THE WOOL HARVEST

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13886, 11 October 1918, Page 2

THE WOOL HARVEST

SHEARING AND SHEARERS. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Oct. The sheares are the backbone of th<A. and I'. Workers' I'liion, and if you would know what ttir gatherers of the golden fleece are doing and (linking on the eve of their annual harvest you must mount the riekelty stairway leading front Post i Ullce Square in the city to the registered ofllee of that organisation and iisk the strong-faced, hardhanded and withal genial secretary, who will give you in his own way and in his own good time all the news of Ihe in"n and of ihe sheds in which th y will lie occupied during the next two or three months. This morning the news was generally good, (liven a fair run of fine weather there are enough competent shearers in the country to do all the work that lies before them, if you want to know, the secretary will tell you where they are, what, sheds they will serve, and how many sheep will he shorn in each place. He also could tell you something about employers and the accommodation they provide, but this information, as he will explain, is only for those it more particularly concerns. The Weather Factor.

But while there are plenty of shearers for a fine weather season, there are no surplus men, and a "dripping" spring would put an altogether different complexion upon the outlook. The supply is appreciably smaller than it was last year. Some of the old hands have gone to the war, some are in camp, some have taken to other occupations, and some have simply drifted away. If November and December should be wet months the congestion of work would produce a very serious position. No farmer who knows anything about liis business, in the North Island or the South, would care to be shearing his sheep in January or February, ami yet this will be inevitable in some cases if the regular shearers do not get a good line-weather run. The small farmers may do a lot by co-operation between themselves, as they did last season, but co-operation of this kind cannot be applied to the big sheds. Learners and Preference.

Mr Grayndler smiled tolerantly when lift was shown a paragraph in a provincial paper implying that unionist shearers were hostile to co-operation and learners. "It's wonderful," he commented, more than half to himself, "how people pot fed up with ignorance and prejudice." As a matter of fact, the unionists have not the least objection to co-operative shearirjr. and they are always glad to lent) a helping hand to learners. Further than this they have never asked for preference and have never desired such a concession. The employer is left with a perfectly free hand in these matters. If he cares to fill his shed with learners it is entirely his own affair. If he mixes learners with competent unionist shearers, the latter will do their best to help the beginners and, incidentally and quite frankly, to satisfy them of the advantages of joining the union. They are not out to create trouble, but to strengthen their organisation and to secure for their fellow-workers the fair conditions they are enjoying themselves.

Co-operation. Returning to the subject of cooperation. the secretary quoted the union's arrangement for supplying shears to its members as an example of the great benefit of people with common interests and common needs working together. By purchasing from the manufacturers the very best brand of shears on the market, the union saves its members just 100 per cent, upon the price they otherwise would have to pay for the implements of their trade. This year the demand for the union's shears has been so great that it has had to draw upon Australia for further stocks. In connection with this matter the gratitude of the execute of the union to the Minister of Munitions and Supplies for advice and personal assistance knows no bounds. Certainly the far-reaching war work the Hon. A. M. Myers is doing in a score of directions, so silently and so unobtrusively as to be almost unnoticed by the general public, obtains no warmer appreciation than it does from the men who control the affairs of the considerable army of harvesters that gathers the golden fleece.