ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17444, 14 April 1920, Page 7

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.

RECONSTRUCTING INDUSTRY. PRESENT-DAY PROBLEMS. VIEWS OF MR. J. A. FROSTICK. An interesting address on the economic condition of the world and suggestions for the improvement of existing conditions in regard to industrial matters in New Zealand was delivered yesterday by Mr. J. A. Frostick, of Christchurch, to the general committee of the Auckland Provincial Industrial Association.Mr. Frostick said the seriousness of <the economic position of the world was apparent, but in order to discover cause for the effect one had to regard the past. Dealing with the condition of England prior to the war, he said that of the whole population of the country 30,000,000 were close to the poverty line, and 22,000,000 were either working for low wages or were paupers. Moreover, the rich were getting richer and the poor poorer. This condition of fabulous wealth and abject poverty constituted an economic situation which, but for the war, might have been even more difficult of solution than the present economic problem. Return to Christian Principles. The present situation was such that all sections of the community were afraid to act, with the result that the increased production that was so vitally necessary was slow in coming. The merchant was afraid to buy in case He might be caught in a sudden slump in prices, while the manufacturer questioned whether he was justified in making extensions and additions to his plant at present prices, and all the time people were crying out for commodities. The working man saw practically a daily rise in prices, and his only remedy was to ask for more money. In the speaker's opinion this state of things existed because the various groups of people were actuated solely by materialism, and were living in armed camps. Fortunately class hatred had not yet developed in this country, nevertheless there was a seething discontent for which some remedy should be available. Ha considered that the remedy lay in the application of Christian principles to the problem. The nation must turn its back on the old system of political expediency-' '" Love thy neighbour as thyself," was the charter of human liberty, and man must not be made subordinate to money. In order to achieve any end for the public good the thoughts of the people must first be directed in the right channel. Thought was a creative force of a subtle and insistent kind, and one had to only realise how the thoughts of the Labour leaders permeated the people to realise its power. Referring to the functions of the Government, Mr. Frostick said it was the duty of those in power to see that this country should not be dependent upon any other land for food, clothing, or shelter, and he contended that it was not evidence of good government that New Zealand had been compelled to buy wheat from outside sources to prevent a bread famine. Prices Based on Cost. In reference to prices, Mr. Frostick said there was a legitimate production cost for every article, and commodities should be sold on the basis of such cost, and not on the famine prices realised in other parts of the world, as was being done in New Zealand to-day. Prices of necessaries were largely determined by the cornering of markets and the blundering of governments, and present methods were leading headlong to national dishonesty. Health of mind, as well as bodily comfort, had to be attained before the present economic problem could be solved, and in order to achieve this the status of the workers had to be raised. In addition, recognition should be given to the comparative value of individual effort, and the employer who failed to do his best should rati with the slow worker. The only way to kill profiteering was by increasing production, and this could be accomplished only by concentrated and united effort. Brief reference was also made by the speaker to the soaring prices of land, which, he said, constituted a danger to the bona fide producers, as compared with the speculators. An immigration scheme bad been promised in conjunction with a vigorous policy of reconstruction, but instead of shipping facilities being provided for desirable British immigrants, numbers of undesirable Asiatics were being allowed to come into the country. Mr. Frostick concluded by emphasising that the solution of the economic problem rested with the direction of the public thought into proper channels, and suggesting that the time had arrived when the captains of industry should justify their claims to organise and direct public effort.