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Otago Daily Times, Issue 23647, 3 November 1938, Page 14

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FACTORY CONDITIONS NEW ZEALAND IN THE VAN OVERSEA CONDITIONS The opinion that factory conditions for workers in New Zealand were superior to conditions he had seen in Britain, Canada, or the United States was expressed by Mr H. E. Moston, assistant secretary of the Labour Department, in an interview with an Evening Post reporter. Mr Moston, who is in charge of the industrial side of the Labour Department's activities, was one of the Government's delegates to the International Labour Conference at Jeneva. The other delegate was Mr J. Thorn, M.P., who returned to New Zealand after the conference. Mr Moston, however, visited Britain, the United States, and Canada o,n an industrial inquiry after the conference. He returned to Auckland by the Aorangi on Sunday, and arrived in Wellington on Tuesday. There were certain areas in Britain where a depressed feeling was evident, said Mr Moston, but the general impression he gained was that the people were contented. The seaside resorts were crowded, in spite of the scare of war, and generally contentment and freedom were apparent, which was in marked contrast to the conditions on the Continent. Old and New In the factories of England he found marked extremes. The new factories were real model factories and efficient, and the factories along the Great North road were magnificent. He was impressed with the arrangements made for the efficient carrying out of the work, and for the comfort of the workers. On the other hand, he found that in some places, such as Birmingham. Sheffield and in parts of Glasgow, the factories were terribly out of date. In some areas a factory had been started in a house; the business had developed, and the factory had extended into adjoining housesplaces quite unsuitable for factory work. Then, again, he found the old conservative spirit very much alive, expressing the opinion that what was good enough for our ancestors was good enough for us to-day. In two cases he was shown, with obvious pride, equipment that had been in use for years—one piece had actually been used for 170 years, and was still in use. He had suggested that the pieces should be put in the museum. It was only in the Scandinavian countries, said Mr Moston, that one found any factory conditions comparable with those in New Zealand. One had to say, Mr Moston said, that at the present time employment in Britain was being boosted to a great extent by the production of armaments. On the other hand, there was other work which could not be carried out on . account of the armament activity, and it would be difficult to say what exactly was the effect of the armament programme. British Prestige Mr Moston said that, contrary to some reports, he did not find that British prestige was low. People had said that Britain's prestige was at a low ebb, but that was not correct. "I saw any amount of evidence to disprove that," he added. "If you talk Britain to a foreigner you will find that there is respect, and at the conference I could not help noticing how the British delegates were listened to with respect." Instancing his point, he said that he attended a band concert at Geneva one afternoon, and at the conclusion of the programme the British National Anthem was played, after which there was' a silence for fully two minutes. He asked the bandmaster for an explanation, and the latter replied, "Do you not know that there has been a bereavement in the Royal family? " U.S.A. Problems The problems of the United Statesracial, economic and constitutional — were briefly touched upon by Mr Moston, who stressed the difficulties in the Federal Government endeavouring to bring about uniformity in social security, but without any power to impose it, on 48 sovereign States who had almost sovereign powers. Whether one agreed or disagreed with the Roosevelt policy, it had to be admitted that bold methods were being attempted. The Federal Government was subsidising those States which adopted its social security plan, which included old age and maternity benefits. While he was in the States 13 of them had adopted the Federal policy, and others were' coming into line. Some of the States had their own plans for social security, and consequently lack of uniformity was one of the difficulties to be tackled. In Canada, Mr Moston found varying industrial conditions. Each State had its own code, and generally the conditions were very much behind those existing in New Zealand. There was a very fine workers' comnensation system in Ontario, and it had been conied to some extent in Quebec. The special matter? about which Mr Moston innuired on behalf of his department are +o b<? the subject of a renort to the Government.