WORLD’S INDUSTRIAL LESSONS

Evening Star, Issue 17084, 1 July 1919, Page 3

WORLD’S INDUSTRIAL LESSONS

BOLD POLICY IMPERATIVE. VIEWS OF N.S.W. MINISTER The industrial conflict is rapidly acquiring a sinister, aspect in all parts of the world, and will not be met by occasional feverish spasms of Parliamentary activity The system of social organisation in which individualism plays the main part must justify itself, or it may soon be superseded by some scheme of universal socialisation. These views were expressed on Btih June by Air Booby, Minister of Labor and Industry in New South Wales, who has just returned from a tour of America and Great Britain. “ My mam purpose in visiting America Was to ascertain to what extent the productivity of its labor is superior to ours, how this higher productivity was secured, and to what extent, if at all, the Australian system of legal control of industrial relationship placed u» at a disadvantage with other countries. Before being long in the United States' I x'ealised that those questions had become of superficial importance, and that even in America profound economic changes were certain to result from the war. CHANGES CAUSED BY WAR. “ Front more detailed information available as to the trend of events in Jr eat Britain after the signing of the rmistlce, I also realised that British industrialism was moving towards gumt changes, and I therefore decided, to visit London. The war has swept away tho traditional .boundaries of industrial controversy. New issues have arisen. New aspirations have emerged from the confusion of pre-war days, and even the oldest-established countries are moving swiftly towards great changes. The immense need of the hour is to understand what the industrialists of to-day—with their new bonds of international sympathy .4..0 mutuality—are now striving for, and with that understanding to steer tho body politic from tho abyss of anarchy and destruction into which it could so easily drift. I have, prepared and. will puoiish, as soon as possible, an extensive report of my inquiries, and I believe that much of the information collected will bo of \aiue.

NEW DEMANDS OF LABOR. “ Briefly stated, the most vivid im-■rer-sinu nv.de on me is that industrial conflict is riot now me .My an in-i'a : n<i feature of social life. "It, is rapidly -iCqairiiig a sinister aspect in ail parts jf the world, and will not be met by occasional feverish spasms of Parliamentary activity. Every country must put forward 'md honestly carry out a constructive policy of progressive social reform. The existing system of proauction is challenged, not only by theorists, not only bv ’••rof.-srionai acitators, not only by the destructive agents of anarchy, out oy a stoaauy increasing number of intelligent working men. The new demands of Labor go to the root of things, and the system of social organisations, in which individualism plays the main part, must justify itself, or it may soon bo superseded by some scheme of universal socialisation'. AVOIDING EUROPE’S RUINS. ' “If the Anglo-Saxon are to be kept clear of the crumu.mg ruins of Europe, they must meet the just aspirations of industrialism. The changed attitude of the workers of, .Am-’- i---’ -d mat Britain—not only of manual workers, but of dorks, distributors,evil Servants —is not a temporary reaction following the nerve strain of the war; it ia fundamental and permanent. The drift to communism, with its inevitable result of lower production and lower standards of life for all, can be checked by educational work and by I honest and comprehensive reform. As Mr I Lloyd George said at the opening of the ! present British Parliament ; “We must stop at no sacrifice of interest or pre- i judico to stamp out unmerited poverty, j to dinvnidi unemployment, and mitigate its sufferings, to provide decent homes to improve the nation’s health, and. to raise the standard of well-being L;iruuguuu„ „ae community. The motives of leisure and prosperity must be more generally assured to all. AUSTRALIA’S POSITION TRAGIC. “ The present position of affairs in i Australia is tragic. Here we are in the mmole of cleaning up the aftermath of the war, getting our men back, and re- ■ establishing them in civil life, finalising our war balance-sheet, and getting ready for the inevitable policy of ndustrial reform and progress. A section of a I great union, led by syndicalists, takes advantage of the situation, not with any desire, to help the community in shaping a new policy, but solely for the purpose ; of embarrassing the State. They refuse I to arbitrate, they prevent the taking of a real ballot of members, and their leaders clearly hope only to introduce anarchy and disorder into the State. The _ reaction against their own people is Inevitable. Every strike just now only ! impedes our recovery from the effects of the war, and while it may embarrass the Governments, it inflicts unnecessary misery on thousands of non-combatants, and prevents our return to normal conditions. In England the unions for the time being have thrown off the influence of syndicalist minorities, and are assisting the Government in the framing of its reconstruction policy. The same development is possible uere if the tm.u . ..d women wiio do not want anarchy will not, from a false sense of j loyalty, respond to every disturbance which the syndicalists, by the comnlele suppression of democratic unionism, succeed in engineering, ADVICE TO WORKERS. “ The seamen, the wharf laborers, all workers undoubtedly have claims which must be • considered, many of which must be conceded. But to attempt to f n il<; t-p tiiem in a way which must, if it continues, end in general ruin, can limy 00 on account of the influence of the apostles of destruction, who, after carefully suppressing majority rule in unions, trade on the Australian workman’s loyalty to bis class, whether the , attack be right or wrong. My appeal to the workers of Australia is 'to stick to arbitration, at least till the war is really over, and then to assist in framing a scheme of reform which will meet every just demand for higher standards of living, greater security, and baiter co-opera-tion between capital, management, and labor, the three factors in production,”