NOT ENOUGH

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 191, 15 July 1941, Page 4

NOT ENOUGH

WORK IN WAR EFFORT.

FARMERS' LEADER'S YLEWS t ' WELLINGTON, July 15. 1 ['l am not satisfied that ivc arc doing nearly enough, nor nearly as much as we can do, in the war effort. 1 think that as a nation we have still tailed to realise the grimness .of the struggle in which wo are engaged. We have been called upon to make practically no sacrifice of our bodily comforts, let alone necessities." ' Thus stated the Dominion president of the Farmers' Union (Mr \V. \V. Mulholland) in his address at the annual conference of the union, to-day, when he reviewed comprehensively the I war situation and industrial and eco- | nomic trends. "We have not had personal experience of enemy action," Mr Mulholi land went on. "Undoubtedly, to a degree, we have become aware in our j minds of the vast issues at stake, but I (campaigns of this magnitude cannot he! ! efficiently waged with just a mental j appreciation of the. situation. Jhe I j need is to arouse the enthusiasm and j feelings of the people in favour of the great ideals for which we fight. Those I feelings and those, enthusiasms are I there latent, but just beneath the sur- I face waiting the call of a real leader! jto bring them forth. Let us have that 'call, and clearly, in this fateful hour. Let us not delude ourselves by think- ' ing that, now Russia is being forced into the struggle, our pathway has become easier. That would be a fatal delusion, if it resulted in any slackening of our determination. Russia may, I or may not, be a fateful factor in the j fight—time alone can show that. .But it should be doubly realised by everyone of us. that on our determination alone rests our victory and our i safety. .

"I do not think that we arc doing ncflrly all that can be done in the way of providing munitions and ! other needs for tiie armed forces of 1 j the Empire. They need clothing and I similar goods for which our primary li industries produce the raw materials. | True, we have not unlimited plant. 'I But let our workpeople know the ! urgency, and free them from ham- ' poring restrictions ,and they will get the utmost production possible. "I noted a suggestion the other day Jthat New Zealand and Australia . Ishould be organised for the production of munitions on a unit basis—we, in , New Zealand, producing those parts of 'guns, munitions and war machines, j which required much labour and little I material, consequently involving comparatively little transport. The finjished parts would be sent to an assembling plant in one of the Australlian States where, from other sources, other parts would come for final assembly, thus making New Zealand a unit in a huge Empire war factory in the Pacific. The energetic operation of such a scheme as this would obviate any possibility of unemployment, due |to'the adjustment of industry to a war basis. Indeed the main obstacle in I the way of obtaining the full results ] desired' would be the difficulty of obtaining sufficient labour. Of course this I means organisation, training, and en-| jergetic direction. I believe that the [Government is moving in this direejtion. but it is moving far too slowly for the urgency of the times." SACRIFICE FOR VICTORY. At another point in his address the speaker emphasised that all at home must give of the best that is in them in order to back up successfully the | brave men overseas. "Let us remember," he said, ''that we in iield and factory are called upon to make our contribution to the defence of Democracy, but in safer and far more pleasant conditions than the men who are facing the enemy directly. Let us remember that Democracy, which we are so anxious to save, can only survive, if we, living in our present freedom, realise that we must be prepared to accept discipline imposed upon us by ourselves. This does not only apply to the fighting men. It applies with just as great a force to those in civilian occupations. The worker who, without sufficient reason, absents himself from his lathe, is just as much a deserter in the face of the enemy as is the soldier who fails to be present on parade. The farmer who fails to do his utmost in production is failing the Empire in its time of crisis. j More, than that —not only must we work for victory, but we, must also sacrifice for victory. Pleasant privileges must be foregone, if they impede i the war effort.. It is perhaps unfortun- : ate that in discussion on the desirability of lengthening hours of work, the term '-10 hour week' should have been |so prominent. This has seemed to indicate that an attack on that policy was being made. Certainly the workers have every right to demand that the war be not used as a means of permanently depriving them of privileges which thev have obtained. GIVING THE UTMOST. "Unequivocally the assurance should l>e given with all war measures that the position will revert to what it was at the lx>ginning of the Avar. But there is a real war problem. We will soon have withdrawn for war purposes 100,000 workers from industry in New Zealand, with thousands more to follow as the war continues. We urgently require that our factory production in certain lines must be largely increased. We must do much more work, with much less labour, if we are to win. "It is not a question of the 40-hour week. It is a question of each one giving the utmost service which he can to the common cause. "The Industrial Emergency Council met the situation which existed quite well, and has given valuable service. But the principle cf its operation is that it acte only when aji industry can show that it is in trouble. The circumstances to-day. require that every industry shall work with a minimum of workers so as to make available the greatest possible new manpower to those industries which are hampered by shortage of labour. The I unction of the committee should be varied from that of deciding when an industry is in such a state that it cannot meet the demands upon it without an extension of hours to that of deciding that extended hours will not enable an industry to increase production or carry on witli reduced man-power, and except in those eases at least a 44-hour week should be worked. There is no objection on the part of workers generally to working longer hours to assist in this crisis."