BAD PARLIAMENTS

Evening Star, Issue 17323, 10 April 1920, Page 7

BAD PARLIAMENTS

and poor citizenship, shackles op "Industrialism. In the course of a recent, lecture in Melbourne Professor Meredith Atkinson said that in all the great industrial countries of the world a decent home life was practically impossible. Even mere existence sometimes became almost intolerable. The growth of “sweating" and the employment of women and children in factories had struck a fata! blow at family life, and physically and morally the race had suffered. Children became economically and physically independent of their parents before their minds were fib for •the change, while parents' were tempted to use their children too early to augment the family income. Bari housing conditions in nearly every large city helped these_ and other fftetofs to bring about the deterioration of the race. Even now the housing of the people in the largo cities of Australia was a disgrace, and ho was satisfied that, but for the favorable climate, the people would suffer speedv 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 after the third, housing and town planning schemes, medical aid to all citizens, and equality of opportunity. It could not. be said Up-I'the present system of education in -Australia gave anything approaching equality of opportunity, for a detective education, apart altogether from economic considerations, handicapped many of the most brilliant, bovs from the very beginning. (Hear, hear.) Family life and the welfare of ’the nation could also he improved by rebates to families, a heavy bachelor tax, and a moderate spin(Laughter.) “You may laugh," Professor Atkison told his audience, “hut I am perfectly serious. . Conditions at present favor race suicide. It may bo said that some of the remedies I have suggested would be costly, hut j refuse to believe that we cannot carry the burden. The economic resources o: the world are abundant; it is our 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. (Applause.) _ 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 liie movement\vas inaugurated. Travelling schools and cinemas, bush circulating libraries, and other comforts could be introduced if onlv the movement were properlv taken np.‘ (Applause.)

Questioned about the value of political institutions. Professor Atkinson said that if the people had a bad Parliament it was because they were poor citizens. What could be more deplorable than the fact that in New youth 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 wav out by merelv altering the machinery of government and establishing soviets. The only remedy was the cultivation of a proper sense of ime responsibility. {Applaitse.)