YOUTHFUL ORATORS

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2715, 24 June 1925, Page 11

YOUTHFUL ORATORS

High School Boys Lecture To Their Elders Three High School hoys—Masters Graham Crossley, lan Campbell and Malcolm Walker —were the speakers at yesterday’s meeting of the Palmerston North Citizens' Lunch Club. They spoke on “Energy," “Speed," and “The Geneva Protocol.” and not only did each lad present his subject in such a way that showed each had a thorough grip of his facts, but also in an eloquent manner that did not fall to please. The speakers were introduced by the chairman, Mr M. H. Oram, and at the conclusion wore accorded hearty votes of thanks. Energy. Graham Crossley spoke on the subject of energy, and, after giving an outline of the extent to which man to-day depended on its utilisation, explained what was meant by energy, defining it as the power of doing work Ho next expounded and explained the theory of the conservation and dissipation of , energy, the combustion, meteor condensation and radio-active theories of accounting for the sun’s rays, and the importance of coal in our civilisation. So far as our present knowledge extended, the exhaustion of our coal deposits would mean the end of the world’s civilisation. The other Sources of energy, such as falling water (which New Zealand was at present harnessing), the tides, and using solar rays directly were, in comparison with coal, utilised to only a very small extent. The most effective substitute for coal would be found In the interior energy of the atom, a source of energy which was practically illimitable, and which but awaited liberation by the intellect of man. When this golden store-house of energy had been unlocked, man would witness a revolution unparalleled in the annals of history. Power would be available in inexhaustible quantities, and without price. All men, regardless of wealth or penury, might go where thejs -would; work would cease to be, because the unlimited supplies of energy would permit of everything being done by machinery. Man, freed from the drudgery of toil, would be enabled to develop the aesthetic, the intellectual .and the spiritual to a plane undreamed of today. Speed. lan Campbell took as his subject “Speed,” and stated that many people to-day deplored the pace of modern life, but disregarded the fact that modern .conditions had put twelve years on the average life of man, and had enabled conveniences, comforts, and luxuries to be enjoyed by millions that were beyond the wildest dreams of the corresponding classes of past time. The advancement of mankind was largely a matter of speed. A hundred years ago a message could be sent no faster than could be done by our remote forefathers who were the first to tamo horses. To-day the struggle for dominion was still going on; and the deciding factor was speed not in warfare, but in Industry. The wealth of a nation did not depend on the prodigability of nature alone, but also on the efficiency of the labour force. As regards natural resources and fertility, China ranked as the peer of the U.S.A. but China was the poorer country because her labour force lacked the western speed. , The problem of China's unrest and also the dissatisfaction in India was, in the ultimate analysis, a question of speed. In the case of China, there was no question of the mental ability of her people: but the position -was different in India. The Hindus of the higher caste were the intellectual equals of western peoples, yet centuries of the horrible caste system had led to a considerable proportion of the races of India being unable to conduct the higher branches of modern manufacturing methods. Whether this was due to a lack of education and training, or whether they were inherently incapable of understanding the working of machinery was a question that had still to be solved. The Western peoples, too, were vitally interested in this speeding-up process. They were competing among one another, and the prize was still to the. swift. If the British people were to retain their place in the sun, it .was absolutely essential that the British workmen should accelerate their rate of working. There could be little doubt that iwc were entering upon a new and faster stage of industrial activity, ft'he British people set the pace, and they cannot now withdraw from the race. The introduction too, of high speed cutting tools had had a tremendous influence on all lives. The principles of scientific management were all in the direction of speeding up industry. ■ The modern industrial magnates recognised the economy of high wages, because although it paid the employees, much more did it pay the employers. The general use of this extraordinary and rigorous method of standardising high speed labour had led to a spirit of unrest among the workmen ,and extreme socialistic doctrines were concomitant with this increased speed of work. This was because the workmen considered that it was an instrument for grinding the last spurt of work out of an employee —the production of machine slaves. As against this the workers as a whole had received tremendous advantages

from the system. The position then, seemed to be that in order that a nation might advance under modern civilisation, it was necessary for all workmen to work at a high rate of speed, but in order that this speed should not lead to abuses, the idea of labour and service must be inculcated. The Geneva Protocol. Malcolm Walker took for his address, the Geneva Protocol, remarking that if -we were to attain to the higher standard of citizenship, we in New' Zealand must take an intelligent interest not Only in our own local affairs, but also in world politics. If co-operation was to benefit the human race, the present was pre-eminently the time for that co-operation The

League of Nations seemed to represent a logical development of history, which had shown the tendency for an increase in the size of the “sovereign” unit, and a decrease in the number. The interests of the. Individual member States should be subservient to those of the League, in the same way as the individual’s freedom of action was restricted by the demands of the body politic of which he was a part. Just how much the member States were in earnest might be gathered from a brief survey of the “sanctions” question. It was now clearly recognised that Article X. of the Covenant was framed, not with a view to world peace, but rather to ensure the enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1923 a draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance was submitted to replace Article X. This was not ratified by the British Government because it allowed the operation of partial alliances, and so gave little hope of world peace. Now we came to the third attempt at the solution of the problem—the proposed amendment of the covenant known as the •'Protocol for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.” It contained the two principles of the draft treaty—the provision of security dependent on reduction of armaments—as well as a third, the principle of compulsory arbitration. Criticism of the Protocol had generally made much of the fact that under its provisions, a “sovereign” State, a member of the League, was deprived of its right of determining its own condition of peace or war. Its rejection was well considered, because that document was, in spirit, as one-sided as the troublesome Article X. Before the League could guarantee world peace in such a manner, the Great Powers which remained outside —the United States, Russia ,and Germany—must co-oper-ate. While such a restriction of its "sovereignty” as that proposed by the Protocol was all that the League held out for the United Slates, and while the other two remained “undesirable” there could be no lasting peace. Even if the Protocol was not altogether sound, the alternatives seemed to signify a return to the balance of power system, and an early end of the League. The problem of world peace must be solved within the next four years, and it must be clearly recognised that the fate of future generations depended upon a decision soon to be reached in Europe. Present indifference should not be allowed to be the grounds for reproach of conscience later. Man was concerned with his spiritual as well as material advancement. The world to-day was faced with a colossal decision, and in order that a correct answer should be arrived at, it was of vital importance for all people to take an intelligent interest in the problems that confronted humanity.