NEW SOCIAL ORDER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17436, 7 April 1931, Page 9

NEW SOCIAL ORDER

! LABOR PARTY'S AIM ANNUAL CONFERENCE OPENS PRESIDENT'S REVIEW (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last night. A comprehensive survey of the pre- ■ scut economic position of New Zealand 5 was made by Mr. .). Thorn, president • of the New Zealand Labor Party, in the course of his address to delegates 1 attending the fifteenth annual conference of the party, which opened to- ; day in the Trades Hall. Mr. Thorn said that with the increase in the wealth of the country there should have been a commensurJ ate improvement in the workers' con- . ditions. If, instead, the workers suf- ' fered, it was a condemnation of the , modern social order. He referred to the displacement of men by machines, and declared that the remedy was to , reduce hours, and to pay wages which , would allow workers to come effectively" into the market. Mr. Thorn criticised the deflation policy of the hanks, one of the results of which, he said, was to enrich the ■ interest-receiving class, ami curtail the ■ buying power of the masses. From . the position of the Dominion as he saw it, he thought the following deductions were reasonable: (1) That New Zealand's interests are constantly in jeopardy while it almost entirely relies on the London market, where a disastrous fall in prices may be ordained by manipulators and speculators; (2) that a gradual development of New Zealand's local market is desirable to lessen the need to sell in London, and as our production is increased, it should be devoted to the liquidation of our indebtedness abroad; (.*>) that to accomplish this development there should be socialisation of NewZealand's credit resources, and their devotion to the stimulation of primary and secondary industries. j AN APPEAL FOR UNITY Continuing, he said: "For myself, 1 never felt the problem presented by tho capitalist and financial industry for profit to bo more intricate, and its solution more difficult than it is today. Two things are certain: One is that the' remedy cannot be applied by magic, and tho other is there is no solution whatever that will take workers' interests and well-being into account unless the workers unite industrially and politically, and are ready for the patient and yet determined work involved in the reconstructive policy. "The situation requires, I think, efforts in tho following directions: A trades union movement which can visualise itself in the roll of the creator of a new society based on cooperation, and which fully appreciates the value of political action, because it is now impossible to confine the definition of industrial questions to negotiations that go on between workers ami employers; the fullest possible unity between trade unions and I lie Labor Party, frequent consultations in a spirit of helpfulness and comrade ship, so that the most vital effect can be produced in every situation as it arises, and so that propaganda and Parliamentary work might have the full benefit of combination,, and be encouraged and inspired; contacts to he established with many organisations serving humanitarian purposes throughout the country; endeavors to meet farmers' organisations for discussion on common problems, with the object of gaining tho opinion for the Labor Party's view that farmers are at least entitled to the same economic security and advantages as it is asking for wage-workers, and so that a bond of common interest between the two bodies of workers might be strengthened. In these ways, tho Labor Party can widen its influence throughout the community and strengthen every tendency towards social growth. It will act as a democratic leaven and be an instrument for the rejuvenation of the country."