996 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



Decemter 1, 1919. 



EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED. 



A LEGAL MINIMUM WAGE. 

 A strong" fight against State regula- 

 tion of wages is put up by James Boyle 

 in the " Forum." 



He believes that if the workers surren- 

 der to the State the right to fix their 

 wages, they must also stand ready to 

 accept conditions which the State may 

 lay down as a corollary — compulsory 

 arbiration, for instance. While much is 

 to be said in favour of the contention 

 -of the new school of economists that 

 there is just as much reason why the 

 "police power" of the State should be 

 invoked to fix a minimum wage as to 

 fix hours of labour, sanitary conditions 

 of employment, etc., yet there is a differ- 

 ence. The wage question is subject to 

 an economic law — that of supply and 

 demand. Granting equality of bargain- 

 ing power between employers and em- 

 ployees, there is still the law of supply 

 and demand to be reckoned with"; 

 neither side can control that law, but 

 that law affects wages. 



The State can absolutely enforce its decrees 

 as to the physical conditions and environ- 

 ments of labour; but it cannot do that as 

 to wages under certain conditions — human 

 nature would refuse to submit to this strait- 

 jacket whenever the situation called for the 

 violation of the law. This is the case in New 

 Zealand and Australia even in a period of 

 phenomenally good times; and there is a 

 wide feeling that the State regulation of 

 wages in those countries will break down when 

 bad times come, as they are bound to come. 

 Until these laws show that they can stand the 

 stress of adversity they must be counted as ex- 

 periments only. 



The cautious, tentative attitude of the 

 British Government in enacting mini- 

 mum wage laws is largely owing to the 

 very guarded and qualified reDort of Mr. 

 Ernest Aves, the expert it sent to Aus- 

 tralia and New Zealand to stud}- the 

 system in operation in those countries. 

 Mr. Aves was commendatory in some 

 particulars, but his final judgment is : 

 "The evidence does not seem to justify 

 the conclusion that it would be advan- 

 tageous to make the recommendations 

 of any Special Boards that may be con- 

 stituted in England legally binding, 

 or that if this power were granted it 

 could, with regard to wages, be effec- 

 tively exercised." 



A LESSON IN CO-OPERATION. 

 The " Round Table " contains a very 

 interesting description of the wonderful 

 progress achieved by " The Grain 

 Growers' Movement in Western Canada," 

 and shows the tremendous power pos- 

 sessed by any body of citizens animated 

 by self-interest. Faced by the neglect 

 of politicians and the apparently unas- 

 sailable position of the monopolists, 

 they have created an organisation mak- 

 ing them independent of both : — 



It may be assumed, therefore, that a large 

 part of the grain trade in Western Canada 

 will be controlled by a co-operative organisa- 

 tion of the farmers themselves. But the offi- 

 cers of the Grain Growers' Grain Company, 

 finding that success has followed these scliemes, 

 decline to confine their attention to the hand- 

 ling of grain. They have bought a large 

 tract of timber in British Columbia, from 

 whicli they intend to develop a lumber busi- 

 ness with a view to defeating the lumber com- 

 bines, which are admitted to operate in the 

 prairie provinces. In Manitoba they iiave 

 established a flour-selling business in connec- 

 tion with their elevators, and have already 

 reduced the price to the consumer. They 

 propose to extend the system gradually to 

 other supplies, and it is by no means inii)rob- 

 able that they will enter upon the flour-mill- 

 ing business in the near future. They look 

 forward, also, to establishing co-operative 

 manufactories of agricultural machinery, 

 such as the Labour Ministry' is preparing to 

 build up in Western Australia, and, if the 

 Government of the prairie provinces do not 

 create a system of State loans, they meditate 

 entering upon the mortgage business. 



This is no mean record, but their in- 

 fluence does not stop there, for, as the 

 writer says : — 



There may be many faults to find with the 

 Grain Growers, but they must be regai-ded a.s 

 fche main hope of democracy in Canada, and 

 the .spear-head of the reforming forces whose 

 aspiration ought to be to save Canada from 

 the harrowing experiences of her southern 

 neighbour at the hands of an organised and 

 selfish capitalism. They have a clear idea of 

 the goal which they seek, a vast co-operative 

 agricultural community freed from the 

 tyranny of corporations, railways and manu- 

 facturers' associations, enjoying continuous 

 prosperity under the British flag, and evolv- 

 ing a free, contended yeomanry as a back- 

 bone for the population of the Dominion and 

 a saving strength for the British Empire. 

 There can be no greater bulwark for the 

 British connection m Western Canada than 

 the establishment of such, a co-operative sys- 

 tem in pleasing contrast to the individualistic 

 scramble of the United States. Its founders 

 and sponsors would be the last people to 

 sanction its absorption in that scramble by 

 any scheme of political annexation. 



