AN EMPLOYER WHO DREAMS DREAMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3342, 3 April 1918, Page 54

AN EMPLOYER WHO DREAMS DREAMS.

THE MORAL CODE IN INDUSTRY. "T- believe- that it lies in our power to realise a material prosperity far in excess cl what has gone before, at a far smal er expenditure of effort and without the clutches of a protective tariff. But no tinkering scheme- of piecemeal reform will avail. Ths light must be let in on all dark places at once, the muddy pools of class selfishness must- be cleansed, the self-<sacr;fico. of our soldiers and sailors must find its counterpart in our industrial life." So i=aid Mr W. L. Hichens, the chairman of the famous firm of Cammell Laird and Co., when delivering the James Watt anniversary lecture in Greenock. It was the speech of a man who has not only dreamed dreams, but of one who knows it possible for his dreams to come true. —Why Not Try it? " Mr Hichens said that since the outbreak of the war State control of industry had advanced by leaps and bounds, ana now, atter many years, we were oat-k at the State regulation policy of the Elizabethan era, iur the past 400 years we had tried one expedient after another— State control of wages and prices, cooperative guilds, the home industries system, the big factory system, economic industrialism,— only to end where we began. But the fact that these experiments failed in' the past was no evidence that they would not succeed to-day. Might it not be that the solution of the industrial problem lay beyond mere intellectual and legal formulae, beyond all economic laws and doctrines, and depended on our attitude to~*ards social existence —in plain terms, -. r moral code? "The god of industry, according to the political economists o'f the early nineteenth century, is the golden calf, and an unrestricted scramble for the good things of this world was what they set before each individual as the law of life. Such a'doctrine strikes at the root of the social organism. The higher.and more elaborate our civilisation becomes, the greater must needs be the solidarity that welds it together, the. completer the subordination of the individual to the community. "No man can servo two masters. He cannot serve himself and the community, He can only serve himself by serving the community,' and this is surely the only sound foundation on which industry can rest.

:: If Ave are ever to solve the great industrial problem, it can only be by recognising that industry is primarily a national service, and that the object of those engaged in it is first and foremost the good of the community as a whole. No sensible man would suggest that all opportunity for individual profit should be taken away by" legislation. It is only suggested that 'the good of the individual should come after —not before —the good of the community where the two conflict. If each man thinks of making his pile by all the means that Economic individualism allows; if class bands itself against class, trade union against employers' federation; firm against firm, to secure the greatest share of the world's gocds in unrestricted competition, social life must inevitably break down and anarchy reign supreme." No Unlimited Profits.— The lecturer went on to indicate some of the practical steps in the application of this principle to industrial problems of to-day. The following were his chief points : " (1) No business is entitled to make unlimited profits. Labour, the entrepreneur class, capital, and the consumer are all partners in the business of the community, and no one class is entitled to benefit unduly at the expense of another. The prin.ciple of the profits tax should, therefore, bs retained alter the war. The present tax, of course,- was intended as a temporary measure, and a standard of profits based on pre-war earnings is quite unsuited to permanent conditions. It would be necessary to fix a standard rate of interest for the capital invested in each class of trade or industry, and a proportion (I suggest a substantial one) of any. excess profits over that standard should accrue to the State. In any such scheme it would be necessary to provide that adequate allowances are made for depreciation. " (2) It follows that the reward of labour must in the last resort also be determined by the State as representing the community. Labour has no more right than capital to make a corner in its own commodity and hold the community up to ransom. In practice it is clear that the tendency will develop for wages to be settled by joint industrial boards representing employers' and workers' organisations, but in the event of disagreement, or collusion to exploit the community, the State must have the right of intervention. I recognise that a large section of the community is not prepared to-day to accept the principle of State intervention, and I recognise also that unless it appeals to the moral judgment of the great majority of the nation it cannot be enforced, and ought not to be enforced. The important thing to-day is that the verdict of public opinion should be sought. Verdict of Public Opinion.— "(3) The workers are clearly entitled to have an effective voice in regard to the general conditions under which their work is carried on. The general acceptance of the proposals for joint industrial councils suggested in the Whitley Report is good evidence that public opinion will support the demand of labour for an improved status. The responsibility for fixing piece rates and special time rates should rest not on individual firms, but on joint district councils linked up with the joint industrial councils. These bodies should also determine the general policy and con-

ditions of industry; but subject to this each business should be organised on whatever lines seem best to those responsible for. its direction. Employers should further retain the right to select their own employees, .but they, as well as the workers and the general public, should contribute to a widely-extended unemployment insurance benefit. " (4) The first step on the return of peace should be the establishment of an eight-hour day as a first instalment towards still further reductions if experience shows that this is possible consistently with the requirements of civilised existence. It should be arranged that each worker who has been with a firm a whole year and has kept good time should be given a holiday on full pay. The distinction between a strike and a holiday should be more marked than it is now. "(5) These reforms will require large sums of money, and will, moreover, be of little or no avail unless a high standard of M-ages is established. We shall not be able to meet the bill unless we can effect drastic economies in production and largely increase our output. One factor in this problem is the prevention of strikes; another, the abandonment of the policy of restricting output by ' slow timing' and indifferent workmanship (which will continue unless it is made clear that industry is run for the benefit of the whole community and not for the enrichment of certain classes); a third factor is the substitution of up-to-date machinery for old and the extension of labour-saving devices ; and others are chean transport, simple and cheap methods of land transfer, and cheap coal and motive power. " Wasteful competition should be eliminated by greater standardisation of types and the promotion of big selling combinations."