Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-07-22

to cast his ballot al every election
Then the people would be suprem
! and the majority rule. The sam
i. would be true here Then the peopl
the whole people-not a section an,
one class alone would rule this coun
i try Then legislation would be brough
about to benefit the greatest numbel
and harm as few as possible. never
could see the justice of a law thai
benefited 1000 and at the same time
worked an injury TO 10000. On the
other hand it is cowardly not 20 favor
the enactment of a law. provided il
is certain to be beneficial to The ma
! jority Notwithstanding it may work
a very great injury to a few. In a
recent lecture, given under the aus
pieces of the Y. NJ. c. A in this City,
the speaker said;
| The so-calIed socialistic legislation
in this country is to my mind the
| product of the sheerest individualism,
and | believe that individualism will
( be the predominant note in colonial
I life for at least another generation.
Only really suffering, or, at the least,
! imminent danger of suffering can
breed true cooperation; and for this
reason believe that before many
years New Zealand will be following
rather than leading the forces of
peaceful revolution"
The effect on the young people by
reason of a multitude of laws, where
by they practically pass from the con-
troll of the parent to that of the state
as soon as they reach the age of II or
ii and are apprenticed or engaged in
any employment, was thus set forth
by the same speaker:
Turning to wider topic, I admit
to some anxiety about the rising gen
Grafton in New Zealand For some rea-
son or other the type that is rapidly
reaching predominance is the shrewd,
canny, precocious type that you find
especially in London, and are glad to
be delivered from elsewhere. 1t is a
type that largely precludes fellowship
with grown-up people because of its in
solent familiarity; and it is 4 type
that spells danger in the very alb
sence of the influence of that fellow
ship
In an address on the industrial con-
ciliation and arbitration act, delivered
at Wellington. last August, w. Scott
of Otago, said: tracing the meas
ure from its inception in 1894, and
analysing the results of its operations
/ considered the act had proved
failure. 1t had not prevented strikes.
and never were the workers of the
colony more discontinued or had fric-
ton been greater than today. One de-
feet was the fixing of a standard in
lieu of minimum wage. The result
of high minimum or standard was
inferior work, and less of it at much
greater cost. He urged that unions.
rather than individuals. should be
held responsible for strikes, as there
cold be no strikes without organiza-
/ ton"
After re marking that during the
past 10 yetrs there lad been no per-
iod OF depression to lest the act, Mr..
Scott went on to say: apart from
this there are two view points from
which the act can be suryeyed--its eff
| feet on manufacturing industries, and
its effect on workers. With regard to
industries. the act has not made for
| better work nor improved methods,
nor has it fostered trade II has had
/ the opposite effect Instead of helping
it has hindered trade, as it has great
ly increased the cost of production to
the detriment of trade and the hest
/ interests of all concerned"
Summing up Mr. Scott said: Il am
fully persuaded in my own mind that
the advantages of an act such as we
have at the present time are more
than outweighed. by the many serious
disadvantages, and that The workers,
employees, and industries alike would
have been better off today had the
act never been introduced. AS the act
stands today. it has failed in many
things. 1t has failed TO conciliate. The
Cancellation part of it is as dead as
julius Caesar. 1t has not made for
, industrial peace. II has not improved
the quality or quantity of work:
| it has not fostered trade: it
has not bettered the real position of
the workers in whose interests it was
introduced. On the contrary, it has
created strife, manufactured disputes.
/ impaired the work, restricted the out
put. increased the cost of production,
put up the cost of living to such an
! extent that pound (20s) today goes
! no further than did los In 1894, to the
detriment of all, especially the good
worker. as his wages have not been
increased. The latest statistics show
the increase of wages to be from IL
! to 10 per cent, and the increased cost
of living from 20 TO 30 per cent. The
only good thing the act has done that
could not have been accomplished
through the medium of the factories
act is that it has to a considerable
extent protected the honest and liber.
al-minded employer against his I'M
scrupulous and dishonest competitor.
but even this boon has been pur.
chased at too great cost. Under the
circumstances it is manifest that If
the act is to Le made a perman mt and
lasting measure it must be greatly
mended. Some say it were better