W.E.A.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11756, 21 July 1916, Page 7

W.E.A.

NEWS AND NOTES. (By IDEALIST.) POPULAR LECTURES. July 22—"Town Planning," Mr S. Hurst Soager. July 29—"Town Planning/' Mr S. Hurst Seager. Christ-church Centre.—President, Dr Chilton; joint honorary secretaries, L. G. Whitehead,. M.A., Boys' High School, and E. J. Howard, Trades Hall. • • • • • Tutorial Classes. Mondays, 7.30 p.m. Economics (Riecarton), 8 p.m. Grocers' Assistants' Classes. Wednesdays, 7.30 p.m. Economics. Thursdays, 7.30 p.m. Psychology. Saturdays,' 8 p.m. Popular lectures. Rooms. 102 Hereford Street (opposite Parcels Post Oflico). '"'To-day is seed-timo. But the harvest will not bo gathered without sweat and toil. Tho times are pregnant with great possibilities, but their realisation depends upon tho united wisdom of the .people." These words aro as truo as when they were written eighteen months ago. But we see now moro clearly both the possibilities and tho difficulties; wo realise moro vividly the opportunity which a great war has placed- in pur hands, and at tho same timo appreciate more keenly the complexity of our task. Where there is no vision tho .people perish; where there no knowledge and understanding of the vision the people perish also. Though the nations walk through the valley of tho shadow of death, tho sun is on the hills.— Arthur Greenwood, M.P. # * # # # You cannot do better than join tho W.E.A. It is not a panacea for all tho ills that trouble humanity nor does it pretend that as yet its voice has great power in Bhaping men's actions, though it knows that by education and by that alone oan anything substantial be created. The,habit of sacrificing a few hours a week in studying the things that matter may not bo very easily acquired, especially if you are deeply involved in the habit of spending that amount of timo in amusements, but it can bo easily cultivated. And after a time so interesting does study become that amusements bogin to boro you somewhat and some day you may discover that you may he of more uso in the world than you ever dared previously to dream ■was possible. But don't entertain the idea that the W.E.A. is an institution where 'budding Parliamentarians aro, turned out. It is not for the few aspiring ones. It exists for the democracy that it may be permeated with the truths and ideals that win make it independent of the superior soul who imagines that he has been specially selected to* govern. * * * •. «

The economio .class which has had a spell of four weeks from > the intricacies and eccentricities of political economy resumed its'study of such matters again on Wednesday evening. There was a large attendance and Mr J. B. Condliffe, M.A., the tutor, gave a lecture on the "Theory of Money." Visitors are always welcome at this class-, and it is suggestive of how in> teresting the lectures always aro that nearly all of those who havo been tempted to come along out of curiosity in test tho value of tho instruction hare come back again as students. » a * * #

The psychology class, under the tutelage of Mr L. G. Whitehead, M.A., lias- been well attended during the recent interesting and very instructive lectures on "Habit" and "Instinct." Such matters certainly sound very unattractive, especially at the present time, but if it were only known how enthralling they really were there would bo a very largo attendance indeed on Thursday evenings. * * * « •

Mr Hurt Seager's lecture <m town planning was greeted by a much better audienco last Saturday evening than on tho previous occasion. ' Mr Seager illustrated his last address with many ■valuable and interesting .pictures, and "they certainly add greatly to tho educational value of his talks. A feature of the lecture is tho discussion which follows Mr Soager's remarks. Quite a number of very original and frequently many useful suggestions aro forthcomcoming from members of the audience, which is certainly indicative that the lecturer's remarks have hot fallen on barren ground. 'Mi- Seager will continue this series of addresses dealing with town planning problems next Saturday in tho old chemical laboratory, Canterbury College, at 7.30. Access can be- gained to the lecture hall by means of the main entrance of Canterbury College, in Worcester Street. « ■» • * *

A conference of tho British Workers' Educational Association was held recently in Newcastle, when 204 branches were represented. Tho general secretary of tho organisation, Mr J. M, MacTavish, laid special stress on the fatffc that education was vital to tho nation and especially to organised labour, the ideals of which, ho said, could not be realised until an educated democracy had come into being. A full report of the Newcastle conference will be published shortly.

Tho Grocers' Assistants' Union recently became affiliated to the Workers 5 Educational Association. It has now conceived tho happy notion of forming classes for grocers and others, and tho Workers' Educational Association has secured a number of experts in such matters as "'salesmanship," "tea-testing," etc., to givo a lecture every Monday evening. The lectures make primary appeal, of course, to those who aro in the grocery trade, but if the.re aro any who aro desirous of making themselves better acquainted with tho many very interesting tilings that aro tho everyday concorn of those in tho trade, quite a lot of valuable information could bo picked up by attending these lectures, which are free- to all. Tho iirst address was given on Monday evening by Mr R. Watson, of the National Cash Register Company, on. " Salesmanship." There was a fairly largo audience, and after Mr Watson's lecture, which was much appreciated, a very interesting discussion took place. To give some idea of the value of this series of lectures a full syllabus fallows:—July 24, "Food and Drugs Act." Mr M. Kershaw (Inspector, Public Health Department); July 31, "Laws Affecting tho Trade," Mr T. W. Rowe, M.A. LL.D.; August 7, "Grocery Account First Principles,' Mr J. S. Thompson; August 11, " Practical Tea-Tfcsts" ; August 21, "Butter Processos," Mr L. Hansen, Avon Dairy Company; August 28, "Grocery Accounts and Credits," Mr J. S. Thompson; September 4, "Tests and Final." Tho following is an extract from an article, " The Power of tho Written Word,'' which recently appeared in tho "Nation":— "Whether or not our faith in democracy inclines us to the belief that tho voice of the people is the voice of God, wo are cortl'nly driven to admit that it is not always loud and clear in its demands. . . . From the intricate problems of modern political life, the early democracies, which laid the foundations of political theory, found an easy escape. With them tho spoken word sufficed, and one man could reach with the words of his lips the assembled members of a city State. . . . But

the amazing nineteenth century witnessed the simultaneous triumph of the democratic idea, of tho nation state, and of mechanical invention. The development of steam power and of electricity revolutionised transport and trade. In the political realm tho contemporaneous growth of nation States with huge populations and-of widespread democratic idealism necessarily substituted representative government and delegation of power for direct democracy and" destroyed for ever tho mass meeting and the sway of the spoken word. .. . The bigness'of society is fruitful of accident, and wo pass from the facile confidence of 1832 to the hard dismay of 1916. Representation, which seemed so simple, has proved so complex, and tho noblo optimism of the American Constitution hag faded away before the tumultuous triumphs of bosses, caucuses and graft. Tho people's voice has a right to be heard. But nobody is able to hear it. It is perhaps significant that the victory of the machine has cor.io simultaneously in.industry and politics. This dual victory finds, its most obvious and complete expression in tho newspaper. The written word has now definitely ousted the spoken word as the democratic instrument, and the mass meeting has yielded to the Press campaign. . . . The true demagogue of to-day is tho lord of news, and the stabbing sentences of the cunning journalist do more to mould and warp the public will than a thousand orators upon a thousand platforms. . . . The modern newspaper, appealing; to every section of tho public at every prico . . . can say to a nation in-ten minutes what an orator would say to a thousand people in an hour. ' It does not call men to stuffy halls or plague them with tiresome journeys. It fills their idle minutes, and instead of causing journeys, as does the meeting, it whiles them away. The spoken word demands effort and attention. The written word is whisked conveniently to the breakfast and the bed.

Thus the Press moves from gain to gain, and so terribly docs it vaunt- itself and swell with ugly pride that it. threatens to invade the last refuge, of the spoken word and to vanquish Parliament itself. . . . The big society has come to say, and with it the written word must reign supremo. That may be an unpleasant fact, but wo must, face it. . . . Democracy can never be said to have failed so long as tho possibilities or education remain uncharted. It is easy, in bemoaning the evils that material progress has ■ brought with it, to forget' the manifest blessings it can also confer. Tutors and pupils can travel easily and swiftly to class and lecture, and books can be obtained and distributed with greater facilities as the years go by. It is tho kind of class which tho Workers' Educational Association so ably fosters and the University Joint Committees carry on, that stimulates the critical temper, and rouses the sane- scepticism so essential to democracy. Only by education, which is not more instruction, by classes which are debates, and by debates which aro not- academic logomachies, can popular opinion bo aroused and made alert. And with discussion reading; with reading contemplation."