OTHER FEATURES OF THE PROBLEM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 3 November 1917, Page 4

OTHER FEATURES OF THE PROBLEM.

THERE are other matters that need consideration, tint it must be clearly understood that we are dealing with New Zealand as a whole and are not adding t.b the trouble of struggling families bv cruel accusations of extravagance. JSufc takini New Zealand as a whole, n<* man can shut his eyes to the fact that

even with present prices for many necessaries, the people of New Zealand are not reducing their expenditure on unnecessaries. There is still much waste, individually and collectively, and until. this waste is curtailed it will be Gtibertian to suggest Utopian schemes of Socialism to cure something for which the people to a considerable 'extent have the remedy; in their own hands. It has been seen in New Zealand that the better the standard of living becomes, the better the working conditions, the shorter the hours, the' more certain Socialists, and semi-Social-ists agitate for a drastic change of the social system. One explanation seems to be that they are influenced by 'Socialist teachings, written and spoken in regard to older countries' industrial conditions immeasurably inferior to those of N<«w .Zealand. Such a conclusion certainly fits in with some of the remarks in the correspondent "Co-operation's" letter in to-day's issue. The letter i» apparently in the semi-Socialist class. He has a fervent faith in the co-opera-tive movements for the making of a Millenium. A close reading of his letter shows that he practically advocate* Socialism —"State co-operation and tlx* elimination of capitalism." We are> afraid he inclines to the manneT of many others who have pet theories for the remodelling or regeneration of society, in exaggerating the defects of an existing system, and exaggerating th» advantages of his own. We have no do«ire to see the enthusiast eliminated.. There would be an end to much valuable progress if ~we lost him, but the trouble is that generally speaking, he is carried' too far by belief in his 1 own theories. For instance, the Prohibitionist, as a rule, believes that if society; dispenses with alcohol it will "have no "problem of cost of living," even if it does not bother about cooperative stores. The ardent co-operator has a notion that if society resorts 'to co-operation in all things, larger pay and shorter hours—easy prosperity—will be achievable without Prohibition. The Single-Taxer believes that everything will be all right for everybody if the single tax is adopted ; to the SingleTaxer, the "co-operative movement" and Prohibition may be of comparatively small importance. Thus one may go the round of the enthusiasts and' sen that each has his own sovereign remedy tor any ill, real or imaginary, of the body politic. It is impossible to deal definitely; with "Co-operation's" figure* as to the respective shares of Labour and Capital in certain industries, for ■ thn figures are crudely presented. Readers will see that the only fair comparison must be on a basis of -wagea • and net profits. His figures are merely •'optical illusions." We suggest that the correspondent has d«liberately cited statistics; in a misleading manner, to suit his purpose, but he has certainly ill-treated the figures. Similarly his definition of wage-earner does not square with the facts. Here is the peculiar assertion: —"A* -wageearner is one who, for- work done, receives money in proportion, and through the economic system, this determined j not so much by the value of the labour given, as by the value recognised by capitalism to foster capitalism." These words applied to New Zealand are merely humorous. The Arbitration 'Court- and Conciliation Councils have figured importantly in the assessment of wages. On the general' question o f ro operation, experience has proved that' this kind of enterprise is subject tb the same chances of success or failure as other enterprises. There have been cooperative successes and co-operative failures—and will be again. The factors of management and: organisation can be defective or -wasteful in any system. However, at this stage of. New Zealand's history "Co-operation's" proposals may be said to be definitely impracticable. 'One has to consider what can be done under exising circumstances. And so far as the people as a whole are concerned, one can see waste; one can see, in the census figures,, an increasing proportion of people in occupations described as non-productive. The cry of the' .Socialist extremists has been to the rank and and file: "Give less labour and take more of the product." The plain trut-h for th e i people to recognise is that the average household' will 'benefit 'by an increase of national ■ production and a decrease of waste. At present production is being affected by the war, and waste, collective and individual, is - observable in all parts of New Zealand, and in all sections of- the community.