io8 Agriculture and the Community. 



to protect the workers from the sweated conditions which 

 obtained in some districts, but if we are to judge from the 

 experience we have had of these Boards, they do nothing 

 to improve conditions where there is any spirit or light in 

 the workers and where they have been accustomed to a 

 higher standard. It is difficult to judge of their effect so 

 far, because they have been in operation during a time 

 of high prices, scarcity of labour, and rising wages. In 

 the higher paid districts the minimum rates have been of 

 no service to the workers. My experience has been limited 

 to Scotland, where wages generally have always been 

 higher than in England. The minimum rates fixed have 

 been much below what the workers were able to secure 

 by their own efforts. In the lower paid districts the 

 minimum rates did effect an improvement, but they 

 stereotyped the wages at the minimum rate. Even in 

 those districts, wherever the workers could be got to 

 organise and to disregard the minimum rates, they were 

 able to force higher wages. Where they were content to 

 rely upon the Wages Committees the wages rose more 

 slowly and rose less, actually and comparatively, than 

 where the workers exerted themselves on their own behalf. 



But whether the workers organise themselves in trade 

 unions to exert their maximum power, or rely upon Wages 

 Boards to secure their wages, there is a limit beyond 

 which they cannot pass, and that limit is decided by the 

 net productivity of the industry. The trade unions or the 

 Wages Boards cannot fix rates beyond what the employers 

 are able to pay without sacrificing their profits. If they do 

 the workers will not be employed. They will only be 

 employed so long as the farmers see an opportunity of 



