PRESSING ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

Otago Witness, Issue 3380, 25 December 1918, Page 25

PRESSING ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

PROPOSED UNIVERSITY EXTENSION CLASSES. ARCHDEACON WOODTHORPE INTERVIEWED. The Chancellor of the Otago University (the Rev. Andrew . Cameron) recently brought before the council a proposal to institute extension classes : at the University for the study of pressing economic problems arising out of the European war. Mr Cameron, who has watched closely' the work of the Dunedin Educational Association, has had the impression left on his mind that this work would have a far-reachin'g effect upon the community. This gave him the idea that something ought to be attempted by tho University for the employers of labour and those engaged in commercial pursuits. To that end a scheme for tho establishing of University extension classes has been approved by tho council, and the work to be undertaken will be similar to that done in Australia and America by the Workers' Educational Association. _ This scheme originated in the universities in England, where these classes have been conducted for many years, long before the W.E.A. came into existence. They had their origin at Cambridge, then Oxford followed, and they were' then taken up by other universities, and gradually extended to America. It has now become recognised as a part of university work, and it carries university classes not only into the suburbs of great ci lies, but into a large number of towns which are removed from university centres. The work:in England began ,w.th these classes has developed into a distinct university being established for the study of economic science. Interviewed last week on this subject, Archdeacon Woodthorpe, lecturer on economics at the Otago University and for the Workers' Educational Association, said that as a rule these classes were- worked very much on the same principles as the W.E.A classes. That was, that they had a lecture and then a tutorial Mr Cameron's idea was that such questions as industrial unrest and the cause or causes of it, with * a probable solution of this problem', and the question of a reconstruction, each of which are pressing questions just now, might be considered in their entirety by men attending the extension classes. ' . Archdeacon Woodthorpe s attention was directed by the interviewer to the finding of the Investigations Committee of the British Association of Arts and Sciences, which, under the presidency of Professor Eirkaldy, of Manchester University, at the request of the Imperial Cabinet, investigated the problem of industrial unrest. It was pointed out that after hearing a great deal of evidence from witnesses ( represent-' ing all sections of the industrial public, the committee reported that in its opinion the -best solution of this question was cooperation. Archdeacon Woodthorpe, when asked for an opinion on this finding, said that the economic section of the British Association of Arts and Sciences during the past three years had had a field of very valuable information, and its report deserved very careful analysis. His opinion was that the report was not quite up-to-date. A good many of the suggestions were not in harmony with those- expressed in Whitey's report. His impression was that the work of the committee was somewhat circumscribed with regard to ,its investigations, and inclined to be not unnaturally desirous of compromise. "What is wanted at the present time, in my judgment," continued Archdeacon Woodthorpe, "is a more careful investigation on the part of a body of experienced thinkers and experts who are not tied by the associations of a committee belonging to bodies which, more or less, are handicapped by vested interests. What I would like to see would be a careful series of studies of these problems by the best men we have, and I ani sure, we should get a very much more useful result." Continuing, he said # there was a very good illustration of this in the last two issues of the Economic Journal, the organ of the World's Economic Society. There we had a discussion carefully sustained by some of our best economic thinkers on the question of "A Levy on Capital." The question was discussed from a purely scientifio point of view. Noteworthy examples were the articles by Professor Pigou, Mr Sydney Arnold, M.P., and Mr A. Hook in favour of a better levy. The recent volume by Lawrence Petherick favourable to this opinion and the articles by Professor W. R. Scott, of Glasgow, and Mr A. A. Mitchell on the other side showed the arguments that could b© put forward with regard to the question, which was not merely of pressing importance, but involved many practical consequences. But the advantage of scientific discussion was that tho arguments -were carefully considered, and that ulterior considerations were put aside for the purpose of investigation. "It seems to me," said Archdeacon Woodthorpe, " that this is the most valuable feature of discussion at the present moment. In manv cases economic questions are /considered from a limited point of view, on account of the not unnecessary fear of arguments being taken by individuals and associations for the purpose of political capital; but we ought to be in a position in which vital questions could be carefully considered on their merits, quite apart from any political considerations. The first thing to be done should be a careful investigation of facts, the strengthening of statistical research, and tho careful discussion of the problems." Archdeacon Woodthorpe said it would be an advantago to us in New Zealand to have —as he had suggested at a recent meeting of the W.E.A. —an institute of economio research to deal with this question. If the work was carefully planned such a society would have a great influence in a few years. It would make scientifio research

more popular, and it would make it distinct from any particular political scheme. The great difficulty to-day was that evoonomio suggestions were simply taken as a watchword by political parties, and wore valued only for the purpose of political propaganda. He was certain that the two things must be kept apart. He said this from his experience of tho W.E.A. On the one side there appeared to be, on the part of tho extreme Labour Party, a kind of suspicion that tho teachers of economics were to some extent influenced by class feeling and sympathy with capital in all questions of industry. On tho other 'hand, the Government was inclined to bo afraid of the Workers' Educational Association's movement because of an impression that it had that the trend of the teaching is. influenced by sympathy with tho aspirations of Labour. That was the position now in Now Zealand. In the North Island especially the Government was unduly timid with regard to tho training of the worker in economic science. The mest extreme seotion of Labour was suspicious with respect to the enlightenment of tho worker in all questions of industry. In both cases it was mistaken prejudice. From a long experience of public teaching he believed that the most hopeful feature for the future was the gradual training of our Labour leaders and the most influential men in the unions in the study of economic subjects What appeared in Thursday's issue of the Daily Times in the presidential address of the Employers' Association was perfectly true. He had noticed in his own class that tho presence of the employer in the class putting forward some of his arguments bad been of great service to the students. The mere fact that tho employer sat side l by side with his men studying these problems and took his place with the men in the discussions which followed was a _ valuable clement in the gradual formation of a broader publio opinion with regard to these questions. He was certain It brought about a better imderstanding and a deeper sympathy between the 1 employee and the employer.