Aug. 21, A good deal has been written and said about the labour extvemist, the man who preaches revolution and whose god is the Red Flag, who is continually breathing out threats against the capitalists and advocating go-slow methods both in and out of season. Much less attention, however, has been given to the plain, ordinary worker, the skilled artisan say, who has a wife and family to support, the man who is trying out of his earnings to buy a house of his own, save towards his old age and give his children a good education so that they may have a better start in life than he had. Hence the special interest of a very able article in the "Quarterly Review" by Mr. W. F. Watson, himself a worker, dealing with the way in which the average workman regards his labour and] his employers. The writer tells! us that the great majority "of artisans are interested. in their tasks and have no desire whatever to "go slow." Most of them are keen on doing their best, obs" during trying discover the best method. of carrying out the work. This being so, we might well inquire what are the causes of a work-}man's becoming dissatisfied with his work or his position.
Mr, Watson has given us some of the reasons. One of the greatest is the fear of unemployment, which dogs. the heels of practically every artisan, The introduction of new methods in industry or of fresh machinery may, and often does, result in numbers of men losing their Jobs. These changes of course may be economically sound, but [that does not alter the fact that many men, with their wives and families, have to suffer the pangs of hunger in consequence. The worker also feels that things are not as they ought when, for instance, a financial panic in one part of the world causes the shutting down of tories in another part, and a man has to tramp the streets in that most terrible and dispiriting quest, the search for work, because some country in which he is not even remotely interested has entered upon an era of commercial stagnation. The interdependence of nations about which we are so apt to glory in these modern days is not always a blessing to the man whose daily bread depends upon the state of international commerce. Then again, directors and heads of firms are not always fallible, and mistaken policy or careless management on their part may bring ruin upon a business and the consequent dismissal of the employees. We condole with shareholders who lose their money in such a crash, but too often We forget the em: ployees, some of whom may hav spent the best part of their live with the firm, now losing their jobs and finding it hard to get work again, Mr. Watson speaks of another grievance which skilled workers engineering trades have against present day conditions, namely, the absurdly high prices asked for goods, out of all proportion to their cost of manufacture. In this matter, of course, the layman cannot' express an opinion as to whether or no Mr. Watson's contention holds as a general rule, but if the opinions of a great number of men in these trades are correct then certainly the employees have a real grievance, for a tyro in economics knows that reasonable prices allied with good workmanship are the things mostly likely to secure a good steady market, The question of the worker having some say in the manag: ment of the firm, and particular-in the appointment of foremen is exercising the minds of mauve skilled and intelligent artisans to-day. These men feel that there are many points on which they could give good advice to those in executive positions, and thus help forward the prosperity of employers and employees alike. In regard to foremen there is the feeling on the part of many "hands" that some of these men are quite unsuited temperamentally for such positions and that others are inclined to bully those under them, Many of the workers think they ought to have a say in the appointment of these men, not with the idea of bullying them, but so that they may feel the best man has got the job, and that it is "up to them" to support him in his endeavours to secure the best workmanship.
Some large firms have already realized that they ought to get the ce-operation of their work people, and have allowed the (Continued on Page 36, Col 3.)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.