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National Association of Manufacturers
Report
OF THE
American Trade Commission
ON
Industrial Conditions in Australasia
1914
Issued from the
SECRETARY'S OFFICE
30 Church Street New York
National Association of Manufacturers
Report
OF THE
American Trade Commission
ON
Industrial Conditions in Australasia
1914
Issued from tke
SECRETARY'S OFFICE
30 ChurcK Street New York
The report of the Commission on trie promotion of trade in Australasia, the Philippines, and the Orient, is contained in a separate volume, on file in the office of the Association. Members desiring a copy of such part thereof as relates to their particular industry can obtain the same on request. Copies of this report, in its entirety, will be sent to any address, free of charge, on application to The National Association of Manufacturers, 30 Church St., New York
Report of trie American Trade Commission of tKe
National Association of Manufacturers on
Industrial Conditions in Australasia*
To the President and Board of Directors of the National Asso- ciation of Manufacturers.
Gentlemen : — In pursuance of your action in* appointing us a Commission to visit New Zealand and Australia for the pur- pose of investigating at first hand the so-called "ideal" industrial conditions which have so commonly been alleged to prevail in those countries through the instrumentality of legislation, with a view to the National Association of Manufacturers advocat- ing in this country the adoption of such of their measures as would tend to improve our own industrial conditions, and with the further view to a full presentation of the actual facts as they obtain with respect to industrial matters and things germane thereto in New Zealand and Australia, we beg herewith to sub- mit our report.
Accompanied by Mr. Albert A. Snowden, of the Educa- tional Staff of our Association, we sailed February loth, of the current year, from San Francisco, for Sydney, New South Wales, arriving at Sydney March 2d, from whence, after a ten days' stay, we sailed for Auckland, New Zealand, and leaving there March 2oth, we visited the following cities in the order named: Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargel, in New Zealand; Hobart, Tasmania; Melbourne, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia; returning from Adelaide to Sydney, thence to Brisbane and Townsville in Queensland, Australia, whence we sailed, June I2th, on our return voyage, stopping at Thursday Island, Manila, Hongkong, Shanghai, Hankow, Mukden, Manchuria; Fusan, Korea; Shimonoseki, Tokio and Yokohama, Japan, and at Honolulu.
It may be stated here, that at a conference with our Gen- eral Manager, Mr. Bird, relative to what additional subjects we might investigate with profit to the National Association of Manufacturers, it was decided that the subject of foreign trade promotion should be included in the activities of your Commis- sion, which, upon our arrival at Sydney, was announced by the press as "The American Trade Commission/' and by which title
*Wherever the term "Australasia" is used in this report, the reference includes Australia and New Zealand.
M34I828
we were thereafter recognized throughout our trip. As both of these subjects were exhaustively prosecuted, they furnish material for a somewhat lengthy report. Being separate and distinct subjects, they will be treated as such, and the results of our investigations with respect to trade relations will be sub- mitted to you in another and separate report from this one.
Commonwealth of Australia.
"A White Man's Government" in Australia dates back to 1786, about 18 years after the discovery 6f Botany Bay by Capt. Cook, and in which year Port Jackson was founded as a place to which criminals from England were exiled and which after- ward was called Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. Then came Tasmania in 1825; Western Australia in 1829; South Australia in 1834; Victoria in 1851; Queensland in 1859, and Northern Territory in 1863.
January I, 1901, these several independent States and their included territories were federated under the name "Common- wealth of Australia," and adopted a Constitution modeled after that of the United States of America, but modified in some par- ticulars. The following statements and figures are based on statistics published by the Commonwealth Statistician.
The area of Australia is 2,974,581 square miles — approxi- mately the same as that of the United States, exclusive of Alaska. Its total population, exclusive of full-blooded aborigines who formerly exclusively peopled the country, in 1901 was 3,825,000, and in 1912, 4,733,000, being an increase of 908,000 in 12 years, a yearly average of 75,666. Over one-half the popu- lation live in cities. Its most northerly border is at Thursday Island, in Torres Straight, a town of a few hundred people, mostly Japanese, a five days' ride from Brisbane, by water.
The principal cities of Australia are Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Hobart.
Principal Cities of Australia.
Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, is a city of 147,000 people. It is situated on both sides of the Brisbane River, about seven miles from its mouth, where at present the larger ocean steamers dock at Pinkenba, the river being navigable only for ocean steamers of medium draught. Additional shipping facilities will soon be provided, as extensive dredging operations are going on with a view to deepening the channel so as to pass the largest ocean vessels up to the city docks, and thus make ready for the increase in shipping which, it is believed, the opening of the
4
Panama Canal will bring to the city, and which, from a geo- graphical viewpoint, will naturally become the first Australian port at which vessels from the United States, through the canal, to Australia will stop. The city has no sewerage system and a big problem faces its people in this regard, as they fully appre- ciate the necessity for the same.
Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, lies 700 miles to the south of Brisbane, and together with its immediately ad- joining suburbs has a population of 675,000. Sydney harbor is claimed to be the finest harbor in the world, with the possible exception of Buenos Aires. It is said to have from 600 to 900 miles of shore frontage, skirting its many small islands, coves and bays. On entering the harbor the stranger is amazed at the vast number of vessels, from all parts of the world, which he sees being loaded and unloaded. It is then that he realizes the fact that Sydney is the fifth city in the world in shipping im- portance, and that it is the principal distributing port for a vast portion of trade in the far South East. The city itself has the appearance of age and substantiality. Many of its busi- ness and public buildings are massive and of fairly good archi- tectural construction. Its streets, though rather narrow, are well paved, as is true of all the principal Australian cities, and are kept clean and in excellent sanitary condition.
Melbourne, the capital of Victoria and also of the Com- monwealth, lying, as it does, 550 miles to the south of Sydney, at the head of Hobson Bay (Port Phillip), is justly entitled to be called the gem city of Australia. It has a population of approximately 600,000. Its streets are broad and laid out prin- cipally at right angles, with the roadways and the sidewalks level with each other at the street intersections, catch basins being arranged at each crossing to receive and carry the surface water into the sewers. This system of street construction at- tracted our attention as being a marked improvement over the custom of extending the curb around the street corners, which forms a step from the sidewalk to the street, as we do in our American cities.
The business and public buildings of Melborune will com- pare favorably with those of any American city of its size. Its Botanical Gardens are beautiful and attractive, and its museum is a place of interest of which Melbourne citizens may well feel proud. Its hospital would do credit to any city in the world.
There are many fine residences in Melbourne, but they are nearly all surrounded by hideous corrugated iron or other type of close fences, six to eight feet in height, which hide from
5
view the beautiful grounds which surround most of them and which, if removed, would add greatly to the beauty of the city, whose general appearance resembles the city of Washington, D. C.
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is a city of ap- proximately 170,000 population, situated 500 miles from Mel- bourne in the southeast corner of the State. The city has a good harbor and is splendidly laid out, with well-paved, broad streets, and its sanitary conditions appear to be excellent. It has many fine business and public buildings, and wears the air of a well-to-do community.
Perhaps the most noticeable feature about Adelaide, at least the one that attracted our admiration most, is its large number of artistically appearing small dwellings built of red pressed brick with sandstone trimmings and red tile roofs. Although these houses are all similar in style and design, they present a very pleasing effect and give to the city the appearance of pros- perity and a comfortably cared-for community. A city ordi- nance, we were informed, prohibits the erection of frame build- ings within the city limits. Of all the cities we visited, none presented to us a more attractive appearance than Adelaide, and nowhere did we meet more congenial people.
Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is a city of 36,000 population, situated on the west coast of Australia, 1350 miles from Melbourne, by water route. As we did not visit Perth we are unable to speak of it from the viewpoint of personal obser- vation, but we were informed that it is a city of large commer- cial and shipping interests and possesses most of the advantages incident to the average modern city of its size.
Hobart is the capital of Tasmania (once known as Van Dieman's Land), and has a population of about 40,000. It is situated on the southeast coast of Tasmania, 284 miles south- east of Melbourne, close to the southern extremity of the Island of Tasmania, which is separated from the mainland by Bass Straight, about 175 miles across. Hobart has all the appear- ances of a prosperous community, and being the principal ship- ping point for the products of the State, it has one of the largest and best equipped shipping wharfs that we saw anywhere in our travels. Hobart also boasts of having the largest single jam- making establishment in the world.
Pensions-Public Debt.
It has been said that "people are best governed that are least governed," but Australia has not acted on that theory, for
6
with a population less than that of the State of Ohio, its State and Federal Governments are sufficiently extensive and compli- cated for a population of 50,000,000 people, and their cost of maintenance, when borne by less than 5,000,000, makes it a heavy tax burden upon those who are called upon to pay the bills. We were informed that the employees of the State and Federal Governments number one in every eight of the total population.
The sum paid annually to 85,346 old age and 14,410 invalid pensioners is approximately £2,526,765 (f 12,280,000), and from October 10, 1912 (commencement), to October 25, 1913, there was paid on account of 127,011 maternity claims, £635,055 ($3,086,367).
The total debt of the Commonwealth itself June 30, 1913, was £7,430,949 ($36,114,412), and the Commonwealth and States combined £301,913,113 ($1,467,297,729), or, to be more specific, $310.70 per head.
Railways of Australia.
In 1913 there were 17,777 miles of Government owned and operated railroads open for traffic, as follows: Commonwealth 145; Queensland 4,524; New South Wales 3,930; Victoria 3,647; South Australia 2,168; West Australia 2,854; Tasmania 509; the combined gross earnings of which were, for the fiscal year — 1912-13 — £19,955,000 ($96,981,300) ; the operating ex- penses, £13,597,000 ($66,081,420) ; the percentage of operating expenses on gross earnings, 68.14; the net earnings, £6,358,000 ($30,899,880), and the percentage of net earnings on the capital cost 3.66. These figures, however, which are those given out by the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, are not generally accepted as showing the actual result of the railway operations, as all depends on the system of bookkeeping and how the figures are arrived at. We discussed this subject with a number of business men, all of whom declared that the railways were a heavy drain on the public purse.
A serious drawback to the country is experienced in the lack of railway facilities in the interior, and also by reason of the variation in gauges necessitating the transfer of freight and passengers at the State border lines. For example, the Queens- land lines are 3 feet 6 inches gauge; New South Wales 4 feet Sy2 inches ; Victoria 5 feet 3 inches ; South Australia 4 feet 8j4 inches, etc.
The Commonwealth Government now has under construc- tion a line 4 feet 8^ inches gauge, 1000 miles in length, from Kal- goolie, in West Australia, to Port Augusta, in South Australia,
7
which when completed will connect with a line from Perth to Kalgoolie, and another from Port Augusta to Adelaide, thence via South Australia and Victoria lines to Melbourne, thus form- ing through rail communication from the west to the east coasts and from Melbourne northwardly to Sydney and Brisbane.
There are no privately owned railways in Australasia, and no franchises are obtainable except conditioned on their being turned over to the Government at a given time.
We cannot subscribe to much of the adverse criticisms of the railways of Australasia, which have been based on compari- son with the railways of older and much more extensively popu- lated countries. Whether they are self-supporting or not, when considered in the light of the large area of country and its small population, together with the fact that they are a part of the political system of the country, we think that they are in the hands of honest and capable men and that they are well managed and render fair service to the public. And, while their tariff rates are much higher than those in the United States, it is quite apparent that they are deficient in many ways, lacking in conveniences and improvements which result from individual experiments, and which, through personal interests and diver- sity of inventive genius, private corporations are always keen to recognize and adopt.
Other Government Owned Industries.
We could obtain no official statistics with respect to Gov- ernment owned industries other than railways, and are therefore unable to give a complete report as to all of its functions, but we gathered some information relative thereto from the news- papers and business men with whom we discussed the subject, to the effect that in addition to the railways and the telegraph and telephone systems the Government owns and operates all the lighting and water plants, some of the mines and banks, all the sleeping cars and railway eating houses, engages in the life insurance business, and regulates the amount of wages that shall be received and paid for labor. The proposition to put a pre- mium on idleness by paying wages to unemployed is being con- sidered. The law requires that, in addition to Sunday, you must close your place of business one half day each week, either on Wednesday or Saturday afternoon, and that you must register with the Government which day you elect to observe as the half holiday — most merchants close both afternoons, as busi- ness is so dead that it does not pay them to keep open. You are liable to arrest and fine if you keep open after the time fixed by
8
law to close up your business establishment. One merchant said that he was "So annoyed by Governmental restrictions of personal liberty in doing business that he felt very much inclined to pack up and get out of the country. The law keeps making it harder and harder to carry on business." Another dealer said, "This used to be a good country to make money in, but the lawmakers and the labor unions have killed it."
There are a number of State and municipal owned meat killing -and freezing plants doing business in competition with private concerns. New South Wales operates a brick-making plant, a bakery and several other industries in addition to the tramway lines in Sydney, which are a part of the steam rail- ways system. In Victoria the State owns and operates a coal mine, a killing and freezing plant and a sugar beet plant. The coal mine is said to be "sick," and the beet plant closed as a failure after an expenditure of approximately $2,000,000 of the public funds. These Government owned industries are subject to the same labor conditions as are private concerns, as will be shown later on. But when strikes occur in any of the industries a demand is set up by the labor unions for the "nationalization" of the industry, which sometimes is done.
Although we could get no definite or reliable statement or figures with respect to the financial operations of these Govern- ment owned industries, yet we were convinced from the infor- mation we did obtain that none of them were returning to the people "value received" and that from a financial standpoint the results obtained from their operation would soon cause the "finish" of privately-owned institutions.
Barring New Zealand, Australia leads the world in State paternalism and in effort of the State to work out the destinies of its individual citizens by placing on a par with the energetic, thoughtful and frugal individual, the profligate, idle and shiftless class who are always ready and willing to accept the benefits of those whose superior efforts produce results which make for advancement, and which when achieved belong to those who earn them and not to the "common herd." The result of such a policy is to make business ventures more hazardous and un- certain, to penalize industry and thrift and give the reward to the lazy and improvident. It is visible everywhere in Australia.
As to the Sydney tramways system, it appears to be well man- aged and to give excellent service to the public. Its fares are divided into sections, a penny (2 cents in United States money) for each section. A ride of four miles costs 4d. (8 cents), which, while being a more equitable system of fares, is in the higher than is charged in the United States, where, in
some cities, one can ride a distance of 12 miles or more for a nickel. The operation of the system for its last fiscal year showed a deficit of £61,038, which is hereinafter referred to in a newspaper account.
In Brisbane and Melbourne the tramways are owned and operated by private corporations under options of the munici- palities to take them over at certain specified times. In Ade- laide the city owns and operates the system.
As before stated, the telegraph and telephone systems are Government owned and operated. If you want a local tele- phone communication you drop a penny in the slot. In some places the service was fairly good, in others not. Our experi- ence in Sydney was not flattering to the telephone system. We soon abandoned its use and resorted to the methods employed before the telephone was introduced.
Taxes.
We were asked to investigate the system of taxation in Australia, but we found it a difficult matter to obtain definite or statistical information covering the subject in detail. We learned, however, through various sources that pretty much every available means is employed to raise revenue sufficient to meet the liberal expenditures of the Government. There is the ever increasing land tax ; an income tax on incomes above £200; an import tax; a license tax on every form of business from a boarding house to a hotel ; a stamp tax which requires that in business transactions practically every piece of paper that bears a signature must also bear a tax stamp, and for the privilege of passing through the gates of a railway station to see your friends off on the train you are taxed two-pence.
Workmen's Compensation.
Laws providing for compensation of workers injured in the course of their employment have been in force throughout Aus- tralasia for some years. And, as our Association has devoted a great deal of time and money in promoting sane and equitable legislation of this character, in the various States, it is especially fitting that space in this report be given to this branch of indus- trial legislation. Owing to the absence of statistical data we are unable to give figures showing the sums paid annually to injured workers and their dependents, in accordance with the provisions of these laws. But the following extracts from the Schedule and Code of Regulations under which the Queensland Workers' Compensation Act of 1905 is administered, are
10
quoted as covering the general character of such legislation throughout Australia and New Zealand, and which, suffice to say, have been freely copied, from in the United States, viz. :
(1) If, in any employment to which this Act applies, personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment is caused to a worker, his employer shall, subject as hereinafter mentioned, be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the Schedule to this Act.
(2) The employer shall not be liable under this Act in respect of any injury which —
(i) Does not disable the worker for a period of at least three days from earning full wages at the work at which he was em- ployed ; or
(n) Is directly attributable to the serious and wilful misconduct of the worker injured; or
(in) Occurs to a worker whilst proceeding to or frpm his place of work.
* * *
(1) If the Governor in Council, after taking steps to ascertain the views of the employer and workmen, certifies that any scheme of compen- sation, benefit, or insurance for the workmen of an employer in any employment, whether or not such scheme includes other employers and their workmen, is on the whole not less favorable to the general body of workmen and their dependants than the provisions of this Act, the employer may, until the certificate is revoked, contract with any of those workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall be substituted for the provisions of this Act, and thereupon the employer shall be liable only in accordance with the scheme.
But, save as aforesaid, this Act shall apply, notwithstanding any contract to the contrary made after the commencement of this Act.
(2) The Governor in Council may give a certificate to expire at the end of a limited period not less than five years.
(3) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a condition of their hiring.
(4) If complaint is made to the Governor in Council by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer that —
(i) The provisions of any scheme are no longer on the whole so favorable to the general body of workmen of such employer and their dependants as the provisions of this Act; or (n) The provisions of such scheme are being violated; or (in) The scheme is not being fairly administered; or (iv) Satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the certificate; the Governor in Council, if satisfied that good cause exists for such complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is removed, revoke the certificate.
(5) When a certificate is revoked or expires, any moneys or securities held for the purpose of the scheme shall be distributed as may be arranged between the employer and workmen, or as may be deter- mined by the Governor in Council in the event of a difference of opinion.
(6) Whenever a scheme has been certified as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all such inquiries and to furnish all such accounts in regard to the scheme as may be made or required by the Governor in Council.
* * *
From and after the commencement of this Act, it shall not be lawful for any employer or any person on his behalf, or for any insurance com-
ii
pany or any person on its behalf, to directly or indirectly take or receive any money from any worker, whether by way of deduction from wages or otherwise howsoever, in respect of any liability of an employer to pay compensation under this Act or damages indepen- dently of this Act.
* * *
Where death results from the injury. — If the worker leaves any depen- dants wholly dependent upon his earnings at the time of his death, a sum equal to his earnings in the employment of the same employer during the three years next preceding the injury, or the sum of 200 pounds, whichever of those sums is the larger, but not exceeding in any case 400 pounds.
* * *
Where total or partial incapacity for work results from the injury, a weekly payment during the incapacity not exceeding 50 per centum of his average weekly earnings during the previous twelve months, if he has been so long employed, but if not, then for any less period during which he has been in the employment of the same employer, but such weekly payment shall not exceed one pound, and the total liability of the employer in respect thereof shall not exceed 400 pounds:
Provided that—
(a) In the case of a worker whom his employer has reasonable cause to believe to be over sixty years of age, and who has entered into an agreetnent in writing with his employer as to the maxi- mum amount of compensation to be payable to him under this Act in respect of accidents happening after the date of the agree- ment, the compensation shall not exceed that maximum, but the maximum shall not be less — (i) Where death results from the injury, and the worker leaves
. any dependants, than 50 pounds ;
(n) Where total or partial incapacity for work results from the injury, than a weekly payment during the incapacity of five shillings, and a total liability of 50 pounds;
(fc) In the case of a workman who has, in accordance with the regu- lations, obtained from a medical referee a certificate to the effect that his age or any physical infirmity or incapacity from which he is suffering is such as to render him specially liable to accident, or to render the result of an accident to him specially serious, and who has entered into an agreement in writing with his em- ployer as to the maximum amount of compensation to be pay- able to him under this Act in respect of accidents happening after the date of the agreement, the compensation shall not exceed that maximum, but the maximum shall not be less — (i) Where death results from the injury, and the worker leaves any dependants, than 25 pounds or a sum equivalent to 39 times his average weekly earnings, whichever is the larger; (n) Where total or partial incapacity for work results from the injury, than a weekly payment during the incapacity of five shillings or one-quarter of his average weekly earnings, whichever is the larger, and a total liability of 50 pounds ; (c) As respects the weekly payment during total incapacity to a worker who is under 21 years of age at the date of the injury, and whose average weekly earnings are less than 20 shillings, 100 per centum shall be substituted for 50 per centum of his average weekly earnings, but the weekly payment shall in no case exceed ten shillings.
* * *
Where a worker has given notice of an accident he shall, if so required by the employer, submit himself for examination by a duly qualified
12
medical practitioner provided and paid by the employer ; and if he refuses to submit himself to such examination, or in any way ob- structs the same, his right to compensation, and any proceeding under this Act in relation to compensation, shall be suspended until such examination takes place.
The payment shall, in case of death, be made to the legal personal repre- sentative of the worker, or, if he has no legal personal representative, to or for the benefit of his dependants, or, if he leaves no dependants, to the person to whom the expenses are due; and, if made to the legal personal representative, shall be paid by him to or for the benefit of the dependants or other persons entitled thereto under this Act.
Any question as to who is a dependant or as to the amount payable to each dependant shall, in default of agreement, be settled by a police magistrate under this Act.
The sum allotted as compensation to a dependant may be invested or otherwise applied for the benefit of the person entitled thereto as agreed, or, in default of agreement, as ordered by the police magis- trate.
Where it appears to a police magistrate, on any information which the police magistrate considers sufficient, that a widow to whom any sum is payable under this Act, whether by way of an annuity or as instal- ments or otherwise, ought on account of her remarriage, or on account of drunkenness, neglect of children, or other sufficient mis- conduct on her part, to be deprived of the whole or any part of any such sums, or that the terms on which, or the manner in which, any such sums are payable to the widow ought to be varied, the police magistrate may order such deprivation or variation, and may, on application being made in accordance with the regulations, make such further order, for the payment of the sums of which the widow has been deprived to or for the benefit of other dependants or of the employer, as in the circumstances of the case the police magistrate may think just.
Any worker receiving weekly payments under this Act shall, if so re- quired by the employer, from time to time submit himself for examination by a duly qualified medical practitioner provided and paid by the employer. If the worker refuses to submit himself to such examination or in any way obstructs the same, his right to such weekly payments shall be suspended until such examination has taken place.
A worker shall not be required to submit himself for examination by a medical practitioner under paragraph four or paragraph nine of this Schedule, otherwise than in accordance with the regulations; and where he has so submitted himself for examination, he shall not,, without the leave of the police magistrate, be again required to so submit himself until after the expiration of one month after the previous examination.
Where a worker has so submitted himself for examination by a medical practitioner, and the employer has, within six days after such exami- nation, furnished the worker with a copy of the report of that prac- titioner as to his condition, then, in the event of no agreement being come to between the employer and the worker as to the worker's condition or fitness for employment, the police magistrate— (0) In the case of a submission for examination under paragraph four of this Schedule, on application being made to the police- magistrate by the employer, and on payment by him of such fee as may be fixed, not exceeding the limit prescribed by the regu- lations, may; and
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(b) In the case of a submission for examination under paragraph nine of this Schedule, on application being made to the police magistrate by either party, and on payment by such party of such fee as may be fixed, not exceeding the limit prescribed by the regulations, shall refer the matter to a medical referee.
The medical referee to whom the matter is so referred shall, in accord- ance with the regulations, give a certificate as to the condition of the worker and his fitness for employment, specifying, where necessary, the kind of employment for which he is fit; and that certificate shall be conclusive evidence as to the matter so certified.
If a worker, on being required to do so, refuses to submit himself for examination by a medical referee to whom the matter has been so referred as aforesaid, or in any way obstructs the same, his right to compensation and any proceeding under this Act in relation to compensation, or in the case of a worker in receipt of a weekly pay- ment his right to that weekly payment, shall be suspended until such examination has taken place.
The regulations may prescribe the manner in which documents are to be furnished or served and applications made under this paragraph, and the forms to be used for those purposes, and as to the fee to be paid under this paragraph.
Any weekly payment may be reviewed by a police magistrate at the request either of the employer or of the worker, and on such review may be ended, diminished, or increased, subject to the maximum above provided :
Provided that where the worker was at the date of the accident under 21 years of age, and the review takes place more than twelve months after the accident, the amount of the weekly payment may be in- creased to any amount not exceeding 50 per centum of the weekly sum which the worker would probably have been earning at the date of the review if he had remained uninjured, but not in any case exceeding one pound.
Where any weekly payment has been continued for not less than three months, the liability therefor may, on the application by or on behalf of the employer, be redeemed by the payment of a lump sum to be agreed on by the parties, or, in default of agreement, to be deter- mined by a police magistrate under this Act; and such lump sum may be ordered by the police magistrate to be invested or otherwise applied for the benefit of the person entitled thereto.
If a worker receiving weekly payment ceases to reside in the Common- wealth he shall thereupon cease to be entitled to receive any weekly payment, but if he proves that the incapacity resulting from the injury is of a permanent nature he shall be entitled to a lump sum not exceeding 156 times the amount of weekly payment less all pay- ments theretofore paid. Any questions arising under this paragraph shall, in default of agreement, be determined by a police magistrate.
No money paid or payable in respect of compensation under this Act shall be capable of being assigned, charged, taken in execution, or attached, nor shall the same pass to any other person by operation of law, nor shall any claim be set off against the same.
When payment of any moneys under this Act is made to any person under 21 years of age, whether such person claims as a worker, dependant, or legal personal representative, the receipt of such person therefor shall be a good and valid discharge in law ; and such person (notwithstanding minority) may, with the approval of a police magistrate, elect to claim compensation under this Act, and may agree upon the amount of compensation payable.
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Homes for Workingmen.
The Australian and New Zealand Governments both have in operation a scheme for building homes for the working classes, which is not unlike the plan upon which hundreds of Building and Loan Associations operate in the United States, as well as in Australasia. Upon a deposit of £10 ($48.60) they will sell a man a lot and build him a house upon it, charging rental at 7j£ per cent of the cost of the lot and improvements, 2^2 per cent being credited on the principal toward liquidating the loan. At Wellington, N. Z., the Secretary of the Department of Labor very kindly invited us to join him and the Government Architect on a tour of examination of some of these homes, which invita- tion we gladly and appreciatively accepted. We were driven three or four miles into the suburbs and there given the privilege of examining several newly built and occupied, four- and five- room cottage's, costing from ^350 ($1,701) to £500 (12,430). The cost of the same houses in Dayton, Ohio, for example, would not exceed from $1,350 to $2,000, and the terms offered by the Building and Loan Associations of Dayton, the difference in cost of the houses being considered, are fully as favorable to the workman as are those above mentioned; the workman's equity in the property being as secure in one case as in the other. We could see no reason why the Government should embark in such business when there are Building and Loan Associations organized expressly for the same purpose and which are under Governmental supervision and regulation, except a desire to en- gage in business pursuits with which, in our judgment, it should not meddle.
Anti-Trust Legislation.
The Trust problem is a live issue in Australia. We were informed by a prominent business man that it has placed upon its statute books an Anti-Trust Act in which at least some con- sideration has been shown for the possible and probable effect of such legislation on the business development and interests of the country. The law is designed not to destroy big business, nor to cut it up into a million small units, such, for example, as prevail among the coolie classes in China and which furnish em- ployment to nobody, but prohibit business combinations whose purpose is to restrain trade at the expense of the public, or, in other words, create monopolies which work hardship on the community.
The law as explained to us is clear and explicit, so that any one who can read can understand that combinations which tend
15
lo expand rather than restrain trade, and which do not monopo- lize or attempt to monopolize, are not infractions of the law.
We heard several severe criticisms of the chaotic condition into which the Sherman Act has thrown the business interests of the United States and there is a strong feeling extant through- out Australia against anti-trust legislation so drastic in character.
Crownlands.
It is the avowed purpose of the Commonwealth and several State Governments eventually to own all the land. All that they do not now own is subject to the exercise of the right of eminent domain at any time the Government wants it for dividing into smaller tracts. The price to be paid for it will be fixed by the Government's own appraisers. Land so acquired by the State will not be resold, but will be parcelled out under perpetual leaseholds, "with a string tied to the lease." The terms and con- ditions upon which settlers can obtain these leaseholds vary more or less in the different States. In New South Wales, for ex- ample, we were informed by a high State official, the land is classified into three grades ; first, second and third class, and is leased to settlers in blocks of 40 to 60 acres first class, 460 acres second class, and 1350 acres third class. The terms of the lease provide how the land shall be utilized, and otherwise restrict the privileges of the lessee so that in reality he is but little else than a servant of the State, and he quite naturally has no heart to improve land which he never can own and from which, if he fails to live up to the strict requirements of the lease to the satis- faction of the State land inspector, he may be ousted at any time. Two per cent of the appraised value of the land is charged for rent, subject to a new valuation at the end of the first five years and every 20 or 25 years thereafter, a deposit of £ 100 ($486) being required when the lease is executed.
During the first year the Government will loan the lessee £200 in installments as improvements are made, such as build- ing a house and fences. Then at the end of the first year, and thereafter for a period of five years, further loans will be made to the extent of three-fourths the cost of all the improvements put upon the land. The Government reserves the right to, at the end of the fifth year and at any time thereafter, resume owner- ship of the land at its then appraised value, including improve- ments. Title to the land never passes from the State. In Queensland, we were told, large tracts of land are available to leasehold on similar conditions at a rental of three cents per acre, per annum, and are allotted by ballot.
16
Large fortunes have been made in Australia and New Zea- land at stock raising, and as there are millions of acres of land in the interior not accessible by railroads, there are still numerous occupiers of large tracts on which the business is car- ried on extensively and on which there are 100,000 to 200,000 sheep on a single tract. But these will, in time, as railroads penetrate them and they can be utilized for closer se^tlem^nt purposes, be resumed by the State and divided into smaller sections. This, however, will be a slow process at the present ratio of increase in population, which is principally settling in the cities.
Refrigeration System— Its Effect.
Australia is one of the richest countries in the world. Its soil and its mountains contain treasures which should attract people from all parts of the globe. Its climate, varying from 110° to 30° admits of outdoor work all the year round, and the wonder is, how is it that, during a century and a quarter of existence, it has acquired a population of less than five million souls. True it is, that prior to the introduction of. the refrigera- tion system of transporting meats and other perishable products the growth of this fertile country was necessarily slow, because, being many thousands of miles from its nearest Anglo-Saxon neighbor and a thousand miles or more from any neighbor, it had only its home market for its perishable products, consist- ing chiefly of mutton, beef and farm produce, consequently, carcasses of beef and mutton were boiled down for their tallow. Meat supply being greatly in excess of demand, profits from sheep and cattle raising were confined principally to wool, pelts and hides.
The same conditions prevailed in New Zealand. A stock raiser who settled* there in 1873 informed us that, prior to the introduction of the process for shipping frozen meats when local consumption was satisfied, everything had to be boiled down for tallow ; that before the freezing companies could take sheep or cattle he got $1.02 a head for a very nice lot of ewes, while cattle were as low as $10.60 for cow and calf : that now ordinary ewes are worth $3.70 to $5. and special as high as $7.50 a head, while "forward" bullocks are worth as much as $40 to $60 a head, and lambs $4.50 to $5 each. Another large stock raiser in Australia informed us that, before the opening up of foreign markets for Australian meats through the frozen meat system of transportation, he had himself peddled from door to door hind quarters of mutton which he sold at 12 to 18 cents each.
The first shipment of frozen meat was dispatched from
Dunedin, N. Z., February 15, 1883, and that incident marked the beginning of a phenomenal period of prosperity throughout all Australasia and the making of large fortunes by many men who were alert in taking advantage of the opportunities which lay in their way. What, then, is wrong with Australasia ?
Banking Institutions.
In traveling through Australasia, one thing that impressed us greatly was the large number of banking institutions and the magnitude of many of them. In the principal business sections of the city there are banks, banks, everywhere banks, each with its branches in different sections of the city. Then when you go into the country districts you will find in every little hamlet branch banks and you are filled with wonder as to how they all exist and what supports them, but upon inquiry you will be in- formed that they are backed principally by London and local capital. That so many banking institutions not only exist but thrive is evidence of the great wealth producing countries these are and, when measured by population, of the vast amount of business which is transacted through these banks.
Statistics for 1913 show the total liabilities of check paying banks to be £138,583,000, and assets £164,555,000. They also show that in the savings banks — including the Commonwealth bank — there were 1,961,000 depositors, with total deposits amounting to £75,463,000, per depositor £38 95. 7d., and per head of population £15 143. 4d. Of these the Commonwealth bank had 84,000 depositors with £2,694,000 deposits, the average per depositor being £32 45. iod., and us. 3d. per head of popu- lation.
One handicap to American business in Australasia is the lack of American banking facilities. As an' example of the appreciation of American money, we handed a banker, in one of the large Australian banks, a United States twenty-dollar gold certificate and asked him what he would give us for it in current money. His reply was that the only use he could make of it would be to consign it to the waste basket or keep it as a souvenir. Show a piece of United States money to a business man in Australasia and he will look at it curiously and, in nine cases out of ten, ask what it is. And this in face of the fact that trade with the United States runs up into many millions of dollars annually. With respect to this phase of business inter- course between these countries, we were led to the conclusion that if United States banking institutions were established in the principal cities of Australasia, United States money could
18
be made a medium of exchange at practically its home value. There appeared to us to be good room for such banks in both Australia and New Zealand notwithstanding all that may be said about their Socialistic tendencies and unfavorable industrial conditions.
A Loose Screw.
The mineral wealth of Australia alone is enormous. In 1912 the value of its mineral products was £25,629,000 sterling, or, approximately, $124,556,940, covering the items of gold, silver, lead, zinc, tin, copper, pig iron, coal and precious stones. Its coal fields are practically inexhaustible and we were told by good authority that veins from 20 to 30 feet thick are not un- common. No finer fruits and vegetables can be raised any- where than are grown in Australasia, although they are both very high in price.
In a country where nature has been so generous one would naturally expect to find everybody happy and contented and aglow with enthusiasm for the land in which such opportunities abound, but not so. Instead of a land full of life and energy resting in the very bosom of hope and advancement, and ex- panding by leaps and bounds in individual wealth and freedom, on every side one hears the wail of discontent. The "closer settlement" victim is disgruntled because he is disappointed and feels that he has been deceived. From rich and poor alike, except office holders, a tale of woe and faultfinding flows freely. Men having vested interests at stake are alarmed over their apparent and threatened insecurity. The attitude of the office holder is apologetic, and the mind of the investigator soon becomes impressed with the air of decadence which he observes all about him; that there is a screw or perhaps a number of screws loose somewhere, and he is forced to agree with an Eng- lish lady, the wife of the manager of a commercial corporation, who had lived eleven years in Sydney, and who, when asked what she thought of Australia, replied, "I think it an ideal coun- try going wrong."
The nation, like many individuals, can't stand prosperity. Its policy is very largely dictated by an influence that is bent on the horizontal levelling of wealth and caste. Its progress is in the direction of stagnation, and each year sees it nearer a purely Socialistic country.
The People of Australasia.
Some writers in commenting on the people of Australasia and their customs and manners have, we think, been very unfair
19
in their criticisms. The unkind manner in which they have spoken of them would lead their readers, who have not come in personal contact with these people, to think that they are a coarse, ill-bred and uneducated class of humanity in need of missionaries to carry to them the lamp of civilization, and the cup of Christianity. They have ridiculed their dialect, their food and the manner in which they cook and eat it. It has been said that in hot weather, meat hanging in front of butcher shops has been so covered with flies that one could not tell whether it was beef or mutton, and other equally misleading and apparently prejudicial statements have been put into print. Our experience having been along opposite lines we feel that we should speak of these things as we found them and by so doing counteract, in part at least, the unfavorable impressions, which such unfair statements have created.
The population of these countries is made up principally of English, Scotch and native-borns, with a small percentage of Americans, Germans and others. During our stay of one month in New Zealand and two and a half months in Australia we mingled freely with these people at the hotels, the clubs, their places of business, in the churches, in Government offices and in their homes, and not in a single instance would we be warranted in subscribing to the criticisms above referred to. On the other hand, we have only praise and commendation to offer in exchange for the hospitable and courteous manner in which we were everywhere received and treated. We found that, after all, there is not very much difference between these people and those of the United States, and for whom they enter- tain the most friendly feeling and high esteem. True, many of them, while writing their words correctly, speak a dialect which to one not accustomed to it is a little difficult to under- stand. For example, in addition to dropping the letter "h" from words in which it belongs and adding it where it does not belong, if they want to know if you are going to the railway station they will ask you if you are going to the rile-wie stition ;: a thing sold has been sowl'd. If they want to scold they scowld. If a newsboy wants to sell you a paper, he cries out "piper, Mister." A maid is a mide, ale is ile, and sale, sile. A girl clerk — clark — in a bookstore, when asked "Where is the mana- ger?" replied, " 'E's hoff on 'is 'alf 'olidie." The Standard Oil Company is called the Standard Ile Company, etc., etc. But all this does not indicate that these people are what they have- been, painted as being, nor that they are below the standard of other English-speaking nations in culture and refinement.
As a matter of fact, in Sydney, Auckland, and Melbourne
20
there are more and larger bookstores than in any cities of equal size that we know of, and on every hand one is impressed with the vast amount of substantial reading these people indulge in. They are also a great people for outdoor exercise and manly sports. On each of their many holidays and half holidays they can be seen by the thousands making for the different resorts and places of sport. We found them to be polite, courteous to a fault, and whatever others may say about them or whatever may be our opinions of their Governmental policies and the trend toward State Socialism, we shall always remember them as a kind-hearted, praiseworthy and Sabbath respecting people, we shall ever carry pleasant recollections of the kind and generous treatment we received at the hands of all those with whom we came in contact, as well as the numerous pleasant acquaintances we made and left in Australasia.
We did not observe them to be indifferent to flies or any other pests, nor did we see any meat hanging in front of butcher shops, so covered with flies that we couldn't tell what kind of meat it was. But, on the other hand, we did see in Wellington, Melbourne and Sydney a number of the finest and neatest kept meat markets that we have ever seen. Let the things which belong to Csesar be rendered unto Caesar. The people in the cities of Australasia are provided with more and better public parks and conveniences than will be found in our American cities. The matter of "convenience stations" for both men and women has been looked after in a creditable manner, and the officials of our municipalities would do well to pattern after the example set by these people, in whom some critics are so prone to see no good. These convenience stations are located a few squares apart, constructed under ground with tile floors and walls, have an attendant in charge and are kept as clean and sanitary as are the lavatories in many of our leading hotels. There is no charge for the use of urinals, but the use of closets is subject to a charge of one penny.
Of course, there is in Australasia, as in all other countries, a large element of natural born discontents and ne'er-do-wells who, in the present instance, constitute the largest portion of the organized group and in whose particular interest the Govern- ment appears to be administered, but, in measuring up the people, it would not be fair to single out this class as a basis of standardi- zation of the whole. If this should be done in our country a sorry picture could be painted of our standard of civilization.
The tea drinking habit has a firm grip on the people of Australasia. With them it is tea before breakfast, tea at break- fast, tea before and after luncheon and tea before bedtime.
21
Everybody drinks tea. and drops business and pleasure at regular intervals for tea — strong tea. The wonder of it is that they hold up, physically, under the influence of so much strong tea.
Industrial Conditions.
Australia and New Zealand are sister countries, some 1,200 or 1,300 miles distant from each other, and, together, are known as Australasia. They are noted the world over for their experi- mental tendencies in legislation. New Zealand, having blazed the way and set the pace for Australia to follow, apparently has tired of some, at least, of its legislative experiments, a reaction already having set in, but Australia appears to be plodding along the lines of socialistic labor legislation in face of the fact that its strenuous fight with the economic principle of the law of supply and demand has proved a dismal failure and the industrial con- ditions of the country are in a state of chaos.
Many flowery pictures have been painted in magazines and newspapers throughout the United States, by writers having theoretical but no practical knowledge of the industrial question, either in their own or other countries, in which Australasia has been credited with having solved the labor problem through con- ciliation, arbitration and Wages Boards legislation, whereby it has been transformed into "The Land of No Strikes," "Labor's Utopia," and "The Workingman's Paradise," where industrial peace was complete, everybody contented and happy, and the millennium at hand. But in striking contrast to these beautiful and misleading pictures the fact remains that Australasia is a hotbed of strikes, socialistic agitation, syndicalism and discontent, all of which is, at the present time, more acute than ever before.
A complete detailed account of our investigations into labor legislation and conditions in Australasia, and upon which our conclusions are based, would make a volume unnecessarily large for the practical purposes of our report. We shall not, therefore, attempt to detail all that came to our notice with reference to strikes and their accompanying annoyances, open antagonism to and ignoring of laws placed upon the statute books by labor's own representatives, and the deplorable indus- trial conditions which prevail throughout the Dominion of New Zealand and the Commonwealth of Australia.
Moreover, that we may not be charged with bias or that we have judged the situation from a prejudiced viewpoint, we shall use* the people themselves as our authority and quote some- what liberally from newspapers and periodicals, and the utter-
22
ances of public men as well as men in various walks of life with whom we conversed. From a newspaper standpoint, some idea can be formed of industrial conditions prevailing in Australasia. In three months' time we cut from 19 different daily papers refer- ences to labor disputes, Wages Boards awards, strikes, etc., represented by editorials and news items, covering 147 pages of letter size paper, three columns in width, and this, it should be re- membered, refers solely to communities aggregating a total population of 5,785,000 souls. The record could hardly be matched in the whole United States with its 100,000,000 people, and where no pretense is made of having solved the labor prob- lem by legislation.
The following full quotations and excerpts from the daily press of the several cities visited will serve as an example of many others. Our reason for quoting as extensively as we have done, being for the purpose of conveying to your minds, through this means, the gravity of industrial conditions in Australasia.
FROM THE SIDNEY MORNING HERALD— 1914. UNION PICKETS.
AN EARLY MORNING MARCH. INCIDENT OF A FARM.
Coolamon, Saturday.
March 2. — The rural workers on strike at Coolamon varied the monotony of camp life on Thursday morning by a march of ten miles before dawn to Kittegora, where on the farm of Mr. Archibald Robert- son, a chaffcutter, owned by Mr. P. Maloney, was at work on some stacks of hay. The enginedriver was getting up steam; the other men had not got out of their beds. Mr. Maloney had not arrived. The enginedriver, who had no spanner handy, was jostled off the engine. The others were rushed out of bed, and ordered to cease work and join the camp, where they were told they would be provided for.
"But what about our wives?" one asked.
"Send them out to work," was the reply.
As soon as Mr. Robertson was informed of the raid he galloped down, and the strikers, 40 in number, made off, but took the indispensable workers of the team with them.
The men were all back on Friday, but insisted, as a condition of their return, that they should have police protection.
A constable is now in constant attendance. Most of the townspeople think it will be a lucky day when the strike camp is dispersed
In the following editorial the writer has touched a sentiment which finds expression with the entire business interests, not only of New South Wales but of all of Australasia :
RECURRING STRIKES.
DISGUSTED MINEOWNER. THREATENS TO CLOSE DOWN.
Kurri Kurri, Sunday.
March 2. — Mr. D. Watson's visit to Pelaw Main miners' meeting resulted in the men returning to work, and the colliery has been working since.
Mr. Watson told the men they were very foolish in stopping the pit
23
so frequently for trivial matters; he had almost effected a settlement of the dispute with Messrs. Brown when the men stopped work.
Mr. John Brown spoke forcibly, and said if the men did not alter their tactics he would close Pelaw Main Colliery down.
The men carried a motion to the effect that they would not stop the pit again before allowing the Federation's executive an opportunity of remedying the grievances. The matter in dispute and the paying of the costs of the recent prosecution of the machine men will be discussed by Afr. Watson and Mr. John Brown on Tuesday.
IRON TRADES. NINE THOUSAND MEN OUT. AWAITING THE COURT.
March 2. — There are now over 9,000 men involved in the iron trades' dispute. There were no developments of any kind on Saturday. Both employers and employees are anxiously waiting. Mr. Justice Heydon's decision with regard to the reopening of the wages board award judg- ment is expected to be delivered today.
Certain shops have been granted exemptions by the defence com- mittee, and work at them is proceeding smoothly. Other employers are ready to pay the rates asked by the men, but so far the committee ap- pointed to deal with them have not submitted their reports to the defence committee. A meeting of this committee is to be held this afternoon at 3.30, when it is expected the decision of the court will be known. The future policy of the committee will then be discussed.
"LAZY STRIKE" OFF.
WHARFMEN TO RESUME. RESULT OF THE BALLOT.
March 2. — The result of the ballot taken amongst Sydney wharf- labourers on the question of whether overtime should be worked, pending the settlement of all the conditions of the industry by the Federal Arbi- tration Court was announced last night by Mr. J. Woods, the local secretary. Very great interest was manifested in the matter by the wharf-labourers themselves, and this is demonstrated by the fact that 2>33! votes were recorded, out of which the decision to work overtime as usual, pending the constitutional settlement of the grievances, secured a majority of 1,023.
MEAT WAR.
A GLOOMY OUTLOOK. NO SETTLEMENT. MEN WANT TO COMPROMISE. EMPLOYERS' REPLY. AWARD MUST BE OBEYED.
March 2. — Proposals by the Government for a settlement of the meat strike have been placed before employers and employees.
The employees are prepared to come to terms, but the employers are unyielding.
Representatives of the employers are to meet the Attorney-General, Mr. D. R. Hall, at 11 A. M. today.
The suggested terms of settlement are an advance of 5s- Per week and 49H hours.
These terms were to be embodied in a wages board award, "by consent." Friday night's meeting of the employers was against accept- ance of the compromise.
The Premier, however, was hopeful last night that the parties might come to an understanding.
He had not any direct intimation that the proposed basis of settle- ment had been turned down.
It was reported last night that the employers would today ask the Government for assistance in having cold-storage meat removed. Killing was continued at Glebe Island on Saturday.
24
The meat was rushed for at the depots and the union shops, which were unable to meet the demand.
Attention is especially directed to the following editorial:
LABOUR AND CAPITAL.
March 2. — The partnership of capital and labour is indissoluble. Hence if the warring elements, which are now engaged not only in Australia but all over the world, do not arrive at a peaceful means of settling the way in which the profits of the partnership are to be divided then the road to industrial bankruptcy will be entered. To within the last quarter of a century the power of capital was so great, or, rather, it would be more correct to say that the forces of labour were so weak, that capital assumed the fiction that there was no partnership in the industrial life, and that capital was the overlord, giving labour just the reward it pleased. Since then the strength of organized labour has in- creased so greatly, while capital has gained little from its own organiza- tion, that labour has forced a more equitable division of the profits. In Australia, following New Zealand's lead, in order to do away with strikes, which can never be but a rough-and-ready method of settling quarrels, we have established legal tribunals to assess the division of the profits. Going all through the different judgments, the main idea seems to run that the division shall be such as will in comparison with capital's profits, give the utmost return to labour possible, the skill of the worker and the arduousness of the labour having due weight given to them. And there is the provision that in any case, whether capital gets a fair proportion or not, the profit of labour must be such as will keep a man and his wife and family in ordinary comfort. When capital cannot give such a profit to labour, then it withdraws from the particular class of business. An example was the closing down of the local china works some months ago. Labour is not yet disciplined to the law. The clangour and confusion of war still appeal to it because the excitement impresses, while the calmness of legal proceedings leaves unruffled the mind of the worker, and a victory so won leaves no abiding impression. The law will never appeal with sufficient force to labour until labour learns that its losses by strike, now that the law is empowered to settle disputes with capital, although not felt, perhaps, for months afterwards, far outweigh any gains made. A strike means a loss to the whole community. Labour loses its wages, capital loses its interest. By just so much as the wages and the interest amount to will the capital available for starting new enterprises or extending established works be diminished. Labour believes that the production is merely postponed, and that leeway will be caught up. That is not so. The production of the days of strike is lost forever ; it can never be regained. Not alone is the amount of new capital lower than it would otherwise be for the extension of industry, but capital takes less risks, it makes more provision for contingencies, which means that the amount of idle capital is increased beyond what would normally be the case. Hence the supply of capital for new enterprises is further diminished. It is by the establishment of new enterprises and the exten- sion of present productive works that labour can hope to keep up em- ployment. If production stands still the man who works for wages or salary is the first to suffer, because the supply of labour is ever increas- ing. The amount of work offering may be the same, but there are more hands to do it. Consequently the number of days worked by each individual is fewer. Hence, every worker has a direct interest in the amount of capital produced. When he understands that fact he will not be so ready to engage in a strike as he is now. To strike was necessary in past days. It was the only way in many cases that justice could be obtained. In Australia today the law can give more justice than ever war wrought.
25
CRISIS IN THE IRON TRADE. EMPLOYERS REJECT PROPOSALS. MEN MUST RESUME.
March 4. — A meeting of the Iron Trade Employers' Association was held yesterday afternoon in the Challis House.
Subsequently Mr. J. P. Franki, general manager of Mort's Dock and Engineering Company, Limited, made the following statement on behalf of the employers:
"We had nothing before us from the men, but we had a verbal communication from the Minister. The Under-Secretary, on behalf of the Minister, desired to know whether the Iron Trade Employers' Asso- ciation would meet the men in conference.
"Our reply to the request from the department," continued Mr. Franki, "was to the effect that, after the men return to work, this asso- ciation will consider the suggestion. It is an olive branch we are holding out."
RURAL STRIKERS.
ATTACK A FARM. DRIVE NON-UNIONISTS BEFORE THEM.
Wagora, Tuesday.
March 4. — At the end of last week about 40 members of the Rural Workers' Union organised a raid on Corney's chaffcutter at Marrar.
According to reports to hand they arrived in a body at the camp, about three miles out of Marrar, just before daylight on Friday, when the men working on the plant were still asleep. It is alleged that with hostile demonstrations, coarse and abusive language, they ordered the non-union workers to get out of bed and leave. The latter were some- what slow to respond, being only partly awake.
They were told that if they did not get out they would be burnt out. As the men were outnumbered by three to one by the strikers they yielded to intimidation, and were marched into town by the strikers.
On the Monday, however, the farmers took a hand in the matter, and it was agreed that the whistle should be blown at the camp for the men to resume work. On Monday morning this was done. But although the men were quite satisfied with their positions and even eager to return to work they were afraid to do so owing to threats of the strikers. At this stage of the proceedings a party of about a score of stalwart farmers was organised, and they arrived on the scene, determined, if necessary, to give the strikers a lesson. Although there were about 40 of the strikers present the sight of" 20 resolute farmers determined to pro- tect the non-unionists overawed the strikers, their courage having evi- dently evaporated.
The strikers having been driven off the non-unionists were escorted back to work, and cutting was again resumed. Yesterday all sorts of threats were hurled at them.
A leading farmer, referring to the situation, expressed the opinion, that there will be bloodshed if the strikers do not change their tactics.
THE CRISIS.
March 4.— The master butchers have decided that every butcher's shop in Sydney shall be open on Thursday afternoon next. There is no gainsaying the serious nature of this decision. If it involves a fight, it means a fight to the finish, but we do not believe that the public in general will regret that decision. When a handful of Sydney workers decide to flout the legal means of redress which the present Government has given them, and seek their own ends by holding the whole pastoral industry of the State— its chief and greatest industry— by the throat, it is time to settle once and for all whether the country will tolerate this procedure. And if there is to be a fight the next point of interest is, What attitude will the Government take? The statement made by
26
Mr. Hplman in Parliament last night was too vague to give any certain indication of the Government's intentions. But if one consideration more than any other drove the employers to their decision it was the hint which, in spite of all denials, they say was obviously contained in the Premier's language to them, that if they did not give way their industry would be nationalised. When employers, who are carrying on their business in accordance with the conditions specially laid down by the authority of the State, are confronted by their employees with demands for different conditions; when an offer first of improved conditions, and afterwards of a settlement by the body specially established by a law of the present Government to settle these differences has been uncondition- ally refused; and when the Government, whose own law is being defied by the employees, turns round, not up the employees, but upon the em- ployers, and tries to compel them by hints of nationalisation to give way, there is only one meaning that can be placed upon this action: That it is a declaration of war by the present Government upon the principle of private employment altogether.
It cannot be a method enforced upon the Government in order to see justice done, because the Government has itself established a tribunal which will see justice done. If the industrial tribunal cannot see justice done, then the Government should never have established it, and should abolish it now. But the Government has never proclaimed any such inten- tion. Its statements have always been precisely in the opposite direction. It has again and again asserted its belief in its arbitration system. Neither can the Government action mean that, although it believes in arbitration, it is unfortunately driven to realise that arbitration cannot be applied in this case because the men will not have it; and that it must settle the present deadlock by compelling the masters because it cannot compel the men. That would mean that although the masters may be right, and the men may be wrong, the Government would have to sup- port the men, wherever the right lay, because that was the easiest means of settling the deadlock and providing the public with its meat supplies. The Government cannot openly admit to a motive like that. If it intends to take the side of the men in the struggle which today appears imminent, it can only justify its action on one ground, that it is opposed to the principle of private enterprise altogether; that if the worst comes to the worst, and the employees in any industry care to flout the law with sufficient persistence, there is no room for the private employer in New South Wales. It is difficult to give any other meaning than this to the Premiers' references in Parliament to the steps which the Government was intending to take in the direction of safeguarding the food supply by national action. If that is not the Government's intention, then it remains for it to maintain the law which itself has made, and, if the unionists flout that law or oppose it, to give the butchers full protection in carrying on their business. We should be surprised if that action is what Mr. Hoiman foreshadowed in his vague statement in Parliament last night. But if it is, then his administration will gain a most unex- pected approval from the people of this State.
MEAT WAR. SUPPLIES TODAY. SOME MEN RESUME. COUNTRY LABOUR OFFERED.
March 5. — Though still unsettled, the meat strike shows signs of becoming less serious to the public.
There will be 600 shops open at 2 p. M. today in the metropolitan area.
The slaughtering will be done by the master butchers for the present. But should the unionists remain out, there are indications that other labour will be available.
It was stated at the employers' meeting last night, that 5,ooo volun- teers would come, if required, from the country.
27
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I,.,'! r,-,« Lr, ,,,,r ... ;v.:,^: ^ fKif.k f I,., ! ., ! 1 'i.', h^.J ' ', •{' . . -.."!' t ", K- r.;..,f ?}., / ,,.lf,'-| !,-.,:.. ';.-.r r,ri:.;- ,,. : ,, ., , ••, -r.,~ . ' . ; , .,-,,,r
HM gffft»ti4daiK thaiWi M0toovarM« rf»o % tooMat ftt tad Ural
„!,,> H,r :,.., ,:..; f;> , f •. r- -, , - , r , , , , |, ., ;. :,.; .„ •;., , r ,..•.....;/
'
Mr ',: ,- rr,L)!.,:r,r,j •,; ' ,r ;,.. . r r- ,,| f|:. r,,, , r- r tl (nr-tl | ',, :, .f r},r ,,,fl4[
.... fhr
:: M, ,„ . ! r;., .,-; .-•:.,. ..,„ .:..,, :„/,,, ., , ., . , . ,f -u ^'lufy'
tlw iSt PwttMniM,* Mr, ;MM» wid, "I fointcd out what wtf p to fct tfct fii«ff 0f tfct Gwemf»?irt'i pouqr wrtli re* * r 4 to iff
,i f;., ,,:..<:.„: ..,,, ,-;. :.,,.-y - ,.M ^,, .^ ,: -,
'
„:..:. , .i, .,,.,;, i ^. -/•-,.• : '!.- M. -. .,!,.., -, - ;-
'
-V, .: - r ; ,'- , ! •> .-:. ' ,- •> , • .... :.,•: '., - .>, ,: i '!.-. , . >i
get wfwtever tlMT wMttd, Dvrfavf aft the fndoftrial Hvmoil ih*t had
... ,.,-' ,, U ' -.,' I:.,'-.- • : -:.;.,. , y r!,r .,, >U '. .. ..-;.'
(
dM nwM M tota dN proftt eovm -.^i p.if fi.r L-* bto
flir
f nfy
to
19 m
WH 'li.«f'
t,,.'.r I „_-
ffow tVdifiif had Mt forward tfc* very weak pica that rtwy ejwM iwl
ff -~'<rr t: ' •-- I-- - .- ': ' • .'! f- ' 'I- -'"!'. ..... l.:-i-. :• .--f.
wa§ iaAr protf«rat»U If f h* Gorfrimiiol efcoit 19 do fu duty,
The member for Goulbor -.:! of the Minister for Labour
\Mr. EstellV w ho in :hat the : , oui" the men.
nes said : .ont by the Minister was nonseusval and
d the spirit in which he w as administering his office. If ever there
wras a case in which the :ed it was this;
and, if ever tlu in which the Minister for Labour and the
.1! had failed in their duty it was on the present oc, in not instituting :-.e Minister for La:
and tried to obtain c US from the masters in order to induce the
If there was an Arbitration Act it must be made fa I • « «
It showed the present industr 'are and
it eith,
both sides."
NEWSPAPER STRIK
\ TED.
March 5. — The trouble between members of the Tyvv.
id the emp!o\ers reached a when men at both
.iper ofruv- ..: Martin an-! .. primer.- work at i o'clock. The men | ks' holiday each year on
full pay. :rier Tru: LK F. last
night, bat the "Harrier Miner" held out till m.. '.ock. when the
management of that paper also gave way. Mart1. , ntley, however, refused to agree to the demands, and the men kc
howe\er. are now running as usual The only inconvenience was the delay in issuing one edition of the "Miner."
NON-UNIONIST CAN \
,en Hill, Thursday.
March 0. — The A. M. A. at last nu :he follow
lution :
"That thi> -:eps with other unions on the 1*..
in approaching ihe Government to ha\e incliuled in the proposed new industrial legislation the power for any recognised uv. .ils to
examine- pence cards OM the mip.es. or am \\here men arc
empl.
A rew luti ' carried that rule S^. which reads. "Any mem-
Aviation knowingly working \\iih a non-member, and failing to report same, together \\ith such non-member's name, within i-t da\s to Ihe Steward, check inspector, or .1 be liaK
tine o - per rule .). cl/.use H." be strictly enforced during the
present non-unionist campaign.
1 MMNSIVK TRIBUN
iiursday.
March 0. — During the hearing of the evidence for the eiuplo\ ees in connection with the plaint of the Australian Pelegraph phone
nance Union, before Mi I. -:ins in the
.d Arbitration Court, Mr. Ske\\ -
connectjon with \arious departments, and if boards had been held m regard to all charges where the fines were over it there would have been iSS Kurd* held throughout the l\Mumon\\ . to the
people of the Commonwealth since the establishment of the Act was nearK
Sruikis ,\M> inr CO! N
Marcli o. It is a -erious thing for N that three-
Mirths of the losses laM year through strikes in the Commonwealth lu\e
29
to be borne by her, and that for weeks she has been advertised as torn with industrial dissension. The unionist who has obtained substantial concessions by trade dislocation does not, perhaps, see the point. His trouble is that he did not demand more than he now enjoys, and he is thinking of bringing further pressure to bear upon his employers by way of solace. But it will be well if even the successful striker of the past begins to study the situation as it is developing out of the meat and iron trade strikes. We do not propose to open afresh the argument as to the folly of bringing the law into contempt, though to our mind this is the crucial thing in the State's experience today. No community can hold together long unless the will of the people, as expressed through Parlia- ment, is honored by all classes alike; and when any considerable number of men show themselves incapable of understanding the duties and re- sponsibilities of citizenship, it is time that the rest stood together. This is, however, the stage at which our present argument may develop. We do not appeal to the unionists of New South Wales now from the side of law, but from the side of self-interest. They are steadily stirring up the best elements in the population against them. With, in many respects, a good case for consideration — with genuine grievances to be heard and reasonable claims to be adjusted — they are by wrong tactics welding every other class together in opposition, simply because industrial unrest in this State is seen to be leading to disaster.
After gaining so much, are the massed unions of New South Wales willing to risk the sacrifice of magnificent achievement?
It is not difficult to understand the force of the temptation to strike when there is a setback, or to hammer down ruthlessly those who stand up for rights assured under the law. The sense of political power in possessi/on, of the whole machinery of administration securely in hand, and the wealth in view waiting to be seized, is hard to control; and the Liberals under the same conditions would be subject to like aberrations. But party government in the past has been kept sound by the knowledge that Parliament cannot be dissociated from the people, and that respon- sibility to the community must be the explanation and assurance of the right use of power.
Unfortunately, class consciousness in the Labour party has made the unions think of themselves as the people; and strike has followed strike because it has been assumed by so many men, restless to secure what they consider is due to them, that political and administrative power is to be exercised on their behalf without reference to anybody else.
What have we got at the present moment? Allowing for those butchers' employees who have hurried back, there must still be 12,000 or 13,000 men out of work, and if we allow an average of four depen- dants to one worker there are 50,000 souls now in trouble in Sydney alone. This is like the position created by a serious depression or finan- cial crisis. The State might just as well be in the condition of privation caused by continued drought, except that the classes now being stirred up against labour are conscious of reserves of strength never felt in times like those which culminated in 1893 and 1903.
It is because so much is at stake that united action is being taken by the employers in two great industries, and that everywhere there is apprehension and restriction. This condition is reacting upon employ- ment throughout the State. The man on the land has already been hard hit by strikes during last year, and is feeling the pressure of a double deadlock in the metropolis. He is only waiting for the word to swarm down upon Sydney to help the master butchers, and he is discussing every move with his fellows in the new light of intolerable demands and tyran- nical unionism.
Surely the wage-earner must see that the end of it all is bound to be loss upon loss. He will carry the burden of ultimate disaster, how- ever he may scheme to dodge it, and the result for the State as a whole will be stagnation and widespread unemployment.
30
THE PAINTERS.
DISSATISFACTION IN TRADE. DIRECT ACTION PROPOSED.
March 7. — Painters, who at present have more work than they can cope with, have a grievance which is to be discussed at a special meeting on Monday night.
Under the award, which was made in December, 1911, the wages were fixed at is. 4d. an hour for painters and is. 6d. an hour for sign- writers. The men subsequently claimed to be entitled, owing to the increased cost of living, to is. 6d. and is. 8d. respectively.
Requests were made for a conference, but owing to the new Paint- ers' Union demanding recognition nothing was done. The Wages Board was then asked to make a variation in the award, but the inquiry was adjourned pending the decision of Mr. Justice Heydon in the iron trades case. That judgment, being in effect that an award cannot be reopened, the painters now want to know what they can do except take direct action of some kind. This will be the subject for Monday night.
STRIKE RESULTS. MEN NEARLY STARVING.
Auckland, Friday.
March 7. — The man who assaulted the Secretary of the new Water- side Workers' Union in his office has been sentenced to 14 days' im- prisonment.
During the hearing of the case it was^ stated that much ifl- feeling prevailed on the wharfs between the members of the old and the new unions.
A deputation waited upon the Mayor stating that there were many unemployed in the city as the result of the recent strike. It was stated that some were on the verge of starvation.
The Mayor promised to endeavor to overcome the difficulty.
IRON TRADES.
MEN TO TAKE BALLOT. BRIGHTER OUTLOOK.
March 7. — The ironworkers' strike was advanced a stage nearer settlement yesterday.
A mass meeting of strikers was held in the Protestant Hall during the afternoon, only those who produced pence-cards or badges being admitted
ACT OF STRIKING. NOT A MISDEMEANOR. MR. HALL EXPLAINS. PROSECUTIONS DIFFICULT.
March n. — An interesting speech was made by the State Attorney- General last night in the Legislative Assembly, when he explained why the Government had not prosecuted the recent meat strikers.
Dealing with industrial administration, the Attorney-General said, it had been suggested that the Government favored the employees during the recent industrial disputes, and that, because of its wholesome fear of the Trades Hall, it had not dared to administer the law as regarded the employees.
Liberals said that the men wanted the right to aftjitrate with the employers, and that if the results of the arbitration did not suit them they also wanted the right to strike. But when Liberals put forward such an allegation they did not speak of the rural worker. Him, they would not allow even the right to arbitrate! The country will be ruined, they said, if the rural worker were given the right of access to the Arbitration Court. According to Liberal views the rural worker should be glad to put in a day's arduous toil, and his night in great
31
thankfulness, and at the same time be glad to have the privilege of working on a farm. (Ministerial laughter.)
"We shall probably give the Liberals another opportunity of saying whether the rural worker shall have right to strike or arbitrate," the Attorney-General went on.
ADMINISTERING THE LAW.
The Government had fairly, and to the best of its ability, adminis- tered the industrial law of the country during the past three years. (Loud Opposition laughter.)
Mr. Wade : Did you not threaten to cancel the licenses of the ferry companies last year unless the strike, then in progress, was settled?
The Attorney-General (after a long pause) : I don't think we did. I was in the cabinet at the time, and should have known of it had it occurred.
Mr. Thrower: We threatened to refuse the renewal of their leases, and they should never have been renewed.
The Attorney-General, continuing, said that unless the employers were either willing to enter upon prosecutions of men who struck or were willing to support the Government, the present Act could not be properly administered. (Ministerial cheers.)
"Striking as it is today is not, according to the existing law, what it was in 1901," added Mr. Hall. "It was declared then to be a misde- jneanou* to strike, and in 1908, according to the Act, a strike was punish- able on information, and conviction was followed by fine, or imprison- ment in default. It is not so today. The act of striking today is not a misdemeanour — it is a civil offence."
Colonel Onslow: It is an amusement. (Laughter.)
The Attorney-General: A strike gives the right to an employer to bring a civil action against the strikers.
Colonel Onslow: That's right; it's recreation to the men. (Laughter.)
The Attorney-General: According to a recent judgment of Judge Scholes, the action of striking today is not a criminal offence, but a civil offence.
Mr. Wade: Strikers are liable to be fined and imprisoned, in de- fault of paying the fine imposed.
The Attorney-General: No; that is not so. Fines may be secured by garnishee, but imprisonment does not follow non-payment of fines imposed for striking. Employers have it in their power to prosecute the men who strike, or to willingly assist the Government to do so, but if they do not aid the Government we cannot get information sufficient to support a summons under existing conditions. If during a strike or lock-out we applied to the case of the employers the provisions of the Coercion Act, as Mr. Wade did in the case of the employees, we could seize the employers' papers and perhaps secure convictions.
ANOTHER STRIKE ENDS.
THE IRON TRADES. DECLARED OFF. WAGES LOST, ;£6o,OOO. March II— The strike of ironworkers' assistants, which began on February 20th, and later on extended to nearly the whole of the iron trades, affecting about 8,000 employees of all trades, has been declared off. This decision was arrived at last night at a mass meeting of "assistants," held in the basement of the Town Hall, under the presi- dency of Mr. D. Black, the chairman of the Federated Ironworkers' Assistants' Association, about 1,300 members being present. Representa- tives of the employees' defence committee were present, including the president and secretary of the Labour Council, Messrs. W. O'Brien and
E. J. Kavanaugh, M. L. C
32
FROM THE SYDNEY SUN. EXTENSION FEARED.
OTHER UNIONISTS RESTIVE. GAS EMPLOYEES' POSITION.
March 2. — A big extension of the iron trades strike may be ex- pected within the next few days if a settlement of the dispute is not speedily effected. Already many men who have been rendered idle be- cause of the action of other unionists are asking why they should be debarred from earning their living when they are not actually concerned in the matter. The scope of the dispute has even extended to the Store- men and Packers' Union (some of whose members are engaged at Mort's Dock), Trolly and Draymen's Union, and the Saw Mill and Timber Yards Employees' Union. In each of these cases the number of men concerned is small.
Where a serious extension is anticipated is in the ranks of the Gas Employees' Union, and if the strike is not soon declared off upwards of 700 of these men will be drawn into the strike whirlpool. Hoskins, Ltd., have, of course, closed down the big pipe works, and it will not take long for the supply of large gas mains on hand to run out. When it does over 350 men will be thrown into idleness at this work alone. Then there are the men whose duty it is to set special castings. Almost every corner in Sydney streets requires a special pipe, and if the foun- dries remained closed much longer these men will be unable to work for •the want of castings. There are other members of the Gas Employees' Union likely to be involved as well.
FROM THE SYDNEY SUNDAY TIMES.
TRADES AND LABOR.
BAKERS AND DAY WORK. LOG FORWARDED TO EMPLOYERS. WILL THE MEN WAIT FOR PARLIAMENTARY ACTION?
March 8. — In accordance with the decision come to at a mass meet- ing a week ago, the Secretary of the Operative Bakers' Association has forwarded copies of the new union log to all employers.
The outstanding feature of the log is the demand for day work. Various improvements in wages and conditions are also sought.
Although many members of the union are inclined to trust to Gov- ernment action in the way of making day work compulsory by Act of Parliament, others think that it may be many months, or more than months, before such legislation is put through.
The question is whether the majority of the men will wait for Parliamentary action or follow up their three weeks' notice to the em- ployers in demand of day work.
FROM THE SYDNEY EVENING NEWS.
THE EMPLOYEES' TERMS. LETTER TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL.
March 3. — When the Stock, Meat, and Allied Industries Committee waited on the Government on Monday night it handed to the Attorney- General the following letter:
Stock, Meat, and Allied Industries Committee, Royal Exchange, Sydney,
2nd March, 1914.
Sir: — I wish to report that the suggestions made by you on Friday last to this committee were placed before a general meeting of the Master Retail Butchers' Association on Friday evening last, and they decided by
33
a practically unanimous vote (there being only one dissentient) that they could not accept same. Notwithstanding this, my committee gave the matter most urgent consideration on Saturday, with the result that they decided to inform you that they still adhere to the attitude they have always taken, namely, that if the men return to work on the conditions existing on February 1st, and subsequently apply for a variation of the present existing award, the Master Retail Butchers' Association will not oppose the reopening of the matter, and will expedite the hearing, so as to get a decision as soon as possible. But it must be distinctly under- stood that if all such labor cannot immediately be absorbed this must not be considered as a breach of faith on the part of the employers. Further, that the union must pledge itself to the Ministry to refer all future dis- putes without cessation of work to the board for the industry.
So that you may not be under any misapprehension, and to show how fairly the employers are dealing with the situation, my committee are informed by the Master Retail Butchers' Association that the rates pre- vailing on February ist last were in most instances very considerably higher than those provided by the award, and a lot of the men had also in many cases the concession of as much meat as they required.
SLAUGHTERMEN AND MASTERS KILLING. UNION DELEGATE ORDERED OFF.
March 3. — The employers engaged in killing operations had another busy day at the Glebe Island Abattoirs yesterday. They worked the full day, and accounted for 1,351 sheep, 130 cattle, 45 pigs and 12 calves.
The stock yarded at the abattoirs since yesterday comprise about i, 600 sheep and 200 head of cattle; of these 500 sheep and between 30 and 40 head of cattle were available for the unionists, who resumed work about 7.30 this morning in the No. 12 beef house, and in the two calf houses, which were made available for them to kill sheep in. Close on a dozen men were engaged in preparing the meat for the three union depots, which include the one opened in Bridge street, Drummoyne. The usual number of carcass butchers were at work in the other sections.
Since the commencement of the trouble a good force of uniformed and plain clothes policemen have been stationed at the abattoirs but so far they have not been called upon to take any action. This morning, however, one carcass butcher threatened to call the police to remove a union delegate from a certain part of the abattoirs. The delegate was on the mutton side of the island when his presence in a house was objected to. He at first refused to obey the butcher's request to leave the premises, believing that he was entitled to remain until told to go by the person to whom the place belonged. A few minutes later, how- ever, he left the place, and walked across to the southern side of the abattoirs, and conferred with Mr. T. W. Furse, the union secretary.
MR. JUSTICE HEYDON'S JUDGMENT.
March 3. — The judgment delivered yesterday by Mr. Justice Heydon in the iron trade case, defines most lucidly and forcibly the position of industrial law as against industrial force. It ran along the ancient right of all men to have contracts respected and vindicated, which is the basis of all law, of all freedom. In only one point does the theory of industrial law vary from that of contract ; an award may be reopened to permit of the application of the minimum wage principle. "But," says Mr. Justice Heydon, "the employees who are getting a living wage or more, have not the same claim to break their award." It may be ob- served, moreover, that any risk of an award being legally broken, as indicated, may, and indeed must, be insured against by employers, it must, that is to say, appear in the cost of the goods.
His Honor laid down the principle that it is not the function of the law to endorse or act as mediator between parties still in arms. "Alto-
34
gether apart, however," said his Honor, "from the fact that lock-outs and strikes are breaches of the law, the Court cannot apply its remedies while the parties are applying their own remedies. It must be one thing or the other. The Court and Boards were not intended as additional weapons to assist in a war, but as tribunals to which both parties must submit. Neither the Boards nor the Courts, therefore, should deal with applications from employers who are locking-out, or employees who are on strike."
It should be obvious to all reasonable men that the Government should take up a similar stand, but that, we recognize, under our present system of Government, is a counsel of perfection. In this respect we blame both Liberal and Labor Governments; they both interfere, and they both interfere too early, and too often. Naturally, the politician wants to see peace restored; everybody does that; his personal interests, also, demand peace, for industrial war raises too many awkward economic questions; it is only the highly exceptional politician who hungers for exceptionally difficult problems, the average one wants to solve the easy questions ; his constant prayer, therefore, is "Give peace — in our time — O Lord."
When trouble arises, therefore, the politician is anxious to inter- vene, and his whole idea of making peace is to effect some sort of a compromise. Of course a compromise may be anything between a close approximation to justice and a base betrayal of essential principles. But nobody is apt to be too critical when peace is restored; industry and commerce swing along again, nearly everybody is contented, for the moment, and the sage politician acquires kudos, which means a continu- ance of his job, and more votes at the next election. Nor is the politi- cian solely to blame, for there are usually not lacking plenty of people to spur him on to intervene. He is assured that the community is in deadly peril (which usually it is not), he is told that the people are starving, as in the case of this meat strike (which they are not), and he is informed that "something must be done," or that "the Government must act." When he gets advice, like that from both sides, advice which chimes in so neatly with his personal inclination and interests, inter- vention results, a compromise is effected, peace is restored — and, almost before -the parties concerned have .ceased congratulating themselves, war breaks out again.
And quite logically. If a strike either wins, or results in a half win, the men would be foolish (looking at the matter from their point of view solely) if they did not seek to repeat the exploit. All men seek their own interest, and when they find by experience, that their interest can be best served by breaking awards, of course they break them. It is useless to expect that masses of men will be influenced by broad-minded views regarding the common good; all men are not philosophers.
That view prompted Mr. Justice Heydon to sympathise with the iron workers. Owing to the fact that they had made their agreement just before the year 1912, when wages began to go up in all directions, "they have seen workers like themselves getting higher wages than themselves ; and, worst of all, they have seen them getting them by means of strikes. Every successful strike is the parent of other strikes and every successful breach of the law brings the law into contempt. We must take human nature as we find it. It is not the slightest use for- bidding people to travel by a road which they find is the road to success."
The way to stop strikes, therefore, is simple, though the application of the method may be difficult. It is that the community should make it an absolute, hard and fast, double rivetted rule that where an award exists, or where an award can be easily obtained, no strike shall be allowed to succeed; no dispute shall be compromised; and that every such trouble shall be fought out till absolute defeat is admitted by one side to the other. The ability and willingness to fight is the one guar- antee of permanent peace.
35
THE MILLENNIUM.
March 9. — One of the branches of Victoria Labor organization knows of a short-cut to the millennium. It is quite easy. You simply national- ise all "the means of production, distribution, and exchange," and pay for them with "State bank deposit receipts," which are to be "payable in gold on demand." That is the trouble with all those millenniums; there is some little trifle about it which will not work. Why go to the trouble to issue "State bank deposit receipts" when an ordinary cheque would do as well? The reason, of course, is the illusion in the mind of the theorists that the State is something immeasurably rich, and that by calling a cheque a "State bank deposit receipt," it thereby becomes, in some magical way, sure of payment. Whereas, of course, the opposite is the case. The State is not rich, but poor. It is so poor that it has to be continually borrowing money, and the only reason it can borrow money is the theory that it is "reputable and responsible"; that is to say, that it will pay its debts and will not engage in burglarly, piracy or bushranging. If the State went suddenly mad and set out on a wholesale "commandeering" campaign, it would doubtless feel enormously rich for the first ten minutes, but after that it would begin to feel horribly poor, and when it tried to effect the "payment in gold on demand," it would find itself weeping into a bankrupted till.
THE MORAL OF THE MEAT STRIKE.
• March 9. — The loss in wages sustained by the meat trade employees, and their allies, is said to be about £35,000, and this has been sustained without any advantage on the other side of the ledger. It is understand- able that the gain of a half-hour weekly is claimed as a gain, but the employers pointed out that that concession would have been arrived at without the strike. In any case it is not of great importance, and is not likely to throw any loss upon the masters or to be the cause of higher prices to the consumer. A man can do as much work in 49^ hours as he does in 50, for in matters of industry there is an analogy to the ancient Greek maxim as to art that "the half is greater than the whole." Interpreted fairly and honestly, a reduction in hours need not in many cases mean a reduction in efficiency; and this alteration in the meat trade schedule seems to be an instance in point.
The broad feature of the strike is that the men have been beaten. No amount of glossing can get over that fact. They did not lose because their demands were reasonable or unreasonable; they lost because, pri- marily the employers fought them to a finish and because, on the whole, the vast majority of public opinion was against them. They lost in the fight against the employers because they had no monopoly of the thing they had to sell — their labor. After all, the slaughtering of animals for food is the most primitive of the trades. Man, at need, takes to it natu- rally, and in a pastoral country such as this is a great percentage of men have had some experience in it. Not having a monopoly, therefore, it is obvious that in a desperate struggle the unionists were liable to be swamped by a rush of free labor; the more so as it was known that the slaughtermen were getting very high wages. To force matters to the free labor point, therefore, would have been like breaking a dam and letting in an overwhelming flood. The union dared not take the risk, and wisely decided to haul down the "Jolly Roger," and get back to work.
They have been blamed for delaying four weeks, but it must be remembered that it is the looker-on that is apt to see most of the fight. To the dispassionate observer it was evident that the men were beaten at the start, but the man in the thick of the fight is not dispassionate; he would not be there if that were the case. He sets out with hopes; he thinks he can win altogether; or at the worst, he believes that he can force some sort of a compromise. He is thus buoyed up even in a losing fight, and the battle goes on long after any chance of victory has
36
departed. Moreover, it must be remembered that many apparently hope- less strikes win either wholly or in part.
The meat trade employees have seen many instances of that kind, and, naturally, they hoped that their effort would have a similar result. The fact that many of the employers were willing to compromise, and that fact must have been known to some extent even before the fight, must have had no small effect in precipitating the strike.
The strikers, however, came in collision with something new, in the shape of a new spirit among the employers. Most men are anxious that their businesses should go on peaceably, for any interruption is apt to mean loss. Rent and other charges have to be paid, and, besides, a disturbance of conditions may mean a loss of trade. Some courage, therefore, is required on 'the part of an employer who may not be very "strong" financially, to resolve to see a fight through. But at a certain point a man must fight, and the meat trade employers realised that that point had been reached. They might have compromised on the wages, but to have compromised on the principle of the sanctity of contract would have been to make any compromise worthless. Therefore, they fought, and they won. The moral is clear. When a strike is initiated by a breach of contract no compromise should be made. If employers adopt that as an invariable rule they will have the support of the whole com- munity, and there will be fewer strikes.
SHOPMEN RESUME WORK. TROUBLE AT A REDFERN FACTORY.
March 9. — The meat trouble lasted exactly a month. It was four weeks ago today that the three days' notice the butchers' shopmen gave of the new conditions they demanded — a 48 hours' week and los. a week extra pay — expired. This morning there was to have been a general resumption of work; but, there are so many little details to be settled after a strike, and the meat trouble has left a number of matters behind that are somewhat disturbing.
Trouble was reported to have occurred at Silvester's smallgoods factory, Redfern, over the starting and finishing hours. According to the basis of settlement, the men are to begin at 6.30 A. M. and finish at 5.30 p. M. It is stated that a misunderstanding arose over this question, and the men at the factory refused to go to work. The union officials hope, however, that it will soon be adjusted.
There are still a number of shopmen unemployed. As was ex- pected, it was found impossible for all the shopmen to resume this morning, but there are indications that very soon most of the men will be absorbed. There were continuous inquiries at the Trades Hall by master butchers for men.
The special strike inquiry committee is still meeting to settle dis- putes that may arise, and it is expected that several days must pass before it can be disbanded.
FROM THE SYDNEY TELEGRAPH. PARLIAMENT AND THE STRIKE.
March 4. — The references to the present industrial trouble in Parlia- ment last night were in striking and gratifying contrast to those heard from the Labor Opposition during the coal strike and similar troubles with which the Liberals when in office had to deal. Mr. Wade, while criticising the action of the Government as it deserved, was careful to refrain from any attempt to make political capital out of it, and instead of embarrassing the administration of the law he offered the cordial
37
co-operation of the Opposition in impartially carrying it out. In the coal strike the caucus seized the occasion to move a vote of censure on the Government for upholding the law, and demanded the seizure of the mines, which was well known to be as impracticable as it was unjust. Similarly, when the Common Law for the protection of life and property was enforced in the Broken-hill strike, the Government was denounced for brutally bludgeoning the workers, and its action challenged by a direct motion. There is, fortunately, nothing of that kind now, and if the laws which Parliament has passed to protect the public against the effect of conspiracies to deprive them of the necessaries of life are inoperative, it will certainly not be the fault of the Opposition.
Mr. Holman declared last night that if free labor is employed to take the place of the strikers the Government will unflinchingly do what it always condemned its predecessor for doing, and extend protection to every citizen, unionist or non-unionist, who is obeying the law. In view of this pronouncement, if the butchers cannot obtain union labor to con- tinue the supply of meat to the public, it is their duty to engage such other men as may be available. Of course, it is in the power of no law or no Government to order men who are on strike to go back to work. That is not its duty, even if it had the power. It is there to see that men willing to work are not subjected to any unlawful intimidation, and if it does that the law of supply and demand will do the rest.
SEVERE CASTIGATION.
WHAT DID MR. HOLMAN MEAN? THREATENING THE EMPLOYERS.
March 5.— During the debate on the Address-in-Reply in the Legis- lative assembly last night, Mr. Badgery, the member for Wollondilly, stated that the attitude of the Premier and of the Minister of Labor throughput the meat strike, had been to threaten the employers by implication and every other way; saying that if the employers did not give way, they would be prosecuted. "I believe there are some differ- ences of opinion as to what took place at these interviews," said Mr. Badgery, "but one of the committee told me it was a lesson to them that they should not go there without a shorthand writer." The sympathy and power of the Government, asserted Mr. Badgery, have been placed on the side of the men, who had broken the law. The Premier would not tell the House what he told the men. If he told them, "Stick to it, boys; I have threatened these beggars, and we'll beat them !" he would not tell that to the House. What did the Premier mean when he said that unless the matter were settled, he would take steps to provide the people with meat? Would he do it?
A Member: He can't do it without bloodshed.
Mr. Badgery: Then he had better not try it. (Laughter.) Mr. Hol- man, he went on, might have promised these men increased wages as a reward for their going back, but the Government was trying to compel the employers to agree to the demands of the men.
The employers had for the first time made a strong stand, and had had to fight the unions and the Government.
"We are going to have a very high market," said Mr. Badgery, "and the prices of meat will go up. The strike is dead now, but nothing has proved so conclusively that the Government is not fit for its trust."
The sentiments expressed in the following editorial repre- sent the general feeling of the people of Australia, to the effect that its "Industrial Peace" legislation with all of its complicated, cumbersome and expensive machinery, has proved to be a most dismal failure and a handicap rather than a boon to the progress and development of the country:
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A BROKEN-DOWN LAW.
March 6. — Whatever the ultimate upshot of the meat trouble, the fact will remain that the strike was audaciously promoted and carried on in the hope of compelling submission to the men's demands by the semi- starvation of the people of the city and suburbs, who, in common with the rest of the community, have paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds in financing concessions to unionists under the Arbitration Act as the supposed price of industrial peace. The tactics of the employees are by no means new, unfortunately, but in this case they have involved deprivation of an essential article of diet. Stopping the meat supplies doubtless appeared to the strikers a sure way of bringing the public to its knees, and it must be admitted that the suspension of the trade has been very sorely felt, especially by that great number of people who have been unable to obtain meat during the crisis. If the union could have its Way there would be still more suffering. That is indicated by the course taken at Lithgow, where the local branch of the union has com- pelled the master butchers, under threat of a strike, to desist from send- ing bulk consignments of meat to Sydney. An utterly callous and impudent attempt is therefore being made to prevent Sydney having any meat from the shops — made locally by the strikers, and sympathetically by union branches in other parts of the State. This is in line with what happened during the Brisbane strike, when the leaders of the blockade de- clared that not a loaf of bread should be sold without their consent. In addition to paying good wages, the master butchers had up to yester- day been keeping only a few depots open for the sale of meat. They had not employed non-amionist labor or been aggressive towards the strikers in any way. Their whole offence was that they were trying to let the public have the benefit of whatever meat could be got into these few shops in spite of the fact that workmen throughout the business and industry were striking right and left. That was what the strikers desired above all to prevent. Their success depended on their ability to stand between the public and its food. It is a remarkable and gratify- ing testimony to the public's keen appreciation of all this that there has been no sign of yielding to unionism's resort to -what, if anything, is worse than brute force. It has been recognized that once such tyrannical tactics were permitted to succeed they would be repeated in other indus- tries until the community would never be certain from day to day of being supplied with the things it must have. Hence the quiet process of the strike and the patience with which the public has withstood its bullying pressure.
But it is one thing to resist a despotic and callous strike, and another to go on giving legislative benefits to unionists who are always ready to turn savagely upon those who bear the cost of practically every concession they get. That wages would have gone up during the past ten or twelve years if there had been no arbitration^ laws is true enough, so far as may be judged. But the increments that have been made were obtained more expeditiously and systematically because of arbitration, which has also given unionism new and unexpected force by facilitating organization. Actually, therefore, the very Act which was to be the means of establishing peace has been used and is being used as a weapon of war against the community which put it into labor's hands. As has been said, it has cost the public an enormous amount of money, for seldom, if ever, are wages raised, hours shortened, or any other considbra- tions given to workers in an industry but the price of the commodity produced or handled goes up in sympathy. This burden has been borne cheerfully enough. What has made itself drearily evident, however, is that the compact is utterly false. Too many employees will take all they can get from the public and strike again whenever they think fit. They have no compunction, no sense of industrial honesty, no consideration for anyone but themselves. The law is nothing to them. They will
39
ignore it or defy it as the whim takes them. And the Labor Govern- ment, not daring to do its palpable duty where it might injure the good unionists who put the party in power, declares that effect cannot be given to the law or action be taken for its infringement because the employers are withholding evidence. The employers are naturally dis- inclined to take proceedings which would still further embitter their relations with the men — which after all is a better motive than that which keeps the Government quiet when it is not frantically making "proposals" and new "proposals" in the hope of enabling the strikers to claim some meretricious victory as the result of lawbreaking. But that the Minis- terial position is at once feeble and audacious is the more reason why the public should protect itself firmly and promptly. This Arbitration Act is a huge, expensive sham. However good the intention behind it, in operation it has proved a bogus piece of political quackery. Workers will not conform to it, and the Government dares not put it into opera- tion— as could so easily be done in the present instance by instituting prosecutions and subpoenaing employers, which would be done quickly enough if the offenders were not unionists. And even if strikers were prosecuted and fined we do not know that anybody would be better off or industrial continuity any nearer. Certainly there would still be strikes if there was no Act, but the community could not be worse off than it is now, and it would l)e properly relieved of substantial financial responsi- bility if the Act were wiped out for the brazen delusion that it has proved to be.
ORGANIZE TO FIGHT LABOR.
Quirindi, Tuesday.
March n. — Speaking at a meeting of the Farmers and Settlers' Association at Wallabadah, Mr. P. P. Abbott, M. H. R., said that there was never greater occasion for those engaged in rural industries to or- ganise and combat the one-sided legislation of the Labor Party. The fight of the future would be the country versus the city.
Mr. Frank Chaffey, member for Tamworth, also spoke. He was proud to consider himself one of the band of country representatives who had decided to fight for the rights of the country people, and was pleased to think that he already had been able to raise a squeal. If trades-unionism, which was characterized as the greatest of all monopo- lies, got control of affairs, the cost of production would be greater than the value of the product.
If there were no other references than those contained in the foregoing quotations from Sydney dailies, during a period of ten days, it would doubtless be admitted that the industrial millennium, if existing anywhere, did not prevail in that Com- monwealth, notwithstanding the fact that it has been accredited with being a "Land of No Strikes." But the above quotations represent a very insignificant portion of strike and other labor discord items. However, as we arrived in Sydney March 2d and sailed for New Zealand March I2th it is fitting that we leave further reference to Sydney newspapers until our return there two months later, and that further reference to the daily press be taken up in the order of our visits to the various cities in Australasia. Therefore, our next stay being in Auckland, a few quotations from the press of that city will be in order.
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FROM THE AUCKLAND HERALD.
NEW ZEALAND STRIKE.
MORAL TO BE DRAWN.
(From our own correspondent.)
London, February 6.
March 16. — Commenting on the recent strike in New Zealand, the Shipping Gazette says :
"The moral of the strike is sufficiently obvious. It is that coolness and -courage, and above all thoroughness, in dealing with this form of mania — for it is hardly less — are invaluable assets. The triumph of the New Zealand Ministry was in no sense the result of the indiscriminate use of force. It was the outcome of a quiet determination to give all possible support to a community which was determined that its existence should not be imperilled by the cutting off of its oversea communica- tions. The defeat of syndicalism has been so complete that it will be long before it tries conclusions again in the Dominion."
NEW ZEALAND DISPUTE.
Sydney, March 14.
March 16. — The New Zealand strike-leader, Mr. Robert Semple, was a passenger by the Maunganui. He said yesterday that the indus- trial organizations in the Dominion received a severe blow during the recent strike, but were not defeated
STRIKES UNDER LABOUR RULE.
March 17. — The assertion that the success of Labour as a political organisation brings industrial peace to a country is stigmatised by Mr. Joseph Cook (Prime Minister of Australia) as a hollow mockery. Mr. Cook says that labour rule in New South Wales has been signalised by" the fratricidal policy of striking and the creation of class hatred. Statistics bear out Mr. Cook's indictment in a manner in which they seldom justify a party criticism. Detailed returns have been prepared by the Commonwealth Statistician (an independent and reliable authority) of the industrial disputes which took place in Australia during the past year. These are certainly remarkable in that they represent New South Wales, where a Labour Government has been continuously in office as a sort of industrial cockpit for the disputes of the Commonwealth. The estimated loss of wages over the whole of Australia was £288,101, and of this sum no less than £208,468, or 72 per cent, was lost in disputes in New South Wales. The two States most fairly comparable in point of population and commercial importance are New South Wales and Victoria, but in point of industrial disputes during 1913 there is no com- parison. The number of disputes in New South Wales was 134, against 2Q in Victoria, the workers involved numbered 40,011 in New South Wales, against 6,177 in Victoria, the days lost 447,979 against 77,587, and the estimated loss of wages was £20^,468 in New South Wales against £32,596 in Victoria. These figures show that a concomitant of Labour rule in New South Wales has been labour upheavals. The industrial laws, including some passed by the Labour Government, have frequently been flagrantly broken, and within the past few weeks a large body of men have laid themselves open to prosecution for industrial lawlessness. It might be supposed, and it is often suggested by theorists, that when a Labour Government is in power workers will seek to improve their con- dition and remedy their grievances by Parliamentary action, knowing that the machinery of Government is in sympathetic hands. Experience proves the opposite to be the case. The extreme section of the workers usually tastes disillusionment when their party gains Parliamentary ascendency. They find that the economic laws continue to operate and
the millennium they expected has not come. Relying on a sympathetic Government not to punish them they presume to violate the industrial laws, if it suits their purpose, careless that the prestige of the Govern- ment suffers by their action. The first thing that will bring more settled conditions in New South Wales will be the enforcement of the industrial law impartially as between employer and employee. So long as the Labour Government winks at breaches by workers so long will unrest continue.
PUNISHMENT SOUGHT.
FOR OFFENDING UNIONS. ECHO OF THE STRIKE. (By Telegraph — Press Association.)
Wellington, Tuesday.
March 18. — A deputation representing the Citizens Committee which acted during the strike awaited on the Minister for Justice yesterday and drew attention to the fact that a number of unions which went on strike recently in defiance of the Arbitration Act, in sympathy with watersiders and others, had not been prosecuted. It was pointed out that there were 18 such unions in New Zealand, and the deputation urged that the law ought to be put in action against them.
The Minister said that the duty of instituting proceedings under the Arbitration Act did not rest with his Department, but with the Labour Department. He undertook to inform the Minister for Labour of what the deputation had represented.
The following editorial which relates to Australian politics will not appear as out of place here as it relates to matters of Parliament, in which the labor question is the prime factor. It is both interesting and instructive, and forecasts a result that has since happened, namely, the double dissolution of Parlia- ment; the bills upon which the dissolution was ordered being a bill to repeal preference to unionism in Government work, and a bill to establish the right to vote at elections by letter, or mail, in cases of inability to attend the polls in person.
POLITICS IN AUSTRALIA.
March 20. — The suggestion made by a Labour member of the Aus- tralian House of Representatives that the Governor-General's resignation was precipitated by the political situation is too absurd to be seriously considered. The Australian Federal Parliament, unlike other British Parliaments, is subject to a written constitution, and the even balance of parties in the House of Representatives presents no difficult problems for the Governor-General such as migjit arise in other countries. The posi- tion has been further simplified in recent months by the Labour leaders accepting as inevitable the dissolution of both branches of the Legisla- ture, which the Government has been fighting for ever since it came into office. The Federal elections held in June last year gave the Liberals a bare majority in the House of Representatives, and Mr. Cook succeeded Mr. Fisher as Prime Minister of Australia. The Labor Party, however, continued to command a majority in the Senate, and the result was that the first session of the new Parliament yielded no harvest of Liberal legislation. The measures passed by the House of Representatives, after a struggle, were rejected or mutilated by the Senate, and Mr. Cook has been a Prime Minister with administrative power, but no legislative authority. Such a position is clearly intolerable. The Constitution pro- vides that if the Senate twice rejects, or amends in a manner to which
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the House of Representatives will not agree, any bill twice passed by the House, the Governor-General may dissolve the two Chambers simul- taneously. This is probably what will happen within the next few months. The second session of Parliament opens shortly, and the meas- ures, or some of the measures, rejected by the Senate last session will be sent back to it. The Senate will almost certainly reject them, and Mr, Cook's appeal for a double dissolution cannot then be denied. It would suit the Labour Party very much better to have a dissolution of the House of Representatives only, leaving them still in command of the Senate. This would be the course of events if Labour could snatch a majority in the House, but it is unlikely Mr. Fisher will be able to outwit the vigilance of the slightly stronger Liberal Party. A double dissolution will probably increase the Liberal majority in the House; but it is doubt- ful whether the Senate will be captured from the Labour Party. The deadlock would not in these circumstances be ended. The Constitution contains an ingenious clause to permit of some progress being made with legislation during the continuance of such a deadlock. If the Senate again disagrees with the House on a particular measure, the Governor- General may summon a joint sitting of the two Chambers, and the decision of an absolute majority of the members present has the force of law. It might happen that the Labour Party would command this majority, despite its minority in the House of Representatives, and it would then be able to give legislation a character approved by it, but distasteful to the Prime Minister. Such a situation would be unprece- dented.
FROM THE AUCKLAND STAR.
POLITICAL EFFRONTERY.
LABOUR'S CLAIM TO PEACE.
(Received 10.10 A. M.)
Sydney, this day.
March 16. — Mr. Joseph Cook (Federal Premier) speaking at Sand- ringham, considered Mr. Holman's figures concerning New South Wales' light taxation a piece of sheer political effrontery. There never was a more hollow mockery than to assert that the three years of Labour rule had given industrial peace. Labour rule had been signalised by the fratricidal policy of striking and the creation of class hatred, which was increasing in New South Wales. This feeling had reduced the effectiveness of the working man's wages."
The following will serve as a reminder of some of the in- tricacies and annoyances created by the system of industrial legislation in Australasia. It is next to impossible for the aver- age citizen, employing a servant or two, to keep informed as to the awards of the various Wages Boards and the changes that are, from time to time, made in the same, or whether setting a servant at washing plates, for example, will violate some rule by which the servant should only be required to wash pans, but the channel through which they frequently become informed in the premises, is illustrated in the following example:
HOTEL WORKERS' DUTIES. MISTRESS AND MAID FINED.
March 16. — Mr. C. C. Kettle, S. M., gave judgment this afternoon in the case in which the Inspector of Awards (Mr. E. W. F. Gohns) pro-
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ceeded against Miss Helen Cooper, a restaurant keeper (Mr. M. G. McGregor), for employing a young woman as a second cook and paying her 22s. a week instead of 305. The employee, Miss W. Senkup, was also sued for failing to claim the award wage. The point in dispute was whether the employees' duties in the kitchen were those of a kitchen maid or a cook.
His Worship considered that the employee had undoubtedly done work which the award stated that a cook should do. In her evidence she had said that she did not know that the award provided a wage of 305. for such work, but she remarked that "she had a father to keep," and this was perhaps an indication of the state of her mind. Each de- fendant would be fined 305. In giving judgment his Worship again drew attention to the necessity for preparing clearly printed schedules of duties and placing them where they could be seen by all the employees in an hotel or restaurant.
While the above example relates to hotels and restaurants it clearly points out the necessity for all employers, large or small, as well as* employees, to keep themselves informed as to Wages Boards awards, and to be continually on the watch that in every detail the same are strictly adhered to, otherwise, as shown by the above reference, they are liable to be summoned before a Court and fined. The system is particularly annoying to employers who conduct a business made up of miscellaneous parts and requiring the service of employees representing various divisions of Wages Boards awards, as many do, and especially in cases where employees are by the very nature of their em- ployment required to shift from job to job or stand idly by while certain work is performed by entirely unnecessary additional help, or where the business is not of sufficient magnitude to justify a specific distribution of service among its employees. This constant fear of prosecution for violation of Wages Boards awards, even though unwittingly, is not conducive to the peace of mind of an employer of labor, who in most cases of prose- cution is the victim, and, besides, the system encourages idleness and augments economic waste.
FROM THE WELLINGTON TIMES.
THE SIX-DAY WEEK.
FOR AUCKLAND HOTEL WORKERS.
(Press Association.)
Auckland, March 31.
April I. — An agreement on all but one of points at issue between the Hotel and Restaurants Workers' Union (old union) and Licensed Houses Workers' Union (new union) on the one hand and the Licensed Victuallers' Association on the other has been arrived at. The new union has been swamped by members of the old union, who recently threw out the strike-breaking executive and installed officers who repudi- ated on legal grounds the agreement made with the employers in Decem- ber and co-operated with the old union in applying to the Arbitration Court for an award. The employers accepted the position with a good grace, and conferences were held with the result stated.
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The Arbitration Court was informed today that the only point now in dispute related to the six-day week.
Mr. Justice Stringer said the Court intended taking the amendment to the Shops and Offices Act as mandatory, and introducing the six-day week into all future awards relating to hotel and restaurant workers.
This clears the way for the final settlement of the whole dispute.
SYDNEY STREETS.
COST OF CLEANING "A STAGGERER." (By Telegraph — Press Association — Copyright.)
Sydney, March 20.
March 21. — The town clerk has reported to the City Council that
the cost of cleaning Sydney has risen from £38,658 in 1905 to £100,634
in 1913. The mileage of the streets has increased only from 113 to 134
miles. Increases in wages are largely responsible for the increased cost.
Aldermen describe the statement as a staggerer.
SYDNEY TRAMWAYS.
DEFICIT FOR YEAR, £61,038.
(By Telegraph — Press Association — Copyright.) (Received March 20, 9.50 p. M.)
Sydney, March 20.
March 21. — The Premier supplied in the Legislative Assembly a statement from the Railway Commissioners showing the tramway re- turns for the year 1912-1913 as follows: Earnings, £1,754,566; expendi- tures, £1,572,190; interest on capital invested, £214,832; deficit, £32,456; estimated deficit for the year ending June 3Oth, £61,038.
FROM THE WELLINGTON POST.
THE LABOUR MARKET. To the Editor:
March 27. — Sir, — May I ask through your columns what is going to be done to provide employment for the new arrivals in New Zealand? At present there is not sufficient work for men already settled here. I have to keep a small boarding house as my husband is out of work, and two of my boarders are out of work, and it is quite heart-breaking. They start off in search of a job every morning, and all line in again about 12 o'clock— No luck; can't find a job. One of them tried up country. He got a job from a local registry office — bush felling; he started off for Featherston, the nearest railway station ; the camp was 7s. 6d. coach ride from the station. When he arrived on the scene he found there was another fourteen miles to walk from the coach, through bush, and over hills, and across creeks, etc. He said he would not have minded all that if the camp had been decent, but they had to shoot wild pig for meat, or whatever was about. There was no milk, only boards to lie on, and no conveniences to get a wash. He was so disgusted that after he had taken a rest, he set off to walk back to the coach again. I ask, Is there any encouragement for me» to go up country? My brother came to New Zealand last August, with the object of going on a farm to work. He went up to Taihape and Inglewood in answer to an advertisement, and found the jobs did not exist. When he got up there, he tried several different places, and at last packed up and went back to England, while he had the money to pay his fare. New Zealand is cracked up so good at home in England that people think it is easy to get work here, but my husband has been here two years, and is still no better off as far as work is concerned. I have no doubt there are plenty more men the same.
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We are told to keep the cradles full, but I ask what encouragement have we to bring children into the world when we are practically living from hand to mouth. Why does New Zealand cry out for more emigrants and more population when it cannot give work to the people already here? I don't know what we shall do in the winter time. I have to work hard all day to keep things going. Hoping you will find room for this letter,— I am, etc.
A WORKING MAN'S WIFE.
A UNION'S TYRANNY.
April i. — Mr. D. Mpriarty, the modest secretary of the Wellington Furniture Union, in this issue severely scolds The Post for an unpardon- able piece of forgetfulness; the difference between a Wellington with Mr. Moriarty and a Wellington without Mr. Moriarty was not noticed, and the dreadful sequel is a charge by the irate magnate that The Post lacks "common decency." However, before The Post applies itself to the task of framing a suitable apology to the incensed secretary, it must discuss a matter which is of more importance to the public, though, perhaps, of less concern to the irate Mr. Moriarty. This is the reported persecution of a member of the Furniture Union by other members, who have been encour- aged by the secretary in their attitude, according to the official's statement. Whatever Mr. Moriarty may have done or said in the past, there is no possibility of mistaking the tone of his letter in today's Post. It is practically approval of the tactics already pursued and an incitement to the men to continue the victimisation of a cabinet-maker who dared to accept work on the wharf during the strike, when he was unable to find an engagement at his trade. First of all, the impetuous secretary brushes aside as a negligible trifle the statement made by the union's president, Mr. Kennedy, last week. This officer was questioned before the man's complaint was published, and the two versions appeared to- gether. If the union had decided to buy strike "solidarity" at the price of 3s. a week ("to prevent any member from going to work on the wharves"), why did not Mr. Kennedy mention this bonus scheme? The member concerned says that he knew nothing about the offer. All that he knew definitely was that he was out of work, and he tried to find a suitable billet in city factories before he went to the waterside.
"We do believe," says Mr. Moriarty, "that it is an unpardonable offence for any man to take on the work of another who has been forced out of work." Who "forced" the Wellington water-siders out of work? Who "forced" them to have their "stop-work" meeting? Who "forced" them to flout a good agreement? It is very well known now that the strikers deliberately chose the "stop-work" method, and thus treated their agreement with contempt. Is that the sort of strike for which the Furniture Union is prepared to persecute one of its members? Mr. Moriarty, with a perversity which suggests that he is more or less consciously flattering Mr. P. Hickey by imitating his inventiveness, has made another glaring misuse of the word "force," thus: — "If you are successful in getting the employers to force us out on strike." This is grim humour, surely not altogether unconscious. The unionists in this case are aspiring to be the "master class." They have, in effect, dared the employers to take on the black-listed member whom the autocratic secretary addressed as an "ex-cabinetmaker.". The persecutors, not the employers, have made the challenge, and Mr. Moriarty has thrown out sundry sinister hints of boycott. But, of course, that is not "force." It is only the punishment of the "unpardonable offence" of a unionist against an intolerable conspiracy of Syndicalism. This word does not lose "nastiness," but acquires more, by the methods of the Furniture Union's members. The Red Federals are straight-out Syndicalists; the Furniture Union has, on the facts published, laid itself open to the allegation of being an aider and abettor of Syndicalism by devious ways.
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Is the Furniture Workers' Trust or Combine strong enough already to dictate to the employers? Who are the actual employers and who are the employed? That question arises from Mr. Moriarty's letter.
FROM THE CHRISTCHURCH PRESS.
STRIKING UNIONS.
April 3. — Is the Labour Department going to prosecute the unions or unionists working under Arbitration Court awards who went on strike in November last, and thus committed a breach of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act?" asks the "Post." "The question is one which raises some very important issues, and the decision of the Depart- ment is awaited with the keenest interest, not only by the offending unions, but also by the employers and the new unions which were formed to replace several of the Arbitration bodies which, though unaffiliated, responded to the call of the Red Federation. If the Department decides to proceed, the prosecutions will comprise the biggest batch that have yet been launched at any one time within the history of New Zealand, no fewer than 18 Arbitration unions, with some 8,000 to 9,000 members, being involved. If, on the other hand, the Department decides not to take action, the following issues, it is contended, will demand an imme- diate solution: (i) What is the use of imposing penalties under the Arbitration Act when they are not enforced? (2) What is to be the fate of the new unions which were formed to replace the Arbitration unions which went out on strike?"
From inquiries made by a "Post" reporter today, it would appear that the latter question is at present greatly troubling both the employers and the 'members of the old and new unions alike. At least three bodies of workers are affected, viz., the Wellington drivers, the Auckland hotel workers, and the Christchurch drivers. In all three cases dual Arbitra- tion unions — those which went out on strike and those which were formed subsequently — exist, and the puzzling situation is created as to which unions hold the field. No one seems to know, and, as a result, hopeless confusion prevails, the employers not knowing which union to deal with, and the men being equally in the dark as to which union they are to pay their subscriptions to. Some of the Wellington drivers, it is stated, have solved the riddle for themselves by declining to pay into either union until they know where they are. If the Labour Department decides to take proceedings against the old unions for striking, and secures convictions, the position will be much simplified.
If the Department is to take action, however, and thereby ,solve the situation, it will require to act promptly, as under the Act it is provided that a prosecution in case of a strike cannot take place after the expira- tion of six months from the date of the cause of action, and in the present instance five months have elapsed since the first union went on strike.
FROM THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES. (Dunedin, N. Z.)
The following is an excerpt from an address by the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, Minister for Customs, at Wellington, April 3rd:
When the Minister got the audience again he said the meeting sug- gested to him an interesting electoral reform, and that was to disfran- chise every man who attempted to break up a public meeting. The sug- gestion received a mixed reception. Continuing, Mr. Fisher said that they would thus prevent the people, who did not respect the laws from making them. These men must not get the idea into their heads that they could frighten or terrorise the Government. * * *
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He said the secret ballot had taken away much of the power which the agitator possessed at the present time. They were going to give every working man the right to live, and the right to exercise his judg- ment free and unfettered, and without the intimidation that had been carried out in this town during the last 12 months. The Government had some concern, not only for the people who voluntarily went on strike, but also for the people who were forced out on strike against their will, and it was necessary for the Government also to take into consideration the wives and children who had suffered on account of the strike.
A Voice: "All the rats."
Mr. Fisher: "Are you referring to your friends?"
Continuing, Mr. Fisher said that the action of the Government had utterly destroyed the Federation of Labour. — (Applause and boohooing.) When order was somewhat restored Mr. Fisher said they had heard it stated that the Opposition Party was going to ally itself with the Social Democrats. He first wanted to point out what it was these men stood for. They stood for the red flag against the Union Jack, they stood for anarchy and revolution against order, and their Socialism led them in the direction cf entirely destroying family life. They respected not law nor order. This was a signal for cheers and groans. "You will find," he continued, "that the time has come when the voice of this country is against these people. They may band themselves together, they may take control of our public meetings, they may even ally themselves with the Opposition, but even then they cannot win. Public opinion in this coun- try is too British to allow them to win, — (Applause and hooting.) They come here led by foreigners, allied by —
A portion of the audience then started to count out the speaker.
How THE MONEY GOES.
April 4. — New South Wales is dominated by Labour Socialists. Neither Premier Holman nor any member of his Cabinet is a free agent. In common with the other members of the Labour Party who have obtained seats in Parliament, they must follow the behests of the irresponsible caucus, which, sitting outside of Parliament, is the real overlord dominating members and Ministers of the Crown alike. And this caucus is responsible neither to the electors, nor is it amenable in any way to the public.
The Political Labour Congress issues its orders; they are perforce obeyed, or the men refusing to accept its decisions pay the penalty in the shape of political extinction. The Congress, consisting of delegates from the respective unions, which are affiliated to the Political Labour Federation, and which probably does not represent more than a third of the employees who have attained the age of 20 years and over, nomi- nated the Ministry, choosing Mr. Holman's . colleagues for him. Tt cen- sured Mr. Griffiths, the Minister for Public Works; it mapped out the policy Ministers must follow; it even went to the length of ordering the abolition of the pensions that are paid to judges and the higher salaried officials on their retirement from the same. And it committed the country to a Socialistic programme that will still further deplete its finances, which are, to say the least, in a very bad way.
EXPENDITURE ADVANCES BY NINE MILLIONS IN THREE YEARS. The Labour Government in New South Wales succeeded to office in 1910, and to a surplus, bequeathed it by Mr. Wade, the Liberal Premier, of £989,709.
By 1913 it had turned that surplus into a deficit of £1.500,000. In other words, it had gone to the bad to the extent of £2,500,000, although the revenue rose from £13,839,139 in 1910-11 to £16,057,000 in 1912-13. that is by £2,217,861,
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The total expenditure of the Wade Government during its last year of office was £17,853,827.
FROM THE GREYMOUTH EVENING STAR. (March 21, 1914.)
Excerpts from an address by Prime Minister, the Right Hon. W. F. Massey, at Greymouth, March 2ist:
THE BIG STRIKE.
The Premier then went on to refer to the recent strike. The Gov- ernment had many difficulties to contend with when they came into power. There were fires in the north, floods in the south, and then the strike which was the worst of all. They could not please everyone, but he believed that what the Government had done had pleased the ma- jority of the people of this country. — (Loud applause.) Personally he considered that if the Government had not acted as they had done they would not have been worthy of the position they occupied. (Applause.) He knew from the start that they were up against the most serious crisis in the Dominion's history. Trade was suspended, the ports were closed, and the revenue was seriously affected. It was over now, and things had returned to normal. There had been great excitement, and many foolish things had been said. He did not blame the men for the strike, but he blamed their leaders. (Applause.) He blamed their vanity, their stupidity, and their obstinacy. He had tried his best to settle the strike, and there were several conferences, but "they hadn't a hope." There were not sufficient police to cope with the situation that arose. Therefore, they did the only thing under the circumstances they could do. They appealed for "specials," and they had a magnificent response. (Applause.) They came to help from all parts in their hundreds, and the number could have been multiplied by five. He took the whole responsibility for what had been done. He wished to express his high appreciation, as head of the Government, of the men who came to help them, leaving their harvests and crops. If he could say that of the men he could say more of the women who were left on lonely farms. (Applause.) The stand taken by the settlers was a revelation. What help did they get from the Opposition? Compare the attitude of their own Opposition with that of the South African Opposition recently. He would say no more, but leave it at that. Now that the strike was over no one could really say what the strike was about. Every worker had a right to sell his labour in the highest market, but he had no right to interfere with or prevent another man getting work. Although no one could tell the cause of the strike, the result was that it ended in a revolt of the people against the tyranny of a foreign organisation known in America as the I. W. W. organisation, and known here as the Federa- tion of Labour. The great enemies of New Zealand were the agitators who went about stirring up strife between employer and employee. If we wanted to see the country prosper we would be better without this very noisy and small section of which he had been speaking.
A Voice : Deport them.
Mr. Massey said that he hoped they would not need to do that, but he would not shrink from even that if it was necessary. (Cheers.) The strike had had a great effect on the politics of this country, and parties were being readjusted. On the one side there was now the party of progress — the Reform Liberals, and on the other the party that would put back the wheels of progress 50 years if their leaders' speeches were any criterion. These were the Red Fed. Liberals.
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FROM THE MERCURY. (Hobart, Tasmania, April 9, 1914.)
THE PLASTERERS' STRIKE. PROSECUTION OF THE MEN. TECHNICAL POINT RAISED.
Adelaide, April 8.
For the past two weeks 200 plasterers, who are under a wages board award, have been on strike for higher wages and shorter hours. Today the secretary of the union (Sidney Riches) and 30 men were summoned before the Industrial Court by Mr. Justice Buchanan (Presi- dent), for their action.
On the men being asked to plead, Sir Josiah Symon, who appeared for the employees, protested that the matter before the court was merely an inquiry, and not a prosecution.
The President reserved the point for submission to the Supreme Court.
It is understood that, the matter will be carried on by the issue of individual informations against some of the men.
FROM THE LIBERAL. (Melbourne, May, 1914.)
UNION OR LAW — WHICH ?
The Political Union doctrine that the rules of the Union are su- perior to the laws of the land was flagrantly and openly advocated by Mr. Hampson, the Victorian Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, at a meeting on the I5th April, of the Port Phillip Ship- wrights' Association. He said, in responding to a toast, that "Unionists paid more respect to their own rules than to the laws of the land." Coming as it does from the official representative of a union that used to stand for sane trades unionism, industrial efficiency, and indifference to political unionism, is symptomatic as demonstrating the vicious trend of thought in modern militant political trades unionism. With such folk in a contest between the law of a democratic country and the rules of an aggressive union, the law. is beaten every time. Hence their desire to get control of the police and military. When this is done democracy has passed and the tyranny of the Trades Hall is supreme.
FROM THE MELBOURNE AGE.
EDITORIAL.
April 15. — The gnawing anxiety of the Labour Party to clear the way of all possible obstructions to its more violent industrial methods was perhaps never so clearly demonstrated as in the proposals for amending the Defence Act adopted by the recent Labour conference. The party professes an unqualified belief in the principle of settling in- dustrial disputes by the peaceful process of law; its leaders are never tired of proclaiming their allegiance to the arbitration tribunals. As long as these happen to give them all they want they are, no doubt, its ardent champions; but the determination to have recourse to "direct action" — should such a course at any moment appear expedient — is never absent from their minds. It was for the purpose of making direct action on a large scale as simple and as riskless as possible to the persons engaging in it that the conference appointed a committee to suggest amendments to the Defence Act. That this committee (of which Senator Barker and Dr. Maloney, M. H. R., were members) thoroughly understood the nature and intent of its commission every clause of its report shows.
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What alterations to the military system of the Commonwealth would best suit the purpose of political unionism, give it the freest hand and widest scope, and render it least liable to being brought to book for any of its actions? The members of the committee must have asked each other some such questions as that as they sat down to deliberate; and the answer they supplied certainly does credit to their ingenuity. In the first place, they said, make impossible the "Continental practice" of men on strike being "called to the colours" under penalty of military punish- ment. This can as yet scarcely be called a "Continental practice," for it has been tried only once; but the success with which by its means M. Briand checkmated the syndicalists in their deep-laid plot to stop traffic on the French railways and "hold up" the Government and nation naturally horrified our law and arbitration champions in Australia, and inspired them with the ambition to make such a device for protecting the community against violence and outrage impossible here. Dr. Maloney and his friends next proceeded to declare that in no circumstances should any members of the defence force be required to "interfere with workers engaged in an industrial dispute." Under the law as it stands a State Government has the right to ask the Commonwealth Government for military assistance should the resources of the State be unequal to the task of preserving order.
It is the duty of the Federal power to render assistance to a State Government when help is demanded, but, as everyone knows, the Fisher Ministry refused the request of the Queensland Government, even when Brisbane seemed on the point of falling under the lawless sway of a mob of unionists during a general strike. The committee of the Victorian Labour conference, fearing that some Federal Ministry might prove more faithful to its duty than the Fisher Cabinet proved, wishes to provide in advance against any such contingency. Nor is this the full extent of the lesson conveyed to it by the Brisbane experience. It remembers thai the Denham Ministry, left in the lurch by the authority controlling the mili- tary forces, enlisted the services of some of the volunteers who thronged in such inspiring numbers to help the cause of law and order against the hosts of anarchy; and it has accordingly suggested a means of preventing the repetition of such a spectacle. One of its recommendations is, "That no State Government be allowed to raise, arm, or use any force against the workers in the time of an industrial dispute." No amendment of the Defence Act would, of course, suffice to deprive the States of this right; but the fact that the committee suggested, and the conference adopted a proposal of the kind stated shows what an overmastering desire these people have to place the community absolutely at the mercy of organised labour. The "unionising" of the police would just about complete the process.
Having thus suggested means for rendering the community power- less, it might have been supposed that the committee and the conference would rest content with their labours. But in the true spirit of their kind they set themselves to devise a plan for making positive use of the defence system to help them and their cause against the public. For what is really the most sinister of all their recommendations is the one declaring that "every member of the citizen forces should be made cus- todian of his small arms and equipment." The position they want to bring about is one in which the use of the forces for the preservation of law and order shall be absolutely prohibited, while each individual member of the forces shall have it in his power to render armed assist- ance, should he think fit, to the people assailing that cause. In other words, the Government is not to be permitted to call out the military, but the Trades Hall is! Men less unsophisticated than Senator Barker, Dr. Maloney, and their friends would, however anarchical their tempera- ment, hesitate to express their purpose quite so candidly, but the fact that these individuals are too naive to give their meaning a semblance of decency by cloaking it in diplomatic language does not make these
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recommendations any less significant. Men like them are the pace- makers of the Labour movement. They catch the ear of the most ex- treme of the groundlings, and these, in the long run, dominate the party. The conference, it should be remembered, adopted en bloc everything the committee thought proper to suggest.
The Brisbane wharf labourers have shown the boycott to be capable of a development which it had not previously reached even in Broken Hill, where the Barrier Labour Federation was generally credited with having exhausted its possibilities as an instrument of terrorism. They refused to handle cargo under the supervision of an officer of one of the shipping companies who had given evidence distasteful to them in the Arbitration Court, and the steamer Ready had in consequence to be laid up. Trade unionism regards victimisation — by the other side — as the most heinous of industrial offences, and its definition of the word in such circumstances is comprehensive in the extreme. No matter how offensive or destructive a unionist has been in a discussion or a strike, his asso- ciates make it a condition of settlement admitting of no qualification that his position and status in the employer's service must remain absolutely unimpaired. "No victimisation" is, in short, the loudest and most fre- quently heard of those insenate cries which unionists use without know- ing precisely what the language they employ really means. It means to them a purely one-sided thing. Their notion of liberty is liberty to oppress all outside their ranks; their idea of equal opportunity is as Mr. W. H. Irvine has pithily remarked, "equal opportunity to all and preference to unionists"; the word victimisation they regard as being without -meaning except when they are (however deservedly) the suffer- ers by the process. They do not, for example, consider it victimisation at all when they exert their immense strength to deprive non-unionists of the means of supporting themselves and their families. The term they use to describe this is — "justice."
Never before in all the vagaries of its wayward spirit has trade unionism ventured to boycott an individual for having given evidence — evidence on oath and presumably truthful — against a claim made by a union in an Arbitration Court. The person objected to in this case is an officer in the service of one of the shipping companies, and in express- ing his views in the witness-box apparently he did not hesitate to say exactly what he thought. His evidence must have either damaged the cause or wounded the vanity of the claimants, and the- lesson they wish to convey by the present boycott is that men who do that sort of thing, where organised labour is concerned, do so at their peril. It is an instance, if there ever was one, of the fountain of justice being sullied at its source, and unless the Court concerned promptly vindicates its author- ity by punishing the outrage on its dignity in some unmistakable manner will simply be conniving at a monstrous injustice. If an employer ven- tured so much as to betray a wish to deal with a unionist in this way the country would ring with denunciations of the infamy, and the of- fender would be read a lecture from the Bench which he would not soon forget.
RAILWAY MEN STRIKE. ISO MEN DOWN TOOLS.
Wagga, Wednesday.
April 16. — The trouble regarding the handling of "black" chaff assumed a grave aspect this morning, when the locomotive staff employed on the new railway from Wagga to Tumbarumba refused to handle chaff from A. Brunskill's Allonby Farm. They were in consequence sus- pended by the resident engineer, Mr. G. C. Bernard. Immediately fol- lowing upon Mr. Bernard's action the whole of the men employed over the entire length of the new railway "downed" tools and went on strike.
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FARMERS AND THE A. W. U.
"BLACK CHAFF/' CARRIERS ORDER MEN TO HANDLE.
THREAT TO EMPLOY NON-UNIONISTS.
Sydney, Wednesday.
April 16. — It was stated at a meeting this morning of the Master Carriers' Association that it had been decided to inform employees that they must handle goods whether these have been declared "black" or not. Association officials declined to make any statement in regard to the affairs of that body. It is said that for some weeks employers have been warning their men that if they did not handle "black" chaff non-union labor would be engaged.
WORKS REMAIN CLOSED.
EMPLOYERS MEET TO-DAY.
April 16. — There was no fresh development yesterday in regard to the trouble in the stone cutting industry, and all the works connected with the Master Masons' Association, with the exception of the Foot- scray and Malmsbury Company, remain closed.
STRIKERS AND THE LAW. MINISTER AS MEDIATOR.
Perth, Thursday.
April .18. — A deputation of employers waited upon the Hon. Minis- ter (Mr. Dodd) today, and brought under his notice matters arising out of the recent refusal by the carpenters at Millars' timber-yards to work with non-unionists, thereby in the deputation's opinion breaking the law prohibiting strikes.
A DESERTED TOWN.
DISASTROUS STRIKE. GRAVE POSITION AT JUMBUNNA.
Jumbunna, Monday.
April 21. — The strike at Jumbunna coal mine has extended over nine weeks. Practically no work has been done since ist January, only 26 shifts having been worked. Deputations representing the men have repeatedly waited on the manager and made certain proposals to him in regard to the trouble over the hewing rate. The miners have asked for a price which will enable them to secure a living wage, but so far no settlement has been arrived at, and matters are now at a deadlock. The manager refused to give the price asked, and the miners refuse to accept any reduction. The result is that empty houses are to be found in every part of the town, as the miners are leaving as soon as they secure work elsewhere. Miners who have been here for fifteen years have been compelled to leave. The town is in a deplorable condition. Business is paralysed, and unless the strike is soon settled business people will have to close their shops.
MINERS SUGGEST A STRIKE.
Kalgoorlie, Sunday.
April 27. — A meeting of the Miners' Union was held in Boulder town hall this afternoon for the purpose of further discussing the ques- tion of not working with non-unionists after ist May.
UNIONISM IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. THE TIMBER WORKERS' STRIKE.
Perth, Sunday.
April 27. — The Employers' Federation has rejected the proposal of the Hon. Minister, Mr. Dodd, for the holding of a conference with the Carpenters' Union over the compulsory unionism strike at Millars' timber works, because the union declared a boycott of Millars' material while
53
the conference negotiations were proceeding. At a special meeting oi metropolitan timber yard employees last night it was resolved to continue work till further advised by the Labor Federation.
In addition to 56 men who struck at Millars' against working with non-unionists, about 30 carpenters and a number of painters have losl their jobs owing to the shortage caused by the strike.
WORK AND WAGES. COMPULSORY UNIONISM. POSITION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
Perth, Monday.
April 28. — The Labor Federation has issued a statement in con- nection with the compulsory unionism strike, claiming that the Employ- ers' Federation, by refusing a conference, is forcing on a lockout, and is victimising unionists by reducing hands in the carpentering trade.
It transpires that the fines imposed last month on Geraldton lumpers for striking have not been paid.
The Kalgoorlie miners, who resolved not to work with non-unionists after ist May, are apparently weakening as the time draws near for enforcing or retracting the resolution. A conference of all mining unions has been called to reconsider the position.
ONE MAN ONE JOB.
"HANDY" MAN IN TROUBLE. ACTION BY MINERS' ASSOCIATION. FIGHT AT A MEETING.
Ballarat, Sunday.
May 4. — Complaint has been made publicly by members of the Ballarat branch of the Federated Miners' Association of Australia at the action of Mr. J. D. Dale, a member of the committee of the branch, in working as a carpenter, and also in other capacities on wages in his spare time.
THE PAINTERS' CONFERENCE.
A DEFENCE FUND.
May 9. — The Inter-State conference of master painters and decora- tors concluded yesterday.
Mr. J. F. Maxwell (Brisbane) moved —
"That it be a recommendation to the various associations throughout the States to consider the advisability of establishing a sinking fund for the purpose of protecting employers' interests before industrial courts and wages boards."
As he understood, the employers in the trade were on the edge of a precipice, and unless something of the sort he proposed was done, their interests were apt to be annihilated.
FROM THE MELBOURNE ARGUS.
April 14. — In spite of the protest of the Boilermakers' Union against the announcement that it is the intention of the Minister for Immigration (Mr. Hagelthorn) to allow Messrs. Thompson and Co, of Castlemaine, to secure artisans from England for their works, Mr. Hagel- thorn is adhering to his original decision. He states that it really amounts to an attempt on the part of the union to prevent British boilermakers from working for a firm which, apparently, offended it some months ago. Messrs. Thompson and Co. have installed plant costing £50,000, and Mr. Hagelthorn is not prepared to allow an important industry in the country to be crippled as a result of the efforts of the union to obtain complete control of the labour. He in no way questions the competency of the Victorian workmen who are members of the union, but he points out that it is absolutely necessary that sufficient labour should be made available to enable the industry to be carried on.
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Melbourne, Saturday.
April 18. — The Prime Minister's reply to Mr. Fisher's attack upon the Government has set rolling a ball of contention that will probably travel far before it stops. The Senate, by adjourning for three weeks, has indicated the extent of public time the Labor caucus thinks the debate will consume; yet Mr. Hughes yesterday informed the House there never was a period in Australian history when there was a greater and more urgent call for serious legislative effort. Mr. Cook's speech, judged from his party's standpoint, was both impressive and effective. Mr. Fisher had charged him and his Ministerial colleagues with having wilfully and deliberately slandered the people of Australia by making allegations of illicit voting after last general election. Mr. 'Cook re- torted that Ministerialists could, at most, be accused only of slandering a few people, but that Mr. Fisher for his part had slandered a big majority of the workers by stigmatising non-unionists as "mostly the sneaks of society." There are 433,000 unionists in the Commonwealth and 724,000 non-unionists, said Mr. Cook. "Who, then, is the worst slanderer of the people?"
"BLACK" CHAFF TROUBLE. SCARCITY OF FODDER. A BAFFLED DEPUTATION.
Sydney, Monday.
April 21. — In connection with the "black chaff" trouble, the position at the railway goods yards at Redfern today was very similar to that of Friday and Saturday. The master carriers made no attempt to effect deliveries, and unionist carters did not put in an appearance. The whole place wore a deserted aspect. Members of the Trolly, Draymen, and Carters' Union discussed the position in an informal way with their secretary at the Trades Hall. It was admitted that the outlook was gloomy, and that employers, by their silent and concerted action, were determined to enforce discipline. Meanwhile, the owners of live stock are greatly worried over their inability to get supplies of fodder for their animals.
All day today a deputation of farmers from the Wagga district waited about, hoping for an interview with the Premier (Mr. Holman). They did not succeed, however, and had to be satisfied with the answer, "The Premier hopes to be able to see you tomorrow." The deputation is headed by Mr. J. Halloran, president of the Wagga District Council of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association. It wants to see Mr. Holman about the attitude of the Public Works officials in preventing the car- riage of produce on the completed section of the Wagga to Tumberumba railway line. Mr. Halloran stated this evening: "It is an absurd mis- take for Sydney people to think that we have had any strike in the Wagga district. Although the Australian Workers' Union sent six or- ganisers to the Wagga district, and maintained a free food camp of about 70 men for about n weeks, the fact is that our farm labourers kept at work, and never expressed any dissatisfaction. I am in a position to say that of 70 men who lived in the camp not a single one was a local man. We know that they were specially brought across the Victorian border in order to make a show of trouble. Our men have remained at work, and all our crops came off in good time."
Free labourers are expected to be available tomorrow. A good many farm hands are reported to have come down from the Wagga district. The farmers are said to be very determined not to have their stuff blocked. The future would appear to be full of complications and difficulties of all kinds. There were over a hundred trucks of chaff on the sidings today, including 10 declared to be "black." Since Saturday 27 trucks have been shunted in. Demurrage fees have to be paid on the loaded trucks. Today's charges came to over £100.
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EDITORIAL.
April 2i.— It is no exaggeration to say that the "black chaff" dispute in New South Wales is raising issues which threaten the very founda- tions of political and industrial organisation. The dispute originated from the fact that the farmers of the Coolamon district of Riverina refused to conform to the conditions laid down by the rural workers' log, formulated by that powerful body the Australian Workers' Union. All the farmers of Australia are now alive to the nature of the demands in that log, and many of them consider that if it be enforced they will be constrained to desert their farms and join the union, as the surer and more expeditious means of acquiring a competency. At any rate, the farmers resisted, and resisted successfully, the attempt to force the log upon them. Chaffcutting was continued, despite the strike of em- ployees, and it has been demonstrated to the A. W. U. that the work can be carried on without its co-operation or consent.
Though the farmers may fight the unions, they are helpless when their own weapons — the agencies of the Government which they have paid for in taxes — are turned against them. When, at the instigation of the unionists, railway men refuse to carry their chaff, because it has been declared to be "black," they are ,in the position of combatants who, in the hour of success, are betrayed by treachery. The facts are, that a considerable portion of a railway from Wagga to Humula has been com- pleted. Following the usual practice, goods traffic has been permitted on the completed portion of the line, and the farmers' chaff was forwarded to market by that means. But the men employed by the Government in the construction of the line, finding that the farmers were successfully resisting the extortions proposed in the rural workers' log, struck work because "black" chaff was being conveyed along the completed portion. Mr. Hutchinson, engineer in chief of railway construction, speedily ar- rived from Sydney, ordered the resumption of work by the construction staff, and withdrew the concession made to farmers to convey chaff over the completed portion, declaring that construction must have preference over the shifting of produce, and that the Farmers' Association must be allowed to settle its own quarrels with the Australian Workers' Union without involving the railways. When a deputation from the Farmers' Association waited on Mr. Hutchinson, it was found that he was not acting on his own motion, but was carrying out the orders of the Minister for Railways. Therefore, it appears that it was the Minister for Railways who was responsible for the statement that "the 'railways must not be involved" in the quarrel.
With that statement everyone should agree. The railways, which are the property of all, should not be converted into a weapon of com- pulsion, and placed in the hands of a few. Up to the hour when the men on the line struck, railway work was being done in the ordinary way. It was no more "involved in the quarrel" than was the portion of the line from Wagga to Sydney. It was brought into the quarrel by the railway men, and their action has been sanctioned by the Minister on the extraordinary ground that "the railways must not be involved in the quarrel." In a land where so many commercial services are carried on for the people by the State and municipal Governments, such a de- cision by a Minister is a clear violation of public duty. Citizens cannot live and carry on their various avocations as free men if the instrumen- talities of Government, which are the property of all, are to be placed as a weapon of offence in the hands of any section.
If the workers may stop the running of a railway in order to help 'certain other workers to coerce farmers into conceding a rate of wages which the farmers regard as exorbitant, where is the new tyranny to stop? For a similar trifling cause the post-office may suspend its func- tions lest "black" letters be carried; cities may be thrown into darkness at night, deprived of food or water, and, in fact, all the commercial
56
operations of Government may be paralysed. The great and obvious principle involved is that all persons employed in the services which, in a complex society, supply the necessities of the citizens to whom they belong are trustees for the public safety in the same sense that members of the defence force are trustees, and they cannot use their positions against the public except by becoming disloyalists and traitors. That a few ignorant men should occasionally be led into mutinous revolt is not to be wondered at; but _ when a craven Minister of the Crown, for politi- cal ends, and in the guise of palpable sophistries, sanctions the treachery which he ought to be the first to condemn and suppress, what basis of security is left to the people? Obviously there is no security save that which the electors are prepared to sturdily and persistently maintain for themselves.
STATE BRICKWORKS. MEN ON STRIKE.
Sydney, Sunday.
April 30. — The trouble with the employees at the State brickworks, in Botany, has not yet been settled. About 50 men went on strike after the dismissal of two of their mates. They sent a deputation to Mr. Flow- ers, M. L. C. (representing the Minister for Works), on Friday and were told that there would be an inquiry into the alleged grievances if the men returned to work. The men decided to present themselves on Saturday morning, and did so ; but, to their surprise, were told that their services would no longer be required. Carters from the brickworks say that they will refuse to do further carting.
The manager of the brickworks (Mr. Hutton) says that two men who were unsatisfactory were discharged, and without the least warning the whole lot kept away on the following day. They were therefore discharged on Saturday. Mr. Hutton added that the men had shown a total lack of consideration to a State industry.
EDITORIAL.
May i. — That large class of workers whom Mr. Fisher terms "sneaks of society" have naturally come in for a good deal of attention during the very dreary speeches which have echoed in the emptiness of the House of Representatives this. week. The Prime Minister, in the speech with which he followed Mr. Fisher a fortnight since, pointed out that there are in Australia more than 1,500,000 employees of 20 years of age and over, and, as there are only 433,000 unionists, there must be over 1,100,000 "sneaks of society" earning their living in the Common- wealth. When Mr. Cook was reminded that he had in his day con- demned non-unionists in strong terms, he replied that he spoke of a unionism very different from the political unionism of today. Mr. Spence, the powerful head of the Australian Workers' Union, reverted to the subject on Wednesday, and, with his usual mildness of tone, displayed the venomous dislike which he also entertains to the non-unionist — or anti-unionist, as he prefers to call him. He said he would not allow such a man within a mile of any job he controlled. "He was not only a sneak- thief ; he would swindle his employer or anybody else."
Mr. Spence sees the force of the objection that when men who do not believe in the policy of the Labour Party are compelled to join unions they are obliged to pay levies for the support of principles to which they are opposed. He said that it was the greatest mistake in the world to suppose that every man in a union voted for Labour. The admission proves the case against those who would force men into unions, either by misapplying public funds to give preference to union- ists, and exclude non-unionists from employment, or by the more forcible process of making Australia a "hell upon earth" for them, or by throw-
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ing them into a river — a process which Mr. Spence once described to t House with every manifestation of humorous enjoyment. It is by curiously sophistical process that Mr. Spence endeavours to prove th unionists who will not vote Labour are not compelled to subscribe to political faith to which they are opposed. They are, of course, requir to contribute to the union funds, a large proportion of which is devot to political purposes ; but Mr. Spence affirms that, since they gain mu more in wages through the efforts of the union than they contribute dues and levies, they actually do not contribute at all. On the sar ground Mr. Spence might contend that every adult person should compelled to contribute to the fighting fund of the Labour Party. I would have no hesitation in affirming that the advantage to the coi munity of Labour rule would be so great that each would gain mo than he contributed, and so, in fact, would not contribute at all.
Such reasoning is, of course, patently false and insincere. ^ Spence is too acute to be himself deceived by it. The opprobrious epitf "sneaks of society," which Mr. Fisher has coined; the policy of houndi dissentient non-unionists from place to place, of subjecting them to t wrong and indignity of deprivation of their due share of such pub employment as is available — all betray the inherent intolerance of th« men, who so loudly demand unfettered liberty for themselves. Th< own revolt against laws and conditions, industrial and social, is, of cour noble and laudable. But at that stage liberty and toleration must er To dissent from their political doctrines, to question their authority, refuse to join their unions, and decline to contribute money for t propagation of their policy, is ignoble, mean, intolerable. None but t "sneaks of society" would do such a thing — actual "sneak-thieves." the sacred name of freedom let such malcontents be decried, insult< and persecuted. Labour members boast that they have come through t fire of persecution. If so, it has not been a purifying fire. All the drc of bitterness, intolerance, and bigotry is still in them."
SYDNEY STOREMEN STRIKE. VICTIMISATION ALLEGED.
Sydney, Sunday.
April 20. — Some 60 storemen in the employ of the Vacuum Oil Co: pany and members of the Storemen and Packers' Union have gone strike. They complain that one of their number has been victimised the company's works superintendent. The strike affects the compan; stores at Pyrmont and Pulpit Rock.
With respect to the strike reported in the last above quot news item, the facts, as given to us by an official of the Vacut Oil Company, are, that a man who was in the employ of t Company was frequently insolent to his foreman, worked wh he felt like it, usually absent two days a week and did about he pleased, after being notified several times that he would ha to do differently or his dismissal would be necessary, was final discharged for insubordination. Immediately his reinstateme was demanded by the union which, being refused, caused general strike. Waterside workers refused to handle the Coi pany's product and the industry was brought to a standst: How extended the strike became or how it resulted we did n learn.
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At this juncture, and before quoting the next editorial from The Argus, some reference to State and Federal laws, which at the present time govern industrial conditions in the Common- wealth of Australia, will be in order. Each State has its own laws which, though differing in some respects, embody the same general principles.
In Queensland the Industrial Peace Act, of 1912 repealed the Wages Boards Acts 1908 to 1912, created an Industrial Court having jurisdiction over all industrial matters and indus- trial disputes in any calling, which may be submitted to it by not less than 20 employers, or not less than 20 employees in any such calling. The Act provides that the judge of such Court may at his discretion order the creation of Industrial Boards of from four to twelve members, each consisting of an equal number of representatives of employers and employees, and prescribes the manner in which such members shall be elected or chosen; the awards of such Boards being subject to appeal to the Court, whose decision is final. The Act also provides that "No person shall be refused employment or in any way discriminated against on account of membership or non-membership in any industrial association" and that "No person who is an employer or em- ployee shall be discriminated against or injured or interfered with in any way whatsoever on account of membership or non- membership of any industrial association." The Act also pro- vides a penalty for any act tending to encourage or incite a lock- out or strike in connection with certain specific public utilities unless or until a compulsory conference has been held, by call of the court, and such conference fails to adjust the differences at issue, and thereafter unless and until after 14 days' notice in writing of the intention to lock-out or strike has been given to the Registrar of the Court, and after the Registrar has taken a secret ballot amongst the employers or employees, as the case requires, in the calling concerned, and such ballot has resulted in favor of such lock-out or strike. The same provision ap- plies to all the industries, except as to the compulsory confer- ence which only applies to the public utilities.
What would appear to a man of ordinary power of mental justice as a most extraordinary provision of twentieth century law, is Section 43 of this Act, which provides that:
When an award has fixed the lowest price or rate which may be paid to any person for wholly or partly preparing or manufacturing any particular article of furniture, and also the period of time within which the ordinary working hours shall be worked, it shall not be lawful for more than o«e member of a partnership to personally work inside a fac- tory of the class to which the award related at any time beyond such periods of time, unless such partnership has first obtained the written permission of the Registrar.
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Another somewhat remarkable feature of the Act is:
Where an employer through depression in any calling has reduc the number of his employees so as to affect the prescribed proportions number of apprentices employed by him, the Court, after full inqui may, if it thinks fit, permit him to continue employing such apprentic for the full term of their indenture.
These, however, are but fair examples of industrial freedo deal out to the people of the "Land of No Strikes." An ei ployer is awarded by a legalized Board a given number of a prentices with whom he enters into indenture contracts, ft fillment of which the law should enforce, yet in case of the fa ing off in business requiring a reduction in the working for the employer must repudiate his contracts with his apprentic and dismiss them from his employ in proportion to the redt tion in working force, unless, after taking each case before Court, the judge elects that the apprentice may be retained ai the employer be thus allowed to make good his part of the co tract. It would seem bad enough for a Government to yk to an organized part of its constituency to limit the opportuniti for its youth to acquire the knowledge and skill of an industr trade rather than grow up wharf laborers or tramps, and whi it would not yield to its unorganized constituency. But wh a Government makes it incumbent upon a master to plead befc a Court at Law for the privilege to make good his legitimc obligations to his servant, that, to a sane and just mind, is abhc rent and repulsive and certainly cannot inure to the credit a advancement of the State or Nation.
An apprentice is designated as an "improver" and is i quired to obtain a license before he can engage as such, t application for such license being of the following form :
THE INDUSTRIAL PEACE ACT OF IQI2. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO WORK AS IMPROVER.
To the Industrial Registrar, Industrial Court, Brisbane:
I hereby make application for a license to work as an improver not less than the wage fixed for improvers of years' experiei
under the Award of the Industrial Board :
Applicant's full name:
Applicant's address :
Applicant's age last birthday:
Applicant's occupation :
How long employed in such occupation, and by whom:
Name and address of last employer:
Wages received in last employment :
Wages for which license is required :
(Signature of Applicant) :
(Date) :
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Provided the application is granted the following form of license is issued :
THE INDUSTRIAL PEACE ACT OF IQI2.
LICENSE TO WORK AS IMPROVER.
Office of the Industrial Registrar,
Edward Street, Brisbane.
This is to certify that I am satisfied that of has not
had the full experience prescribed for improvers by the Award of the Industrial Board for the calling of , and I hereby grant this
license to the said person to work as an improver at the calling of for a period of , from the date hereof at a wage of not less than
per (hour, day or week), such rate having been fixed by the Award of the said Industrial Board.
(Signature)
Industrial Registrar. Secretary to Industrial Board.
TAKE NOTICE. — This license must be returned to Registrar on the expiration of the period for which it is issued; also, it must be pro- duced on the demand of an Inspector of Factories and Shops or of any person authorized in writing by the Court or Chairman of the Industrial Board.
Should this license be lost or destroyed, a duplicate may be obtained from the Registrar on payment of the prescribed fee (25. 6d.).
(NOTE. — See further reference to the subject of Apprentice- ship.)
In cases where employment cannot be obtained at the mini- mum wage rate application can be made for a license to work for less than said wage. The following is the form of such application :
THE INDUSTRIAL PEACE ACT OF IQI2.
APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO WORK FOR LESS THAN THE MINIMUM WAGE.
To the Industrial Registrar, Industrial Court, Brisbane:
I hereby make application for a license to work for a period not exceeding twelve months at a less wage than the minimum wage fixed for under the Award of the Industrial Board.
Applicant's full name: Applicant's address : Applicant's age last birthday: Applicant's occupation : How long employed in such occupation : Name of last or present employer : Address of employer: Wages received:
Wages for which license is required :
Reasons why license is required (such as old age, slowness, or infirmity) :
(Signature) :
(Date) :
If in the judgment, or otherwise, of the Registrar, who apparently is the sole dictator as to whether or not the petitioner's
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prayer for the privilege of earning the best living he can for himself and family, if he has one, is worthy of earning a living at all, either for himself or those dependent upon him, or whether he should be treated as an undesirable, classed with the colored races for whom there is no place in Australia, and allowed to exist or die as the charitably disposed may elect, the petitioner's application is granted, then a license of the following form is issued to him:
THE INDUSTRIAL PEACE ACT OF IQI2. LICENSE TO WORK FOR LESS THAN THE MINIMUM WAGE.
Date, ,19 .
This is to certify that after investigation I am satisfied that of , is unable through being (aged, slow, or infirm) to obtain
employment at the minimum wage fixed by the Award of the Industrial Board for the calling of , and therefore I hereby grant this
license to (him or her) to work as a for a wage of per
(hour, day or week) for a period of months from the date hereof,
such wage being less than the minimum wage fixed by the Award of the said Industrial Board. Entd. by:
(Signature) Secretary to Industrial Board.
NOTE. — Under Schedule III, 15 (2), the number of persons so licensed shall not, without the consent of the Board concerned, or the Court, exceed the proportion of one-fifth of the whole number of per- sons employed by the same employer at the minimum wage fixed for adults or at piece work rates : Provided, that one person so licensed may be employed by any one employer. Any employer who, without consent, employs any greater number than the fixed proportion, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.
At the expiration of the license it is returnable to the Regis- trar.
(NOTE. — See further reference to the Minimum Wage.)
These are samples of legislation endorsed by Australian statesmen, whose boast is the democracy of the country and the individual liberty enjoyed by its people who have not yet been inflicted with the "chain-step," but know not how soon they will be. What shall be said of such democracy and such liberty? What shall the real statesmen say of it? Is it any wonder that the people of Australia, which ranks among the most fertile and richest countries of the world and whose climate is ideal, long- ing and struggling for more population as they do, fail to realize their desire? No country ever put forth more strenuous effort or labored with more zeal to increase its population and build up its industries; even going so far as to pay a bonus of £5 to the parents of every white child that is born in the Common- wealth. In this country of "peasantry government," the man who "can't make good" is the last man to find employment and
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the first to lose it. His bargains being made for him by the State he surely is "between the devil and the deep sea." But, like the cow that gave the full bucket of milk and then put her foot in it, the beneficent advantages which the country itself offers are more than offset by the kindergarten policy of its Government. In no other country do vested interests feel less secure or capital more timid. Its peasantry "rules the roost" and is breeding a nation of idlers. The functions of Government have been brushed aside and usurped until, in the language of one of its most prominent business men, it has become "a fool's paradise." But, as to this, let the views expressed by its own citizens in the quoted portions of this report be the basis of any opinions which may be formed thereon, while we pass on to a brief explanation of the industrial laws of the other States and of the Commonwealth itself.
In New South Wales, the industries are regulated, or sought to be regulated, by an Industrial Arbitration Act, en- acted in 1912, which, as in the Queensland Act, creates an Arbi- tration Court, and Industrial Board and embodies substantially the same principles and features, except that the New South Wales Act contains a provision that preference to labor unionists may be given.
Victoria operates under an Act known as the Factories and Shops Act, enacted in 1912, and which provides for Wages Boards and a Court to which the decisions of such Boards may be appealed. Under this Act preference to unionists cannot be given. Its general provisions are similar to the Queensland Act.
Tasmania operates under Wages Board Acts adopted in 1910 and 1911, embodying substantially all the features of the Queensland Act, and prohibits the giving of preference to unionists.
In South Australia there are four Acts under which the in- dustries are controlled, the Factories Acts of 1907, 1908 and 1910, and the Industrial Arbitration Act, passed in 1912. These various Acts provide for the creation of Wages Boards and an Industrial Court, and embody substantially the features of the Queensland Act, and do not permit of the giving of preference to unionists. The Act of 1912 goes a step farther, in the right direction, than do those of the other States and seeks to protect the citizens in their right to the peaceful con- duct of their business callings and occupations. Section 43 of the Act provides as follows :
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Conspiracy and Protec- tion of Property Act, 1878, any person who:
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(a) Attends af or near any workshop, factory, place of business, or other place where an industrial dispute is taking place, or is threatened or impending, or has taken place, or at or near the residence or place of business of any person and
(b) Induces or attempts to induce any other person to take part in such industrial dispute or in a lock-out or strike, or to do or abstain from doing any act, matter or thing whereby any party to such industrial dis- pute, or any other person either directly or indirectly interested therein or concerned therewith, may or might be injured in his trade, business or calling, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £20 or to imprison- ment, with or without hard labor, for a term not exceeding three months.
The Secretary of a South Australia association, in a letter dated May 7, 1910, said: "Australia has during the last few years been going through a particularly trying period of indus- trial unrest, the chief cause of which no doubt has been the re- markable prosperity of the activities." Again the same gentle- man, in a letter dated August 31, 1910, said: "Industrial condi- tions have not yet reached the impossible stage in Australia but they are going rapidly that way. The labor party is a big politi- cal force here, and at present controls the Federal Parliament and that of West Australia. They also controlled our own State until the elections in April last when they went out with a thud."
In Western Australia the provisions of the Industrial Arbi- tration Act, passed in 1912, are similar to those of the laws in the other States. The Act does not permit of the giving of preference to unionists. New South Wales stands alone among the States as willing that its Wages Boards and Arbitration Court should, if they desire, say to a citizen artisan or laborer, "You must be a member of a labor union if you wish to earn a living in this State." And this cruel privilege is granted by the (•ommonwealth itself.
In addition to the various State Act, there are the Common- wealth Conciliation and Arbitration Acts of 1904 and 1911, designed to operate to adjust and regulate industrial conditions of an interstate character and over which the State laws had no jurisdiction. It was soon found, however, that there was clashing between the State and Federal awards in that many instances arose wherein the awards of both the Commonwealth and the States were effective and the awards varied. This con- dition has caused much confusion and annoyance and has been the subject of considerable agitation which the labor unions, through their representatives in Parliament, have sought to turn to their advantage, claiming that, under the Federal Act, where a controversy existed in similar trades or callings in any two States at the same time, whether the parties to such disputes were in any manner directly interested in both disputes or not,
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it came within the jurisdiction of the Federal Court. The ap- parent reason for so maintaining being that the Federal Court is headed by a judge who, it is claimed, is distinctly biased in favor of the laboring element and that more favorable decisions could be gotten where cases were taken before that tribunal. With lespect to this, the gentleman just referred to, in his letter of August 31, 1910, said:
The great trouble to manufacturers here at present is the dual control of industrial legislation. The States so far have jurisdiction on all matters which affect their own particular State. The Commonwealth has jurisdiction where an industrial dispute extends beyond the borders of one State. In addition to this the Commonwealth has an Arbitration Court- with a Judge who was appointed by the Labor Party from amongst their own number : he consequently has a distinct bias in favor of the men and a Federal Arbitration Court making awards which also fix wages and, possibly conditions on a different basis, and which, under the Act, apply only to the members of unions and to the employers who are cited, who to get the advantage of a judgment under the Federal Arbitration Court create a technical dispute in more than one State and another award is obtained in that Court. You can imagine the confusion which arises under these conditions. You have a State Wages Board fix- ing wages and conditions. I can assure you that Australia has not" been made the "Land of No Strikes," or a "Labor Utopia" by Act of Parlia- ment yet.
This means that practically all local labor disputes could by a simple "presto-change" performance, be taken from the jurisdic- tion of the State Boards and placed in the hands of the Judge of the Federal Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, and thus the industrial destiny of the nation would be practically in the hands of one man. As an example of how this could be done, let us take the case of the great strike at Brisbane, in January 1912, re- lating to which we gathered the following information from an authoritative source. The local tramway men struck because the company would not rescind its rule that its employees, during service hours should wear no badge or emblem exposed upon their clothing, other than that of the tramway company. In open defi- ance of this rule a number of the men proceeded one morning to take out their cars, wearing their union buttons. They were promptly advised that their service with the company was suspend- ed until such time as they would comply with its rules and at once a strike of the tramway men was declared. Whereupon a general strike of all unions in the city was called, some forty or more unions responding to the call. A siege of war at once began and anarchy, in all the name implies, reigned supreme for about a week. The union leaders set out to teach the citizens of Bris- bane, and incidentally of Australasia and the world, the lesson that unionism must not be thwarted in anything it wished to do, and that no rules could be enforcible over its own. Following military tactics, they declared "martial law" of their own,
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ordered the suspension of all business, smashed the windows and otherwise destroyed property of those who refused to obey the order. They forbade the delivery of ice, milk and all other food supplies by any and all persons not having a permit from the supreme union official. In fact, they took possession of the city in the same spirit and as completely as could have been done by an overpowerful foreign enemy. It was the first grand demonstration of the havoc ''Syndicalism," or "one big Union," as they prefer to call it, (,we call it "I. W. W.,") can play when it wants to. However, its reign of terror was of comparatively short duration. While it frightened some cowardly public officials away from the scene of action, there were others who stood by their guns, spurred up to their duty and with courage to perform it; among whom may be mentioned, Mr. Barnes, the Chief Sec- retary, and Major Cahill, Chief of Police who, realizing the exigencies of the situation and the limitations of his authority to act in the premises, gave the authorities the ultimatum of accepting his resignation or placing him in absolute control with no higher power to interfere. After considerable hesitancy, and a good deal of reluctance, is was decided to place Major Cahill in supreme control and orders were issued to that effect, with the result that 1500 or 2000 citizens were sworn in as special police and hundreds of pastoralists, from the surrounding dis- tricts, who volunteered their services, were also sworn in. Bat- talions were formed and assigned to different sections of the city ; the country contingent being mounted, rode through the streets beating the mob right and left with batons, while the city forces scattered the insurgents and arrested many of them. With this line of action normal conditions were restored after five days' reign of anarchy and terror, with the breaking of many heads and other bodily injuries. Before the assistance of city and country volunteers was sought, however, the city authorities, finding themselves hopelessly unable to cope with the situation, applied to the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth (Mr. Fisher) for Government aid, but the response came, "I see no reason why assistance should be given," and instead of ordering the aid asked for, he is said to have sent a donation of £10 to the strike fund of the riotous strikers. When the mob had been thus subdued and the machinery of municipal government was again working smoothly, the tram lines resumed after a week's tie-up, with a full complement of men, comprising those who were forced into the strike against their wills, and new men in place of those who were instrumental in causing the strike or voluntarily joined it, or refused to resume work unless allowed to wear their union badges. A new, and independent, union
66
was formed among the tramway employees and registered under the Queensland Industrial Peace Act and the old union, which was affiliated with the "Red Feds," as the syndicalists are called, was ignored. But, nothing daunted, they proceeded to appeal from the local Board to the Federal Court of Conciliation and Arbitration on the ground that pending the difficulty at Brisbane there was also a dispute in the tramway system at Adelaide, South Australia, which also resulted in a very serious and costly strike. The Federal Court, of which Mr. Justice Higgins is president, considered the case and made a most remarkable award therein. It not only ruled that the members of the plaintiff union should wear their union badges if they so desired, but that, notwithstanding the provision in the Queensland Act that there shall be no discrimination in employment, the company in the employment of men must give preference to members of such union. Thus creating a complex situation and raising an issue between the State and Federal Governments that promises serious consequences and which may lead to the final disintegra- tion of the Commonwealth, which, unless the people of Australia awake to their danger, socialistic labor unionism will accomplish sooner or later.
The Brisbane Tramway Company, in order to test the right of Federal jurisdiction in the premises, brought an action in the High Court, at Melbourne, which, by a majority of four to two, held that the provision of the Constitution, under which the action was brought, was sufficiently elastic to support the position taken by Justice Higgins. A similar case, known as the "Builders La- borer's Case," involving the same constitutional question was tried out in the High Court, at Sydney, the following reference to which is quoted from the Adelaide Advertiser of May 16:
Sydney, May 15. — Important constitutional questions respecting the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration were involved in two cases argued as one before the High Court of Australia on April i6th and succeeding days. The court gave judgment today. The essence of its majority finding was that the Arbitration Court had properly made an award between the Builders' Laborers' Federation and the employers. The Court was divided in judgment, but by a majority of four to two, the Chief Justice (Sir Samuel Griffith) and Mr. Justice Barton being the dissentients, refused the application by the Master Builders' Association of New South Wales for prohibition of the award. The Court was unanimous, however, in making absolute a rule nisi in restraint of that portion of the award in which the presi- dent of the Arbitration Court directed that compensation should be paid on the same basis as that provided for in the Commonwealth Workmen's Compensation Act, a measure applying only to employees of the Common- wealth Government.
THE CHIEF JUSTICE'S JUDGMENT.
The Chief Justice during an exhaustive review said: The case raises for decision in a concrete form the proper construction of the
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much-debated provisions of Sections 51 (35) of the Constitution, which empowers the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws with respect to conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of indus- trial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State. This being a new power conferred upon a Legislature of limited jurisdiction, which as a general rule has no authority to interfere with the domestic trade or industry of a State, it lies on the party making its exercise to show affirmatively that the case in which the exercise is involved falls within the power. * * * The matter is one with which a State is fully competent to deal.
The Brisbane and Adelaide Companies appealed to the High Court for a prohibition of the award of Justice Higgins and these cases were proceeding by argument at the time of our de- parture from Australia. It is fitting to mention here, that the tramway company, the City of Brisbane, as well as the whole of Australia, are to be congratulated upon the fact that such a man as J. S. Badger was at the head of the tramway company. A cool headed, fair minded, determined man, whom no body of law breakers could frighten nor intimidate; nor men swerve from the path of duty. One has only to mention his name almost anywhere throughout Australasia to be convinced of the esteem in which he is held. It would be well for Australia if it could boast of a few more such men as Mr. Badger, even though he is an American. It may seem, and indeed is, strange that after such an experience as the Brisbane strike, the Queensland Par- liament should pass an Act embodying the provisions hereinbe- fore quoted, especially in view of the political aftermath of the Brisbane and the Adelaide strikes, when at the next State elec- tions in both Queensland and South Australia the public gave expression to its dissatisfaction with the Socialistic Labor Party's evident contempt for laws, largely of their own making, and their flagrant disregard of the public's interest and convenience by voting them out of office. But there is no accounting for the extremes to which some Australian legislators will go in their mad attempts to establish "Industrial Peace."
In a speech by the Hon. Wm. Watt, "Liberal" Premier of Victoria, delivered in November, 1913, referring to the matter of Labor legislation, he said :
The Liberal Party believes that salvation by legislation is not pos- sible. It thinks there are many things that legislation can do, but there are many things it cannot do, and while we believe in bringing legislative progress to you, we are not offering the millennium which must arrive on some different road.
Referring again to the question of Federal jurisdiction over local or State authority in matters industrial, aside from the question of Federal interference with State Rights, as limited by the Federal Constitution, it should not, because it cannot equi-
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tably deal with local industrial matters in fixing uniform wages and conditions throughout the whole Commonwealth. For it is a plain proposition that widely varying conditions must of neces- sity prevail in the various States and municipalites and that, therefore, a Federal Court in fixing a uniform wage, and uniform conditions for each industry throughout the entire country, must be as unfair as it is impracticable and unwise to attempt to do so. Moreover, in effect, it is a long step in the direction of nationalizing State Socialism.
During our stay in Melbourne an award to waterside workers — wharf laborers — pending before Judge Higgins, ex- cited a great deal of interest. The following excerpts from an editorial in the Argus expresses the general sentiment of the thinking public as we heard them freely expressed by those with whom we discussed the subject. The Argus says :
April 17. — The main point about Mr. Justice Higgins's award in the waterside workers' case is that it gives the men practically all they asked for. Their formal claim was for 2s., but it is well known to be the practice in these matters to pitch the demand a good deal above the amount acceptable. One shilling and nine pence an hour is to be the rate of pay for wharf-lumping in future. Mr. Justice Higgins con- fesses that when he looked at it he was "startled to find so high a rate necessary for unskilled labor" ; but so it is, and the employers and the community will have to bear it with what grace they can. For there can be no getting away from the fact that an increase in freights and fares must follow the increase in wages.
Again, under date of April 20 the Argus says :
As the full significance of Mr. Justice Higgins's award in the waterside workers' arbitration case comes home to the general public it is bound to produce a feeling little short of dismay. To begin with, there is the immediate cost of it — the heavy additional burden which it lays upon the shipping industry. The sudden jump in wage rates will, it is estimated, increase the working expenses of the industry throughout the Commonwealth by at least £400,000 a year, which is considerably in excess of the net profits of the steamship companies. In the first instance the increase will fall upon the shipping industry, but it will, as a matter of course, be passed on at once to the community in the form of higher freight and passenger charges. That is always the result when the working expenses of a trade are artificially increased by taxation or other exercise of State authority, legislative or judicial. It is absurd, in the circumstances, for Mr. Justice Higgins to seek escape from the consequences of his action by pretending that if such a rise in the scale of shipping charges occurs now it may have no connection with his award. The additional £400,000 has to be found, and the people of Australia will have to pay it.
Laws and Wages.
Some twenty-two years ago, during 'the great maritime strike, the idea of solving the then vexatious labor problem by legislation, it is said, was first conceived in New Zealand and it
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was there that the suggestion first took root, which was imme- diately transplanted in Australia. The country was prosperous and the people were bent on taking advantage of their oppor- tunities to make hay while the sun shone. This seemed to be the way out of the drawback to continued prosperity and the avenue through which industrial peace could be enjoyed. Em- ployers and workers alike caught the fever, which became epi- demic, and the struggle against the economic law of supply and demand began in earnest. Employers tell us that they welcomed the advent of any system or policy which promised relief from the troublesome industrial conditions with which they were con- stantly confronted. They also tell us they would still prefer the many arbitrary and unjust annoyances of labor legislation, as it has developed, to the perplexities of the old regime if the scheme worked out as it should, but that it does not. It worked fairly well as long as the awards made under the system of Wages Boards and Arbitration were favorable to the workers. But when a halt necessarily had to be called to the constant ad- vancement of wages, reduction of hours and other handicaps to economic progress such as restrictions of output, the transfer, practically, of control of the employers' business from its owners to their employees, and the wanton attacks on discipline neces- sary to the management of employees in any line of business, back came the strike with all its evil accompaniments, until now the industrial conditions are worse than ever and the whole coun- try is agog with industrial turmoil and strife.
In discussing the subject of Wages Boards and their effect on the industries with a Sydney manufacturer of household goods who employs from 600 to 800 workers, he told us that, "barring the fact that Wages Boards are not a success," most manufacturers and some other employers would prefer to be relieved of the wage agitation and have a uniform wage for each industry fixed by a legalized board and to run for a definite period, and that they did not care at what rate wages were fixed because they always took care that advances were passed on to the public "with something added for good luck," but that it was hard on the unorganized portion of the public who could not retaliate and must carry the burden; also, that the system worked hardship to superior men in the industries whose opportunities for reward for increased productivity and skill were abridged by the system which practical operation had demon- trated to be a medium through which a horizontal standard is developed. The following from the Sydney Telegraph, of May 20th, entitled "Our Industrial 'Heavy Fee,' " will be of interest at this point, as it refers to the Bacon-Bartlet Bill:
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One of the speakers at Monday night's gathering of builders and other employers commented on the "very heavy fee" the people of New South Wales are paying "for the maintenance of industrial peace." The price, however, would not be considered too high if it bought what is paid for. What makes it unbearable is that in return for it the people do not get industrial peace, but experience about the same amount and inten- sity of war as in times when they did not have to keep up the costly pretence of ensuring peace. That is the position in New Zealand as it is in New South Wales. As the president of the Employers' Federation said, the Commonwealth Statistician has recorded the Australian indus- trial disputes of a year as numbering 208, and involving over 50,000 workers, and it is safe to say that the majority of these occurred in New South Wales, where the law and the form of tribunal have been changed more frequently than in any other State in deference to unionist dis- satisfaction and the hope of finding an acceptable method. Indeed, pro- portionately to our population we seem to have got atread of other coun- tries in industrial strife. When the last mail left the United States there was before Congress a bill promoted by the American Federation of Labor and legalising "any" combination or agreement with a view to lessen- ing the hours of labor or increasing wages or bettering working conditions. This measure protected workers from injunction on account of the con- sequences of the acts of any such combination unless they occasioned irreparable injury to property or a property right. Then it went on to define the relations of employer and employee, and the carrying on of business in such relation to be matters of "personal right." So that preventing workers from taking strikers' places and thus compelling an employer to close his business down would not be an offence, neither would any kind of boycotting, because in all such things only "personal rights," not "property rights/' would be involved. The proposed legisla- tion has been alarmedly protested against, and was indignantly de- nounced by President Roosevelt five or six years ago as meaning "the enthronement of class privilege in its crudest and most brutal form." But would it legalise anything appreciably worse than we have endured and are always more or less liable to in this State?
The law purporting to lay a safe foundation for industrial peace here has in large degree had the opposite effect through the great induce- ment and facilities for organization it has provided. By this method the numbers of unionists have been increased and the mass stiffened by that incentive to combativeness which is naturally given by the litigious proce- dure of the Arbitration Act. The potency of combination has also been thus drilled into workers. In the American bill which has been men- tioned it is not only employees that are proposed to be allowed to com- bine. As well the law's protection is to be given to farmers who make "any" agreement or combination for the purpose of enhancing the prices of agricultural or horticultural products. The reach of the protecting law that covers "any" arrangement will be obvious ; and not in that respect only, but evidently with a view to showing farmers a way to harness combination to their own purposes the proposal reveals a class astuteness which ignores the public interest. Employer and employed can combine in any way they please, that is what it amounts to, and of course that is what the law encouraging combination suggests, along with its concomitant disregard of the public which must find the money combined effort extracts from it. What ought to gratify us in this country is that so far employers and employed have not co-operated in methods which grind the public between the upper and nether mill-stones, as it has been put in America. No doubt employers sometimes find it difficult to pass on the whole cost of concessions that are demanded by workers, but at the same time it is a conclusion backed by evidence that in resisting extravagant claims they are moved by public-spiritedness as well as by appreciation of the economic impossibility of much that is
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demanded of them. And it is some solace to know that in this respect there are limits of practicability which cannot be passed though ap- parently they will be reached.
However, labor legislation is on the statute books, the ma- chinery for its administration has been firmly installed and the system so thoroughly established that it has become a fixed political asset that cannot easily be changed or removed. The situation is indeed a serious one and many thinking men pre- dict even more serious consequences before there will be any improvement, some going so far as to declare there will be a revolution before many years. But we do not share that opinion, as we believe the Australian people, as a whole, are possessed of sufficient intelligence and common sense to eventually restore normal conditions through rational and peaceful methods. We cannot but observe, however, that the country is in the hands of its enemies and that political demagogues are falling into line with the advocates of the "New Unionism," a deceptive term for "Syndicalism," better known in the United States as "I. W. W.- ism," the plain purpose of which is to throw the whole country into the condition experienced in Brisbane, when and as often as may please its violent socialistic leaders, whose creed is "No God, No Master, No Church, No Religion, No Morality, No Society. Just Anarchy."
When these men have completely dammed the rivers of in- dustry and choked the streams of prosperity perhaps Australia will awake from her slumbers and break down the barriers to her progress and development which they have erected.
According to the report of the Chief Statistician for the Commonwealth, in February, 1914, in the six capital cities, the average purchasing power of 175. 7d. in 1901 was equivalent to 2os. in 1911, and 225. id. in 1913. And the rent buying power of 155. id. in 1901 was equal to 2os. in 1911, and 225. 4d. in
The same report gives the number of industrial disputes for the year 1913 as 208, in which the number of workers involved was 50,283 ; the number of working days lost 622,535 ; the esti- mated loss in wages £288,101 ($1,400,170), and the average loss per head £5 145. 7d. In addition to which, the report estimates the loss in output at £1,400,000 ($6,804,000); the loss to em- ployers directly concerned, at £140,000 ($680,400), and the re- sultant indirect losses and damage to business and the trade as very large in comparison with the direct losses.
A close examination into the history of organized labor in Australasia reveals the same conditions that prevail in the United States and other countries, with something added for good
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measure. The more radical Socialists find the places of trust in the organization and occupy them. Drunk with the power of organization, they side-track reason and appeal to treason, rather than to common sense, and proceed to enforce their own radical views upon the community no matter how great the tendency toward the downfall of society and their own ultimate ruin may be. Irrespective of statute law or economic conditions they seek to establish a system of equality for themselves at the ex- pense of everybody else and contrary to the economic law of nature which, in spite of all that they have ever done, or ever can do, will assert itself and regulate the commerce and industries of the world. In this particular, we found it quite interesting to follow the proceedings of Wages Boards in their investigations into the cost of living as compared with the time of the last previous award, in order to establish a basis upon which to fix a new award. So while the Wages Board is a creature of written law it instinctively proceeds to perform its function in accordance with the established principle of the unwritten law of supply and demand. A good illustration of this phase of the subject was presented to us by a merchant in Sydney, who likened the wage question to a huge circle of industry in which the slaughter- ers, for example, demand and receive an additional shilling. Then the "butchers, the bakers, and the broom-stick makers" and all the other occupants of the circle, each in their turn, demand and receive an additional shilling and by and by the slaughterers say, we are no better off with the additional shilling than we were before we got it. All prices are higher and we must have another shilling, and so the circle keeps moving. Apropos to this illustration, is a leading article in the Sydney Bulletin of April 9, 1914, a weekly publication, which is here reproduced in full. The article is of especial significance because of the fact that it appeared in a publication that is said to lean strongly to the side of the labor unions. It follows :
THE WAGE QUESTION, AND ABOUT 100 SIDE ISSUES. The outstanding feature of industrial life in Australia today is the strike or the arbitration — too often it is the strike — for better wages and better conditions and shorter hours. The next most prominent feature is the clamor about high prices and high rents, about the increased cost of living and the increased cost of dying, and the prohibitive price of burial. The unrest is especially marked in New South Wales, because that State has been indulging in a loan boom of heroic dimensions, and, for some reason that it is not easy to define, it is in the sere and yellow tail-end of a boom that industrial troubles are most numerous. In Sydney, which is the center of the excitement, the cost of the place which we occupy when above the ground has been increased because there has been a great upwardness in the wages of the carpenter, mason, brick- layer, brickmaker, paperhanger, quarryman, etc. Also the cost of shifting materials is far greater than it used to be, and land to build upon has
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been run up to an insane figure by the congestion policy which tries to crowd all the trade and finance and most of the new population of the State into one bottle-necked city. Then the loan boom has created a feverish condition, and the landlord has been hustling for all he could get, and repairs cost more than they did, and rates have gone up, and the price of garbage-removal is greater, because the community is be- coming more civilised, and is taking more trouble — which means expense — about sanitation, and is more desirous that its tenements should be habitable. As for the place which we occupy below ground, the miser- ably ill-paid mute had to get a trifle, and the tombstone-maker required a little extra per week to counterbalance the increased price of existence, and it is even alleged that the old black horse which drags the late lamented to his home of clods has received an additional feed, but this is uncertain.
* * *
As a general rule, a country of high wages and high cost of living is a good one to inhabit, and low-wage and cheap-living country isn't. There are exceptions of course, for a high wage may be the temporary result of an influx of foreign loans, or of mad speculation in wild cats, or may be partly brought about by selling the public estate to all and sundry, and treating the proceeds as revenue. But on the whole the rule is sound. In the country where wages and prices are lofty there is the largest margin between earnings and expenditure ; the standard of living is best, and the savings are greatest. If the community — assuming it is a well-governed and well-ordered community — isn't satisfied with the savings and the standard of living, then the only thing that remains is to do more work, or to invent better machinery, so that it may be possible to produce better results with the same amount of work. This is an obvious proposition, based on the fact that no more can come out of a pot than has been put in it. Unfortunately the Political Drunk is always with us. There is the one who thinks that the way to be a high-wage man in a cheap-living community is to import low-price colored labor — slave or otherwise. He is a Fat person and wholly ignorant and objec- tionable, and his belltopper is a horror. Then there is the Free Trade person, sometimes Fat and sometimes Lean, who hopes to achieve the same millennium by importing, not the cheap, enslaved worker, but the cheap slave goods of his manufacture. There are other devices for living in cheap houses put up by expensive labor, and for having cheap food grown by highly remunerated growers ; and for travelling at low rates on railways built and worked by costly people, and for doing less toil and getting more for it. But they all come up against the ultimate fact that the pot, in the long run, can't supply more than its contents.
* * *
Taking New South Wales as a case in point, that State produced in 1912 — later figures are not yet available — wealth to the estimated value of ^74,100,000. That included the cow and the wheat, the coal that was dug up and the tree that was cut down, the gold, silver and lead, the factory products — even the output of the hen and the bee and the rabbit. The total represented something like £41 per inhabitant, and as the wages paid must have some dim relation to the value of the goods produced, it is plain that wages have their limitations. A coin may do marvels in the way of paying many men's wages in a year, but the limitations remain. The farmer gets one crop of wheat per annum, and it is eaten once, and then it is gone, and his possible wage fund for the year is the value of his output — no more and no less. Certainly last year New South Wales borrowed something abroad— about £4 IDS. per inhabitant to be accurate, which represented some £22 los. for an average family of five, a figure which works out at nearly QS. per. week. Therefore foreign borrowing represented the State's fifth biggest industry. It brought in more than fisheries, or forests, or dairying, or the group of minor jobs
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which arc lumped together as "Poultry, bees, rabbits, etc." It was only beaten by the pastoral business, by agriculture, by mining and by manu- factures, and borrowing ran both agriculture and mining very close indeed. But this is only a temporary relief, and as a set-off the export of interest is eating a dreadful hole in the State's production. In the long run, the wage possibilities of a country can be guessed at by the value of what it produces, less the net amount it has to pay to the foreign creditor from whom it got the loan of the dead horse in the days when it took no thought for the morrow.
* * *
A community that is loaded with foreign debt has its special limitations. It has to sell a large proportion of its produce abroad to meet the interest bill. It has to sell whether it can spare the goods or not, and whether prices are good or bad. In fact, it has to sell at the foreign buyer's market figure and be glad to get it. This foreign price, to some extent, fixes local prices in the industries affected, and all the kick in the world hasn't yet succeeded in raising wages beyond the limit that these prices will stand. The worst-paid industries are those in which men grow the goods that are mainly sold to Bull at the other end of the world — sold at Bull's valuation to cover the interest on the debts which Bull lent us at his own valuation, and which he renews at his own valuation when the account falls due. There really seems to be altogether too much of Bull's valuation and Bull's option in this borrowing business.
* * *
It might possibly be well if trades unionism devoted itself a little less to the frontal attack and a little more to a subtle circumventing of the enemy. It is good to push up wages, but wages won't go up beyond a certain point, no matter how much they are pushed, unless conditions are altered. There are schemes for forcibly shoving down rents by putting a dead weight on top of them. And there was recently a scheme for shoving down the price of local meat by stopping the export of meat to foreign parts. If the proposition had succeeded it would probably have spoiled the next foreign loan, for the exported meat helps to pay the interest, and when the loan failed the partially built railways wouJd have stopped, and thousands of unemployed navvies would have swarmed to Sydney and started wharf-lumping for a living. And their competition would have reduced the wages of the men who refused to load the meat for export, and they would be forced to do with less meat, and there would have been astonishment all round. Three propositions might be worth considering. One is that trades unionism should devote itself more to digging up improved methods of production so that the output of the country may be a great deal more than £41 per head, and there may be a bigger possible wage fund to divide. Another is that it should toil a great deal harder at eliminating the middleman — especially the foreign one, who is a great deal worse than the local article, inasmuch as he doesn't spend his profits in the country. The foreign importer, who is persistently cockered up by the Labor policy of "sinking the fiscal issue" is a very expensive burden. And among needless local burdens is the one absurdly big city, and the needless distances that goods have to travel to reach that city. And by way of a third proposition, trade unionism, and the Labor Party of which it is the foundation, might think a great deal harder about leaving off the debt habit and eliminating the foreign money-lender. For he lends us money at his own figure, and when the loan falls due he renews it at his own figure, and the country has to sell him wheat and frozen beef and sundries in his own market at his own figure in order to find the wherewithal to meet the liability. All these things complicate the wage problem exceedingly.
* * *
At the basis of the whole trouble lies the fact that the output of
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all New South Wales industries only represents £41 per inhabitant, and there are a multitude of absurd importers, frauds, loafers, sharks, middle- men, speculators, loan-mongers, and the like gnawing at that amount — there may be even too many trades union secretaries and a superfluity of archbishops. And it isn't such a very large amount of production per head whatever way you look at it. The wage question, at the last resort, comes up against the fact that all that can possibly come out of a pot is the quantity that is in it.
In the course of an address by the Hon. A. H. Whittingham, President of the United Pastoralists Association of Queensland, he said:
Naturally, the first matter which engages one's attention is the record of the industrial troubles which have occurred in the district. Prominent among these was the attempt made by the Carriers' Union to force all our loading through the Carriers' Union Office under Car- riers' Union conditions, and practically denying to the employer any right to make his own carriage arrangements. By this action on their part the Carriers' Union was infringing upon the basic principle on which our association was founded — namely, the maintenance of freedom of con- tract. It was, therefore, imperative upon us, if we wished to maintain our individual freedom, in the management of our business, that such an attack should be fought to the uttermost.
A very significant contribution to the history of industrial conditions in New South Wales is contained in a letter from the Melbourne correspondent of the London Economist, published in the Economist under date May 17, 1913, as follows:
LABOR DISPUTES IN NEW SOUTH WALES.
Labor disputes in New South Wales have of late been of an unusu- ally serious character. Notwithstanding the Arbitration Act, under which strikes and lock-outs were to be penalized, and notwithstanding that in two or three instances the arbitration machinery had been set going in the Court, large bodies of men have insisted upon their claims being granted without examination.
Virtually, therefore, the principle of arbitration has been aban- doned in New South Wales, and the Labor Ministry has only to register the formulated demands of the men. The strikes have occurred with extreme suddenness. With little premonition of what was coming Sydney was plunged into darkness at new moon time by the strike of the gasworkers, who refused to submit their claims to the Court. The Ministry was placed in a dilemma. The law really necessitated a support of the gas companies pending arbitration, but it could not afford to break with the men who, as unionists, are members of the Labor Party. Ultimately the Government induced the companies to yield to the men, the compensation being that the Act passed a few months ago regulating the price of gas is to be amended, so that the maximum price will be 3d per 1,000 higher.
Another strike, still dragging itself along, was that of the miners employed in the Southern Collieries. It was ostensibly occasioned by the dismissal of an employee, but other grievances were alleged, although a judicial award has recently been made. The mine proprietors were asked by the Industrial Registrar to consider the proposals of the men, but they replied in the following terms :
In the circumstances of the present stoppage of work at the Southern Collieries the proprietors will not discuss any alleged grievances. The
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employees have wantonly broken the award, which, inter alia, provides that in no circumstances shall work cease except after giving fourteen days' notice. The proprietors feel that they represent in this matter the principle of obedience to the law of the contract, without which no civilized community could hold together. Their decision therefore is that the men must return to work and recognize the award, which is equally binding on employer and employee. They now look to the Gov- ernment to uphold the law, and feel that if awards or agreements are to be continually violated the status of compulsory arbitration will be- come a dead letter.
From another quarter a startling sensation was sprung upon the Sydney public. Owing to the expansion of Sydney along the harbor, with its numerous inlets, a large traffic is carried on by ferry steamers, and principally by the Sydney Ferries, Limited. Without a preliminary statement of grievances and claims, the men struck as from the morn- ing of Good Friday to the great inconvenience of the public. The blow was struck with the intention of impressing the public with the great power possessed by the firemen and deck hands.
Again, a great deal of palavering followed between the men, the company and the Government. The strike leaders demanded that the Government should seize the company's boats and work the service itself at the company's expense, acceding to all the demands of the men. The coerced company capitulated, and is striving to make good the loss it incurs by raising fares to a moderate extent. But workmen belonging to the Labor Party object to pay the increased fares, and the Government may again be invoked to coerce the company.
The next great conflict arose from the determination of the Barrier Labor Federation that no non-unionist in any trade or occupation should be allowed to live in Broken Hill, a town containing 40,000 people, miners, their wives and children, business people and their employees and others. Some of the miners have occasionally proved themselves recalcitrant, but they have been called to heel. The leaders of the Labor Federation were not satisfied, and they resolved to compel everybody to join a union.
On the 2nd instant the employees of the Silverton Tramway Com- pany (which conveys the Broken Hill products for a distance of 36 miles), acting under orders from the Labor Federation, struck work because the clerks and other officers of the company were not unionists. The officials then formed a union, but the directors of the company declined to allow seven of them who occupy confidential positions to remain in the union. The traffic between Broken Hill and the rest of the world has therefore been hung up for a week, and supplies of all kinds are running short. The mines are gradually closing, their storage arrangements for ore being inadequate.
At about the same time as the strike at Broken Hill occurred the sudden cessation from work of several hundred laborers employed by the New South Wales Railway Department. They had presented claims which on their face were preposterous, and declined to wait for a de- cision of a wages board. Other branches of the service are actively displaying sympathy, in deciding not to handle "black" goods ; that is, merchandise handled by free labor. Again the Government is at its wits' end. There are now three contests in active progress in New South Wales, in defiance of arbitration legislation, viz., the Southern Collieries strike, the Broken Hill embroglio, and the railway strike. The existence of the Labor Government depends upon its ability to placate the men, and it cannot do so excepting by implicitly carrying out their instructions. Even should the disputes be settled, there will be no guarantee that further troubles will not arise.
Of equal significance with the above letter is an interview with Mr. Howard W. Berry, President of the Associated
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Chambers of Australia, as published in the Manufacturers News, Chicago, May 15, 1913, and from which the following is quoted: Wages have been advanced steadily, as the labor unions say, to meet the cost of living, but they won't, admit that the advancing wages have been an important element in the higher cost of living, which of course is apparent to economists. The industrial interests have advanced wages steadily out of proportion to their earnings rather than to submit to trade demoralizing strikes, but there must be a limit to such advances. If Australia should have a dry season it would cause widespread depres- sion and employers, I suppose, would simply let their men go on a strike.
LABOR IMMUNE AGAINST LAW.
Employers must obey the laws governing the arbitration of labor questions or suffer heavy fines or imprisonment. They must pay the wages fixed by arbitration boards. Labor, however, has been able to ignore the awards with impunity. If Labor is not satisfied with an award made by an arbitration board, Labor goes on strike the same as in this country. It is impossible to punish the strikers. There wouldn't be enough room in all the jails to accommodate them. It has been found impossible to make the men work unless they want to, but employers can be severely punished for locking their men out. * * *
The Labor Party has been successful in Australia, not because it has more votes, but because it is so much better organized than the Liberal that it is able to get out the vote. The vote of the women has largely contributed to the success of the Labor movement. Women iden- tified with the Labor Party never fail to vote, but the other class pays much less attention to the ballot, being occupied too often with social duties. * * *
Restriction of Output.
Notwithstanding the fact that Australasian unions, as every- where else, indignantly deny that restriction of output is a re- sultant feature of unionism, the evidence on every hand is so manifest that any attempt of the unions at denial of the charge sinks into ridiculous insignificance. As a case in point, the Melbourne Argus, in its issue of March 3, 1912, published an item entitled "Bricklaying Records," in which it was shown that in four and one-half hours four bricklayers laid 5608 bricks, an average of 374 bricks per hour, per man. Commenting on the circumstance, another authority said this was an eye-opener to the contractors of Melbourne, but it was a greater eye-opener to the Bricklayers' Union that any union men should be such fools as to let the cat out of the bag by proving that the ordinary layer of bricks, who lays some 400 to 500 a day, had been nearly equalled in capacity by one of these men in an hour. The result was that the union fiat went out, and the public, who had gathered around the building in Bourke Street the next morning to witness a further test for a record, were disappointed, the men having fallen back to the usual pace. We made a number of in-
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quiries in New Zealand and Australia as to the number of bricks laid for a day's work and the answers varied from 450 to 550, whereas 2000 is a fair average for a day's work of eight hours. Whether or not the "stint" is fixed by the union, the fact is, the laziest or slowest man in the trade .controls the brake to energy and efficiency and sets the pace for all.
In this connection the following from the Adelaide Adver- tiser, of Nov. 20, 1912, is significant:
Because he broke his pledge to the executive of the Iron and Brass Moulders' Union that he would not do more than a certain amount of work, a moulder, still employed by Messrs. A. Simpson & Son, has been expelled from that organisation, and it has been hinted that members of the union will consider the question whether or not their employment in the establishment shall continue alongside a non-unionist.
During the hearing of the recent Ironmoulders' Wages Board appeal case, the Hon. J. H. Vaughan drew from one of the employers' witnesses (Mr. A. A. Simpson) the surprising statement that the secretary of the Ironmoulders' Union (Mr. F. B. Spafford) had written to one of Messrs. A. Simpson & Son's employees requesting him to reduce his earnings. The incident has resulted in the expulsion of the stove moulder from the union for earning more than £3 35. gd. per week. It seems that some months ago Messrs. A. Simpson & Son, rinding that moulders in Sydney were making 105 washing copper castings a week, offered this moulder a bonus of pd. in addition to his wage of £3, for all the castings he could make weekly in excess of 50. This was not an illiberal offer, as if the moulder has reached the Sydney output his wages would have been £5 is. 3d. The moulder, so encouraged, at once made over 60 castings per week, but the executive of the union, at a meeting held in August, decided that the work was in excess of that prescribed by the under- standing, which is said to prevail in all local foundries, and in the letter referred to ordered the moulder to reduce his castings to 50 per week — though he was quite able to make 65 and earn 75. 6d. a week more. The moulder at first paid attention to this request, but at last, failing to see why he should reduce his wages he defied the authorities, -with the result mentioned. His employers complain that the enforced restric- tion of output is hampering their operations. They are now importing cast- ings from Scotland, which they formerly made here, and during the past year have so imported many thousands from Great Britain. Meanwhile, it is stated that another local foundry has also been partly abandoning manufacturing for importing, solely owing to this restriction of output.
The foregoing extract was furnished us by Mr. Simpson himself, who is Mayor of Adelaide. He informed us that the expelled union member was still working for his firm and was averaging 90 castings a week and earning from $6 to $7 a week more than the union allowance. It will be of interest to note here, that not many years ago the city of Adelaide secured a new charter, differing somewhat from other chartered munici- palities in that it contains special voting qualifications in matters relating to municipal affairs, whereby, in voting on general ques- tions every property' owner or occupier has one vote and limited corporations three votes in the ward or precinct in which the plant or business is located. On financial questions the same
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qualifications prevail, but the voting is on a sliding scale based on rental value, assessed by city valuation as follows : One vote on £25 and under, two votes on £25 to £35, three votes on £35 to £45, four votes on £45 to £55, five votes on £55 to £65 and six votes on over £65. As a result of these special voting qualifications, the Labor Party is unable to secure more than a scant representa- tion in municipal affairs; there being but one Representative in the city council at the time of our visit to Adelaide.
Another example along the line of decreased efficiency was given us by the Mayor of an Australian city, a contractor and merchant, who, in discussing labor conditions in Australia, said : "This country appears to be going bad very fast. The indif- ference and independent attitude of the working people and the high wages which must be paid for poor service, is getting to be intolerable and it's a question how long we can stand it." "Why," said he, "the commoner the labor the more it costs, and there is an oversupply at that; just think of a situation like this. We have to pay common laborers is. lod. (44 cents) an hour for regular time and up to 55. 7d. ($1.25) an hour for overtime work, Sunday night work being paid for at four times the regular rates. Labor unions and Labor legislation are put- ting everybody to the bad and making a sorry mess of the coun- try." He told of a case, just the day before, where a wharf laborer was wheeling three bags of grain on a truck. One fell off, the man stopped, lit his pipe and deliberately waited 25 minutes until another laborer, whose business it was to load the trucks, came along and put the bag on the truck again, when laborer No. i proceeded to wheel the grain to the ship. He cited this as one of many incidents of the abuses which the people are compelled to endure by reason of the intolerable condition into which the industrial situation has drifted, and said there must be a day of reckoning soon, and the president of the Chamber of Commerce added : "The great drawbacks to Australia are lack of people and labor legislation." Another business man volunteered the suggestion that "all that ails Australia is dearth of population and the unbearable condition of its labor market."
A member of a large rice importing firm in Melbourne said _ they were paying 25 per cent more for labor now than when they averaged 700 tons unloading against 400 tons under present con- ditions.
The question, "Is olive growing a profitable industry in Australia?" was asked an official in the office of the Minister of Agriculture for South Australia. The response was : "Not now, but it used to be before the labor problem killed it." While
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passing through the works of one of the Government railways, the manager told us that on account of the labor situation it was his determination to install a machine whenever he could displace a man by doing so ; that he had no difficulty in managing machines, but with men it was often <a question of whether, he or they were running the shops.
The head of a rubber firm, with whom we conversed, stated that his firm had until recently employed 100 people in the manu- facture of rubber goods, but that the labor situation had become so rotten that they decided to close their factory; that they ar- ranged for the agency of several American manufacturers, whom they now represent, and have rid themselves of the torments they were forced to endure as manufacturers and are making more money. An official of another and much larger rubber manu- facturing plant said that they were trying to get along as best they could under present conditions, but that their experience was no exception to the rule, and that manufacturing in Australia was a tough proposition. Again, an- official of a large engineering plant which was then in the midst of a long drawn out strike, ex- pressed himself as thoroughly disgusted with industrial conditions.
Wage Earners' Views.
The suggestion thrown out to a waiter at the Hotel Aus- tralia, that "this country is a paradise for the working man," brought an unexpected and somewhat surprising rejoinder. He said he was born in England and married in Australia; that he worked five years in the United States, one year in the Conti- nental Hotel, Philadelphia, and two years at Atlantic City; that he was going back to the United States as soon as he could raise enough money to cover the expense; that Australia is no place for a working man who has any ambition ever to be anything else ; that he found it much harder to get along in Australia than in the United States notwithstanding all the blow about its being the "workingman's paradise" ; that there are more tramps and low down poverty in Australia than in the United States in proportion to population ; that production and efficiency are getting so low in Australia that the wealth of the country is being eaten up and that, bye and bye, there will be nothing but poverty unless things change materially. We failed to observe very much of the low down poverty to which this man alluded, but we did, while on a motor trip of no miles out of Sydney, pass no less than eight tramps, with their belongings swung over their backs, who were ostensibly looking for work but afraid they would find it. What- ever may be the necessity to tramp very far to find work in either
81
Australia or New Zealand, the "soap-box" orator is very much in evidence in both of these countries. In Wellington we stopped and listened to one of these "World Reformers" who was haranguing a crowd of about 25 men, urging the workers of the Dominion to drop ^raft organizations and join the "one big union which, when perfected, will drive capitalism into the sea, and then the workers' millennium will come." In Sydney, where there are a number of large areas set apart for the use of the public, these agitators "wax fat" and can be seen by the dozens every Sunday afternoon shouting the same sort of doc- trine to hundreds and thousands of listeners, very much to the discomfort of industrious, home-loving citizens, and to no good results to the country as ,a whole.
One mechanic with whom we discussed labor conditions said: "The unions would be all right if they didn't 'try to get the earth without earning it, and would act with decency and in reason, but they don't. A working man must either give up his self-respect and abandon his independence or stand to be hounded by an organized minority of his fellows who are always shouting about the 'brotherhood of man' and, at the same time, trying to force their brother workmen, who don't submit to being driven like sheep, into a condition of union servitude that has already made Australia, with all its shorter hours and many holidays, a mighty poor country for a workingman, with any ambition to get up in the world or raise a family to become anything more than laborers, to live in. Their idea is to keep on getting more money for less work, instead of getting more money for more work, as they should do. And what does it all amount to? Nothing. We can't buy as much for the money we get now as we could when we got less and things didn't cost so much, and besides, the unions have knocked merit sky-high. I believe, just as much as any of these socialistic agitators do, that labor creates wealth, but I don't believe that the way for the work- ing people to get more wealth is for them to produce less of it. That's one too many for me."
According to the statement of the Prime Minister, Mr. Cook, in his speech in Parliament, April 17, 1914, the total number of unionists in the Commonwealth of Australia is 433,000, (9 per cent of the total population, 37 per cent of all the workers, male and female, over 20 years of age,) and of non-unionists 734,- ooo. Therefore, the story of this man presents a striking illustra- tion of the power of organization and, from his viewpoint, is a clear demonstration that industrial legislation has proven a flat failure. Business men find it irksome, annoying and inefficient, and are at all times on the "anxious seat" lest they be summoned
82
before this or that court for violation of some law or ruling which they know nothing about. Furthermore, the fact that there are 737 separate and distinct Wages Boards in Australia, with more strikes than ever before, amplifies the old adage, "All that glitters is not gold," and proves conclusively that "mere movement is not progress."
Unionism's Effect on Discipline.
A most noticeable result of the domination of unionism is its effect on discipline of employees about the hotels, which is at a low ebb, and it is everywhere apparent that unionism is boss. One illustration of this will suffice to show the spirit which prevails throughout the hotels and, from our observations, in all other lines of employment. One of the members of our party asked the clerk of a hotel at which we were stopping for some stationery. The clerk called a page and told him to bring it. The boy looked up at the clock, which registered one minute to one, and indignantly replied, "Get it yourself, I'm off at one." The clerk went for the stationery without commenting on the boy's action. This attitude on the part of the employed was so pronounced that we soon began to express sympathy for the management, rather than complain of the lack of courtesy, or consideration for and attention to the wants and comfort of the hotel guests.
Hours and Wages.
Some scattering mention has hereinbefore been made of the question of hours and wages, but in order that this phase of the subject may be more fully given, the following table from the Commonwealth official statistics for 1913 is presented. In the table, "s" indicates shillings and "d" pence, the value of which in United States money is shown in the columns headed "U. S.," which we have added to the table for the purpose of ready com- parison. The rates given in the table are for regular specified work-hours, outside of which overtime is paid for at rates stipu- lated in the various Wages Boards awards.
O M
S S
1 1j
1 1
id J3
11
ii
it
•9 a I I
|J ll
•n
J-9
« S
I
• TfOO OOOiNOTfOO OOOOOOTt* OOO -fO O-* OOO OOOOTjt OOOO -<}-^!|^O!NT)« TtrfTttN Or« QOO OC4 -*O W O •* «
icco -Jic t^Tji doi rjJdco'
OOO O«DOOOO OOOO OO <OO OO
OO «OOO»O
5 §3
) 1C OO .^^H<N
OOO OOOOOO OOOO OOOOO OO COOOIN •<!< IN (N 00 O5 <N CO lO <N 5O CD «O O «5 <-< OOOO
OOOOCDO«D
00 O "5 O N- »C -1 t^ t» CC
8^.8 ^8888^ 88^8 88 8S 8^ 88S9 8^5
id "3 06 ccididoo^co io'»ot^^ ujid ict>I odd '
000 OOOOOO OOOO 00 00 00 OOOO 0»0
C<>-l »C
•M'tOOOO 00 •<*< OO 00 N 00 O O X O O •* C^ IN •* O O C<
9 §« n ^ ^ TjIc^TtITt'~!Tf! <*PTtcJP(:v*t>;t>:c^. °. *s ^ • coodd
OOOO 000000 ^°00000000 CSIO OOOOCCL-
»OOOO Tji^OOOO i-tOOOO»O»O»C'OOO ^O OiCCOO-JT -- X IQOOO U30JOOOO IOU3O»OOO>0«OOO OO O »O <N (N Tf tfi
ioi eeoC4K><OtcO<O
OOOOOOU5
dot^» o
oooo ooooooooooo po oo oooo-^oooooo
OlONO «' §0?-0
«CTf« O'*
00 Ot^
js:i i 1
ll
--^ ssou o
Taking the six capital cities as a basis of average, as shown elsewhere in this report, the purchasing power of money dur- ing a period of 12 years, 1901-12, has depreciated a trifle over 25 per cent, while, during the same period, the average increase in wages has been a fraction under 25 per cent showing again that, notwithstanding all the industrial friction and cost of political machinery, the race has been neck and neck with the economic law of supply and demand. The same statistical report says: "Taking the average for the six capital towns, the cost of living in the third quarter of 1913 was 25.5 per cent higher than in 1901. Of that amount 8.3 per cent was due to increase in price of food and groceries, while the remaining 17.2 per cent was due to increase in house rents."
A comparison of the wages enumerated in the foregoing table with those obtainable in the United States, in the same occupations, except common labor, will be interesting and instructive as show- ing the effect of Governmental interference with economic ques- tions. It will clearly be seen that wages average higher in the United States than in Australia, while from the most careful investigation into the cost of living we found it to be fully as high or higher in Australia than in the United States and that, after all, the Australian worker pays his full portion of the cost of the economic waste of time and production.
April 27th, while we were at Melbourne, the annual Eight- hour Day parade was held, in which there were estimated to be 11,760 marchers, representing 65 unions. There are 408 unions in Australia, of all kinds, 64 per cent of the total membership being organized on an interstate basis. The total membership in trades unions in 1912, was 433,224, of which 415,554 were males and 17,670 females; the total estimated num'ber of em- ployees 20 years of age and over, male and female, being 1,154,- 812, and the percentage of unionists to all employees 37.52. The total number of factories in 1912 is given as 14,878; the number of hands employed 328,000; wages paid £31,296,000 ($152,098,560) and the total value of output £148,745,000 ($722,900,700.) The Eight-hour Day is recognized as a legal holiday and takes the place of Labor Day in the United States. Union members who fail to turn out are fined. How- ever, there is a persistent and vigorous struggle constantly going on for still shorter hours, which, in some cases, has been recog- nized, as indicated in the table. Only recently, an application of the Builders' Laborers' Federation to the Federal Arbitration Court for an award of 44 hours a week, with a raise in wages to equal the 48 hours' pay, was allowed by that court, and still more
85
recently Justice Higgins, the president of the same court as previously mentioned, awarded the waterside workers a raise in wages to is. pd. an hour, based on 30 hours being a week's work. We were informed by a mine operator at New Castle that miners only work five hours a day.
This gentleman told a sad story of labor conditions in the mining industry. He said, "The situation is so bad that nothing short of a revolution will ever better it," adding to this pessi- mistic expression of opinion, "One of the finest countries in the world is rapidly going to the devil." In this connection the following from the Australian Mining Standard of June 14, 1914, is worthy of note:
Australia, truth to tell, has done very little with its gigantic re- sources. Its great mineral wealth in very many places has been scarcely more than tapped, and everywhere the development of them has been hampered by the restrictions imposed by the labor clauses of the Mining Acts of the various States, * * * but one thing we may be sure of is that before Americans invest any money here, they will be very careful to consider how the position is affected in every branch of industry by Federal and State legislation.
But the steamship companies appear to experience the greatest hardships in the management of their business, for aside from the excessive cost of labor in loading and unloading cargo, they never can tell when in port what minute they will be held up by a strike, or for how long. Strikes come on like lightning out of a clear sky, and whether their duration be long or short depends upon the humor of the freight handlers who never give a thought to the inconvenience they cause the traveling public or the losses which they Impose upon commercial interests. The captain of one of the ships on which we traveled told us that on his previous trip he left a cargo, the carrying value of which would amount to fully $5,000, on the wharf at one port, rather than wait the pleasure of striking wharf laborers to load it. He said he always felt relieved in mind, at each port, when his ship cast off her staylines, and wondered whether he would pass the next port without a holdup.
Holidays.
There are twice as many legal holidays in Australasia as there are in the United States. When we arrived at Melbourne, Saturday, April nth, it was the midst of Easter Holiday season, which runs from Thursday night to the following Tuesday morning, except with the banking institutions, which stretch it over to Wednesday. The ship on which we came to Melbourne had either to lay over until the following Tuesday to have its
86
cargo loaded and unloaded or pay double time for labor, if it could find any. Suffice it to say, the ship waited the pleasure of the holiday season. The following editorial from the Mel- bourne Argus of April 30, 1914, will be of interest as showing the extent of the holiday "plague."
MELBOURNE ARGUS. (April 30, 1914.)
Mr. Justice Heydon, president of the New South Wales Industrial Court, made some very sensible comments on Tuesday on the holiday nuisance. General holidays and trade picnic days are becoming alto- gether too numerous, and it is time that some regard was shown for the public interest. Strangers visiting Australia are amazed to observe the spirit of resignation in which the people submit to these encroachments on their convenience. An occasional day's rest from physical or mental toil is an excellent tonic for the individual, arid the community, of course, shares in the benefit. But in a country where the hours of work are short and strenuous application is far from being conspicuous these constant breaks in the continuity of the ordinary services to the public are mischievous. There should be an element of reasonableness preserved in all things. Trade picnics are, no doubt, very pleasant festivities for those participating in them, and if they were held at suitable times there would be no special objection to them. This is far, however, from being the case. Mr. Justice Heydon remarked that the Melbourne fruiterers had their holiday during the very season when fruit is most in demand. His Honour happened to be here at the time, and was evidently deeply impressed by the absurdity of the spectacle. It was about the severest day of the summer, yet by Act of Parliament the shopkeepers and hawkers were forbidden to sell an ounce of fruit, excepting to purchasers con- suming it on the premises. The folly and wastefulness of the proceeding were obvious to everyone; yet it will probably be repeated each summer for years to come.
Bakery employees, again, are persons for whom every reasonable consideration should be shown; but it is surely not reasonable that the public should 'be forced to eat stale bread on 26 Wednesdays in the year, as well as on every Sunday. All that was thought of when the fortnightly holiday was decreed was the pleasure and convenience of the bakers and bread-carters ; the interest of the consumers was never for a moment considered. So well do the employees concerned understand the principle on which these things are usually done that they have recently been agitating for a compulsory system of day-baking. True, the people might dislike eating stale bread; but what were trivial objections like these when weighed against the desire of the hands employed in the industry? What does the public exist for but to serve the ends of unionism? Mr. Justice Rich fortunately took a different view of the position when the claim of the bakers came before him the other day, and for his pains will no doubt be considered a judge unsympathetic with labour. Mr. Justice Heydon has rightly declared the rapidly increasing number of holidays to constitute "rather a serious question." Though the president of an arbitration tribunal, he regards his function as being essentially judicial.
He refuses to shut his eyes to the economic consequences involved in the claims submitted to him, and never fails to let the claimants know when he thinks them in the wrong. From remarks like those he offered on the holiday question, they learn that there are two sides to every question, and that the mere fact of a demand being made does not neces- sarily mean that it will be conceded.
Sunday Observance.
In this connection it is pertinent to speak of the respect observed for the Sabbath, which is both especially noticeable and commendable.- The tramways do not operate their cars on Sun- day mornings and not until one or two o'clock in the afternoon. While this may seem a great inconvenience to the public, the people appear to have adjusted themselves to the custom and do not suffer very much inconvenience from it. In comment- ing on this feature of Australasian life, some writers have claimed that their Sunday observance comes from the prevalent desire to loaf, but this we believe to be an extreme view of the matter, and hardly just to the large class of intelligent Christian people of these countries.
The Minimum or Living Wage.
(See former reference)
Referring again to the subject of "The Minimum," or "Living" Wage, as it is sometimes called. The rate of wages fixed by the Wages Boards, in the various industries, is the minimum wage at which labor may legally be employed, and while higher wages may be paid, as a matter of fact, the rates established by the Boards become the standard, and practically abolish all other bartering with respect thereto. Moreover, the principle upon which these boards were created, and the chief reason for their existence, was to settle the question of wages and working conditions by law, and do away with all other forms of bargaining and thereby abolish labor controversies and strikes. Employers generally accept the awards of the Boards, and being thoroughly organized, a general understanding pre- vails in the industries that the same shall be rigidly adhered to, otherwise the Wages Boards would perform no function other than to establish a general starting point at which wage agitation and strikes should begin. They also appreciate the fact that the payment of rates higher than the minimum in some cases would tend to bring the minimum up to much higher rates at the next award. Hence, as a general rule, the minimum is also the maxi- mum. Then again, as the minimum wage is necessarily based upon the average capacity or efficiency of all workers in a given industry, those who are incapable of "making good" in produc- tivity to the value of the "standard" wage are not wanted in times of depression and are only grudgingly employed at any time, while the more energetic and efficient worker is compelled by law to accept less for his services than they are worth, or stultify his ambition and honor by producing less than he is able
and willing to produce if his natural inclination were not muzzled by the law of the land. The effect of the system upon the higher class of workers was vividly expressed during a conversation we had at Melbourne with two such men, who are entirely out of harmony with industrial conditions as they prevail in Australia. One of them said that no self-respecting artisan could be a happy and contented individual when the laws of his country fixed the compensation he must accept for his services and erected legisla- tive barriers to his opportunities to become anything more than a slave to the ideals of Socialism. "Such conditions," said he, "are not conducive to a higher standard of efficiency, but, on the contrary, they encourage inefficiency and the devoting of one's mind and energy to the promulgation of a lower standard of civilization."
Now, the avowed object of the "living wage," so-called, is to insure to the workers and their dependants — if they have any, as most workers do — a decent living. But the proposition is fraught with many difficult problems. Among them, what con- stitutes a decent living? How many "livings" should the wage provide for? The cost of living? The amount of efficiency to be expended by the wage recipient ; changes in business and gen- eral economic conditions ; tariff ; imports and exports ; the natural resources of a country and the proportionate wealth of its people, and various and sundry other things, bearing upon and subservient to the economic law of supply and demand, and which, in combination, present an insurmountable barrier to a just and equitable economic solution of the problem.
Australia and New Zealand are both agricultural countries having a combined population of less than 6,000,000 souls. The unusual prosperity which they have enjoyed since the introduc- tion of the refrigeration system of shipping pensnable products has enabled their people to endure an amount of unsuccessful, uneconomic and experimental legislation which would have caused the downfall of some other countries if attempted.
They can hardly aspire to becoming manufacturing coun- tries, at least for a long time to come, and until they become suf- ficiently populated to create a competitive home market for manu- factured products. Yet, notwithstanding the vast natural rich- ness of these countries and the homogeneousness of their people, few business men, or men in public life who are not making their living or getting rich out of socialistic politics, can be found who will not admit that the whole economic scheme of labor legislation is a dismal failure and a drawback to the welfare and development of both of these otherwise glorious countries. They will tell you that the minimum wage is a harmful and un-
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just abridgment of the rights of skillful and efficient artisans who, in the absence of such legislation, would be better paid for their services, that it simply amounts to a scheme whereby "Peter is robbed to pay Paul" by fixing a higher minimum wage than the inefficient, lazy and indifferent are capable of earning, and that the wages of the more highly efficient and skillful workers are reduced to the same average level. Mr. Robert S. Walpole, an eminent student in economics, who is recognized to be the best informed man in Australia on its industrial situa- tion, in the treatise, "The True Basis of the Living Wage," says:
No sensible man desires to lower the standard of living and comfort in this country, but it must be admitted that the Australian is not as frugal as his brother the German, Frenchman, etc. His general Half- holiday and other holidays, and the shopping done in the shortest hours on Friday nights, largely enhance the cost of the retail article and in many other ways he has made a rod for his own back, though it may be admitted that the producer passes on these extra costs to the consumer, who is largely the wage-earner.
In summing up the whole matter, if our experimental legislation is to be effective, the living wage must be so fixed (if it can be) that in the worst times, the slow, old and inefficient worker will be properly protected, for it is this class, and this only, which is sweated. The shrewd, smart worker who realizes these facts is the man who would sooner see a piece-work living wage fixed, on a more businesslike basis, than the absurd minimum wage now current in many trades — a price which will 'last under all conditions, and not break down at the first sign of bad weather, knowing that he himself is protected by his skill and smartness in earning a good, profitable wage.
Governments are only human, and, like individuals, inclined to be generous, rather than just, especially in good times, because of the popu- larity attached to the fixing of a high minimum wage; but, remember, they can neither produce work nor maintain artificial wages, which, under bad conditions, must break down of their own weight.
The sooner the workers grasp this fundamental principle the better for themselves and those dependent on them.
"You cannot make bricks without straw" is an old saying, and you cannot make wages without capital, nor capital without labor. The product and its value is the essence of the wage fund, and the thorough, efficient worker, starting on an equitable piece work rate in a country like Australia, must before long have saved enough to be a boss on his own account. This should be the laudable ambition of every independent Australian worker. * * * I have endeavored to show that the living wage (now called the minimum) is not one that can be fixed by "rule of thumb," as has hitherto been the case in New Zealand and Australia, be- cause it defeats the very object of the "wage"— i. e., the ensuring of a decent living to the poorest class of workers for all time, due to their being incapable of producing sufficient to justify the high minimum fixed by Act of Parliament.
The right to work. Adam Smith in his "Wealth of Nations," says, "Is the property which every man has in his own labor, the original foundation of all property. * * * The patrimony of a poor man lies in the strength and dexterity of his hands, and to hinder him from employing his strength and dexterity in what manner he thinks proper, without in- jury to his neighbor, is a plain violation of this most sacred property." When the Wages Boards were first enacted in 1894, it was due to
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a wave of altruistic feeling in the public mind that many women and men were being paid a "sweating wage, one which did not provide for a decent existence." The period was one of great distress, due to previous years of over-gambling by the people of Australia, which resulted in the break of the land boom, banks, and many other businesses. This set up conditions which have occurred before and will occur again. * * * From report of Royal Commission 1898: "Undoubtedly when master butchers were compelled to pay 455. and 55s. per week for assistants they saw to it that they employed, as far as possible, such men as were worth the money. Hence, the inferior men found it very hard to get regular employment in the trade, and while they were formerly subjected to sweating, they now, in many cases, were deprived of work altogether." We thus see the principle of providing a living or minimum wage had been departed from, and eventuated in the Boards becoming a meeting place for men to fight for the highest wage possible, irrespective of those workers at the bottom of the ladder, the very class which the altruism of the public at the Wages Boards' inception desired to protect. * The working of the Act is best summed up by certain questions put by a late chairman of some of the Boards, and answered by himself. * * * He concludes with: "I do not believe that any form of legislation can rigidly fix the rates of wages to be paid to all classes of workmen with- out doing more harm than good. The true test will be when bad times come, then they must go down : No determination here can affect the workshops of Germany, England or America and no tribunal can fix wages as between employer and employee."
Dr. Victor Clark, in his summing up, says, referring specially to clothing and furniture (especially in the large employment of Chinese) : "Therefore, the law has not eradicated the evils it was devised to meet, but, nevertheless, it appears to have mitigated them." Again, comparing this 20th century legislation with similar legislation in the Middle Ages, he says: "The latter were in favor of property, and the first are class legislation in favor of labor. * * * The economic effects of such laws may prove to be the same in both instances. * * * They may be suffi- ciently important to predestine the experimental legislation of Australasia to failure; but broader knowledge and profounder study than have yet been devoted to this subject, are required to give us conclusions of value."
The above statements in respect to Wages Boards by the Royal Commission, by the chairman of a Board, and by the expert Labor Com- missioner from the United States Government, show that we are on dangerous ground, seeing that we are building on an unsound economic basis. The fact, as pointed out by the Royal Commission, that, very early in its inception, the Act led to the man who was formerly sweated, in many instances being "deprived of work altogether," shows that such legisla- tion, as Adam Smith says, "committed a plain violation of the worker's most sacred property — the employment of his strength and dexterity."
This is the weakness of the Wages Board. Instead of standing on firm foundation, the fixing of an actual or standardised minimum or living wage for all time, subject only to variations caused by enhanced costs of living when the same could be brought up for further adjust- ment by Parliament, it has allowed the Boards to be called together every three years, when a further struggle has taken place, not to stop sweating, but how to obtain as high a wage as possible, beyond that fixed three years before. Thus, losing sight of "their original intent, the merely enforcing of a living wage/' as Dr. Clark so wisely says, the high mini- mum has had a tendency to level down the best worker to the standard of the lowest worker earning the minimum, thus stultifying the best that is in a pushing, clever artisan, and making him purely a wage-earner; further, at the same time, carrying out the Darwinian maxim, "the sur- vival of the fittest," by crushing out the less efficient worker in an over- ' crowded market and leaving, when times are bad, "the sweater" to work
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his unholy trade. The great nations of the earth, for over a thousand years, have studied this subject and experimented. They have done great work in regard to the employment of children and women, but have fought rightly shy "at the fixing of wages," knowing the difficulties that always will arise in trying to equalise all men's labor. In conclusion, I think we may all agree that during the past prolific years in Australia, the Wages Boards, in comparison with some other legislative experiments we know of, have been fairly successful ; but the true test has yet to come, when (as now looks possible) lean years come, money and work become scarce, as to whether the minimum now existing can be main- tained, or whether it will fall like a "house of cards" because it is founded on unsound economic conditions. If so, will this cause serious labor trouble? For man is only human, not minding how much you raise his wages or shorten his hours, but strongly objecting to the oppo- site course being pursued. Will the Government be then prepared to acknowledge, as Dr. Clark cleverly puts it, "The responsibility of the State for a living wage logically leads to the responsibility of the State for employment at that wage," to ensure the high minimum and the certainty of employment?
Thus, from the foregoing discussion of the subject of a legalized minimum wage, there seems to be an abundance of argument that the Government should keep its hands off this complex and purely economic question, and that any attempt at Governmental regulation of wages is a usurpation of Govern- mental function which can only result in disaster.
Compulsory Arbitration.
Reference has been made to compulsory arbitration laws, but as this subject forms an important factor in the labor legis- lation of Australia and New Zealand a more explanatory and detailed reference to the same should be given, and to that end, and by permission of the author, Mr. Walpole, hereinbefore referred to and quoted, we reproduce an article covering the sub- ject completely. This article so thoroughly bears out and em- phasizes the information which we gathered from our various investigations, that we feel it to be unnecessary to burden this report with further comment in the premises, except to say, the article itself is evidence of its writer's ability to handle the sub- ject. It follows:
Compulsory arbitration may be said to be the immediate effect of the great maritime strike of 1891, which, for the time being, held up Australia and New Zealand. The men were ultimately defeated, but all parties — employers, employees, and the public — demanded some change in the methods of fighting out industrial disputes in the future.
New Zealand was the first to give voice to this view, and the Hon. T. McGregor, M. L. C. together with the Hon. W. P. Reeves, drew up a Bill in 1894 for conciliation and compulsory arbitration. Both of these gentlemen honestly believed they had found the way out of all industrial difficulties, and peace would in future reign supreme; but, unfortunately, when the Bill became an Act, and its administration was put into force, one of its fathers — Hon. J. McGregor (a leading New Zealand barrister)
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— was driven by candor to admit that the system, when worked out, was not a success, and with a view to remedying the wrong he had done, he wrote a most trenchant pamphlet, dealing fully with the Act, in which he says: "The system is not in any sense what it was intended to be — a means of settling industrial disputes and strikes by conciliation and arbitration, but it is rather a system for the regulation of the industries of the Colony by means of ordinances, misnamed awards, issued by a court of law." In spite of this criticism, the Act, though subject to numerous amendments, continues in operation. One of the most im- portant amendments was the abandonment of conciliation and going straight to the Compulsory Arbitration Court.
Its administration encouraged a large number of walking delegates in the Colony to go from workshop to workshop instigating disputes to be brought before the Court, and later appearing before the Court as special advocates in such disputes.
In 1905 the late Premier (Mr. R. Seddon), recognising that there was no finality in the demands of the workers for more wages every time agreements expired, said: "It was the duty of the Government to hold the balance fairly between employers and workers. He realised that, in the face of the present keen competition, no further burden should be placed on the industries. He was almost in dread of what was going to happen to New Zealand when the Panama Canal was com- pleted, and New Zealand brought face to face with the old world compe tition" In this statement the Premier wisely saw the economic fallacy of believing that wages can be adjusted by legislation in face of the world's competition by countries who have no such restrictions. This is clearly shown by the increase in imports in two of New Zealand's pro- tected industries — apparel and slops and boots — before and after the Arbitration Act came into force:
IMPORTS. 1894 1908 Increase
Apparel and Slops £301,774 £775,559 Over 100 per cent.
Boots 139,455 244,443 Over 50 per cent.
These two industries, if any, should be expected to hold their own in a protected country, but, as shown in a previous article, due to the product of the outside worker being greater, his hours longer, and no artificial legislation, the wall of protection was overcome, and the con- sumer provided with the imported article at a satisfactory price.
New Zealand, to whom it has been credited, as a land without strikes, is not a manufacturing country in the true sense of the word. * * * This would, to some extent, account for there being fewer strikes if viewed in comparison with the great European and American industrial centres; though, if space would allow, the writer could furnish details of many strikes that have taken place since the Act came into force, in such industries as coal, slaughtermen, iron founders, miners, etc., etc.
New Zealand has been well called the paradise of the workman, though its wonderful success cannot be credited to the soothing effect of compulsory arbitration, but due to the Creator having given the New Zealander one of the most splendid climates and prolific soils in the world. This is revealed in the exports for 1909 (practically all primary), amounting to £21,290,436 — not bad for a population of some 900,000. This wonderful result is sufficient reason as to why the consumer is enabled to pay the extra cost of all he wears and eats as passed on by the employer, and, though the late Prime Minister (Hon. R. Seddon) said that, "Despite increased wages, the workers found themselves no better off than formerly, on account of the increased cost of living," the Act still remains in force, like the Wages Boards and other experi- mental systems for framing wages. Specially good times allow the merry
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game to go on. "You get more wages ; you pay more for what you get." Of course, the day of reckoning must come, and then the New Zealand Government will have to prove whether the high minimum fixed by the Court can be maintained, and if not, it must face the result of falling wages and consequent industrial strife.
The history of compulsory arbitration in Australia commences in 1896, when Commissioner Russell, appointed by Mr. Kingston, the Premier of South Australia, became first President of the Arbitration Court of South Australia, but this gentleman had special powers to settle matters voluntarily if he liked, and in 1902 the shearers' strike settlement was effected voluntarily by him, and gave such satisfaction to both parties as to encourage the Commissioner to act in a voluntary capacity in other cases, the consequence being that in seven years there were only seven disputes ; whereas in New Zealand, with its paraphernalia of a Judiciary Court, and due to the encouragement the Act afforded to busybodies to bring disputes before the Court, there were 400 disputes in five years.
New South Wales was the next State to take up compulsory arbi- tration, and at its inception determined to leave out conciliation. During its existence it managed to create more turmoil perhaps than any- Act placed on any Statute Book in the world. Shortly after it had come into force a big shearers' strike took place, and the country, believing that it had now the means of settling disputes by compulsion, called upon the Court to do its duty. Parliament was also asked why the Court delayed in settling this dispute, and the reply given by Mr. Wise, the father of the Act, was casuistical in the extreme. He said: "The Act defines a strike as a cessation of work by a body of employees acting in com- bination. Now the shearers have not ceased to work, but have declined to begin work, and that is a very different thing"; but what Mr. Wise failed to state was that, though it was true these men had refused to com- mence work, which was entirely their business, they had refused to allow anyone else to work in their place, which was quite another thing.
This want of action on the part of the Government and the Court in the first great strike since the inception of the Act was the commence- ment of its failure, and, as we shall see, gradually broke down the Act. Its real weakness was the impossibility of the Court to enforce its de- cisions on the thousands of shearers on strike. The Court could not fine them, because the Government knew it would not be paid, and, failing this, the only recourse was to put them in gaol, which, as one of the men said, "there were not enough gaols to hold them," and sec- ondly, if they could have done so, no Ministry would have lived 24 hours.
The New South Wales Act was perhaps the most drastic of all the State Acts. It not only gave power to the Court to deal with wages and hours in every employment, but the modes, terms and conditions of em- ployment, the dismissal of or refusal to employ any particular person or class of persons, or any established custom or usage of any industry, either generally or in any particular locality. In the words of Mr. Ash- ton (then Minister of Lands), the Act purposed giving a Supreme Court judge "a power beneficent or ill, so great that no Parliament that ever existed would dare to exercise it. It meant," he continued, "that a Supreme Court judge will hold in the hollow of his hand the industrial development of this country."
The judge of the Court was allowed two assessors or lay members of the Court, because, as Mr. Ashton said, "he did not think any Su- preme Court judge had the requisite amount of wisdom to enable him to perform that duty without committing very serious errors." In this he showed his fore-knowledge, because subsequently many judges, even with lay representatives, tried their hands at the game, and, in en- deavouring to carry out the extreme powers vested in them, caused action after action to be brought before the Full Court of the State, and
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in some cases before the High Court of the Commonwealth, in which their judgments, fortunately for the people of New South Wales, were nullified.
Some of the infringements on the rights of the individual were shown in the preference to unionists, who at that time did not represent a decent minority of the workers in the State. We find in the Arbitra- tion Court Report, 1903, the following : "In the undertakers' award, an employer, in case of an emergency, is not justified in engaging a non- unionist without applying to the secretary of the employees' union to ascertain whether any competent unionist is available." In the saddle and harness makers' award, the following clause is inserted : "Should any dispute arise out of this award, it shall, if practicable, be settled by the employer and the union secretary, failing which it shall be referred to the Registrar for decision." Yet another glaring instance of might over right being exercised by the Court when it laid down the principle that, in discharging hands, the employer must do so on the following conditions, "the last to come, the first to go."
These instances show some of the results of the desire for legis- lative industrial peace in New South Wales.
It is well summed up in Dr. Victor Clark's (Labor Commissioner for the Government of the United States) remarks re the New Zealand Court. He says : "The practical effect of the law has been to establish a tribunal for making collective .bargains. The name Court is mislead- ing. * * * In the first place the Arbitration Court is a representative, not an impartial and non-partisan body. * * * It does not grant trial by jury, nor are its decisions reviewed by any other tribunal. All these facts are faults from the statesman's point of view, and they do violence to the general experience of mankind, as crystallised in political opinions. To unite legislation and judicial functions in a single body, irresponsible to any higher power than the popular legislature, must appear to Ameri- cans, with their constitutional principles and precedents in view, a dan- gerous retrogression to more primitive conditions of law." Anyone who has studied the working of compulsory arbitration in Australia and New Zealand, whether State or Commonwealth, must agree with the above thoughtful statement furnished by an impartial and expert judge.
As the powers of the Act became better known, and the unions found the true value of the privileges granted to them by law, the Wharf Labourers' Union, by closing their books, refused admission to any more applicants in their union, thus limiting both quantity and quality.
The Act also enabled the unions to become a powerful factor in political life. This was shown in some of the rules of the Australian Workers' Union in their dispute with the Machine Shearers' Union re registration under the Court, one of the rules (No. 57) being: "Any member of the union voting or working against the selected candidate shall be fined the sum of £3."
These tyrannical powers given to the unions by the Act, and the adverse decisions in both the High and Full Courts in respect to the overriding of common law rights, brought matters to a crisis, and Mr. Justice Darley, the highest authority in the State of New South Wales, made the following declaration re the Act: "It is beyond ques- tion that the Arbitration Act as in force in this State is an Act which is derogation of the common law. It does encroach upon the liberty of the subject as regards persons and property. It creates new crimes unknown to common law or contained in any previous statute. It inter- feres with the liberty of action of both employer and employee. * * * Further, I think the Act is productive of the most alarming and deplor- able amount of litigation with its concomitant ill-feeling and ill-will between employers and employees, who are by this Act forced into hostile camps. I believe the object of the legislature in passing this
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Act was to promote peace and goodwill between employers and em- ployees, but I fear it has not done so." Subsequently Mr. Justice Hey- don, President of the Court, referring to the numerous adverse de- cisions given against the Court, said: "It had been riddled, shelled, broken fore and aft, and reduced to a sinking hulk." In other words, the regular courts had saved the people from a course of tyrannical rule by this ''intruder" equaled only by that of the Neros of old.
Public opinion swung round, and called for Wages Boards, with the result that the Act was so amended as to make the once-powerful Court a Court of Appeal. Fortunately, out of evil came good. The other States with such examples as New Zealand and New South Wales, decided they would have" none of it, and Wages Boards, except in Westralia (where an Arbitration Court had already been created), became the vogue in all the States. Compulsory arbitration for the settlement of strikes and industrial peace had been found wanting.
COMMONWEALTH ARBITRATION ACT.
One would have thought with such glaring examples before them (for these Acts were in full vogue at the time), the Federal Govern- ment, and that a so-called Liberal one, would have avoided creating such a Court to look after Commonwealth industrial affairs, especially when the power to deal with industrial conditions had only been agreed to in the last Federal Convention by a small majority, with the under- standing that such power would be provided only to meet a similar case to that of the great maritime strike.
Section 51, when inserted in the Constitution for the prevention of disputes extending beyond one State, was at the time looked upon as a harmless preventive, but when the Bill was brought before the House in 1904, it was found to be similar in many respects to the Acts of New South Wales and New Zealand in all its autocratic powers, and worse in one particular, that it had no lay representatives, but left every- thing ^to the power of one man, in spite of the statement made by Mr. Ashton already quoted, that "He did not believe any Supreme Court judge had the requisite wisdom to perform that duty without committing very serious errors."
The Act has had a similar effect upon the body politic to the New South Wales Act, and the words of Mr. justice Darling apply equally as apt to the Commonwealth Court, especially in the last paragraph: "The Act is productive of the most alarming and deplorable amount of litigation * * * and its object was to promote peace and goodwill be- tween employers and employees, but I fear it has not done so."
Thousands of pounds have been spent by both employers and em- ployees in the courts of law in "riddling" and "shelling" this iniquitous Act. Eight years have been spent in hearing disputes by the Court, whose decisions have in many cases been thrown out by the High Court. Amendment after amendment have been made in the Act, with a view of giving the Court greater and greater powers than even those men- tioned by Mr. Ashton at the inception of the New South Wales Act, and still no one is satisfied. Industrial peace is no nearer, and industrial war is quite as frequent as before its passage as an Act. Strikes take place all over the Commonwealth, and the leaders of the unions regis- tered under the Court point-blank say: "We reserve the right to strike. * * * A strike was the best weapon the workers had at the present time." Agreements made are broken and the leaders recommend the men "that unions should not bind themselves to their employers," and if an agree- ment arrived at by both parties was not signed at the moment of a contemplated strike, like in the case of the waterside workers and the shipping companies, in which a penalty of £1,000 was inserted for strik- ing, the men were encouraged "in waiving it on one side." Even in the case of the great Brisbane strike, when 42 unions, who had nothing
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whatever to do with the original dispute, went out in sympathy, one of which was the "Boot Employees' Union," registered under the Arbitra- tion Court, and working under an agreement of that Court.
It is true this Court is very popular at the present moment with employees, and registrations of unions are taking place every day; but at the rate it is moving many of those anxiously awaiting at the door to have their cases heard are likely to be grey-headed before admittance.
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION.
Compulsory arbitration, as an experiment in both Australia and New Zealand, if put on the stage, as "Pinafore," would prove a most successful, laughable farce, if it was not so serious to the Australian people. It has set up war between the classes; it has set up trouble between the States and the Commonwealth, having virtually offered a premium to the union to stir up troubles in those trades under Wages Boards, due to a late decision of the High Court — that the Arbitration Court cannot make an award inconsistent with the determination of a Wages Board — that is to say, it cannot fix wages lower than those fixed by the Board, but can, if the employees appeal to the Court, increase the same, the men well knowing if they fail they still must get the wage fixed by the Board. Could anything be more one-sided? The Act has truly become the Storm Centre in William street, as so-called by the Hon. W. H. Irvine, M. H. R.
Much more could be written re the last amended Acts still giving more powers to the Court but the glaring examples given in this lengthy paper must suffice. * * *
The experience given above by the chief actors in connection with the administration of this Act in New Zealand and Australia would in any other country have been sufficient to have stopped the same being put on the Commonwealth Statute Book, especially when the States have provided legislation like Wages Boards, practically giving the workers plentiful protection in wages, hours and conditions. Compulsory arbitration is a drastic failure. Why not admit it?
Apprenticeship.
(See former reference)
In addition to what has already been said with respect to the matter of apprentices, we call attention to this vital phase of the industrial problem and emphasize the fact that limitation of the number of apprentices which may be employed to a given number of artisans is fixed by the Wages Boards. Therefore, the opportunities for the youth of the country to acquire trades and thereby increase the industrial efficiency of the nation are limited by law; which, in reality and practical operation is, in the last analysis, regulation by the labor unions. Moreover, the prevailing high rate of wages fixed for common labor has a de- terrent effect on the desire of young men to become skilled me- chanics, but is an incentive to seek employment where remunera- tion is high and industrial education altogether nil.
Australia and New Zealand both have built high protection walls to protect their manufacturing industries against outside competition; so, too, they have built equally high walls to keep out internal development of their own industries by restricting
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the number of those who otherwise would become artisans and upon whom the future industrial development of the country must, necessarily, largely depend. The policy, to a thoughtful man, aside from its repugnance, is much "like a man trying to lift himself over a fence by pulling upon his boot straps."
The matter of constantly infusing new blood into the indus- trial bodies of these countries is of such vital importance to their growth and development that, if their present Governmental policy of restriction of and discouragement to apprentices is continued, they are sure to experience a gradual scarcity of skilled mechanics, and it will not be long before they reach a condition of industrial dry rot.
But little attention has heretofore been given to technical training in the schools, although some interest in that direction is just now being displayed. But of what little avail can be any effort to teach the apprentice the theoretical side of the trade he is seeking to learn when the very root of the proposition is stunted by the restrictive policy which the Government itself places upon its freedom and growth.
What's Wrong with Unionism ?
During our stay at Melbourne, it was our privilege to have a number of interviews with Mr. J. T. Packer, Secretary of the Liberal Workers' League, a political organization composed of independent workers who are not in sympathy with the mili- tant socialistic policy of the unions which dominate labor con- ditions in Australia, and whom an effort is being made to band together in a political organization to counteract the evil influ- ence of that radical element of the Labor Party known as "Red Feds."
We found Mr. Packer to be a man of wide experience in industrial matters, a conscientious and intelligent representative of the independent class of Australian workers, with whom it was a pleasure to converse and to whom we are indebted for much valuable information concerning the handicaps to the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" which the independent worker has to endure in Australia. Mr. Packer is a union man and a firm believer in unionism when confined to its proper and legitimate purposes and when founded on efficiency and not deficiency. He is a fair representative of the average Australian worker, who, our investigations lead us to believe, is intelligent, frugal and conscientious, measuring up with the average of those of any other country, and who sees and regrets the evils of "the system" as much as anybody.
But, although in the majority, he is powerless to change them, because he is not organized and "the system" is. Mr. Packer was "read out" of his union because of his expressions of pro- test against some of the many arbitrary and unjust practices of unionism as it is conducted. He is the author of a book of 200 pages, entitled "What's Wrong WTith Unionism?" This report would hardly be complete were we to fail to quote from it some sentiments expressive of a working man's views on the kind of unionism that is holding Australia in shackles. We shall, there- fore, take the liberty to quote somewhat at length from the book, because its author is a man who knows his subject and speaks of things as they are and as we found them. And also, because our mission was to make a thorough investigation of and report in detail the true and actual industrial conditions in Australasia, which having found to be as herein reported, we feel, as before intimated, that a liberal share of the evidence upon which our con- clusions are based should be presented in our report.
FROM "WHAT'S WRONG WITH UNIONISM?"
(PAGE 12)
As an Australian worker — a strong believer in unionism, as a former executive committeeman of a Victorian union, and a delegate on the Trades Hall Council, my objective in penning these pages is solely to place in cold print, concisely as possible, just the danger zones and hidden snares that are today undermining the great superstructure of Australian unionism, and which, if unheeded, will, as sure as night follows day, bring ruin to the most wonderful industrial organization the world has yet seen. * * *
(PAGE 16)
The idea is uppermost in the minds of present day leaders, that unionism cannot progress unless there is discord and industrial warfare. The Labor Daily at Ballarat, of January 30, 1913: "The union that can't or won't keep on fighting should disband." This policy is still further emphasized by Senator Rae, a representative of the Australian Workers' Union in the Federal Parliament, who is reported in "Handard" to have stated: "I hold that whether it is any big political issue, or any industrial issue, force still holds sway, and that striking produces better results than any other method yet found out."
This class of legislator, sent to sit in our Parliamentary Halls to introduce legislation for the peaceful settlement of industrial disputes, states clearly that, as far as the school of thought he belongs to is con- cerned, it has no time for peace between man and man. "The right to strike is the only weapon the workingman has,- and he will not give it up," states the Hon. James Page, another prominent member of the A. W. U.f sitting as a Parliamentary representative in our Federal Parliament. Then again, the official organ of Australian unionism, the Sydney Worker, in its issue of January 9, 1913, stated : "Don't be surprised if 1913 presents us with some of the greatest strikes on record. Labor must not only be prepared to strike, but to back up the strike with armed force — go in for civil war, in fact."
Again, the New South Wales Trades Union Congress of 1912 had a serious resolution to consider, which was only negatived by seven votes,
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which read that, "We demand the repeal of all Industrial Legislation that takes away the right of contention and the right to strike."
The Sower, the monthly organ published through the union office of the Melbourne Trades Hall, in January's issue, 1913, had an article which read: "What an army of workers if well organised on right lines and trained on the objects of more effective methods can accomplish is illustrated in the Irritation Strike. At a given hour on a fixed date all workers would suspend work suddenly; stay out a week, and then return to their posts after a week or ten days' suspension, acting as if nothing had happened. The manufacturers, thinking the trouble had blown over, would start to run the factories full blast, when, at a moment's notice, every man would walk out again, only to repeat these methods over and over again, until the manufacturers were de- moralized and the factories crippled. * * *
(PAGE 21)
Each State, as well as the Commonwealth itself, has laws for the peaceful adjustment of wages and conditions of labor. The need for the expensive strike levies has been completely done away with by the avenues thus opened up for the legal adjustment of industrial differences. Yet, is it any wonder, when we consider the statements as expressed earlier in this chapter by modern trade union leaders, that we find that during the three years running from May I, 1910, to April 30, 1913, no fewer than 349 strikes occurred in the Commonwealth, making an average of over 115 for the 12 months? * * *
This is a startling position, mysterious as it may seem to those who are in close touch with modern trade unionism. * * *
Those trade unionists who some years back saw in political action a panacea whereby all their industrial ills could be righted, have experi- enced a rude shock to their theories. * * *
(PAGE 22)
The hatred between the worker unorganized and the worker or- ganized is the great fight now waging in democratic Australia. The members of organized trade unions may still hate the capitalists, but organized labor's hatred toward unorganized labor burns like a flame, eats like nitric acid and is malignant beyond all description. * *
To refuse a man the right to work, and hound him from job to job on account of his non-membership in a socialistic union is now called a principle. * * *
(PAGE 23)
This policy of compelling a man to loaf on the job is now, in the words of the unionistic leaders, the principle at stake. * * * It can safely be stated that about 50 per cent, of these men inside organized labor's ranks today are men who have been forced in the interest of peace and their homes to pay into the union coffers. * * *
(PAGE 24)
The writer recently spoke to a man, an engineer working in a large engineering establishment, whose views had always been expressed in a moderate and reasonable manner, and when asked how it was that he was willing to condone the revolutionary and immoral acts of modern trade unionism in its boycotting and coercive methods, stated, what was he to do, he was building up a home, had a wife and five children, to keep. His house he was buying on time payment, and if he refused to pay his money into the union, or attempted to utter his sentiments in opposition to that of the union executive, his life would at once be made so unpleasant in the workshop that he would be compelled to give up his position. "So," he stated, "I am compelled to sink conscience, and find it cheap peace at 6d. a week." * * *
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(PAGE 26)
The long suffering public, bending under such taxation, have, in the light of recent and current events, been wondering in amazement at the failure of the mass of political industrial machinery upon our State and Commonwealth Statute Books, enacted at the cost of thousands of pounds, at direct public expense, to bring about the long-hoped-for and much-desired industrial peace and contentment.
Wages Boards have been introduced, and constituted by law to adjust the differences between capital and labor; master and man sit at one table, having equal rights, and equal votes, and with an inde- pendent chairman. The Boards meet with perfect freedom, and under Government protection.
Arbitration Courts have also been instituted, with the same objec- tive. Yet, in the face of the Constitution providing such peaceful and humanitarian methods to settle trade disputes and differences, Aus- tralian workers are on every hand seething with discontent, and indus- trial turmoil is rife in many quarters. In the face of all this, the bur- dened and tired public asks, "Are strikes and trade and labor troubles justified?" * * *
(PAGE 28)
The name of trades unionism is today inseparably linked with the condonation of violence and other illegal acts, and frequently the courts of our State are called upon to administer a well-deserved check. * * * Although unionism has a fairly large number of workmen among its members, * * * they have either been forced into its ranks by coercion, or under pressure from a section of their fellow workers and the paid agitator, or, in fear of being classed as "scabs" or "blacklegs," they, for peace sake, become members. * * *
(PAGE 29)
Australian trades unionism today is an organized concreted cam- paign, to pit class against class— a warfare of hate and malice. * * *
(PAGE 30)
The moment a union gets strong enough, it begins a policy of restricting membership, restringing apprentices and improvers, restricting output, and in many other ways limiting and controlling the particular industry for the advantage of its own members and to the disadvantage of those outside its ranks, whether they be employers or working men, or boys desiring to learn a trade. * * *
(PAGE 31)
As we are all aware. Compulsory Conciliation and Arbitration is the law of the land. Coincident with it we have disputes in almost every industry to an extent never known before. This lamentable state of affairs is most injurious to the workers of the community, who, forming, as they do, the? majority of the population, feel most keenly any stoppage of industry. From the outset, the Compulsory Conciliation and Arbitration principle had many opponents. The term is in itself a misnomer, since conciliation presupposes compromise, and a desire on the part of those concerned to meet each other's views hardly compatible with the compulsory condition of the law. In the same way, since Arbitration means settling disputes without an appeal to law, the com- pulsory element necessarily destroys the principle of arbitration. * * *
(PAGE 32)
That the result of the experiment has not been wholly satisfactory, the most ardent of the advocates must admit. Their remedy is simple. "More arbitration," they declare, is wanted, but when this is inquired into, it will be found that this simply means "more compulsion." * * *
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(PAGE 35)
"No differentiation" is the watchword, and that in time means the production of one vast level. The Wages Board principle recognizes the rights of both sides to consideration, but the Arbitration Court system in its latest development considers the interests of only one side, and would have the Court, its judges and officers simply existing to register the decision of the labor bodies. * * *
(PAGE 36)
Australia industrially is groaning under the weight of legislative regulation and prohibition. Less law-making is now wanted and more confidence. * * *
(PAGE 46)
The much debated question of preference to unionists has reached a position in Australia of well-nigh breaking point. When first intro- duced in the Federal Act it was thought it would act in a manner that would result in the unions adopting clean methods and a peaceful atti- tude in connection with the settlement of industrial disputes, but such a position has not been realized. * * *
(PAGE 49)
Perhaps the greatest setback as far as the repulsion of public sym- pathy is concerned, that has yet been received by organized labor, was when on September 18, 1911, the Labor Prime Minister, Mr. Andrew Fisher, received a deputation from union officials of the Melbourne Trades Hall, and afterward announced that it was intended that as far as the administrative policy of that Labor Government was concerned, preference was to be given to unionists in Government employ. With a large majority in the House, the Government knew that it had a three years' run to go, and under the cracking of the socialistic whip the Cabinet was compelled to state its policy in black and white, and the mandate was issued that in the engagement of all temporary employees in the Home Affairs Department of the Commonwealth, preference to unionists was to be given. At once there was a public outcry against this altogether unprecedented policy of spoils for the victors as far as Australian public life was concerned. It was found that out of 34,000 persons employed by the Commonwealth, 19,000 were outside the control of the Public Service Commissioner, and who could be engaged outside the ordinary policy of examination, etc., which is usual in the appoint- ments made in Government offices. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Alfred Deakin, moved a motion of want of confidence in the Government. He moved: "That in the opinion of this House, the preference in obtaining and retaining employment recently introduced into his Department by the Minister of Home Affairs, is unjust and oppressive; prejudicial alike to the public interest, and to the public servants, and to the relations between Parliament and the public servants." The issue was made a party one, and of course, having a majority, the union representatives in the House carried it. * * *
(PAGE 52)
The Secretary of the Amalgamated Miners' Association stated: "Our unionists will not work with non-unionists. If Mr. Cook wishes to break up unionism he will find that he is more likely to cause a civil war. If Mr. Cook wants to clog the wheels of industrial life, he is going the right way to do it." * * *
(PAGE 56)
Within two years, no less than 16 independent unions have been created that acknowledge the identity of interest between capital and labor, and who eagerly have concentrated their activities on the im- provement of the workers' conditions; the upholding of the law of the
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land, and the utilising of the legislative facilities for the adjustment of industrial disputes. Whether the forces of socialistic unionism, with its attendant weapons of the boycott, threat, and intimidation, will be so strong as to stultify the further extension of this movement, has yet to be proved. But, in its policy of compulsory unionism, it has been settled in the eyes of the union boss that a man can only be a unionist, according to his vision, by being affiliated with a political or socialistic union; and attempts are being made in a manner which holds up the workers' cause to the strong criticism of public opinion, to force these independent unionists into the ranks of socialistic bossdom. Yet the fallacy of this position is worth reviewing, and if the rank and file of present day unionists can be made to think for themselves, there is still time to check the dangerous policy which is now being carried on by its leaders. * * *
(PAGE 64)
Another fine example of unionists' tyranny was evidenced recently in Western Australia in connection with the Carters' strike.
Here the men, contrary to the law made by their own Parliamentary representatives, decided to use force rather than avail themselves of the peaceful means of adjusting their demands.
Apparently, no doubt realizing their demands were unjust and that a Court of Equity would rule against them, they took the matter into their own hands, and made an endeavor to hold up industry in the capital of that State. Other workers in that city then took up the cause of the men, and on behalf of the general public made an endeavor to keep the wheels going round.
At once the Secretary of the local socialistic union council issued a letter to all affiliated unions, calling on all fellow unionists to treat the independent workers as rats, and to make their life the life a rat ought to live, for no other guilt than their decision to abide by the law of the land.
The daily labor paper of Broken Hill recently openly stated in a leading article, that as far as unionism was concerned, it recognized no liberty of the individual. That socialistic unionism was the only channel through which Australian workers could be represented, and all workers outside its domination, whether organized or not, were traitors to them- selves and to the State, and the employment of every justifiable means to procure either their conversion or extinction was more than vindicated by its urgent necessity. Yet still the fight goes on between worker and worker. * * '*
(PAGE 65)
Apparently the reason why some unions are still in a measure availing themselves of the legislative methods of dealing with their industrial disputes, is the fact that they are not strong enough numeri- cally to do without it. This strange position was emphasized by one of the leaders in Victorian trade unionism recently, who in the press was reported to have stated : "He recommended that if a union was strong enough to do without a Wages Board it should not have one. * * *
(PAGE 66)
On Sunday, August, 1913, the Amalgamated Miners' Union at Broken Hill, where the shop assistants were on strike, passed the fol- lowing resolution:
"That this association pledges itself to strike a levy of 6d. per member per week to assist the shop assistants and warehouse employees in their industrial trouble, provided that they do not go to a Wages Board for a settlement of their dispute, and that the levy be dispensed by the Executive of the A. M. A., who are to arrange with the Executive of the Shop Assistants' Federation for the disposal of the levy col- lected."
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There we have a union offering a monetary bribe to another union if it will evade and ignore the lawful Wages Board. Surely this posi- tion will open the other eyes of the extreme unionistic partisan. * * *
(PAGE 71)
With all the much boasted legislation put on the Australian Statute Books at the cost of many thousands of pounds, and as the outcome of the enlightened intellect of educated workers, yet in the face of all this discord still exists. Penalties for the disobeying of the law have little, if any effect. Unions willingly pay the cost of huge fines oftentimes inflicted upon them as the direct result of the rash leadership of those in authority. It seems as if the way to prevent strikes is not in the direction of punishments by the legislative penalties. The Chief In- spector of Factories in Melbourne recently stated that all legislation passed hitherto to that end had been abortive. Neither direct punish- ment, nor courts, nor Boards of Conciliation have had any real effect. Apart from the doubtful quality of such legislation it is wrong in prin- ciple from the fact that it attacks the effect and not the cause. We must remove the cause of strikes, he said. * * * In Australia the cause of indus- trial discontent at the present time is not that the conditions under which men labor are injurious or harmful, it is not that wages generally are low or hours of labor long, but it can be attributed more or less to the harmful influence of the class hatred policy of the syndicalist and man of revolutionary methods. Rid organized labor of this policy, substi- tute one which gives equal opportunities to all and favors to none, and which will endeavor to educate democracy along the line of rational enlightenment; together with the preaching of the highest ideals of Christian Brotherhood, and then there will be a reasonable hope of industrial peace.
Perhaps there is not more irritating factor causing bitter antagon- ism of employers toward labor unions than that of the blatant manner in which modern unions break agreements. It is a common occurrence for unions to break legitimate agreements made between employers and men, at the shortest notice. As an example of this can be quoted the case of the colliery proprietors in New South Wales.
During 1912 a joint Conciliation Committee was appointed, and for some time was occupied in the position of mediator between the em- ployers and employees in connection with industrial matters in that district.
As the outcome of friction, the employers' representatives withdrew from the Committee, and the following letter, dictated by the Secretary of the Colliery Proprietors' Defence Association, was sent to the Secre- tary of the Colliery Employees' Federation:
Dear Sir:— I beg to advise you that the colliery proprietors at their meeting today decided to withdraw from the joint conciliation committee. When the committee was constituted it was clearly under- stood that there could be no excuse for interruptions in trade caused by stoppages of collieries by individual lodges, but the committee had not long been in existence before the colliery owners had to put up- with the same state of affairs as existed prior thereto.
There is no need for me to dilate upon the serious effect which those sudden stoppages have upon the trade of the port, because this has been pointed out to your federation upon numerous occasions in the past, so much so that the miners must realize what their actions mean to the colliery proprietors and the conduct of their business. However, the colliery proprietors have manifested a considerable amount of forbearance in overlooking the transgressions of the miners, but despite repeated warnings which have gone forth from the owners' representatives on the joint committee the position is not improved, but rather the contrary.
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As you are aware, the joint committee held its first meeting on the 28th February of last year, and up to the I4th November, a period of eight months and a half, no fewer than 44 stoppages are recorded. At this particular stage the joint committee arrived at the conclusion that unless something could be done to put a stop to these cessations of work, which were seriously interfering with the operations of the joint committee, that tribunal would be rendered useless.
The committee was then adjourned for a week, and in the mean- time the miners, through the medium of the combined lodge meetings, were appealed to to observe that portion of the constitution of the joint committee which provided for disputes being referred to it, instead of laying the mines idle. Every lodge in the district was appealed to in this way, and the result in every case was a unanimous decision not to inter- fere with the work of the committee by the cessation of work at the mines. The committee then got to work again, and in a brief period of a month between that time and the adjournment of the Christmas vacation, on 23rd December last, there were fewer than six stoppages, and since the latter date the Rhonda, Burwood and Elermore Vale collieries have been stopped, to say nothing of the aggregate meeting which was held on Monday last when nearly the whole of the Maitland collieries were laid idle. This is a position which the proprietors refuse to tolerate any longer and has led to the decision arrived at by them referred to in the opening sentence of this letter. * * *
(PAGE 75)
A leading employers' journal recently stated: "While it is manifest that unless labor tyranny is to be allowed to run rampant, a counter- acting combination must be formed." This is the lesson of experience. There has never been any combination between employers which has not been preceded by a combination of workers. Self-defence compels employers to combine. Before that, it was the union boss who attacked them singly and defeated them easily. * * * This clash of arms between Capital and Labor can have no good result. The damage that will be done before common sense rule is established will be immense. In Bris- bane during the general strike, when the employers combined and locked put many of their workers, while the unions called out others, is a case in point. Because the Courts ruled against the workers and the forces of law and order were brought into focus to maintain peace and order in the city, the official organ of organized labor in Australia, The Worker, in its issue of January 9, 1913, stated: "As the case has been decided against them so, labor must not only be prepared to strike,
but to back up the strike by armed force — go in for civil war in fact."
* * *
(PAGE 78)
The Australian public is living dangerously near the edge of a volcano. So far the outbursts have been brought more or less under control before whole communities have become engulfed in disaster, but the escape has been perilously narrow more than once. Unionism ap- pears to have lost its sense of responsibility.
Theoretically, under industrial arbitration, labor surrenders the right to strike, and relies upon the law to see that it gets fair treatment at the hands of the employers. But legal "Awards" have given only partial satisfaction to labor. * * *
(PAGE 79)
At Broken Hill, the home of "modern and advanced unionism," a controversy recently waged hot and strong in the local labor press on a proposal that "experienced men should be excluded from union mem- bership," on the theory that being "experienced" he may some day be- come a boss, and would then know all the "secrets" of unionism. It was
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"allowing the enemy to enter the camp," was the text of this strange argument. * * *
(PAGE 83)
It is increased productivity that gives wages a natural rise. Pro- ductivity or efficiency is the legitimate reason for higher wages. No one knows the justice of this principle better than the crafty militant union leader; but it pays him better to keep in with the "new school," and thus we have the strange anomaly that while the wages in Australia are among the highest in the world for all classes of skilled and unskilled labor, and hours are shorter than many other of the foremost countries of the world, yet still Australia is teeming with industrial unrest. * * *
(PAGE 87)
It is not often that unionism is prepared to listen to the advice of an employers' organization, but it will act as "balance" to hear the opinions of the President of a Victorian Employers' Association, a well- known and respected public man, and one who has, unlike the union leaders of the Barrier, been able to make a success of his own business. In a recent speech he is reported as stating the following solemn truths : "Men were not refusing to join unions," he said, "because they wished to sneak out of paying for any advantages that might be derived from its work, but because such a state of tyranny was being built up that those who otherwise would be willing to pay their share would have nothing to do with an organization which meant their surrender of every vestige of personal freedom and respect." This is the truth, and Australian workers know it, although it is an employer who so plainly states the position.
Yes, it can be truthfully stated, "that self-respect" is at stake today. What self-respecting worker would be willing to financially support a union that employs as its official organizer one who stands before his admirers and states:
"If a non-unionist is wheeling a truck, put sand on his wheels; if he asks you for a light, strike a match, blow it out and put the box back in your pocket. Never speak to him. If you are a 'shouting' in a pub., leave him out; if he is shouting, leave yourself out. Don't insult him or hurt him, for it will only arouse sympathy for him, but if anyone else is punching his head, don't try to stop him. I know a lot of you would like to throw all non-unionists into the Murray, but don't do that. Still, if you see one drowning, don't go to help him."
Apparently, there is hardly a limit to which the "extreme" union official will not go to incite his dupes.
And a further serious aspect is presented when we consider that the United Laborers' Union, the employees or the organizer who holds and states these anarchical views is affiliated with the Trades Hall Coun- cils of the various States, and it was from this Council that the recent Federal Labor Government received a deputation of union bosses, who urged the following condition: ,
"That in connection with Commonwealth work, preference be given to unionists, i. e., that in cases where workmen were required by Com- monwealth Departments, such men should be engaged through the Trades Hall."
And the reply of the Labor Prime Minister, the custodian of the public purse, was:
"In regard to your representations in favor of preference to union- ists, that is the policy of the Government. As to hiring the men through the Trades Hall, so far from being antagonistic to the proposal, I am decidedly in favor of it." * * *
(PAGE 90)
War breeds after its kind, so do strikes and their progeny is hatred, uncharitableness and all ill-will. They leave behind them legacies of
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bitterness. They may sweep away some abuses but they generally create more. * * *
(PAGE 92)
Nowadays, organized labor itself, through its governments, has declared the strike illegal in Australia, and has finally adopted a new method of getting justice. Yet within three years we have had no less a number than 349 distinct breakings of the law. Yet no official of organized labor has so far told the strikers that they are a new kind of "scab." "It is about time," stated the Sydney Bulletin recently, "that somebody did so; assuming that organized labor is in earnest in finally adopting arbitration as its weapon, and if it is not in earnest, it had better drop the pretence overboard at once." * * *
(PAGE 96)
There is no time in unionistic ranks for independence of thought. As an indication of this, in the Melbourne Argus of ipth July, 1912, was reported what appears to be another example of union tyranny, which has led to the resignation of a member of one of the principal Wages Boards in Victoria. This man was a representative of the employees on this Board, and on one or two occasions happening to find himself in agreement with the employers sitting on the board, he voted with them. For this act he was summoned to appear before the Committee of the union, and asked for an explanation. His defence apparently did not satisfy the Committee, and he was informed that "no matter that my own opinions were rightly or wrongly, I must on all occasions vote with the union members of the board." The employee declined to submit to these orders, and at once intimated his resignation, and in a letter to the Department he explained the circumstances and stated "rather than sacrifice my own will and become a mere automaton, I will retire and allow one who is not so particular to do their will." This is the action of a brave man, and it is needless to state how he will fare in the future at the hands of the union boss. * * *
(PAGE no)
The unionistic politicians in their socialistic gospel tell the workers, that Nationalisation is the only panacea for their industrial troubles ; but this is not justified by convincing evidence. In New South Wales, the Government's own railways were disorganized by the rash actions of trades union employees, as reported more fully elsewhere.
The great Victorian railway strike is another instance where Na- tionalisation failed in its "peace" qualities.
The Hon. Alfred Deakin, one of the most liberal and democratic of the Australian statesmen, and a prominent leader in the Anti-Sweat- ing League, summed^ up the position in a recent speech dealing with the industrial unrest :
"The solution which appears to find most favor with the labor politicians — or from the people who support them most loudly — is that of universal employment by and under a legislature elected by that community. One can hardly conceive of a worse or more unworkable method. The confusion of the business of politics of the financial interests of individuals and classes with the comprehensive interests of the nation would occasion the worst encounters, and threatens the most disastrous results." * * *
(PAGE 112)
The statement published in an interview with the Labor Minister of Works in N. S. W., at the conclusion of the Railway strike, surely is sufficient evidence to prove that the opinions of the other statement as quoted here are worthy of serious consideration and study by all wage-earners.
"We can no longer logically propose the Nationalisation of indus-
TO;
tries as a cure for industrial trouble," is the judgment of this Labor Minister of State; then, following up this contention, unionists will re- call the statement of the Minister of Labor in that same N. S. W. Labor Cabinet. If the unions are everlastingly kicking at the people, the people will kick back at the unions. * * *
(PAGE 118)
Universal discontent and general disgust with the present state of industry is probably an accurate summary of the views of any intelligent observer today. Everything is unsettled; no one seems anxious to find points of agreement.
The theory of a normal attitude of criticism and cynicism holds the field. "When there should be a willingness," recently wrote a well- known student of industrialism, "to meet men for discussion sullenness prevails, and altogether, the first decade of this 2Oth century closes a chapter of pessimism." * * *
(PAGE 128)
For, after all, there is much wisdom in the statement of the writer who said, "The disease of strike is really the disease of loaf in a bad form — a disease that can kill the healthiest nation quicker than the guns of a possible invader." * * *
(PAGE 130)
Tt has been shrewdly suggested in the columns of the press that the best remedy for strikes would be disfranchisement. There is very much to be said for that view. Every striker who defies the law, having a legal remedy in a Wages Board or Arbitration Court, and who flouts both and flies to strike violence, is a criminal, and as a criminal should be deprived of his franchise. * * *
(PAGE 132)
Is it to be finally concluded then that this "slow-down" policy, which is so often quoted about by employers, is as bad as reported? What an advertisement for a young, developing country, which is rising to take its place among the manufacturing countries of the world. * * *
(PAGE 134)
Another case where the doctrine of the "slow-down" policy stands condemned was recently cited by a South Australian politician in dealing with higher wages and less work. He said:
"Take bricklayers. A few years ago, when a bricklayer's wage was 9s. a day he used to lay about 800 bricks, but today when his wages run from 135. to 155., or i6s., he lays about 400 bricks. Let us get back to the building of a cottage which today costs £270. Where does the dif- ference in cost come in? The value of the timber, on which there is not a considerable amount of labor bestowed for that four-roomed cottage, has not increased by more than at the very outside £30. But the cost of building that cottage was nearly doubled. The point is that socialism is aiming at equality. They are aiming at an impossible thing. No such thing as equality is possible unless they destroy liberty. If you have equality, there is no liberty, and if you have liberty there can be no equality.
The Socialistic Labor principle of today is to pull everyone down to the level of the average man, and then call themselves democrats. True democracy means calling every man up to the height of his capacity for service. * * *
(PAGE 143)
There is a call— an urgent call— at the present time being made to Australian workers to rise up from the mire into which they have been dragged, and to respond to their better nature, and the appeal from the
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general public for justice and for sane reasoning. This bitter hatred between Capital and Labor must be turned down. * * *
(PAGE 171)
A skilled worker representing a powerful union said at a recent sitting that he and his colleagues were sent there to get increases, no matter what their own individual opinions might be. They would only vote the one way, and he supposed the employers' delegates would vote the other way, so that the chairman would have to make the decision. It did not matter what increase the Board gave; the unions were de- termined to go on and ask for more. They had no minimum, and no concern as to what effect it had on the industry. If it meant killing it, then it would have to be killed. If they did not carry out their in- structions, they would at once be shunted, and others more determined would take their place. They were out for all they could possibly get, regardless of any other issue, and the future must be left to take care of itself. This was an honest exposition of the policy of the Trades Hall and employees' delegates to the Wages Board, and correctly inter- preted their attitude at the meetings, which were really degenerating into a farce. The question of increase of wages had today no relation to the condition of an industry or its ability to bear the burden of increased wages' cost. The only solution they saw was that when an industry could not further continue by passing the increased cost on to the public, the Government must proceed to prohibitive duties, or, better still, nationalise all industries. * * *
(PAGE 182)
The issue is plain. It is not whether political unionism is right or wrong. It is now more than an issue ; it is nearing a crisis. It is a struggle between law and lawlessness. It is an issue that has now reached its culmination in this country?
Today the Australian people — each man, woman and child of whom is directly interested in our common industrial welfare — must face the question whether socialistic and ofttimes criminal unionism or law and order and common justice, shall prevail. * * *
(PAGE 204)
Recently a large employer of labor said:
"I have dealt with organized labor for perhaps 20 years, and we have kept our industry running, but at the expense of much thought, time, and money, and all we have so far been able to accomplish, has simply been to sit on the safety valve and prevent an explosion. How long we shall be able to do this is problematical." * * *
(PAGE 206)
Even though this appeal from a worker to workers is as a man crying out in a wilderness, yet just as surely as the sun rises and sets, the peaceful solution of labor problems must eventually obtain if this country is to advance. Men of great foresight and broad views are coming to understand this as never before, and the doctrine here taught, will, I believe, find a lodgment in the hearts of all classes, and then the day of the square deal will surely dawn.
Woman Suffrage.
In the matter of political franchise in Australia, the right to vote at all elections is extended to women equally with men, and, as this right of franchise is of long standing, the argument that woman suffrage will purify politics and better the condi-* tion of women does not hold good in these countries. We dis-
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cussed this question with many men and women, in both New Zealand and Australia, and found no one who did not express the opinion, substantially, that the votes of women were more responsible for the unfavorable industrial conditions than any other influence, for the reason that the political power of the organized forces was doubled by the women's vote, while the vote of the unorganized classes was not proportionately increased because of the indifference and apathy of the women of these classes, particularly among the society women, who take but little or no interest in political matters. In fact, so far as our obser- vations extended, the interests of women would be the better safeguarded if left entirely in the hands of the men. To us, a most lamentable spectacle of disrespect for womanhood is the general custom of "barmaids" in the saloons of Australasia, in most of which women, instead of men, dispense the liquids. If woman suffrage means anything at all, it should never permit the existence of a system so degrading to womanhood as the passing out of beer and whiskey over saloon bars, and the fact that such is the common custom throughout Australasia, where for many years women have exercised the right to .vote, does not warrant the claim that woman suffrage is either beneficial or elevating to womanhood. So far as we could ascertain, Parliament has not enacted a single ^law especially beneficial to or at the instance of women during its existence. Social in- dustrial justice has not been advanced by the votes of women, else class domination and color discrimination would have ceased.
"A White Australia."
One cannot mingle very long among the people of Australia without realizing the fact that many of them have strong preju- dices against every human being through whose veins flows a drop of blood which gives to the skin a tinge of yellow, black or brown. Their slogan is, "A White Australia," for admission to which no member of the colored races need apply. They have buried, deep down in oblivion, all memory of the fact that this country which they now so boldly declare shall be a "white man's country" was, not so very long ago, a black man's country, and that, had the aborigines, who are of the blackest of black men, adopted the policy that none but black, yellow or brown men should inhabit it, the white man might just now be a curi- osity in Australia, and these same aborigines, instead of being hived together in a little section by themselves, might be enjoy- ing that which is justly their own.
There is no country or spot of ground in the wide world, no matter by what people inhabited, that the white man does
1 10
not invade just as soon as he discovers there is wealth to be obtained there, and his first move is to grab all that is worth having and drive the natives "into their holes." Every man, of whatever race or color, has the right to go anywhere on earth to seek the opportunity to earn a living and accumulate wealth, if he goes about it honestly and does not intrude on the rights of others or violate the law. To discriminate against a China- man, Japanese, Hindu, or any other human being by uncondi- tionally denying them this right, while granting it to all others, is a crime not only against these people, but against the Creator of all men, for which, some day, the white man will have to render an account.
There are more than 450,000,000 people in China, 325,000,- ooo in India, 36,000,000 in Java and 50,000,000 in Japan, a total of approximately 861,000,000 in these four countries alone, be- sides many more millions scattered throughout the Far East, all of whom come under the ban of Australia's "White Man's" policy. The combined area of China, India, Java and Japan is approximately 6,367,400 square miles, having an average of 135 persons to the square mile, while Australia has 2,974,581 square miles with an average of a trifle over one and one-half persons to the square mile.
The white man in all countries, particularly in America, is spending millions of dollars annually in the support of mis- sionaries to teach the yellow, black and brown races to aspire to higher ideals, and at the same time they are denying these per- sons the right of opportunity to obtain the higher standard of living which they are educating them to aspire to. Surely there is no consistency in such "benevolence," and the higher education which these people are gradually acquiring is opening their eyes to the insults which the "white man" is heaping upon them. Bitter will be the punishment when the accounting is demanded, perhaps in less than fifty years hence. They have a real griev- ance to settle, and the sooner the "white man" silences the dema- gogues who cater and truckle to the shrieks of labor agitators and undesirable "white" citizens and treat these people fairly, the farther off will the day of reckoning be, and the less serious its consequences. Many Australians realize this and are filled with fear that, particularly, China and Japan have designs on Austra- lia's vast area of peopleless territory as a relief station for their already over-crowded and ever-increasing population. These labor agitators are insisting upon social industrial justice for their own privileged few, while flagrantly compelling the Govern- ment to deny it to these and all non-unionists and employers.
Mention the subject to almost any man you chance to talk
in
with and he will express the fear, if not the belief, that unless they manage to settle up the country before very long, the "Japs" or the Chinese will people it for them, in spite of their restrictive color laws and in face of any defence that Australia could possibly muster, with her compulsory trained army and infant navy, and such short-sighted Governmental discrimination would itself furnish the cause of war. The Japanese-British alliance may be relied upon temporarily to appease the situation and delay the day of reckoning, but when the day for retribution does come, no alliance will stand in the way of its execution. Take, for example, Queensland, with 670,000 square miles and 656,000 population, and the Northern Territory, 523,000 square miles and 3,700 population. If, perchance, there should some fine morning be 50,000,000 people landed on the shores of these two spots on the map, they would then only be one-third as thickly peopled as are the countries named in the above estimate. Land now worth ten "bobs" (shillings) an acre would then rise in value an hundredfold, and, in accordance with the socialistic or communistic theory, toward which Australia is rapidly drift- ing, why should those people be crowded into the sea when there are such large areas of unpopulated country near by which by dint of hard toil, for which they are noted, they could cultivate and enjoy the privilege of performing their fair share in the eco- nomic problem of life. "But," cries the workless agitator, "we can't compete with coolie labor." No such cry comes from the business man, notwithstanding the fact that the demagogic poli- ticians in Australia, as in the United States, pander to an or- ganized labor monopoly and use their influence in Parliament to further legislation tending to promote the interests of the shift- less and improvident, at the expense of the thrifty and compe- tent, and at the same time, and by the same means, further a condition of ruthless competition in business.
The socialistic labor unionists and their sympathizers are infected with the craven idea that if the man of color is permitted to settle in Australia, a few years will see the black man, the yellow and the brown man "in the saddle," and in superior authority to themselves. It is as common in Australia as it is in the United States for public demagogues who wax fat in their profession to talk a great deal about the "dignity of labor," while all laborers would willingly forego their share of the dignity if they could rid themselves of the necessity. If, then, there is so much dignity in labor, the Chinese and the Japanese coolies are supreme in all its glory, for they can teach the "white man" how to labor and what labor really is, yet we hear not a word from them about its dignity. To exclude them, unconditionally,
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from any country is to fear them, and if they are inferior, to fear them is cowardice of the rankest kind.
If a Chinaman or a "Jap," or any other so-called man of color, can do certain work for less pay than the so-called white man and do it as well or better, he certainly is entitled to par- ticipate in the "dignity of labor" and its economic results in any country in which labor is dignity, and, after all that is said against him, if you will compare the coolie, for example, with the thousands of shiftless loafers and bums that swarm the parks, the wharfs and saloons of Australia, and with the millions of undesirables we not only admit but welcome to the United States as "white men," you will find them far more desirable residents in any community, for they are a peaceably inclined, law abiding, provident, temperate and industrious people. They are frugal in their habits and get as much for their -labor as economic conditions will allow. They adapt themselves to cir- cumstances and waste nothing. Their "white" antagonists could, if they would, learn from them a lesson in this respect that would be most helpful in lessening the discontent that is so prevalent among themselves. These people are polite and courteous by nature, and their natural bent is in the direction of good citizen- ship rather than toward being a burden upon society.
During 24 days' stay in four principal cities in China, one in Manchuria and three in Japan, we made frequent visits to the coolie districts without witnessing a single drunk or disorderly person, while in Australia we found drunkenness to be a com- mon pastime.
Australians of all classes are liberal spenders. A favorite argument of the labor agitator against these excluded classes is, that they don't spend their money, while the Australian worker does, and is, therefore, a better man in a community. This may be good logic, but a thoughtful man will hardly admit that a man who wastes his surplus earnings is a better citizen than one who saves them for a- rainy day.
While, as we have stated, Australia is a country of great natural resources, it is not without its pests and natural draw- backs. In Queensland there are hundreds of thousands of acres of wonderfully fertile land so thickly covered with prickly pear (cactus) that it cannot be utilized for any purpose, the expense of destroying the pest being greater than the value of the land when cleared. This pest is spreading so rapidly as to cause serious alarm.
A scientist, who has been experimenting for a number of years on a means of destroying the pest by some sort of manu- factured gas, has entered into a contract with the Government
"3
to undertake to clear 100,000 acres on condition that if he is suc- cessful in the venture the land is to be deeded to him. In all our travels through China and Japan we saw no land anywhere that was covered with rank growths ; every foot of tillable ground be- ing under a high state of cultivation, and we venture the asser- tion that if Queensland would open her doors to a few thousand Chinese or Japanese, and give them a portion of this prickly pear land for clearing it they would find a way to annihilate the pest and that they would transform prickly pear land into a veritable garden of profitable agriculture, such as can be seen all over China and Japan.
Then there is the white ant pest, with which Queensland is especially seriously troubled. These little pests seem to have an economic theory of their own ; unlike the labor unionists they believe in industry as the best means of advancement. That they are industrious and efficient, no one who has seen them at work and examined the results of their labor will doubt. They seem all to be "woodworkers" by trade, and bend their energies on honey- combing the woodwork in houses, which it is the general custom to build upon stilts or piles, with inverted pans, resembling ordi- nary pie pans, at the top ends of the piles and under the sills of the house. They say the ants won't venture to travel around the edge walls of these pans, but confine their destructive opera- tions to the piles, which, being ten to fifteen inches in diameter, years of their labor is required to materially injure them. In the country district, these enterprising "Miniature Socialists" en- gage in home building. In motoring through woods around Brisbane we saw hundreds of these ant houses or hills, as they call them, some of which were fully six feet high and five or six feet in diameter at the base. In external appearance these houses resemble a tapering pile of baked clay, the interior of which upon close examination will be found to contain millions of fine cells which constitute the dwelling places of these busy little insects, so that in reality these odd looking clay hills are modern ants' tenement houses.
If there were a fair sprinkling of brown and yellow men, or both, throughout Queensland, perhaps they would find a way to eliminate these pests or turn them to some useful purpose. But of all the pests with which Australia is infected, the rabbit pest is the worst. The country is literally alive with rabbits, and the question of their elimination is one of serious importance to the farming and pastoral interests. They eat everything in sight, and sight everything to eat. Farmers and pastoralists are put to great and otherwise unnecessary expense, in erecting wire netting fences around their lands, and which extend six inches
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to one foot below the surface of the ground. Then they set out to trap, shoot, poison or otherwise destroy the pests that are inside the fenced lands. Here again the Chinaman and Japa- nese would come in handy in promoting the general welfare of the country, for they would soon find a way to convert all the rabbits into potpie, and thereby leave the sheep and cattle free to enjoy that which is their own.
Then, again, Queensland, for example, is one of the finest cotton growing pieces of country on earth, but no one cares to engage in the industry because of labor conditions. If, how- ever, coolie or negro labor could be had, the resources of Queensland could be made to develop by leaps and bounds, and which the narrow, selfish, "dog in the manger" policy of the Government, at the bidding of the labor unions, is holding back. Australians would have no vegetables to eat if it were not for the few Chinamen who are there, and were there before the exclusion act was passed, and wrho are the principal market gar- deners of the country. Australians do not take kindly to such work.
Australia is pleading and crying for more people, any kind of people, so long as they are "white." What a pity we cannot turn her way some portion, at least,, of the millions of the low class of immigrants that are constantly flocking to our shores from Southern Europe, who would find plenty of sympathizers in Australia, and who would increase the popular clamor for "a white Australia."
It was our privilege and pleasure to have audiences with a number of Chinese and Japanese high officials, and in each case this question of discrimination against their people was dis- cussed. The keen sense of humiliation and displeasure with which they look at the matter was manifest, although in no case was there any spirit of retaliation apparent.
As a matter of fact, what Australia really needs, to fit in with her vast peopleless areas and her natural advantages, is five to ten millions of Chinese, Japanese and our American negroes. If she would admit these people under proper stipulated political restrictions, they would be the means through which her unde- veloped resources would spring forth and a new era of pros- perity would be developed for everybody. If she does not amend her present "White Man's Policy" and give her yellow and brown neighbors a chance, she may be sure that some day they will help themselves to what they are justly entitled to, with something added for good measure, and then Australia will rue the day of her "White Man's Policy" and her people will regret their stupidity.
Let Australia, as a means of developing her resources and peopling the country, repeal her injurious labor laws, and estab- lish tolerable industrial conditions; abandon her State owner- ship policy; "limber up" her immigration laws; sell or lease her railroads to private corporations and grant liberal franchise for the building of new ones, guaranteeing assurance of per- manent enjoyment of the same, and she will, in a short time, blossom like a rose.
New Zealand.
Referring now more specifically to New Zealand, its total area is 104,760 squares miles. In 1900 its total population was, whites 770,682, Maoris (natives) 39,854, making a total of 810,- 536. In 1912 its white population was 1,052,627 and Maoris 49,844, making a total of 1,102,471 ; being an increase in whites of 281,945, Maoris 9,990 — together 291,935. Its total debt in 1900 was $241,509,363, per head 1313.37. In 1912 its total debt was $400,281,419 or $380.27 per head, the increase per head in 12 years being $66.90. Its principal cities are Auckland, Well- ington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Auckland, the most northerly of New Zealand cities, is a city of hills and valleys, spread over a large area, and including its suburbs, has a population of 110,000. It has a magnificent harbor, excellent docking facilities and extensive shipping in- terests. Its business and public buildings are of substantial con- struction and the city bears evidence of a prosperous and intel- ligent upbuilding. It has a good tramway system, which is owned and operated by an English corporation, the fares being the same as in Sydney, a penny (2 cents) for each section or district. There are no tenement and very few two-story houses in Auckland, nearly all families being provided with neat, cozy houses. Its telephone service is good, but its system of street lighting is deficient and not at all up to the requirements of a modern city of its size.
Wellington, the capital of the Dominion, is situated at the southern extremity of North Island, 425 miles from Auckland by rail, and has a population of 74,000. The residential part of the city is built on the side of a very high hill or mountain, whose side curves in the form of a horseshoe ; its business section lying on practically a level plateau at the base. Wellington has an ex- cellent harbor and its shipping interests are extensive. It has a good tramway system, which is owned and operated by the municipality. The Sydney and Auckland system rates of fare prevail, a four-mile ride, for example, costing 4d. (8 cents). Its business and public buildings are of substantial character and
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will compare favorably with those in modern cities of similar size in the United States.
Christchurch, situated on the east coast of South Island, 175 miles from Wellington by water, has a population of 85,000. The city is level and beautifully laid out with wide streets and public grounds, and the impression the visitor gets of the city is that it is an ideal place in which to live.
Dunedin, situated on the east coast of South Island, 190 miles south of Christchurch, has a population of 68,000. Its residential section is built on the side of a hill with its business section lying at the base. It has a good harbor, with excellent docking facilities, and its shipping interests are of considerable importance.
That part of New Zealand north of Auckland is but sparse- ly populated and is practically barren rock and sand; the chief product being Kauri gum, which is dug out of the ground where it has been deposited from trees long since extinct and shipped in large quantities to all parts of the world for use, principally, in making varnish. This is an extensive industry, and many firms are engaged in exportation of the gum.
Government and Business.
New Zealand is primarily a pastoral country and can never be anything else. As such it has accomplished marvelous things in the development of its cities and natural resources. Seventy years ago it was inhabited only by native Maoris, except a few white settlers who were scattered here and there about the islands. Its real development has taken place within the past 60 years, although the cities look much older. Nature has not done more for any country than it has done for New Zealand, which is the paradise of cattle and sheep and once was a Utopia for their owners. But, as is the' case everywhere, there has not been an equal distribution of the wealth of the country, and so the discontented ne'er-do-well and socialistic element set about to juggle its institutions into a conglomerate mass of State owned enterprises, which at present include banking, fire and life insur- ance, coal dealing, farming, manufacturing, butchering, export- ing, real estate and some 20 or 30 other lines of commercial and industrial activities, with the result that about every man you meet and talk with wears a woe-begone countenance and expresses his disgust at the turn of events. The very atmos- phere seems to be pregnant with depression and stagnation, such as prevails in boomed towns after the bottom has dropped out. In fact, the great number of unemployed, the languishing
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condition of the industries, the attitude of the people and the appearance of things generally, all have a tendency to suggest to the observer a process of decadency and dry rot. As an illustration of this, we said to a certain business man, with whom we were dis- cussing these matters, "There doesn't appear to be any very rich men here. Are there no millionaires in Auckland?" His reply was, "Yes, several of them and a good many men worth upward of a million, but they don't display their wealth." We asked, "Why is that so?" He replied, "They are afraid to let it be known for fear the Government will find a way to take it away from them." This colloquy was repeated to a hotel-keeper, who said, "Right he was. There is a very pronounced, though quiet sentiment of that character among business men all over New Zealand."
A merchant expressed the belief that New Zealanders were seeing the folly of experimenting with socialistic theories, which, while attractive and fascinating, in practice work only for evil and humiliation, and said that, in his opinion, the ultimate result of the great Auckland and Wellington strikes of 1913 would be to change public sentiment entirely with respect to legislation and the Government policy of robbing the prudent man for the benefit of the idle and the improvident.
The Government of New Zealand protects its manufacturing industries by a heavy tariff ; but it is quite apparent that its limited market will not warrant manufacturing on a scale large enough to justify extensive investments in manufacturing en- terprises, either by the State or by individuals, or to create home competition by which prices may be kept within reasonable bounds. Consequently, the masses are taxed to promote an impossible proposition. Then, again, suppose the Government should take a notion to monopolize the industries of the country and should adopt methods to drive out individual competition, what is there to prevent it doing so, and what would become of the private capital invested in such industries? This is quite possible in a socialistic community.
Government Lands.
One of the enticing theories of the socialistic party is to do away with private ownership of land, and as rapidly as it can, the Government is resuming all the large estates; consequently private owners of large tracts of land have a strong feeling of insecurity in their possessions, for whenever the Government wants to resume their lands it will do so. Hence, no man will buy land in the hope of building up a home for himself in his old age and a heritage for his children; the ultimate goal to
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which New Zealand at present aspires being that the State shall be the only freeholder. To that end a graduated land tax so burdens the larger land holders that they are glad to sell their lands to the State. Thus stock raising on a large scale is gradu- ally drawing to an end. Lands bought by the State will not be resold but will be leased in small parcels, on conditions similar to those mentioned elsewhere in this report as prevailing in Australia, and which are of such a restrictive and arbitrary character as to destroy all ambition of the tenant to improve the land he occupies or do more than, from year to year, sap it of its virtue. He feels that he has been victimized ; that the system under which he labors forbids that he shall possess more than he consumes ; that all his excess production belongs to the public ; that he has surrendered his individuality to the State and is no longer a free agent, but simply a single equal unit among the industrious and the idle; the thoughtful and indifferent; the provident and the spendthrift; the honorable and the dishonor- able; the drunkard and the temperate; the sane and the insane; the soil-tiller and office-holder; the preacher and the doctor; the lawyer and the barmaid; the tax gatherer and the tax payer, and all else that goes to make up the activities of life, and beyond all this he sees for the future only a paradise for paupers and a premium on idleness.
It will be remembered that not many years ago a certain individual gathered together a large number of people in Australasia who were not satisfied with the progress being made along the lines of their socialistic ideals, and hied them off to a place by themselves, in Paraguay, which was the proper thing to do, but before they reached the "promised land" dissensions arose because some had provided themselves with crackers and other things which they refused to assign to the family kettle but kept for their own consumption. Suffice it to say that the enterprise soon fell to pieces and that the prime mover in the scheme is now said to be back in Auckland, connected with a newspaper of that city.
Government Railways.
There are about 2000 miles of railroad in New Zealand, owned and operated by the Government, the gauge of which is 3 feet 6 inches. The road-beds are good and the equipment and service, while primitive and inefficient when compared with rail- roads in the United States, are all that could reasonably be ex- pected when the differences in conditions are considered. The average rate of fare, first class, is 3^2 cents per mile, sleeping car rates about the same as in the United States. Not all New
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Zealanders are proud of their railroads; though some office- holders are especially boastful of them and claim that they are a paying investment. Not having any statistics at hand we can neither verify nor refute the claim. The roads seem to be fairly well managed and operated, considering all the circum- stances relating to their existence, and it would be unfair to criticize adversely, as some have done, the railroads of New Zealand by comparing them with roads in more thickly populated countries.
Industrial Conditions in New Zealand.
With respect to industrial conditions in New Zealand. In addition to the references and quotations from publications which appear earlier in this report, under the caption "Australasia," a brief history of the great general strike which took place in the fall of 1913, which we obtained from an authoritative source, will be of interest. This strike was launched October 2Oth, at Hunt- ly, by the coal miners, who struck in violation of agreement and contrary to law, because the mine operators discharged 16 men whom they claimed they had no work for on account of dull trade. The Miners' Union was registered under the Arbitra- tion and Conciliation Act, and, therefore, for it to peremptorily strike was a direct violation of the law. Moreover, after a similar trouble a year before, work was resumed under an agree- ment with the company in which the union officials agreed to do all in their power to prevent any strikes in future, and not to promote any strike until a secret ballot had been taken, as pro- vided by law, and consent obtained of two-thirds of the mem- bers, but no secret ballot was taken before this strike was de- clared. The United Federation of Labor supported the action of the union leaders in declaring the strike, on the pretence that the company had discharged the men because they were active in union matters. October 22d the waterside workers of Well- ing struck against a local ship company, and there was trouble brewing at several other places in the Dominion. The strike of the waterside workers at Auckland was called Oct. 29th, the men refusing to handle coal brought to that port by sea. When this strike had been in progress a few days, the Fed- eration of Labor called a general strike of waterside workers, carters, seamen and 15 or 20 other unions, the idea being to so paralyze the industries of the country as to force recog- nition of union supremacy in all industrial matters. When the strike was at its height there were about 7000 men involved in Auckland alone, and a condition of chaos prevailed in all parts of the Dominion, the result being, the complete paraly-
I2O
zation of shipping and the holding up of all vessels for a period of about two weeks. The Government was helpless, though ap- parently witling to maintain order and prevent destruction of property, and the local police were entirely inadequate to cope with the situation in any of the affected districts.
Therefore, realizing that the country was facing a condition of anarchy, the authorities issued a general call for volunteers, mounted and unmounted, to be sworn in as special constabulary to re-establish normal conditions. The call was promptly and generously answered and thousands of men from the cities and the country districts volunteered their services and were mus- tered into service. About 3,200 volunteers were assigned to duty in Auckland, which had then become the pivotal point in the industrial war that had seized the "Land of No Strikes." About one-half of these volunteers were mounted men from the coun- try districts who provided their own horses. They were fur- nished with axe-helves for batons and assigned to duty at the wharfs and other places where trouble was on or likely to occur. Some of the mounted "specials," together with a large number of men who had been willing but afraid to work, started in to discharge and load the many ocean liners that were held up in the harbor, while others acted in the capacity of carters, and, under the strong protection of the mounted farmer boys, de- livered freight to and from the ships and warehouses. This broke the backbone of the strike, which after a duration of eight weeks was called off and law and order was then restored.
Next to Auckland, Wellington was the more warlike port, and the situation there was handled the same as in Auckland, the authorities of the two cities working in co-operation and harmony. The tramway system at Auckland was tied up for 1 8 days, ostensibly for want of coal, but in reality as a matter of diplomacy.
The losses sustained by all classes, through this industrial upheaval, were very heavy, the total loss to the country being estimated at from $6,000,000 to $8,000,000. But there is a strong feeling among the business and thoughtful men generally, that the loss, however great, will prove a blessing in disguise, and that it will prove to be the beginning of the end of socialistic foolishness in New Zealand, evidence of which is already apparent, and is mildly expressed in the following from the Melbourne Age of April 3Oth:
RESULT OF MAYORAL ELECTION.
In the Wellington mayoral election, which was held today, J. P. Luke, sitting mayor, received 11,501 votes, D. Maclaren (United Labor Party), 4,339 votes; J. Glover (Social Democrat), who contested the
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seat in place of J. Holland, who is now undergoing a sentence for sedi- tion in connection with the recent strike of waterside workers, 4,337 votes.
The Honorable J. MacGreegor, one of the sponsors for the New Zealand Arbitration Act, has written a number of "open" letters to the Dominion Prime Minister, Mr. Massey, leader of the Liberal Party, on the failure of the law to achieve industrial peace, and as one of them, in particular, characterizes the effectiveness of the law as measured by its practical operation, we take the liberty to quote from it the following :
You have, I have no doubt, some recollection of that remarkable deputation that waited upon you in February last to submit you certain resolutions that had been passed by the "Syndicalist Socialist Conference," surely the most arrogant and insolent deputation that was ever granted an audience by a Prime Minister. I am going to endeavor to show with regard to one of those resolutions, at any rate, that due consideration would mean treating with contempt. As you are aware, no union can have any status under the Act, unless it is registered as an "industrial union"; but provision is made for enabling a union to get its registration cancelled and so surrender the benefits and escape the penalties of the Act. In this way a union is enabled to indulge with impunity in the luxury of a strike. Now, the Waihi union cancelled its registration. Thereupon a number of the members of the union who believed in the arbitration system had seceded, formed a new union, and got it regis- tered. This was made the pretext for the Waihi strike that proved so disastrous to all concerned. We are not in a position to understand the nature of the demand made by the deputation : that the Act should be so altered that when a registered union cancels its registration in order to be free to strike, as the Waihi union did, no other union shall be allowed registration in its place : that an Act intended to prevent strikes should be so altered as to facilitate and encourage strikes, by forbidding registration, in such circumstances, of unions that are op- posed to strikes. It is surely difficult to conceive greater impudence that is implied in the submitting of such a demand to the Prime Minister, by a deputation comprising several of those agitators who were 'largely responsible for the worst strike New Zealand ever saw. And now we find the demand made by this deputation suggested as one of the "objects" of the proposed United Federation of Labor that is to re- generate our effete social and industrial systems. But the same Act that forbids a registered union to strike gives it the right to cancel its registration in order to strike. The legal position, therefore, seems to be that, by registering under the Act, a union surrenders the right to strike, with the reservation of the power to resume that right at any time. The first thing that strikes an ordinary man with regard to such a provision in an Act for the prevention of strikes is, that it must tend to render the Act futile, and futile it certainly has proved.
In your speech at Dunedin a few days ago you referred with a feeling of satisfaction to the immunity from strikes existing at the time, and you were no doubt entitled to do so, for the improvement is no doubt largely attributable to the firmness shown by the Government in its administration of the ordinary law in the case of Waihi; but it was also largely due to two other facts — namely, that the employers — and especially the farmers — have at last been roused to combine and organ- ize for the protection of the community against the intolerable tyranny and arrogance of organized labor. There are embodied in our Act three principles which, under the manipulations of the kind of unions that the
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Act has created and fostered, inevitably render it practically useless as a means of preventing strikes. Two of those principles have been in- troduced at different times since 1894, no doubt at the instance of the unions, and all that is necessary to perfect it as one instrument far enabling the Federationists to attain their ends is to comply with the demand now made for an amendment to prevent the creation of what they call "scab unions."
The three principles referred to are found in the following pro- visions: First, that which forbids the registration of a second union of any trade in the same locality; second, that which authorized the granting of preference to unionists, by which workers who are opposed to strikes may be coerced into joining a union whose main reliance is upon the strike; and third, that which allows a union to cancel its registration at any time in order to strike. * * *
I implore you to scrutinize closely any proposals for legislation dealing with such industries, and to bear in mind that nothing is easier than to cause irreparable injury to an industry by ill-considered legisla- tion. * * * There must be a limit to legislation for the propitiation of labor, and that this limit seems to have been reached in this country is indicated by the fact that every effort in that direction not only fails to produce the desired effect, but, instead, simply increased the cost ^of living. The labor leaders know this, and they rejoice at every legislative failure because each one as it occurs plays into their hands by furnish- ing them new arguments in favor of their contention that there is no hope for the worker except in the overthrow of the whole industrial and social system. The Industrial Arbitration Act is, itself, the most com- plete failure of all our legislative experiments, and the labor leaders simply tolerate it because it serves their purposes; the amendments I suggest would go far to thwart thejr designs.
On April 3, 1914, the Honorable F. M. B. Fisher, "Liberal" Minister of Customs, addressed a public meeting at Wellington, and from whose address quotations appear elsewhere in this report, at which meeting there was a disturbing element evidently bent on breaking up the meeting. After a number of interrup- tions and noisy demonstrations, the speaker said : "The meeting suggests to me an interesting electoral reform, and that is to disfranchise every man who attempts to break up a public meet- ing * * * they would thus prevent the people who do not re- spect the laws from making them. These men must not get the idea into their heads that they can frighten or terrorize the Gov- ernment."
The following are extracts from the annual report of the Wellington Employers' Association, adopted September 19, 1913:
The past twelve months have been fraught with the worst form of labour unrest the Dominion has experienced since the Arbitration Act came into operation. Of chief importance has been the Waihi strike, which was brought about by members of the New Zealand Federation of Labour, in an endeavor to coerce the engine-drivers at Waihi into joining their organization. * * *
The busy season of the Freezing Companies was selected by the slaughtermen of the Dominion for the making of an unreasonable de- mand of an increase of 5s. per 100 in the rate for sheep-killing. This demand was made notwithstanding the definite arrangement made at the preceding conference held in 1910 between the Dominion employers and
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the representatives of the Slaughtermen's Federation that the settlement then arrived at was for a period of five years. * * *
In common with other industrial world centres, New Zealand is experiencing a full share of the troubles brought about by what your Committee considers are prevalent mistaken ideas in the minds of some workers that they are not receiving adequate pay for services rendered, and that their interests and those of their employers are antagonistic. The inculcation of these beliefs is directly due to the advocacy of a considerable section of the workers' leaders, who are creating a grave and hurtful spirit in the minds of many workers that they are not re- ceiving fair treatment from their employers. The resulting dissatisfac- tion is showing, not only in decreasing efficiency in the work in hand, but also in the characters of the workers. The absence of the right spirit in many employees is plainly apparent, and this must inevitably injuriously affect their moral fibre and general character and efficiency. The present attitude of workers towards their work is a large factor in creating a disinclination on the part of those with capital to venture into any new industry. The open advocacy of lawlessness and disregard of both legal and moral obligations by some leaders is doing untold harm in this Dominion.
With respect to industrial legislation, employers were fortunately practically free from the necessity for considering amendments or new legislation, owing chiefly, it is believed, to the existence of a new Parlia- ment, and the taking over of the reins of government by Mr. Massey and his party. It is hoped that the new Government will recognize that the trades and industries of the Dominion have already been subjected to more restrictive legislation than is necessary, and will grant a time of peace.
The operation of the Shops anjl Offices Act is continuing to harass and interfere with the business of shopkeepers, and is preventing them from coping with the unavoidable exigencies of their business. The shopkeepers of the city are looking forward to securing, through the Minister of Labour and Parliament, some relief from many of the un- necessary restrictions they are labouring under.
As time goes on, the greater need arises for securing combined and united action on the part of employers on all matters affecting the employing class, and the usefulness and value of the Federation and affiliated Associations is now being more fully recognized and appre- ciated by employers. It is anticipated the Federation will be called upon at its next annual meeting to formulate a definite plan for organization and the creation of a Defence Fund.
The experiences of recent years clearly demonstrate that employers' interests can best be protected and advanced by their having a Central Committee, and officers who can speak in the united name of the employers of the Dominion.
The following synopsis of procedure in settlement of a trade dispute under the New Zealand Industrial Conciliation and Arbi- tration Act, as amended in 1911, will in this connection serve a useful purpose:
It is optional for Employers' or Workers' Unions to register as Industrial Unions under the Act.
When alterations in hours, wages and working conditions are sought by either side the initial step is the service of the claims to be made. This means the creation of the "dispite," a necessary preliminary to the legal proceedings which follow. It has to be noted that a Workers' Union may create a dispute with individual employers who have no union, but Employers' Unions cannot seek an award in any trade unless the
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workers have registered a union in connection with it. Thus, the work- ers have the option of working under an Arbitration Court award or not, but the employers have no alternative if the workers desire to bind them by an award. When an award is made by the Court it remains binding upon the employers until either side chooses to ask for another award or the union cancels its registration under the Act.
The application is to the Conciliation Commissioner. There are three of these appointed by the Government at $2,500 a year each and travelling allowances with jurisdiction over stated portions of the Do- main. Their chief duty is to endeavor to induce the parties to a dispute to agree upon terms of settlement. Each employer named in the list is a
earty to the dispute and has the right to appear in person or by agent, sually the secretary of the local Employers' Association appears as agent for all the employers. A solicitor (practicing lawyer) cannot appear in these cases unless all parties consent. As a matter of fact, legal gentlemen never have taken part in these trade disputes.
The Conciliation Commissioners with the Assessors named at the end of the attached application and an equal number of Assessors whom the employers are required to name form a Conciliation Council whose duties are, firstly :
(i) To endeavor to bring about an amicable settlement of the dispute by conference. Prior to consideration of the dispute before the Council the respondents have the right to submit the terms and conditions they wish to secure. This they do by filing "counter-proposals."
Failing a settlement by conference the Council endeavors to unani- mously agree upon terms which it can recommend the parties to adopt in settlement of the dispute. It is important 'to note that these recom- mendations must be unanimously agreed upon and that they are not settled by the majority vote.
If the Council induce the parties to agree upon some points such partial agreement is reported to the Arbitration Court, and the other matters in dispute are referred to the Court for settlement.
Should a recommendation on all points in dispute be made by the Council, 30 days are given dissatisfied parties within which they may lodge objection. If no objection is lodged the recommendations come into force in the same way as an industrial agreement would if signed by the parties.
Should an objection be filed then the dispute is referred by the Clerk of Awards to the Arbitration Court.
The Court is constituted of a Judge who has the same status as a Judge of the Supreme Court (a life appointment) and one representa- tive each for the employers and workers, appointed every three years by the Industrial Unions of Employers and Workers, respectively. They receive £500 a year and travelling allowances.
This Court sits every three months in the various centres for the hearing of local disputes. The area affected by awards is generally stated in them. In the carpenters' case under review it was limited to 50 miles from Wellington City.
When a case is called on by the Court the ordinary procedure of the law Courts is generally though not rigidly adhered to. After hearing arguments and evidence from both sides the Court reserves its decision and ultimately makes an award which is a final settlement of the matters in dispute for the period of time (not exceeding three years) fixed by the Court.
There are 20 secretaries of Labor Unions in Wellington, drawing salaries aggregating, at a low estimate, $15,000 a year, the estimate for the Dominion being $75,000 a year for salaries of Union secretaries, alone, in addition to which a very large sum is expended in salaries and expenses of other Labor officials and agitators, with which this wonderful little country is abundantly supplied.
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At the hotel at which we stopped the following notice was posted in each room :
Owing to New Zealand Labor laws visitors are particularly re- quested to observe punctuality at all meals.
One of your Commissioners stepped into a cobbler's shop and waited 20 minutes while the cobbler built up the heels of his shoes. He asked the cobbler if he belonged to the cobblers' union. He said, "No, I would not let those fellows control me." Your Commissioner said, "Why not? They have succeeded in having wages raised, haven't they?" "Yes," he said, " they have and the more they succeed at it the worse they are off, for they can't buy as much with their high wages as they could when they got less, and besides, they are not nearly as well satisfied as they were then and everybody else is grumbling about conditions, which aint like they used to be by a good deal."
The following is a reproduction of a schedule of wages and working conditions which were received by an employer at Auck- land while we were there and was handed to us for use in con- nection with this report.
Amalgamated Society of Engineers.
AUCKLAND BRANCH
Proposed Working Conditions for Northern Industrial District.
I.— Hours of Work.
Forty-four hours shall constitute a week's work. Eight hours ' shall be worked on each working day except Saturday, upon which day four hours shall be worked. Starting time to be at 7.30 a.m. and stopping time at 5 p.m.
II. — Overtime.
(a) All time worked in excess of that mentioned in Clause I. hereof to be paid for at the rate of time and a-half until 10 o'clock p.m., and from thence to the starting of the ordinary day shift next morning, double time rates to be paid, and each day to stand by itself.
(b) Systematic overtime shall not be allowed. Overtime worked for more than 12 hours in any two consecutive weeks to be deemed systematic.
III.— Holidays and Sunday Work.
Work done upon New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Mon- day, Anniversary Day, Labour Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or Sunday, double time rates to be paid for working the same number of hours of an ordinary day. Any time worked before 7.30 a.m. or
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after 5 p.m. shall be paid for at the rate of time and a-half in addi- tion. An employee called to work after usual working hours shall receive a minimum payment equivalent to four hours' work.
IV.— Night Shifts.
(a) Workers engaged upon night shifts shall be paid 50 per cent, extra. Three consecutive nights to be worked before it can be recognized as a night shift, otherwise overtime rates, as men- tioned in Clause II. hereof, to be paid.
(b) A night shift shall mean eight hours worked between ordinary stopping time in the evening and starting time next morning.
(c) Only one shift in the 24 hours to be regarded as a day shift, namely, eight hours worked between ordinary starting time in the morning and stopping time in the evening.
(d) Any employee having worked all night and being required to continue working on into .the next day, the double time rate to be paid for all such time worked.
V.— Outside Work.
(a) A worker employed outside of the employer's establishment shall 'be paid one shilling per day extra, or for any portion of a day.
(b) All employees required to travel to a job during working hours shall be paid for such hours at ordinary rates, also for such ordinary working hours that they may be kept waiting after arrival at the job.
(c) All employees required to travel outside of ordinary working hours shall be paid for the actual time of travelling, provided that the maximum number of hours on each outward or home- ward journey to be so paid shall not exceed twelve.
(d) Employees shall be paid their fares both ways and reasonable travelling expenses, and if required to stay away from home, their board and lodging at current rates.
(e) Employees travelling by boat shall, if travelling by coastal boat, be allowed saloon fare; and if travelling by inter-State boat, second-class fare, except when such represents steerage, in which case saloon fare shall be allowed.
(f) When travelling at night time by train, if at any time second- class sleeping accommodation is provided, the employer shall allow second-class sleeping berth ticket. Patternmakers, for work done outside the employer's establishment, shall receive i/- per day extra.
(g) Any employee sent out to work and placed in charge of one or more workmen, shall receive 3/- per day extra.
VI. — Dirt Money.
(a) Ships: Any journeyman or apprentice who is engaged upon ship repair work shall receive i/- per day extra or for any por- tion of a day.
(b) Ashore: Journeymen and apprentices employed on dirty repair work, such as stripping old machinery or removal of same, or inside smoke boxes or through manholes of boilers or con- densers, machinery connected with freezing works, or all run- ning machinery, shall receive i/- per day extra or for any por- tion of a day, in addition to other allowances.
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5. d. |
s. |
d. |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
4 |
8^ |
! • 13 |
8 |
ii
VII.— Wages.
The minimum wage for the following classes of workmen shall be:— Per hour. Per day.
Fitters
Turners
Armature winders
Milling machinists ..
Motor mechanics
Brassfinishers ..
Die sinkers and tool makers
Universal grinders
Blacksmiths .. .. .. . . / ..
Coppersmiths
Oliver smiths
Stampers and drop hammer forgers
Planers, shapers, slotters and borers
Patternmakers ..
Drillers, screwers and other machinists
not otherwise mentioned Leading hands to receive 25 per cent, in addition to above rates. All wages to be paid weekly, and no back time kept. Wages to be paid in employer's time.
Definition of a Motor Mechanic
A chauffeur shall not be deemed a motor mechanic. A motor mechanic is a workman engaged upon the repair or construction of cars, or may be employed upon the upkeep of the plant or machinery.
VIII.— -Piecework.
(a) Piecework, taskwork or premium bonus system shall not be engaged upon under any conditions whatsoever.
(b) No workmen to be employed upon two machines at the same time.
IX. — Termination of Engagements.
(a) Upon the termination of an engagement either on the part of the employer or workman, the wages of such worker shall be paid the same evening or immediately after the ordinary start- ing time next morning. Failing such the worker shall be paid at ordinary rates for all such time that he is kept waiting.
X. — Apprentices.
(a) An employer taking an apprentice to learn the trade shall be deemed to undertake the duty which he agrees to perform as a duty enforceable under this Award, and shall pay such appren- tice not less than the under-mentioned rates of wages: —
s. d. First year, per week . . . . . . . . . . 10
Second year, per week . . . . . . 15
Third year, per week.. .. .. .. .. 20
Fourth year, per week . . . . . . . . 30
Fifth year, per week . . . . . . . . . . 40
(b) At the expiration of the apprenticeship he shall receive not less than the minimum rate as paid to journeymen.
(c) Boys shall be apprenticed to any of the following branches of the trade: Fitters, Turners, Electrical Fitters, Armature Wind- ers, Toolmakers, Die Sinkers, Motor Mechanics, Spring Smiths, Blacksmiths, Coppersmiths, Cliver Smiths, Brassfinishers, Milling Machinists, Universal Grinders, Patternmakers, Drop Hammer Forgers, Planers, Shapers, Slotters and Borers.
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(d) The period of apprenticeship shall be for five years, and all apprenticeships shall be by indenture. A copy of the inden- ture shall be registered with the Chief Industrial Registrar, or Local Inspector of Factories, and a copy shall be held by the lawful guardians of such apprentice, and no apprentice shall be more than 18 years of age at the time of the execution of the indenture. Three months probation shall be allowed the first employer of any apprentice to determine his fitness, such three months to be included in the period of apprenticeship. An apprentice shall be kept constantly employed at the particular branch of the trade to which he is indentured.
(e) In no case shall an apprentice be allowed to work overtime.
(f) At the end of the period of apprenticeship the employer shall give the apprentice a certificate to show that he has served his apprenticeship. Also a certificate of moral character if required.
(g) Should the employer at any time before the termination of the apprenticeship wish for any reason to dispense with the ser- vices of the apprentice, he shall give him a certificate for the time served and procure him another employer carrying on a business within a reasonable distance of the original employ- er's place of business, who shall continue to teach the appren- tice and to pay the rate of wages prescribed by this award according to the total length of time he has served, and gen- erally to perform the obligation of the original employer. But it shall'*not be obligatory upon an employer to find the ap- prentice another employer if he shall so misconduct himself as to entitle the employer to discharge him, but he shall give him a certificate covering the time actually served.
(h) An employer taking an apprentice shall give notice to the In- spector of Factories within one week after the expiration of the period of probation, and shall state the branch of trade to which he is indentured. The employer shall receive an ac- knowledgment of receipt of same, and an employer transferring an apprentice to another employer shall similarly within one week give notice of such transfer to the Inspector.
(i) An employer shall not be deemed to have discharged his duty to an apprentice, if he fails to keep him at work through slack- ness, but such slackness may form a proper ground for trans- ferring him to another employer willing to undertake the re- sponsibility of teaching him.
(j) When an apprentice is discharged for cause, the employer shall give notice in writing of the discharge and the cause thereof to the Inspector of Factories, who shall notify the Secretary of the Union.
(k) All time lost by an apprentice through his own default or through sickness in any year of his apprenticeship shall be made up before such apprentice shall be considered to have entered upon the next succeeding year of his apprenticeship. An apprentice shall not be compelled to make up any time lost through accident occurring or through compulsory mili- tary training.
(I) An employer shall not be bound to pay an apprentice for lost time through the default of the apprentice or by his voluntary absence from work with the consent of the employer. But an employer shall not be entitled to make any deduction from the wages of such apprentice for lost time through sickness or any cause other than those hereinbefore described.
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(m) It shall be deemed to be a breach of this award if an employer uses any undue influence to coerce an apprentice to take a holiday with a view to avoid payment for same.
(n) Where facilities are provided, it shall be compulsory for an apprentice to attend classes at a Technical College, and the employer shall pay the college fees for the period of two years for any two classes that the apprentice may elect to attend during any two years of his apprenticeship.
(o) The proportion of apprentices to the number of journeymen employed shall be as one to four. After the date of the filing of this award no fresh apprenticeships shall be entered into by an employer which will make the total number of appren- tices to all trades mentioned greater than the above propor- tion. For the, purpose of arriving at the above proportion, the total number of journeymen shall be deemed to be the aver- age number of journeymen working on all the working days of the twelve months immediately previous to the time of indenture.
(P) All apprentices employed at the date of the filing of this award must be indentured for the unexpired period of their appren- ticeship, and the conditions as to wages, etc., as provided in this award, to apply to these apprentices also.
(q) A Board of Examiners shall be appointed to consist of one representative of the Union and one representative of the em- ployers. Periodical examinations of the apprentice shall take place in the month of May. Such examination»-to be held in the workshop where the apprentice is employed. The employer shall provide machinery, time and material, and in every way facilitate the work of the Examiners.
If upon due enquiry the Examiners are of opinion that the apprentice has not been given reasonable opportunity by the employer to obfain a proper knowledge of the trade, they shall report the same to the Department of Labour as a breach of this award.
The Board shall be provided with a list of the names and occupation of the various apprentices and the dates of their indenture, and not less than 14 days previous to the date of the examination shall issue a certificate to the apprentice, and also notify the employer. If such apprentice fails to satisfy the Examiners, they will not endorse the certificate until such apprentice again submits himself for examination and satisfies them of his competency.
An employer shall not be compelled to pay an apprentice the increase of wages accruing to him if he fails to satisfy the Examiners.
In the engaging of apprentices preference shall be given to sons of members of the Union.
XI.— Under-rate Workers.
(a) Any worker who considers himself incapable of earning the minimum wage fixed by this award, may be paid such lower wage as may from time to time be fixed on the application of the worker, after due notice to the Union by the Inspector of Awards or such other person as may from time to time be ap- pointed for that purpose. And such Inspector or such other person, in fixing such' wage, shall have regard to the worker's capability, his past earnings, and such other circumstances as such Inspector or other person shall think fit to consider, after hearing such evidence arid argument as the Union and such worker shall offer.
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(b) Such permit shall be for a period not exceeding six months as such Inspector or other person may determine, and after the expiration of such period shall continue in force until 14 days' notice has been given to such worker by the Secretary of the Union, requiring him to have his wage again fixed in manner prescribed by this clause. Provided that in the case of any person whose wage is so fixed by reason of old age or perma- nent disability, it may be fixed for such longer period as such Inspector or other person shall think fit.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, it shall be competent for the worker to agree with the President or Secretary of the Union upon such wage without having the same so fixed.
(d) It shall be the duty of the Union to give notice to the Inspec- tor of Awards of every agreement made with a worker pur- suant hereto.
(e) It shall be the duty of an employer before employing a worker at such lower wage to examine the permit or agreement by which such wage is fixed.
XII. — Preference.
(a) From and after the coming into the operation of this award, any worker of the classes mentioned in Clause VII. hereof shall, within fourteen days, become a member of the Union, upon forwarding to the Secretary a written application, ac- companied with an entrance fee of 5/-, and the weekly con- tribution not to exceed sixpence per week, such worker to be admitted a member without ballot or election, and such worker to be admitted a member providing he is a competent work- man and of sober habits and good moral character.
(b) It shall be a condition of employment that employees become members of the Union under the conditions as set forth in sub-section (a) of this clause.
(c) If any worker having joined the Union voluntarily resigns, he shall be dismissed from his employment.
XIII.
This award shall come into operation upon the day
of and continue in force until the day of 19
As Applying to Ohinemuri Goldfields. I.— Hours of Work.
(a) Forty-four hours shall constitute a week's work. Eight hours shall 'be worked each day except Saturday, when four hours shall be worked.
(b) Work shall commence at 7.30 a.m. and cease at 4 p.m., with an interval of half-an-hour at noon for crib time.
II. — Overtime.
(a) All time worked in excess of that mentioned in Clause I. hereof to be paid for at the rate of time and a-half until 10 o'clock p.m.. and from thence until starting of the ordinary day shift next morning, double time rates to be paid, and each day to stand by itself.
(b) Systematic overtime not allowed. Overtime worked for more than 12 hours in two consecutive weeks to be deemed sys- tematic.
III. — Holidays and Sundays.
(a) Work done upon New Year's Day, Good Friday, -Easter Mon- day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Miners' Day or Sunday, dou- ble time rates to be paid for working the same number of hours of an ordinary day.
(b) Any time worked before 7.30 a.m. and after 4 p.m. shall be paid for at the rate of time and a-half in addition.
(c) An employee called to work after usual working hours shall receive a minimum payment equivalent to four hours' work.
IV.— Night Shifts.
(a) Workers engaged on afternoon or night shifts shall receive 2/- per shift extra. Three consecutive nights or afternoon shifts to be worked before it can be recognised as such, other- wise overtime rates to be paid as provided in Clause II. hereof.
(b) Only one shift in the twenty-four hours to be regarded as a day shift, namely, that worked between 7.30 a.m. and 4 o'clock p.m.
(c) Any worker who has been engaged for 24 hours with the ex- ception of crib time, shall be compelled to stand off for eight hours.
V.— Outside Work.
(a) A worker employed outside of the employer's establishment shall be paid one shilling per day extra, or for any portion of a day.
(b) All employees required to travel to job during working hours shall be paid for such hours at ordinary rates, also for such ordinary working hours that they may be kept waiting upon arrival at the job.
(c) All employees required to travel outside of ordinary working hours shall be paid for the actual time of travelling, provided that the maximum number of hours on each outward or home- ward journey to be so paid shall be twelve.
(d) Employees shall be paid their fares both ways, also reasonable travelling expenses, and if required to stay away from home, their board and lodging at current rates.
(e) Employees travelling by boat shall, if travelling by coastal boat, be allowed saloon fare, except when such represents steerage, in which case saloon fare shall be allowed.
(f) When travelling at night time by train, if at any time second- class sleeping accommodation is provided, the employer shall allow second-class sleeping berth ticket. Patternmakers, for work done outside the employer's establishment, shall receive i/- per day extra.
(g) Any employee sent out to work and placed in charge of one or more workmen shall receive 3/- per day extra.
VI. — Dirt Money.
(a) All journeymen or apprentices employed upon tube mills, ele- vation wheels, turbines, gas engines, condensers, under engine beds, all boiler work (other than new work), inside boilers or smoke boxes, and all underground work, agitators and crush- ers, or -any dirty, confined places, shall be paid i/- per day extra or for any portion of a day.
(b) All journeymen or apprentices employed in mining shafts, or at water turbines, shall also receive dirt money, and the shifts shall not exceed six hours.
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VII.— Minimum Wage.
(a) The minimum wage for the following classes of workmen shall be:— Per hour. Per day.
s. d. s. d.
Fitters 8 13 4
Turners . . . . . . . . . . 8 134
Armature winders . . . . . . . . 8 134
Milling machinists . . . . . . . . 8 134
Electrical fitters 8 13 4
Motor repairers . . . . . . . . 8 134
Wiremen 4% n o
Blacksmiths .. .. .. .. .. 8 13 4
Coppersmiths . . . . . . . . 8 13 4
Patternmakers S1/? 13 8
Machine joiners . . . . . . . . 8% 13 8
Planers, shapers, slotters and borers . . I 8 13 4
(b) Leading hands to receive 25 per cent, in addition.
(c) All wages to be paid weekly in the employer's time and no back time to be kept.
VIII.— Piecework.
(a) Piecework, taskwork or premium bonus system shall not be engaged upon under any conditions whatsoever.
(b) No workmen to be employed upon two machines at the same time.
IX. — Termination of Engagements.
Upon the termination of an engagement either on the part of the employer or workman, the wages of such worker shall be paid the same evening, or immediately after starting time next morning^ failing such the worker shall be paid at ordinary rates for all such time that he is kept waiting.
X. — Apprentices.
(a) For youths at all classes of trades mentioned in Clause VII. hereof the following rates of wages shall be paid: —
s. d. First year, per day . . . . . . . . . . 40
Second year, per day . . . . . . . . . . 5 o
Third year, per day .. .. .. .. .. 6 o
Fourth year, per day . . . . . . . . . . 7 o
Fifth year, per day . . . . . . . . . . 8 o
(b) All youths, after five years' service, shall receive the minimum rate as paid to journeymen.
(c) Certificates covering length of service shall be given to youths when leaving their employers.
XI. — Preference.
(a) From and after the coming into operation of this award, any worker of the classes mentioned in Clause VII. hereof shall, within fourteen days, become a member of the Union, upon forwarding to the Secretary a written application accompanied with an entrance fee of s/-, and the weekly contribution shall not exceed sixpence per week. The applicant shall be ad- mitted without ballot or election, provided he is a competent workman and of sober habits and good moral character.
(b) It shall be a condition of employment that workmen become members of the Union under the condition set forth in sub- section (a) of this award.
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(c) If any worker having joined the Union and voluntarily resigns from the same, he shall be dismissed by the employer.
Conclusions.
Based upon the information acquired from many sources, and the published and oral statements hereinbefore presented, your Commissioners are led to the following conclusions:
(1) That magazine and newspaper articles to the effect that Australasia had solved the industrial problem by legislative action and that Australia and New Zealand had each been trans- formed into an industrial paradise are idle tales, without a shadow of fact upon which to base them; that instead of indus- trial conditions in these countries being "ideal," they are deplor- able in the extreme, and that there are to be found in New Zealand and Australia more idle, disillusioned, faultfinding people who condemn the country and its institutions, than can be found in any other communities of equal population.
(2) That New Zealand is, as has been claimed, "a glorious little country," and that the development of its cities, its com- merce and industries in the 60 years of its progressive history, bespeaks thrift and energy on the part of the sturdy, open- hearted people who have brought such things to pass, but who, because of the general prosperity which they have enjoyed, have grown apathetic and indifferent as to whither its institutions, politically, were drifting, until an organized minority, which looks upon the public purse as an inexhaustible treasure supply from which every man can help himself, had practically seized control of the Government, and until evidence of decadence is seen and heard on all sides; that the eyes of the sober-minded, substantial citizens have been opened to the deplorable conditions into which, during the past decade or more, the country has been plunged, and that they now are moving to correct the errors which have surreptitiously crept into their legislative policies. Results of recent elections indicate that New Zealand is retrac- ing her steps.
(3) That the natural resources of Australia measure up to the claims that are made for them, and that it has followed the lead of New Zealand in the matter of experimental legislation and State Socialism, which have taken root and become a chronic disease in the Commonwealth and State Governments, with the result that Australia is facing a period of decadence and dry rot, while the process of "Nationalizing the Industries" is still going on, and a chief subject of agitation is the placing of a premium on idleness by the paying of wages, out of the public treasury, to habitual idlers and unemployed.
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(4) That, although there is plenty of wealth in Australasia, there is no vulgar or ostentatious display of it. People having vested interests at stake realize the socialistic trend of things and religiously avoid aggravating the situation by feeding the soap box orator and his political allies with examples of luxurious display of what they please to call "predatory wealth." In this regard Australasia is holding out an object lesson that would be well for many people in this country to heed and follow.
(5) That, in practical operation, State Socialism in Aus- tralasia, while attractive in theory to some people, has proved a
.dismal failure and has made these countries appear before the world as "ideal countries going wrong" and as expressed in the language of one of their own business men supported by the opinion of many others, as "the Paradise of fools," the responsi- bility for which rests chiefly upon the shoulders of dishonorable politicians . who make capital out of catering to the organized vote at the expense of the welfare of the country. The hope of Aus- tralasia lies in the repudiation of these politicians and their theories.
(6) That the Press of Australasia is, as a rule, clean, con- servative and fair, with very little tendency to muck-raking, or yellow journalism, which may, however, be accounted for by some law regulating the liberty of the Press — (while we were at Sydney, a judgment for- $2,000 was affirmed against a Mel- bourne newspaper for printing an obituary notice of a person not dead, which was handed into the office of the paper in the customary manner by some person not identified) ; that the fairness, vigilance and impartiality of the Press is a prime factor in keeping public life reasonably clean.
(7) That the stretch of conscience that enables a repre- sentative of all the people to vote for "preference to unionists" is abominable, and that decadence is a just reward for any coun- try whose Government stands for such a flagrant violation of human rights. Yet, with all, neither the Australian nor the Dominion Parliaments have fallen so low in the sphere of political injustice as to enact, or even propose, such vile legislation as the exemption provision of the Sundry Civil Appropriations Bill, passed by the present "American" Congress, or, as embodied in the Bacon-Bartlet Bill.
(8) That the laws of Australasia which provide for com- pulsory Arbitration, Wages Boards and a Minimum Wage, have proved inefficient and inadequate for their intended purposes, and that instead of accomplishing their objects they are serving to make New Zealand and Australia breeding countries of loafers and idlers; that they have practically destroyed all hope
135
of reward for personal ambition among the workers and have served only the socialistic purpose of leveling up and leveling down the whole class to one standard of opportunity.
(9) That the wage question is an economic problem which should be kept aloof from politics, for once it gets mixed up with them, it can never be separated and a sorry mess will inevitably result. It has been thoroughly demonstrated in Aus- tralasia that the function of Government is not to appease its warring factions by compromising fundamental principles, but to protect the rights of every citizen by the use of all the power at its command when necessary; that the more Government intervenes in private business, the more it will be compelled to intervene, and that it is easy to enact but almost impossible to repeal such measures, especially when their effect is the cre- ation of a huge Governmental machine.
(10) That workmen's compensation laws are correct in theory, upon the ground that loss through injury to a worker should find its equity in the cost of production, and that when such laws are founded upon just principles and fairly adminis- tered they are a benefit to the community.
(IT) That, according to official Commonwealth statistics for 1914, the purchasing power of money had depreciated since 1901, practically in the same ratio as wages a-dvanced during the same period, it being, therefore, apparent that however much legislation may have been enacted as a panacea for the economic ills of society, the same has had practically no effect on the natural law of supply and demand which has maintained its supremacy, and that the real effect of the industrial legislation has been to create disappointment and breed more discontent by imposing upon the people a burdensome and expensive system which has failed to give value received.
(12) That, if, in view of the homogeneous character of the workers of Australia, its system of industrial legislation fails of its purpose, namely, the creation of industrial peace, any hope of similar legislation proving successful, or even partially so, in the United States, with its heterogeneous mass of workers, must be futile and could only prove suicidal to the best interests of the nation.
(13) That, (a) non-enforcement of law is one of the prime causes of lawlessness in cases of labor disturbance, and for which officials charged with the responsibility of maintaining the peace should be held to account; (b) that officials of labor unions should be held individually responsible for damages ac- cruing from strikes, in the same manner that directors and
136
officers of business corporations are held responsible for what happens as result of their actions. If this were the case, there would be fewer strikes, less maiming of independent workers and less destruction of property; (c) that employees of public service utilities should be enlisted for stated periods, under con- tract that would make stoppage by strike or other conspiracy equivalent to mutiny or desertion; (d) that, if the organization of the labor unions places men in power in Government who enact laws favorable to the unionists, such Government will re- fuse to enforce such laws against the unions. A domestic ex- ample of such dereliction in the enforcement of the law against powerful privileged classes is found in the unwillingness of our Federal Government to prosecute labor unions under the Sher- man Law.
(14) That practically all labor organizations of Austral- asia, as in the United States and elsewhere, are based upon false principles — principles that are not only economically un- sound, but which work unjust and cruel hardship upon the ma- jority of workers themselves, who do not agree with the unions but suffer at the hands of an organized minority of their fellows, who try to force out of industry more than it contains, and whose slogan is the socialistic idea that labor creates all wealth and, therefore, all wealth belongs to labor. But we have only to look at the results of labor when not directed by superior guid- ance, reinforced by capital, to see the absurdity and ridiculous- ness of the claim.
(15) That, (a) a practical remedy for industrial unrest and disturbance lies in the dissolution of unionism as at present organized, and the founding of a new unionism, with efficiency and greater productivity, instead of deficiency and restricted productivity, as its watchword and basis of conduct, and recog- nizing that the only line along which it can hope to permanently better labor, or realize its expectations is by lessening the cost of production through increased productivity, and thereby increas- ing the purchasing power of money wages; (b) that when labor purges itself of its evil and organizes with equity in lieu of arbi- trary despotism as its basic principle, when it adopts and operates upon a platform of equitable business methods and when it seeks no privileges which it is unwilling to extend to others, then and not until then will industrial peace and harmony be restored, then and not until then will labor and capital go forward hand in hand to higher and nobler achievements. It is not within the tolerance of human nature for one class of citizens to meekly submit to the imposition of tyranny by another class.
i37
(16) That, the fact of the whole matter is that the only thing that will save our own country from the influence of organized industrial despotism, is concrete organization and co- operation of employers and other forces who are opposed to the same, too many of whom have heretofore been apathetic and in- different as to what has been going on around them, and too much absorbed in business and pleasure, but who cannot escape the consequences if they stand idly by and permit an organized minority to rule over them, and who, in furtherance of that end elect to public office men who have no scruples about lending their influence to the promotion of class legislation designed to tear down the citadel of security that has so long preserved our free institutions, and who cast their vote at the crack of the lash of organized labor, for which they should be treated with con- tempt in their respective communities.
(17) That, the more industrial peace is sought to be en- forced through legislation which encroaches upon the natural and inalienable rights of citizens, the more pronounced will be the spirit of antipathy between the employer and the employed ; that there are certain avenues over which industrial legislation can safely and successfully travel, and other avenues which lead to turmoil and strife and therefore unwise to enter upon. We be- lieve results in Australia clearly demonstrate that industrial "salvation by legislation is not possible," that "there are many things legislation can do, but there are many things it can not do/' and therefore great care should be exercised to draw the line at the proper limit, wherein lies the danger of industrial legisla- tion. Men can enact legislation that will assist the operation of natural laws, but when they undertake to enact laws which are opposed to the laws of Nature failure and chaos will be the in- evitable result.
(18) That, inasmuch as a number of States have enacted, and others are contemplating enacting, minimum wage laws, we believe that such legislation is ill-advised and will in time prove a serious mistake, in that it will work to the detriment rather than to the advantage of the common weal, and, furthermore, that legislation having for its object the regulation or control of contractural relations between employer and employee in this country should be given far more serious consideration by our lawmakers than it has heretofore received, lest we encounter the pitfalls to which attention has hereinbefore been specifically called, only to find, in the last analysis, that "in going down hill on a slippery track the going is easy, the task, getting back."
(19) That, inasmuch as present-day legislation seems
138
to be leaning strongly toward a policy of compromise of basic principles in partial satisfaction, at least, of organized demands for special privileges and immunities, and for so-called "Social Justice," regardless of its effect on prosperity and posterity, we recommend that the National Association of Manufacturers, in keeping with its constructive policies, adopt measures to keep itself informed on the progress and development of all subjects for legislation affecting fundamental principles, that it may at all times be in position to act intelligently and wisely with respect thereto and not fall into the snare of supporting measures pur- porting to be constructive, but which, in the last analysis, will prove to be destructive, and that it steadfastly maintain its oppo- sition to any and all legislative innovations whose tendencies are to create or encourage national inefficiency, or class distinction, or which do not contribute to human achievement.
(20) That, waiving the questions of its Socialistic tendencies and its deplorable industrial conditions, which will, we believe, right themselves in time, Australasia, located as it is in the South Pacific, aloof from all other English speaking nations, is prone to a friendly and sympathetic feeling toward the United States to which it would naturally turn for assistance in seasons of dis- tress, and that the possessions of the United States in the Hawaiian and the Philippine Islands and Samoa should lead to a close bond of friendship and mutual interest between these countries and cement them together in inseparable ties of friend- ly intercourse and good will.
(21) That it is not to be inferred from anything herein, that we deprecate legitimate progress, decry effort to bring about an amelioration of the condition of labor, or are averse to any- thing which will work a restoration of the ancient amity that existed between employer and employee. We heartily approve every movement that promises permanent progress to either labor or capital. We cordially espouse all effort intelligently directed to improvement in the conditions of labor and laborer, and we look forward with genuine enthusiasm to that day which shall witness the exit of the professional agitator and the advent of peace between employer and employee, a peace based upon mutual regard for mutual interests and not upon selfish regard for mere class advancement.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN KIRBY, JR. DAVID M. PARRY.
ALBERT A. SNOWDEN,
Secretary. 139
INDEX
PAGE
Accidents, compensation for 10
Adelaide, city of, brief account of 6
Anti-Trust Legislation 15
Apprentice, form of application for license to work as 60
Apprentices 97
Arbitration, compulsory 92
Auckland, city of, brief account of 116
Australasia, people of, brief account of 19
Australia, Commonwealth of, brief account of 4
pensions paid in 6
people of 1 10
principal cities of 4
public debt of 6
railways of 7
taxes in 10
Banking institutions 18
Brisbane, city of, brief account of 4
Christchurch, city of, brief account of 117
Cities, principal, of Australia 4
New Zealand 1 16
visited 3
Commonwealth of Australia, brief account of 4
Compulsory arbitration 92
Conclusions and recommendations 134
Crown lands 16
Discipline, Unionism's effect on 83
Dunedin, city of, brief account of 117
Editorial on debate on industrial laws 25
Editorials and other newspaper accounts 23 and 71
Government and business in New Zealand 117
owned railways in Australia 7
ownership of homes for workingmen 15
land in Australia 16
New Zealand 118
railways in New Zealand 119
Hobart, city of, brief account of 6
Holidays 86 and 88
Homes for workingmen 1 5
Hours and wages 83
Industrial conditions in Australia 22
New Zealand 120
laws, debate on, newspaper account of 28
press comments on 38
140
PAGE
Industries, Government ownership of 8
Industry, Government regulation of 63
Labor and capital, editorial on 25
Land, Government ownership in New Zealand 118
Laws and wages 69
Industrial, debate on, newspaper account of 28
press comments on 38
regulating industries 63
Melbourne, city of, brief account of 5
Mineral wealth 19
Minimum wage, form of application for license to work at less than.. 61
Minimum wages 88
Newspaper account of debate on industrial laws 28
Newspaper articles 23 and 71
New Zealand, brief account of 116
cities of 116
Government and business in 117
ownership of railways in 119
industrial conditions in 120
Output, restriction of 78
Pensions in Australia 6
People of Australia no
Australasia, brief account of 19
Perth, city of, brief account of 6
Press, Tl^e, opinions of 23 and 71
Public debt of Australia 6
Railways, Government ownership of, in Australia 7
New Zealand 119
of Australia 7
Rates of wages, weekly, for principal occupations 84
Refrigeration system 17
Restriction of output 78
Sydney, city, of, brief account of 5
Taxes in Australia , ' 10
Trust Legislation 15
Unionism, effect of, on discipline 83
views on 98
what is wrong with ? 98
Unions, number of members of, in Australia 82
Wage earners' views 81
Wages, weekly rates of, for principal occupations 84
hours and 83
laws and 69
minimum 88
Wellington, city of, brief account of 116
Workingmen, homes for 15
Workmen's Compensation 10
141
LOAN DEPT.