Who?

Northland Age, Volume 28, Issue 64, 29 August 1928, Page 7

Who?

An Impertinent Question:

Speaking in the House Mr Armstrong said: — The Prime Minister tells the country that more production will solve our problems. That means that the people will have to work harder. The farmer who has doubled his production in twelve years, and is worse off than he was twelve years ago, must work harder still in order to double his production again and enrich the banks and other finnancial institutions; and he will find himself in exactly the same position. There never was more produced by our farmers than at the present time, and never were our farmers in a worse financial position than they are now. The honourable member for Ellesmere has quoted a speech that I delivered somewhere, in which I pointed nut that the modern machine was displacing labour. It is quite true, not only in connection with farming but in regard to nearly every other industry. Modern machinery is displacing labour. But is the farmer getting the benefit of it f Not at all. Is the worker getting the benefit of it ? It is quite clear that he is not. Then who are benefitting by what science and machinery are making possible ?