THE STATE AND UNEMPLOYMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20964, 1 March 1930, Page 11

THE STATE AND UNEMPLOYMENT.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—All movements are judged by the opposition they create rather than by praise. This applies also to individuals. Furthermore, there are three stages through -which a reformer has invariably to ■ pass. First, he is called a fanatic, then an enthusist, and lastly when he has got the majority to adopt his view, gets the title of hero. Mr W. Sivertsen writes that there is a grave danger of myself becoma gymnastic verbalist. He says that unemployment is a scourge, a punishment inflicted to awaken our consciousness to the necessity of correcting certain industrial defects, and because these are not located definitely by experts, it is “ premature ” for me to state that private ownership and control for profit is the cause. _ The experts are of the wrong sort, and give an opinion only in connection with the working of the present system under private ownership. But get the_ public conscience awakened, and a majority in favour of the abolition of private ownership and you will find the experts agreeing to this course. Your correspondent asks, has Christianity anything to do with the solution of the problem. Again, he asks, what function, then, has the church as an organisation to perform in connection with the solution? “ All is silent,” he says, “ money is the only thing that speaks, and Mammon is its master.” Those " notations support what I have contended for all through concerning the private ownership of the land. Furthermore, if your correspondent means to appeal to Christianity, then let him turn up Acts iv, 32: “ And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart—and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but_ they had all things common, “ and distribution was made unto every man as he had need and so on.” I make no_ comment on this except to ask why is this not preached, from our pulpits, etc. Of course I have in my possession isolated reports of sermons on some of these revolutionary texts, hut as an organisation _ (as Mr Sivertsen says) the Church is silent. What is the reason of this?_ I will attempt an answer. The reason is that the church is part of the machine of Capitalism, and can only function insofar as its component parts allow. Churches are built by the same method as any other material edifice. Loans from the financial magnates control them and their periodical interest charges are demanded. These same magnates are also members who have a say in the policy to pursue. But turning to chapter xix, verse 21 of St. Matthew’s Gospel 1 find this: ‘‘ Jesus said unto him (a young man). If thou wilt he perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me.” Then read into the next- chapter and see how He treated the unemployed. And here are we with capacities to produce a thousandfold arguing how. to accomplish the job! I again ask the question: What would .Christ think 'of us if He landed again and saw how we live, and who would he chosen for His disciples if he were to call for volunteers and choose his team? I saw in the press a few days ago a statement by our eminent surgeon Sir Louis Barnett, in reference to the cancer campaign, that the ■ Medical Association can do little unless it has the backing of the people, and that people can do ahso- 1 lutely nothing without the aid of the medical profession. Those words are pregnant of meaning and back up my contention that the public conscience must be first awakened to the injustices under which the majority of the people are groaning, before any real move will be made. The report on unemployment also bears out this contention. When the people make the evil apparent to those in authority then methods grow out therefrom, and those who happen to be in authority at the time must move or get out, and make way for others, who are more alive to alleviate or attempt to remedy the evil or defect. I think history supplies us with plenty -of examples.—l am, etc., P. Neilson. February 26.