DOMINION TOPICS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 172, 17 April 1937, Page 1 (Supplement)

DOMINION TOPICS

Unemployment Figures.

A question lias been raised whether recent official returns of unemployment show the full total of those ' actually out of work. It. is said that a large proportion of those registered under the placement scheme, and who are unemployed, are omitted from the unemployment return. If that is the case, then the return now represents an understatement and puts the position in a more favourable light than the facts warrant. Under the previous Government the figures were so presented as to be an over-statement and tended to' discount the country’s credit abroad. Neither method can be commended. What is wanted is a true statement of the extent of unemployment, not only for the information of the Government, but also for the guidance of public opinion. Nothing will be gained by minimising or magnifying the problem.—“ New Zealand Herald.” Farmers’ Costs. Most farmers will agree with Mr. Sinclair, secretary-manager of the Te Awamutu Dairy Company, that price stabilisation, carrying with it the ad- : vantage to the farmer of being able to budget ahead, has been a factor that is as welcome as it is new in the industry. But the price level has been too low for farmers with the exception of small holders who employ no hired labour. Mr. Sinclair estimates that the cost of higher farm wages represents Jd, to Id. per lb. butterfat more than

last year. Factory costs have also risen Id. to Id. per lb. butterfat and Mr. Sinclair, after taking living costs into account, concludes that the guaranteed price scheme has increased the average farmer’s costs by at least lid. per lb. butterfat, while his returns have been increased by only Id. per lb. butterfat.—“Taranaki Herald.” The Sales Tax. Mr. Savage himself has reiterated the promise that the sales tax will be abolished, but the firmness with which the promise was made at the elections has disappeared. Nearly a year ago the Prime Minister reaffirmed his election undertaking, but with the qualification that it would be necessary to await a favourable opportunity and to avoid causing any undue disturbance in the economic life of the country. For the year ended on March 31, the Government was able to spend an estimated amount from revenue and .loan moneys of £41,610,711, an increase of 45 per cent, on the total of £28,594,255 for the year 1932-33 (during which the tax was imposed). It would appear therefore, that the emergency which the tax was introduced to meet can be fairly said to have disappeared and the excuse for the tax (which produced only £3,000.000 of the total expenditure) has disappeared with it. If the “favourable opportunity” has not yet arisen it will be interesting to hear the Government’s prediction as to when it will. —Christchurch “Press.” Surplus and Shortage. It is one of the anomalies of the unemployment situation that while there remain many thousands of men on the unemployment register, and in receipt of public assistance, there is an acute shortage of labour in some of the skilled trades. One of the effects is that the Government is competing with private firms for the limited available supply, while efforts are being made to induce men from Australia. Probably nothing can be done to remedy the situation at the moment, but how much is being done to prevent its continuance or recurrence? Is any systematised effort being made to estimate the number of skilled men which will be required in the various trades in, say. three years’ time, and to ensure that the estimated demand will then be matched by the supply? The payment of relatively high wages for unskilled' labour tends to lessen the incentive to undertake the period of training necessary for the acquisition of skill, but it is unimaginable that many of the men now in receipt of unemployment relief would not welcome an opportunity to fit themselves to “stand on their own feet.”—“Auckland Star.” Conduct of Dance Halls.

In a commendable desire to place the conduct of dance halls beyond reproach the city council (Christchurch) has enacted by-laws that may make the problem extremely difficult in the end. The total prohibition of the con-, sumption of liquor has already created the underground evil of over-indul-gence, and this will not be eradicated by the method followed the other night of searching the dancers for suspicious bulges in their pockets, for this mere!}’ promotes a battle of wits in which the last state is worse than the first. This was the great lesson of prohibition in America, and it ought not to be lost on those who are anxious for reform. Public opinion does not lie dormantin dance-halls, where excessive drinking can easily be checked by ejecting the drinker-or by regulating the supply. And the preposterous bydaw which prevents any person leaving a dancehall from re-entering it ought to be swept away for the sake of the city’s self-respect. Control of dance-h.alls can be effected by the ordinary means of preserving order in connection with any public or private assembly.—“ Christchurch Star-Sun.” Cheese, Plain and Fancy. Exporters in other countries have seized on the modern idea of offering even the most mundane foodstuffs in

attractive wrappings. For a beginning they titillate the palate through the eye. And they go on to please it in real earnest by so wrapping the cheese that it retains its moisture and texture, thereby eliminating waste and appealing to the thrifty housewife. All that, is known in New Zealand, because there are two or three excellent local brands of packet cheese on the market. Why should not the British consumer be considered in the same way? It ! would help him to eat his way through | the 85,000 tons annually ami the keener demand would pay New Zealand for the packing and return a handsome profit as well. Under the guaranteed price scheme, of course, the Government becomes the owner and seller of all exported cheese. Here is an opportunity for the Slate to show more enterprise and salesmanship than the private or co-operative concerns it has superseded. It commands the resources an<l the output to nurse such a project through the development stage. And in catering for British consumers, it will assist New Zealand producers and spare New Zealand taxpayers.— “New Zealand Herald.”

Layman or Expert?

Amid all the welter of factional interests and party politics English com- . munities have the peculiar knack of stumbling on to the right path, and once the vote is taken there is general acceptance of the will of the majority—and peace. No evil consequences followed a bitter contest over the Southland Electric Powe r Board once an emphatic public opinion had made itself articulate. There is much to be said for the English method of solving even those problems that appear to demand “expert” decision, and if the method were more generally adopted by other nations there would be a brighter outlook for international peace.—“ Southland Daily News.” Encouraging Results. Whether his estimate of having during the past six months “kept 60 people out of their coffins and hundreds of others out of hospital” is correct or not, the optimism of the Minister of Transport in regard to the value of the road safety campaign is distinctly encouraging. Earlier in the week Mr. Semple had been able to comment upon the fact that insurance authorities had also recognised the good effects of the campaign. The Minister quoted figures showing that insurance at present rates was wholly unprofitable to the ’insurance companies, and he claimed that the road safety campaign would have saved, in insurance alone, many thousands of pounds for motorists

throughout the Dominion.—“Taranaki Daily News.” Tlie Small Trader. One result of the Government’s policy of extreme paternalism has been to encourage dependence in the place of enterprise. The small trader, who in the nature of things should be the backbone of the business community, is being forced toward so narrow a margin of profit that the incentive to make the fullest use of his own resources is being removed, and he is beginning to ask himself if his small gains are worth effort and responsibility at a time when his employees are protected by awards that take no count of differences in ability and individual output. The same attitude is to be noted among those who formerly have been willing to invest a surplus from their earnings or profits in commercial enterprises other than their own.—“ Southland Timos.” Educating Motorists. Desperate ills demand desperate remedies. Admittedly education for the erring motorist does appear to ap--proach rather closely the desperate remedy category. Partly the problem of the roads resolves itself into a question of good sense and good manners. The vision of a special official lecturing erring drivers in the principles of ' courtesy and consideration for others is perhaps uplifting, but it is difficult to be really sanguine about the results. Persons whose road manners are bad are likely to be bad-mannered at heart. Their conversion is probably past praying for, and possibly when the official instructor has done with them their last case will be no better than their first. In that event, of course, the magistrate will know what to do.. And if the “road-hog” cannot be turned into a gentleman, at least he can be turned off the road. —“Otago Daily Times.”

Costs of Production. What the farmers are demanding is, really, some system that will enable them to meet rising costs. If anyone can advance a method for reducing costs materially then the demand will • become unnecessary. It is hardly just to blame the producers when their difficulties are not the result of their own actions. They have not been responsible for the additional costs of production, either on the farms or in the factories. And the critics can be assured that lower costs would be just as effective in improving the economic position as would higher prices for dairy produce. If the action or legis- . lation of the Government of the day has created or accentuated the conditions that obtain then the duty is on it to ameliorate them in some way. That is the position. And the place to commence investigations is not the plan outlined by the farmers to meet a difficulty, but the factors which created the position.—“Waikato Times.” Freedom of the Press. Quite an interesting discussion has been raised on the freedom of the Press, since the radio attack on the newspapers turned public attention to the recent utterances of several Ministers of the Crown. The guarded reply to inquiries addressed to the Acting-Minister of Broadcasting was excusable. The Postmaster-General, has, however, promised to look very carefully into the action of a publie servant in’using a national service to broadcast party propaganda. It is hardly necessary to say very much on the much discussed topic of the freedom of the Press. At least it can be said that several Cabinet Ministers seem to have become engaged in a race to see who can secure the most space in the newspapers. Almost every day Ministerial statements appear. So much so, that it would appear that several Ministerial secretaries, who prepare the statements for publication, might, be working overtime in supplying interviews for publication in the papers.—“Timaru Herald.” Auckland Hospital Staff.

Auckland has been very well served by the honorary medical staff at the hospital. Men of the highest qualifications have freely given their time and skill to patients, who have thus had the advantage of the highest medical and surgical assistance at the minimum of cost. Appointments to the staff are sought by many members of the profession, and occasionally there arises, as is the case to-day, some controversy over the selection. The method of choice is open to criticism. It depends upon the individual preference of the laymen who constitute the board, subject to Ministerial assent. Advisory committees are consulted, but in the last analysis it is a matter of personal preferment which might conceivably be based upon other factors than the relative qualifications of the applicants. The system has worked well in the past, but Auckland is growing, the number of suitable applicants is steadily increasing, and in the interests of the patients some other method should be devised to ensure that the best possible choice is made. —"Auckland Star.”-