THE WEST COAST STRIKE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2675, 3 December 1909, Page 2

THE WEST COAST STRIKE.

HEAL CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE

A gentleman who has been visiting the West Coast during the last few days, and who in the course of his tour passed through the State collieries, contributes to' the Grey “Star” the following concerning the strike: “From the variety of opinions. expressed, there appears to be a good deal of ignorance and considerable misapprehension on the part of the men as to the real cause of the trouble, due man said: ‘This State mine is making a big profit at our expense, and the profit goes into the pockets of the bloated capitalist.’ I remarked that, as the mine was owned by the State, if there was any profit it would go into the pockets of every man, woman and child in the Dominion, and the miner himself would share the benefit. The more profit earned by the State mine the less need would there be for taxes and Customs dues. ‘AYell,’ said one man, ‘we. are not going to sweat ourselves to pay fat salaries to Sir Joseph AVard and the big bugs. The profits of the State mine should go to the men who dig the coal.’ The men evidently have got the idea into their heads that the .State mine is making an enormous profit, and that the manager is grinding this profit out of the men’s labor. “When asked as to how the agreement under which they worked compared with that of other mines, the men admitted that it was equal, if not superior, to tint of any of the ptlier coal mines in the Dominion, with the exception of the trucking clause, winch as the cause of the prevent dispute. The next question I put to the men was: How many extra truckers would be required to take the coal away from the face, and so relieve the men of this work The reply was ‘About twenty.’ “ ‘And what would this amount to in wages, annually?’ “ ‘Roughly, about £3000.’ “ ‘You ask, then, a gift of £3OOO, and what do you propose to give in return ?” “ ‘Something tlie management is not taking into consideration, namely, the extra output of coal. The time we waste now in trucking would then'-Se spent in hewing and filling tubs, and would increase the earning power of the mine as well as benefit ourselves.’ “ ‘Don’t you think,’ I asked, ‘that striking work is a foolish method for obtaining your demands?” “ ‘Yes, but there was no other course left. Our, , executive and 'the manager have been in consultation for tlie past six weeks, and could not conic to an agreement over this clause. State miners .should never be required to do trucking.’ “ ‘AYliat is the average wage at present earned by the men ?’ “ ‘About l4s. No doubt .some sets of men may earn over that amount, but others do not earn half of it- The average for the past six months is, roughly, 14s.’ “ ‘AYhy is one set of men able to earn more than another?” “The reason is that periodically wo cavil for places, and there is a great difference in the quality of the coal in different .parts of the mine. Some places are much easier to work than others. If we can get an easy place, and plenty of tubs, we earn good money, but there are some places where the best *workmen cannot earn more than tucker.’ “‘ls cavilling for places, then, unfair?’ “ ‘No. it gives all an equal chance of the good places.’ “ ‘AYhat about the skill of the workmen when a good pair of men get a •good place? What wage can they earn ?’ “ ‘Sometimes as much as £1 per day per man. A bad workman or lazy will not earn wages in a good place.” “‘Do you think the strike will bo taken up' by all the miners in the Dominion.?’' “ ‘Yes; and the Government will bo forced into, compliance with our demands.’ “• ‘That would be a sad event for 'the Dominion.. A general strike just now, when the coal trade is brisk,_ would ■spell disaster all over tlie Dominion.’ “•‘Yes;- we are' well aware of that,, and, consequently, tlie Government will see the wisdom of paying, to truck o.ur coal from the face.’' . LL ‘Don’t you tlxink that this is taking a mean advantage over the community at large. Is it the attitude • that would be taken up by a broadminded Socialist- Neither is it calottlated to advance what Socialism pro-fesses-to advocate —viz., tlie uatibnalisation of industries. . , . “ ‘Never mind. In tins world- it is -every man for himself, and the? devil take the liindermost. If the miner does not look after himself, wlio will?’ “ ‘Selfishness, then, is the root of the strike?’ ' ‘' ' “ ‘Certainly-’ ‘ ' ; “I can only marvel at tlie inability; of the average miner to see the larger issues at stake' and tlie folly of strong, able-bodied men with families 'dependent on- their earnings preferring to remain idle for days, weeks, and, it may be, months, rather than submit their grievance to arbitration, where perhaps , a little give-and-take policy or splitting tlie difference over i few pounds would settle the whole dispute. Commonsen.se should, in most cases, 1 think lead men to see the wisdom or finikin" hay while the sun shines, or in other words-, taking advantage of the brisk trade in coal that at present obtains, with the prospect of a good cheque wherewith to onioy the Christ--mas holidays.”