THE H.B. TRIBUNE. THURSDAY, OCT. 19th, 1916. THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 260, 19 October 1916, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE. THURSDAY, OCT. 19th, 1916. THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE.

Yestercay wo quoted the notions of an American banker with regard to the recovery of the warring nations when peace restored admits of our turning our most seriotis thoughts to the development- of our productive capacity. This American observer told us that, assuming that the stimulant administered by the great straggle of armed forces were not allowed to lose its effect, it might well be hoped that, despite the terrible loss of human energy involved, the survivors by some extra exertion would be able to make it good. To-day we have before us a review of a book, “Labour, Finance and the. War,” published in the Old Country itself, bearing on the same subject. This book embodies the result of a series of enquiries conducted and arranged by the Economic section of the British Association. and shows that, amid all the turmoil and clash of arms, there are calm and evenly balanced minds looking over and beyond the smoke of battle to see what good may be made of it all. The review has special regard to the preface written by the editor, Professor Kirkaldy, and he, like the American, sees that much productive effort has been diverted into new channels that have “emptied themselves into the desert” with no tangible result, leaving us with virtually nothing material to show for our vast expenditure of what might have been the means to human happiness. “What, then, are we to do 1 ?” he asks, and, answering his own question, says, “When the war ends it will be Incumbent on us all to redouble our activities ; increase the productivity of mill, factory, and field; for so long as there is a deficiency in excess of what we were accustomed to, so long must some of us, and especially the poorer members of the community, feel the pinch occasioned by this devastating war.” We are, he tells us, on the threshold of a new and more hopeful era, if only capital and labour can maintain, in a spirit- of frankness and understanding, the attitude they have adopted under the stress of present conditions. The book itself is the result of co-oper-ative effort, and in the perfection of co-operation lies our. hope for the future, the only possible solution of the difficulties with which we shall have to contend when the war is over.

It may be matter of mere coincidence or of special design that the same paper that contains the review to which reference is made contains also letters written by Lord Sydenham and By one who subscribes himself “A Worker.” Lord Sydenham writes:—“When the war. ends the reconstruction of the fabric of national prosperiy, under the burden of a colossal public debt, will be the most urgent of problems. The solution will depend upon the genius and the temper of our people and the rest of our qualities will be severe. In times of peace, strikes have cost the country dearly in lost trade and in checks to employment which have not been temporary alone. In the lean and strenuous years which lie before us industrial strife would entail national disaster. Organised labour can so help as to assure the future or can so hinder as to destroy it. The rebuilding of our financial position will be impossible unless the relations between employers and employed can be made to rest on mutual rust and co-oper-ation for common objects. There have been great faults on both sides aggravated by hostility fostered for political purposes. The company system has tended to substitute a machine for the personal touch which is invaluable in all dealings between men and men, and has sometimes led to a certain harshness of attitude which directors as a body would not for a moment intend. On the other hand, many ememployers have earnestly endeavoured to provide for the welfare oi employees, and have perfectly recognised that to guard their health, recreation, and contentment is a plain duty. What- is .done in one case cannot be impossible in others, and the common sacrifices and sorrows which have drawn all classes together during the war should smooth the way to fuller mutual understanding.” “A Worker,” who also claims to be a Trade Unionist, says :— “Unions may be alright in principle; they may be necessary, but they are all wrong in fact and to the nation when they keep the nation back in its competition with other nations. The British union says to the man who would work at his best:—‘No, you must not; the others won’t, so you must not.’ Below the bottom fact that- capital must take to heart is the solid necessity for working one’s best and being allowed to do so, for the best men will win. Speed up, then, speed up we must if we hope to keep in the game.” Thus we see that men of both classes are thinking along the same lines and towards a common objective, and the conclusion of Lord Sydenham’s letter gives the essence of the matter when he says:“ Straight before us lies the stern necessity of work for all classes alike —work which, whether manual or of the brain alone, honours the worker equally. Of the many questions which now demand careful thought none is more vitally important than the reorganization of industrial conditions. and the solution can only be attained by the general goo will which is the gauge of true patriotism. The Empire has been saved by the inherent fighting power and endurance of the British people. Its prosperity can be rebuilt on a lastfoundation only by effort in which all must share. There will be no place fer idlers or for self-indulgence in any class, and the sel£-sacrifice of our supremely gallant sailors and soldiers, which is overcoming the most formidable obstacles, is a shining example of the spirit in which great difficulties of another kind must be met and conquered.”

deavour in the south-west corner of! Bukowina to break the continuity of the Russo-Rumanian lines runn-’ ing thence into Transylvania. Of the Rumanian campaign a message ( from Rome gives the substance of a statement by an officer attached to the Rumanian Embassy there in which he speaks of the situation on the Hungarian frontier as being quite in accord with expectations and thus, presumably, satisfactory. While this, as well as a Bucharest message, is, in itself, reassuring, it cannot be taken as altogether dissipating the feeling of anx eiy that has been aroused by the mam-fest strength of Falkenhayn’s attacking army. This feeling is aggravated by the news received to-dav that the enemy has succeeded ’n forcing cne of the southern Carpathian passes, and has advanced.a subs ant tai distance into Rumania itself, closely threatening the railway system. It remains to be seen how be wil be dealt with there. From the Dc-briyi-ja front there is no word, but tn Macedonia the Allied forces are showing still increased, activity, which is doubtless designed a* much to serve as a diversion of enemy pre sure from the Rumanians as for the achievement of miN local objects. The reports .of the politico-military situation with regard to Greece disclose. further ugly developments, instancing the lengths to which King Constantine has been prepared to go in his >nsane desire to assist the cause ef his imperial brother-in-law of Germany, no matter how Greece herself may suffer. While there is word of no further submarining on the American coast and so some support is given to the suggestion that the U 53 had been withdrawn from these waters, Viscount Grey, yesterday, afforded information to the House of Lords which indicates that a very seriouis discussion of recent events is going on between Britain and the United States.