NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21546, 18 July 1933, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

STATE CAPITALISM "When wo understand wliat Communism really means, tho name is a misnomer when applied to tho Russiau system; for tho Russian system to-day is not Communist, but State Capitalist on a basis of class warfare." writes Mr. Arthur .T. Penty on "Communism and tho Alternatives." "It is Stato Capitalist because it is oligarchical and bureaucratic, and it goes without saying that no system can bo Communist, oligarchical and bureaucratic at the samo time. In Russia people to-day do not hold things in common, but individually. Money is used, and if the worker has no money ho can no moro get goods in Russia than ho can in any other country. Taxes are levied and tho wage system obtains. What is more, different rates of pay are paid corresponding to different dogrees of responsibility, for skilled and unskilled, light and heavy work, and capacity for output. Piecework rates obtain, whilo the system of promotions carrying with it increase in oarnings is in full blast in every enterprise. . . ."

TECHNICAL EDUCATION " We, living in this modern world, aro witnessing immenso changes, not merely in tho methods of producing tho goods we need for use and sale, but in tho goods themselves," says Mr. Albert Abbott in discussing the necessity for enlarging tho scope of technical education in Great Britain. " Ought tho workman of the future to be trained as a specialist, knowing a somewhat narrow range of raw materials and their working properties thoroughly, and possessing tho manual skill needed for shaping the materials into finished goods? Or should he be trained on broader lines, in order that he may bo self-reliant, resourceful and, above all, adaptable and prepared to meet with confidence whatever new conditions may arise ? My own view is that whilo tho proportion of the specialist workers will diminish, they will not disappear, and accordingly we must have definite methods for training them. These methods are mostly effectively provided by pre-employment full-time schools, such as tho London trade schools. I think, however, that it is certain that the proportion of 'handymen' needed by industry will increase considerably and that a new meaning will bo given to the te'rm 'skilled workman.' In Great Britain wo have always attached more importance to tho possession of personal qualities than we have to that of knowledge or skill, and I hopo that we shall continue to do so. The problem we have before us is to maintain and even to develop the personal qualities I have mentioned, and, at tho samo time, to increase knowledge and widen skill."

MOVEMENT OF BIRDS "We havo much to learn touching tho local movements of birds," writes Mr. E. D. Cuming, in the Cornhill Magazine. "Tho tits disappear after the breeding season to return in force when tho weather grows cold, influenced, no doubt, by recollection of food provided. Tho greenfinches, too; they desert us when their domestic duties for the season are ended, and reappear in small flocks in the autumn. Where do these birds go in tho interval? We know that many species seek a quiet retreat during tho moult, but none requires four or five months to recover plumage. On tho southwest- coast of Ireland thrushes and starlings vanish from their breeding haunts after the moult and do not return till late in October; either bird is rarely seen between August and that month. Take a few examples from tho records of tho Ashmolean Natural History Society: Of 11 young herons ringed in various places in Berks, Oxfordshire and Bucks, during the years 1927, 1928 and 1929, eight were retaken in counties to the west or northwest, two going as far as counties Meath and Mayo respectively, while one chose Hampshire and one Lincolnshire. Add to these the case of a young heron ringed in Essex and retaken in Oxfordshire, and wo havo a marked preponderance of westward-bound birds. Tho starling records offer a contrast; out of over a hundred birds ringed 11 were retaken, and all at places east of those where they were released. Seven were caught in England, but four went farther afield, being retaken in Friesland, East Friesland, Finland and Pomerania respectively; these four, all adult birds, wcro no doubt winter visitors to England, and simply went home; but why should British-bred birds with one consent fly eastward?".

SUEZ CANAL DUES Presiding over the general meeting of the Suez Canal Company in Paris, the chairman, M. do Vogue, devoted his speech to the criticisms which had been levelled against the company, particularly in Great Britain. The two main features of tho company's policy, he said, were to keep the canal in a condition to fulfil its task and to interest its clients in its welfare. It had fulfilled tho first task to the extent that it had been able to meet all the demands made upon it by shipping, and tho transit-of the largest vessels had beeomo more rapid and moro certain. With regard to the second, a reduction of the dues had always been accorded in proportion as tho dividend increased. During 50 years tho two had almost exactly balanced, as tho reductions hail totalled 1,700,000,000 gold francs, while the total dividends distributed annually since 1881 amounted to 1,080,000,000 gold francs. When tho effect of the economic crisis was felt tho company had voluntarily abandoned this parallel system. In spite of tho diminution of tho dividend two successive reductions had been made in the dues, 25 contimes in 1930 and Go centimes in 1931, amounting to .a reduction o£ 15 per cent. Dealing with tho complaints that tho transit dues played too largo a part in the cost of tho goods carried he said that the incidence of the dues on tho price of the goods carried was very slight. During 1932, when prices were exceptionally low, it had barely exceeded 3 per'cent. Even the largest possible reduction could not have an appreciable effect on the price. It was nothing* compared with tho effect of tariff charges, and tho war of tho exchanges. It was incorrect to say that the volume of goods carried was affected by tho dues. If tho shipments from Europe to Japan had halved those from Japan to Europe had increased threefold, and tho dues played no part. According to tho Board of Trade statistics British imports from all sources had decreased by 18.1 per cent, but those coming from countries beyond the Suez Canal had fallen by 3.8 per cent only. During tho same period British exports as a whole had declined by 6.G per cent, yet those to countries beyond the Suez Canal had increased by 4.6 per cent.