THE LABOURER 



the Unionist party stands for State aid and en- 

 couragement of private enterprise as opposed 

 to the Radical principles of State control and 

 land nationalisation. 



IV. The Labourer 



Socially and economically the labourer is the 

 root of the agricultural problem. It is character- 

 istic of agriculture, distinguishing it from other 

 industries, that the individual worker plays a 

 more important part in its economy. It is 

 common to talk of agricultural labourers as un- 

 skilled. In truth, a good agricultural labourer — 

 who, owing to the present trend of agricultural 

 development and the consequent emigration, is 

 to-day much rarer than he ought to be — is 

 essentially a skilled workman. 



(a) Wages. — In many counties the great 

 majority of labourers are ill-educated and ill-fed, 

 and consequently inefficient, both mentally and 

 physically. In other counties where the average 

 wage paid is comparatively high some employers 

 pay wages considerably below the average. 

 The labourers have no effective organisation ; 

 and although some increase in wages is taking 

 place in certain districts, those districts where 

 wages are lowest appear to be hardly, if at all, 

 affected by the movement. It, therefore, be- 

 comes necessary to establish some means of 



