every intelligent workman wants to better himself, to lead honestly as comfortable and as interesting a life as ho can, and if production is not greater, it is the fault of the employers, for as your article points out, as soon as a workman earns a little too much the rate of piece work is immediately lowered, and what is there left for the workman to do, but seek refuge in inertia?" M. liaitxp invites further opinions on the questions of whether there is a voluntary lessening of production in piece work, and a prevalence of an average wage, and by what means are intensified production and high salaries to be attained.