The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 1919. THE KEY TO SOCIAL PROGRESS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 91, 11 January 1919, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 1919. THE KEY TO SOCIAL PROGRESS

; ' Some timely obscrttilions on the industrial oiitlook iw Great Britain are . made by - Mr. G-. - T.- AVardle, who was.Parliamentary Sceretary to the Board of, Trad© v in the Coalition Government,as it was organised at the time of;'flic late election. The key,.to the situation, lie ti'uljM'emarks, is industrial; unity. It' is a point wortli Harping'on that this statement applies, just as. closely to industrial conditions in New ■ Zealand and most other countries at a. •somewhat''-'similar ;st ; age' T of political and social development as to those that, exist Great Britain. In practically all' democratic, countries , tho problem of - thci hpiir is that of - expediting and' stimulating . induswial development, and everywhere tliis problem .is' inseparably associated with that of establishing and maintaining industrial: peace.'.; These, problenis are not born of- the- war, though the war has done: much- to change their getting and make'them urgent.- It has also' much light. on.. ; the :means of their solution, notably, as. Mit. Wardle points out, ■ by-bringing great bodies of workers ,into closer touch with their employers than ever before. Before the war it had become evident in tins co.untry. and others that .unless! Hotter and -more harmonious relations.. coitlti be established between' employees. .and , workers, 'industrial ojv.nent would be hampered or made, impossible, l and the better-' living, standards'and' other W'al conditions restricted in a cordegree.. The.' war.' has sharpened.;, And;, intensified- these'' problems, but, without altering'their' essential character. In all British countries there is now. a widespread demand;for increased, wages :and better -forking, and 'livings condifcions—ni fact, for an all-round-im-rprovement in. the standards of'sociali .\ n a ll". these' countries' also the : difficulty appears that while the de- ; sire and the ■ demand ' for improve-' mens are universal there is. by no means; -the' same' general rer' cognititin iand-. acceptance of the •eonditions. which alono will: W-the desired improvement pos-f JibJc. This m particularly, true of industry and of the industrial, organisation and development which "11 he ; foration of;social welfare.: rraetically everyone agrees in'gen--.ei'.al terms 'that 'a great*, arid pro- 1 g i es ? 1 .L 6 ;, I . n , c / e ?.®P .'in. thb; .prjoductiori otjweilth is.necessary in order-that ?! improved .and that life, itself: may come to.wear less and less the aspect'of "the .low struggle for -bread," .'but the practical. „ aspects......of this sound doctrine are much 'too commonly ignored; ;So far as the',\Bri- : .tisji -■ natipn isv concerned ,'it"is only. too .evident thafc:there.is.not a &uhtry. iri' the Empire in which' more' than - a"minority the people have'' e vi a i. pot ir -,Tr ru — expressively stated..by • Mn. -.AVardle . whenhe; savs that the- key v to the situation 'is industrial unity.' In this country we W up,oil the whole -increasing. ■ friction! in* the'ftomam of industry - a a ?. en «^l'-tendency... to ignore the-advantages.;, of ; unity. Some--' weeks ago, for' instance, ,the dent, of the tow; Zealand Employr crs -t'ederajtion made an earnest appeah'for,'closer and more amicable lelations between: employers -and employees. The. principal result to be observed locally wis 'that' a' L'aboui reprtsentatiyeV to a considerable amoiint of trouble to exP.lain that.the employers' •;overture' amounted to a .device oil their part i to get-more (>ut of their work'people.;. Happily' there -are indications.here and there of a more enWtened.,spirit. Jn. ...Canterbury, tor instance, some Labour representativcs- are taking part.-in efforts to existing industrial relaUonsi But the view;-that any;, ntove made by the employers, is necessarilyian Attack of some, kind on work-ing-class interests is no doubt wide- : snread , amongst active'sections'- of the. organised -workers,' knd so:lons as at - holds tho field not much pror gress..can he hoped for. . Nothing is morel needed at this time; than a'perception by organised -workers that "f. : Ttorpefcuafcipg conditions ;of inyu§tnal strife they are-Hyino; hobbles upon alf engaged in industry, themselves .included, and are continually raising hew. obstacles to the. attainment of better social condicions. * • -

The. question of promoting iiidustial'unity is not merely one between and Writers;-'.'lt is '.vital a -?:' effecting- the . whole ■■ future >fate country and'others; To' say that industrial "unity and harmony 3rc unattainable would be the same! tiling hsi tosfay";tli{i't"the doiintry to' which theVsta'tcmenfc anplies has reached ,its .practicable limits'in, social development and . improvement —in other 'words, that it .must henceforth, standstill or revert towards barbarism. TJie essential question calling for an answer in' most civilised countries to-day is whether men are ..capable, in the '.complex conditions .which have, been reached in'social evolution, of keeping such faith.with.6ne. another as will permit civilisation and its benefits to endure.. It. is .npt as being in the interest of any one- class or section' that-the elimination of industrial strife: commends itself as.desirable, but as being vitally, necessary to the welfare of whole countries and nations. and :indispensable in order that they may, obtain the benefits made, accessible by materialprogress and 'advancement in .the arts of life. The benefits of industrial unity are as little, in question as those of air, or food, or shelter, or any of the -simpler-necessities of life. Employers as yc class arc anxious to establish stable and secure conditions of business and industry. I' l'bni the conditions that exist even in this exceptionally favoured country it must be assumed that workers in general-regard the denial of these conditions as a. triumphant demonstration of their power and of the success of their organisations. It is much more in the interests of the masses of the peonle than of employers and the wellrto-do that stable conditions of industry should be established, because these conditions are absolutely essential, to any great and substantial improvement m the general conditions and stand: ards of life. . That industrial■ peace would .not_ in itself, guarantee social justice and rapid social betterment is " beside the cardinal point here made. It is essential to' progress'- oh thes'e lines/and therefore' is; .the essentia]. foiindation 'of all social betterment. Work-.

crs.who are .continually, setting aside explicit agreements and : m other N ways unsettling industrial enterprise and making .'it precarious and insecure no doubt believe that they are "taking it-out" of their employers. llicy are, but they arc also penalising themselves and robbing themselves and their families of the benefits ..that. hinge upon an expanding production of 'wealth. The actual effect of the policy and want of policy of organised Labour is tb partly wreck the:delicate machinery of industrial organisation from day to-day,- and if these tactics wore carried to .their logical conclusion the .machinery f as a whole' would collapse. So far as,the.v' rest upon reasoned motive the attitude and policy, in, favour with, organised.Labrfur.at, the present time arc no" doubt, to'.be.-ascribed -to a belief that at any given time a' .great body of- wealth is held by a minority in the community .which would make ■ the''majority ' prosperous ' if. they could lay their hari'ds upon it. This idea-is a pure fallacy. It is ,true that some individuals contrive to gather in a miichjarger share than they are entitled to of the national .production, of .w;ealth, and such abuses,, of course,,, ; call,.for correction. It. is elementary justice that every unit in. society should be re-', quired to render an honest eqiiiva-. lent for all that,-he or she receives. But it is.a fact to whicM full weight, must be attached that the wealth of a modern community is in such a form that-a very large'proportion :bf it 1 would' disappear like. a fairy dream in .any attempt' at-violent redistribution. .It is kept in existence by, the operation of a delicate and complex organisation; and if the organisation . -Tfc're" destroyed—as 'matters^stand .it is . much less efficient than it ought -to,' he—a very ■large part of. the wealth in sight would disappear'with : it. .These truths have been sufficiently/ illusr trated in experience of jtussia, lii that.country vast,areas of land- and an crioriiious aihount of other, property have'been confiscated,/but;the/masses .of/Eussia were .never 'poprer ; .thari:;the.r-are to-day. It is 'hardly 'necessUry, 'in this country to attack the Bolshevik conception of reducing all to the level of the lowest, but -it is more than neces-sary.-to "attack the only-'less perilous ' fallacy that . widespread and constant guerrilla warfare ih industry is -. consistent . with social progress- and betterment.'.: These follies differ only in degree, and ..until the workers : of '"New Zealand : <rccogniso the fact "and. act uppn 'it we shall make,poor headway.) in. .sociiil.pro-gress'-'and--improvement.- >,