SEEKING WORLD PEACE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19626, 21 October 1933, Page 19

SEEKING WORLD PEACE

DISCUSSION IN CANADA. JAPAN’S INDUSTRIAL ERA. As a result of the conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations, held recently at Banff, Canada, delegates from all the nations of the Pacific were impressed with the vital necessity of positive education of public opinion toward world peace. This statement was made by Miss M. Seaton, one of the New Zealand delegates at the conference.who returned to Auckland by the Monowai. "The institute does not pass resolutions.” Miss Seaton said, "and the delegations do not bring back reports and recommendations to their respective Governments. The institute is not political and it finances itself, with the aim of promoting international goodwill. Conferences are held every two years and between conferences research work is carried on for the recording of facts concerning the national life of the various countries and the problems that confront them.” The facts disclosed that everywhere the world was full of trouble, said Mias Seaton. The education of the people against war was not enough, for it was simply a negative policy. What was needed was a broader international outlook and a spirit of tolerance, together with national planning for the avoiding of conflict in international trade.

The Japanese problem was one of pressing importance to every nation with interests in the Pacific and it was fully discussed. It had been stated by a Japanese authority that during the next 20 years the population of Japan would increase rapidly at the rate of about 1,000,000 a year. These people had to live and the only solution ol the problem was industrial and markets were needed. In the cotton trade Japan had been competing with Lancashire, but now China was competing with Japan. There had been much talk about the lower standard of living which enabled Japan to undersell most of her competitors. An eminent American statistician had given an Illustration from an American factory where both Japanese and American workmen were employed at a common rate of pay. A comparison of the manner In which the Japanese and Americans spent their earnings showed that the latter bought motor-cars, rich foods and other luxuries. The Japanese, on the other hand, spent their money generally on books, education and the cultivation of their gardens. It seemed the question of the standard of living might have been confused with the way of living. Miss Seaton said the conference was a pronounced success in that it had brought about better understanding between all the delegates.