"BEST IN THE WORLD.”

Western Star, 11 October 1938, Page 2

"BEST IN THE WORLD.”

LABOUR CONDITIONS IN GERMANY. 54-HOUR WEEK. The Hobart ‘Alercuiy’ of September 15 prints an interview which that paper had with . Air A, Cook, general secretary .of the ■ ' New Zealand . Workers’ Union, when he was . in' Launceston recently, and in which Mr Cpok praised very highly the labour conditions in Germany. ’ Air* Cook, who represented the workers of New Zealand at the recent International Labour Conference, at Geneva, spent some ' time in Germany, and *he considered conditions for the workers there were better, than, anywhere else in. the world and far ahead of those in Australia (says' tno Mercury’).

Although' the hours ' of -work in Germany were lopger v than, i,n Australia,. the : Jarger factories, observing a .nine-: hour day and a 54-hour week, conditions were immeasurably superior,’ he > said. Germany, of course, was highly milin turised, and this had had. a big effect in destroying home life, but he had been much impressed by the fact that uo physically fit man or woman;, .' was without work. There were no sighs of poverty, and everyone was working enthusiastically to build up a self-con-tained country and a physically fit na; ton. - . -, * ‘' . “I made a point- of. discualing the question of war whenever and where»«r i could,” continued Mr Cook, “and I can honestly say that nowhere . did 1 gain the impression that war was wanted. Everyone -expressed * the hope "that the countiy would,never have - to go t 0 war again, particularly with England. 'The older people, with knowledge of the last war. ail'd the young men of the countiy alike made it perfectly plain that they had n oi wish to go to war, although the military policy : was such thajt if war broke out they would be forced t 0 take part. One tiling' I did notice was the extensive hatred of -Russia. Frequently I heard it said that.if another war came 1 about 'Russia. would be the cause-of-it’.” ' •

Mr Cook said he had visited several ql the labour camps in Germany. Every lad: bad to spend six months .in one of these camps, where he was trained, to do hard work for eight hours daily;The boys were , engaged in draining and improving the land, in carrying out afforestation, and ip. helping farmers during busy seasons. At the end of the six months each boy had to spend two yea is in military training, and those who showed outstanding; ability and intelligence were*' retained for posts in tlie army. Mr Cook said he was satisfied, that better labour camps did not. exist. ■ . ,

A tremendous t amount, of research work , was being ? carried out, and every available square yard of land was under cultivation. The policy of preventing profiteering was to be commended. Fixed prices prevailed for all commodities, and any profit in excess of 6 per cent, made by any business or company went to the State. Business people were. seeking some way opt,; of the heavy burden of taxation. : Ah; excellent housing policy had been adopted. In the past 12 months .40,000 workers’ dwellings had been erected in Berlin. ' ‘