PROBLEMS OF CITIZENSHIP.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XL, Issue 9292, 29 April 1920, Page 2

PROBLEMS OF CITIZENSHIP.

PROFESSOR ATKINSON'S

K-EwiEDlEti

Many interesting questions were touched on by Proiessor Meredith Atkinson in an addlress which he gave in Melbourne a few weeks ago on "The Position of tiie family in Moaern Industrial Life." d Jirofessor Atkinson traced the ' evolution of tiie family through the ages, and after referring to tiie virtual enslavement of women in ancient society, and the changes brought about by the coming of Christianity, went on ix> discuss the problems which had their origin in the industrial revolutions which began ie the 18th century. In all the great industrial countries of the world, said Professor Atkinson, a decent home life was practically impossible. Even mere existence sometimes became intolerable. The growth of "sweating" and the employment o£ women and children in factories had struck a fatal blow at family life, and physically and morally the race had suffered. Children became eeonom ideally and physically independent of their parents before their minds were fit for the change, while parents wens' tempted to use their children too early to augment the family income. Bad housing conditions in nearly every j large city helped these and their factors to , bring about the deterioration of the race Even now the housing of the people in the large cities of Australia was a disgrace, and he was satisfied that, but for our favourable climate, the people would suffer speedy degeneration. For the evils resulting from modern industrialism Professor Atkinson suggested a number of remedies, the more important being better factory legislation, a basic wage varying with the cost of living, shorter working hours, a bonus to parents for every child alter the third, housing and town-plan-ning schemes, medical aid to all citizens, and' equality of opportunity. It could not' be said that the present system of education in Australia gave anything approaching equality of opportunity, for a defective education, t apart altogether from economic considerations, handicapped many of the most brilliant boys from the very beginning. Family life and the welfare of the nation could also be improved by rebates to families, a heavy bachelor tax, and a moderate spinster tax. —(Laughter.) "You may laugh," Professor Atkinson toldl his audience,' "but I am perfectly serious. Conditions at present favour race suicide. It may be said that some of the remedies I have suggested would be costly, but I refuse to believe that we cannot carry the burden. The economic resources of the world are abundant; it is oui organisation that is defective. Until the best use is made of the world's resources pessimism about the future is, to say the least, premature.

It was not only in the towns that conditions were unsatisfactory, Professor Atkinson went on. In the country family life was weakened by the fact that many workers could not earn enough to keep their families in comfort. No improvement would be effected, and the drift to, the cities would never cease until a strong "country life. movement" was inaugurated. Travelling schools and kinemas, bush circulating libraries, and other comforts could be introduced if only %h$ movement were properly taken up. Replying to questions, Professor Atkinson expressed the opinion that something like a wholesale reconstruction of the social system was necessary if the family and any other institution worth preserving was to survive. "I am opposed to a social revolution of a sudden character," he said, "not because if is sudden, but because it is bound to fail. You cannot have a successful social revolution unless you have had long before a reformation of the human mind. You can work towards reformation by influencing the minds of the people, but all-important changes must come from within the people's minds, and not from without."

Questioned about the value of jjolitical institutions, Professor Atkinson said that if the people had a bad Parliament it wa,s because they were, poor citizens. What could be more deplorable than the fact that in New South Wales only about half the people took the trouble to vote? He regarded this as one of the most sinister developments in Australian history, for it showed that the people had lost faith in Parliament, and therefore in their own capacity for self-government. He could not see any way out by merely altering the machinery of government and establishing Soviets. The only remedy was the cultivation of a proper sense oi civic responsibility.