CONTINUITY OF EMPLOYMENT

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume V, Issue 1381, 19 July 1905, Page 2

CONTINUITY OF EMPLOYMENT

TO THE EDITOR Shi—Will you kindly ponuit mo lo veto through yon/ oolnmns to tl(o surplus labour troublo. Sorao rf your correspond ents have been inclined lo blame men fo l '. malting known tlm fact that llioy wove out of wo.ti, and say Hint it indicates lack of self reliance. With tliis l do not ogvoe. Tu Now Zealand, whilo wo: profess to belisvi) in organised labour, tbo fact is; that .wo,are. very much fisorgapiied.:'• Apm from Ihe mining. indiißtry, ovor prodno. lion in some direetionknd short supply in others proves the trntli of this ■assertion,■ ns also do 'the' reports of the Government Libour Department, Even uu'ler our mrdorn system of .organising industry the. regulation of supply and demand or vice versa, is almost: an impossibility and up3ot3 tbo best of calculations. Still stinething.mighS.be donot.) ininiiniso tho evils of slack times, I sub- ■ mit that it is in tlio interests'of that capricious boiii", the mining investor, and iuin- ;

ingganoiail.v.llvita supply of labourri's should bi> availnblo at short notico; but.as ft tho "horsi must live while tho grass grows 1 ' it becomes necessary ..to provide loddirin the nioanwhile, Beforo making any suggestions in; this direction I would like to, call altontion to fuels not generally known. The first is tho increased ouiput.oflho industrial unit under, the factory system owing lo improved, methods of machinc-iy.. !?o long ago us 1890 Mulhill's.tables of the' o'ulptn of Europo, United Stites, Argaiiiiun, Canada, jntl Australia in their: agricultural, mamifaeiuring, mining and transport industries, showed that in 1888 ono man produced as mtwh ii?threo,iueii did ' in 1820, so that to maintaim tboetandard i of comfort of 1820 it would only ho nccesi sary for ihoso men to work ono third of , tho timoihoy did a', tho eomnienccment of iho iiinctcFnth coiilwy; or optionally; thai Iwc-'.hirds of their-number; should rdinin idlo. Mr.Edivard Atkinson estimates, t'jut ono nia'i raising wheal in. Dakota, or.o man grinding it, including packing, and two nun transporting it by rai| for 2000 miks, oan supply 1000 people with all lhe llrar thoy need for ono ye\r, One worker in n eolton factory oan produe" enough cloMi for 250 people, or in a woollen f.iclory fa' 300 people, in a boot factaI}'b'wts 1 }'b'wts fo.'looo.people, for ono yoir's nenl'j. Two other i'lustr/ttions willsullioe;. .A'lii in of mbber shoo maker.! in America 1 produced in 1904 48,030000 pair j of shoes, or about; 16.000 pairs, per day worked. 'A Ca'iforaiiin has a fruit box making machiiio iiblo lo mane 3500 boxes por day, while by' band lab:wr| 4v'o. per man was tho' maximum. .Tho eoiiclns'on I ilruiv from these facta is ilnif eome worlicrj mint." take a spoil" inw and again, but f'.jr moil with families this ' isoftonvery inconvtniont, Tho romedy ' for New Zealand that suggest itself lome j ,is fir tho Government Labour Buivau4o organise parties of ui.hi willing to work on ' contract, and 'to net aa agent between.. ! them and oiiprVtlists • requiring la- , hour, Biipjrvlso their work, piyment nud e transput'!, miking orily such ohargei as c shall cover tho ox'penso of siipti'iutendonco. .'■ For those wiih families who could not well ' leavo home, I think that'nmnicipal Ivm- a ing would assist in slack times, especially '' if tho men were willing to; feko ftirmer*. J: wages a-i 'piriial .paymont, viz, meat, ,J Ihcon, i-ggs, vrgbifililoa, and possibly .-flour: l ' or other grain foods, in rouirn for'lheir. I 1 libour, The imporlanoo. of tlio subject e must bo-iny exetbo for troubling jon thus f far,—laniiOic,,' ' " -.'■..' -E. N.Daviks,. fi