UNEMPLOYMENT AND DESTITUTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21360, 13 June 1931, Page 12

UNEMPLOYMENT AND DESTITUTION

ro mi- KPITOB

Sir, —In this morning’s issue appears a letter from Mr William W. MacArthur in which he raises the whole issues that have to be faced if we are to become a contented and happy community; These are primarily food, clothing, fuel, and housing, Mr MacArthur writes: ‘‘indeed, if I am right in my assumption that there is a greater supply of food, clothing, and means of housing than will meet the needs of everyone (will anyone correct me if I am wrong?), then the major problem of feeding, etc., disappears and only the incidental one remains of how much profit can be made from the sale«of those necessities.” It is in that one word “ profit ” that the crux of the whole situation lies. It also incidentally carries with it private ownership and control, because it is really only under such a system that 1,1 profit actually has any bearing on the issues, for this reason; that where we have public ownership and control, although we do show a profit, we need not necessarily do so, but if we do then this can be made to revert to the public in other directions, I do not think I need, in reference to whether there is enough of certain things to go round, do more than draw the attention of your correspondent to all businesses being slack. What does this mean? Lack of Why is there this lack? Do not the people need these things? Yes, .you will say. Then why do they not procure them and make businesses busy? Because they are unemployed andhave no means to buy them. Why, again, is this so? Because our financial and credit system has completely broken down, and as a re; nit we are in the power of this small group of financiers and moneylenders, and nationally and internationally the business of the world is elocrgH till sufficient profit interest, or dividends (call it what name you care) is forthcoming from the hard-pressed toilers agriculturally and industrially, and as the process of deflation continues and prices keep falling it means these toilers have to toil longer and harder and give a

greater percentage of their produce and goods to meet the heavy demands of this small group. Your correspondent also shows how science and invention applied to industry and agriculture are displacing man power* and are thus throwing more people out of work. Under private ownership no responsibility is shouldered for this vast army in anything like the degree it should. It is mainly left to the workers themselves and our charity organisations to thoulder the biggest share, and yet the workers, as workers, are not to blame other than it may have been some of them who invented the machine or process whereby all the rest suffer. In most cases even the inventor gets very little for his invention when compared with the owners of industry who procure the ownership and control of it. Is it not pathetic and tragic to think Hlat such is the case when, if socially owned and controlled for the use of all- these inventions and processes would be a heaven-sent blessing instead of, as at present, really in a sense a curre n.so many have to suffer want and destitution as a result? Wo are asked and exhorted to use the social ethic of Christianity in our dealings with one another. How is it applied to industry and agriculture and our finance and credit systems, the present system stands condemned as an utter failure to organise our resources so that all may have enough. As it no%v is, some wallow in luxury and others are in dire poverty. The one is a natural corollary of the other. We must usher in a system based on co-operation or. by, and in the interests of all. I Thus will we eliminate interest, profit, and dividends. and all will have enough, none having too much and to waste while others are on short rations and hardshins. —1 am, etc., P • Neilson. June 12.