32 
share to cach emibloyee, whether manager 
or boy, should be the sae, the only pen- 
alty or deduction on a share being that 
due to lost time. Thus, if an employee 
loses one-tenth of his full time for the year 
he should also lose one-tenth of his normal 
full-time share in the new wealth, and’ this 
one-tenth part should be added to the 
total amount divisible amongst the full 
time workers, 
Lach worker would thus be encouraged 
to avoid losing time through sickness, bad 
habits, or strikes, and such an .arrange- 
ment would tend to maintain continuity 
of work, and from the greater results 
achieved would also be a first-class busi- 
ness proposition to shareholders. 
.The method of application of the prin. 
tiple of extra payment on production is 
all-important. To decree that a bonus be 
paid out of profits would not be altogether 
satisfactory, because it could be evaded by 
showing a false profit or by masking the 
true position. This could be done (and 
would be difficult to check) by writing 
down excessive depreciation and similar 
methods to show a smaller profit than was 
actually the case. 
The simplest way, and one easily eheck- 
ad and thercfore most likely to work satis. 
factorily, would be to set aside 1 per cent, 
more or less of the gross annual revenue 
for division equally amongst every man, 
woman and child working in the concern. 
The total annual revenue, output, or sales 
whether of newspapers, advertisements, 
freight, fares, goods, ete., ean be easily 
verified by any employees without recourse 
to private ledgers or the danger of divulge. 
ing trade secrets to rival concerns. Tn 
ascertaining the rate of annual distribution 
amongst employees a more or less definite 
constant relationship can be maintained 
between net profits and gross revenue. 
Such relationship could be established in 
the first place by a judge or arbitrator 
with power to inspect the company’s or 
proprietor’s books. Once the relationship 
8 established the employees’ annual share 
rises or fallg automatically with the rise 
and fall of revenue or production. This 
is a kind of payinent by results without 
the obinetiona bie features of the American 
system whereby one employee is pitted 
against another, and the weaker individual 
may lose his living, and anyway suffers 
inordinately from comparison with kis 
stronger, speedier and more fortunately 
mdowed work-mate. 
No Invidious Distinetions. 
Under a system of share and share slike 
no invidious distinctions would be made 
by the management, and any individual 
slacker would be dealt with and would 
be subject to the urge of his harder worl- 
ing associates. The wages, would, of conrse, 
ditfer, as at present. with different classes 
of work and workers. As far as possible 
overtime and overtime rates should be 
abolished, especially where it is deliberate. 
ly engineered by slacking in ordinary 
working hours. If any industry from its 
peculiar nature requires much overtime 
Our Industrial Problems. 
fresh hands should be engaged on the 
extra time required. 
Since the health, well-being and efficiency 
of every employee is of importance t any 
industry, it should be worth whe to so 
organise the work as to enable cach em- 
ployee to have anmual leave in rotation and 
by mutual arrangement. 
In order that prod. ction will take place 
along the most needed lines and that the 
rreatest result will acerge from the utilisas 
tion of labour and captial, a very efficient 
industrial statistical staff should be maine. 
tained by the Commonwealth Government 
and figures should be published periodi- 
cally and frequently of industries which 
are overloaded or otherwise, For example, 
if 10 footwear ¢ acerns are already estah- 
lished in the Commonwealth and their 
total maximum output is quite sufficient 
for present and near future nceds, then 
it is well to publish figures warning other 
possible concerns that it would be ad- 
visable to direct their energies into a more 
likely or more promising channel of pro- 
duction. 
The only way to increase real wages ig 
to increase wealth hy increasing produce 
tion, or, in other words, to increase the 
quantity or total supply of goods or come 
modities so that the prices of cominodi- 
ties will fall whilst the actual money re- 
ceived in wages is maintaineq. For ex. 
ample, suppose a married man to receive 
a wage of £1 a day. If his actual cost of 
family necessaries is 12/ a day, and a year 
later he still gets a wage of £1 a day, but 
owing to a greater production and a 
greater total supply of the tame necess 
saries they can be bought now for 10/ 
a day instead of 12/ a day : last year, 
then his £1 a day wage is of moe value 
this year than last Year and is equivalent 
bo a real increase of wage. 
Increasing Production. 
It is quite clear, then, that only by ins 
creasing production ean wages be really in. 
creased. Te does not follow that because 
the people producing the Necessary cons 
modities are able to increase their produce 
tion and sell at lower prices they are there- 
fore at a disadvantage; quite. the cons 
trary, because although they ot le. for 
each single item the lower price brings 
about a greater sale, and, whereas they 
formerly 2 a turnover of (say) £100,000 
they now have a turnover “T { perhaps) 
£130,000 with the same overhead charges 
and are able to show an actually greater 
profit than before, when their _rices were 
higher. Hence, increasing wealth by in- 
creasing production benefits the whole 
community and the doctrine «should be in- 
cessantly preached. A high cost of pro- 
duction is brought about, not by high 
wages, but by ineflicieney either in em- 
ployer, employee, or both, and as a further 
aid to the greater production of wealth 
and greater eflicienc. the application of 
labour-saving machinery anc inventions 
should be encouraged by the Common- 
xealth Government. This could he done by 
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