28 THE RURAL PROBLEM 



whore the wages are higher, as in the case of West Cumber- 

 land quoted above, there is no difference made between 

 the different grades of workers. Moreover, the higher 

 wages of horsemen and cattlemen frequently work out at 

 a smaller rate per hour even than those of the general 

 labourer, in view of the longer hours of work. In any case, 

 it would seem to be no part of the business of a national 

 minimum wage law to emphasise such differences as exist, 

 and the object of the law would be achieved if there were 

 only one general rate, applicable to all grades of workers, 

 and raising the whole level of wages from below. 



In view of the wide discrepancies that exist between the 

 wages paid in different parts of the country, it has been 

 suggested by those who have some experience of the working 

 of Wages Boards that in the case of Agriculture the minimum 

 fixed should not reallv be a minimum at all, but rather a 

 mean figure, a sort of standard set up for the various 

 localities to aim at. The argument appears to be that if a 

 high minimum were fixed, it would be impossible of enforce- 

 ment, whereas a low minimum would have a demoralising 

 effect in those parts of the country where good wages are 

 already paid. But any such juggling would, like a series of 

 local rates, be running away from the problem. A minimum 

 must be a minimum — it must be fairly high, and it must be 

 enforced all over the country, the only modification possible 

 being to allow in certain backward districts a short period 

 of time to elapse before it comes into force. 



§ 2. The Machinery. 



The most important question in connection with the 

 minimum wage law for agriculture is the machinery by which 

 it is to be administered. There is no need to discuss this in 

 great detail here; it will be sufficient to sketch it in outline. 

 The machine must include a National Board to deal with 

 main principles, which arc the same all over the country, and 

 Local Boards to apply those principles to the circumstances 

 of the various localities. Both the National Board and the 

 Local Boards should properly consist of directly elected re- 

 presentatives of both the employers and the employed. In 



