WORK DEIFIED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 697, 25 February 1933, Page 19 (Supplement)

WORK DEIFIED.

Problem of. Providing for Dominion’s Youth. NEED TO GET GOING. (Written for the “ Star ” by E. J. HOWARD. M.P.) The problem at the moment is what can we do with our boys? The fact is that we have deified work. If we had been educated to use our leisure the problem of what to do with our boys would cease to be a problem. Nearly thirty years ago we decided that 65 was a reasonable age for a working man to retire, and we fixed the old age pension age at that figure. The insurance companies, too, fixed that age for superannuation. It was recognised then, as now, that a man had not ceased to be useful at that age, but that, if he was to enjoy the fruits of his labours in leisure, some years should be left to him when his faculties would be all alive and able to appreciate and enjoy leisure. Malthus wrote a book to prove that it was possible for population to exceed the supply of food. That may still be possible, but, even with our limited knowledge of science, we know that it cannot come about for thousands of years yet. Every day and in every way man is improving and using his scientific knowledge. A very simple experiment was performed at Lincoln College last year. One of our splendid band of instructors out there found that, by treating the seed of the common mangold with a saturated solution of sulphuric acid, the seed germination was speeded up, and the number of seed that were successful was increased greatly. Now, mangolds come from a marine plant. They love salt still, and enjoy a feed of nitrogen. Nitrogen is a manure that should be as cheap as rain, because it is in the air above us. Man is learning to extract what he requires even from the air and ceasing to depend on time to fix his salts for him. Chemistry of Radiation. Years ago the ancient people worshipped the sun. In all the ruins of what are termed the pagan people, we find evidence of this worship of sun and fertility. In a certain measure we are returning to that worship, and many a beautiful girl of to-day is proud of her sun-tanned flesh as a proof. Man, too, is beginning to understand and use radiation. Those ancient people, the sun worshippers, might not have known so much about the chemistry of radiation, but they certainly knew that it was the sun that brought new life to their world, and new fragrance to their nostrils, and so they gave thanks accordingly. There will be no fear of starvation, even if the population of the world doubles, so long as man can keep his balance and desire for knowledge. We have recently passed a law to make it possible for poor men to obtain pieces of land for cultivation. It is no good sending a man who hates the sea to be a sailor. On the other hand there are thousands of boys born with the .sea instinct. It may be a shortage of salt in their blood that creats a desire for the ocean. It is no good to try and make every man a farmer. A shortage of iron will attract to the silica. So it may be that our own composition is the foundation of our likes and dislikes. Wd are something like a motor-car battery. If we are fully charged with opposite elements, we are useful and energetic. So soon as the charge becomes neutralised, we cease to function and become rundown. While a new charge may be passed in by selected food and medicine, our time is limited between birth and the scrap heap. It is the law of life and the law of mechanics. Some day we shall learn more about radiation and may prolong life, but the old must make way for the new life to-day. Consequently, we must think out ways and means of employing these “ young batteries ” we term boys, because, if not used, their life is shortened. If we older men had been taught to use leisure, we should have been willing to retire at an earlier date, and let the boys render service, but we have, as I said before, deified work and cannot use leisure. Small Holding Plan. To get to tin-tacks, the small holding law just passed can be a useful thing or it can become a dead letter, the same as much of our past land legislation. Every year we pass so many boys or young men through our agricultural colleges. These young men cost the State a certain amount for training much above that spent on the boy who, for instance, learns to be a carpenter. They owe to the State more than the artisan class, but if we desire them to pay that sum back in service then we should make it possible for them to do so. If these trained men could be placed about New Zealand in the midst of an agricultural population they would, by example, help those around them. Lord Bledisloe has recognised this by awarding a medal annually to the student who makes good in his district. Not only must the recipient be a good farmer himself, but he must have been helpful to his neighbour. It must be remembered that our Governor-General is not only a wearer of a Windsor suit, but he is a Bachelor of Science—a man who did not just take his degree as a matter of course, but who has been a student of science ever since. To show how these college men can help, one can but quote a case. One of them bought a farm. It was a poor farm, with hard work written all over it. It consisted of 200 acres and 75 cows. The cows were a scraggy lot, and the district was poor. Nearly 30 per cent of the farmers had an average output of 801 b of butterfat per cow. Butterfat could not be produced under Is per lb. So our student commenced to study his cows, and his pastures. The cow is a delicate animal that will respond to good environment as quickly as the human animal Sc by gradual culling and careful attention he raised his average- to 2001 b and his costs dropped from llld to 6d. When his average rose to 3001 b his costs dropped to fourpence. As his average went up his costs dropped, but naturally not so steeply as in the first instance. With this man’s increase the district also started to improve. The 80 per cent average began to rise until the whole district had reached 2001 b when I last heard of the results some two years ago. Supplying of Needs. We cannot hope to make every unemployed man a farmer, but one successful farmer can grow sufficient for seven families employed in other useful industry. If we set out to supply our own needs in an organised manner we ought not to be poor. If our be-all

and end-all is to make money, then we shall simply remain a nation of gamblers who are just waiting for a boob to turn up so that we can unload on him at a We can supply our own needs We have the brains, the brawn, and the land. We have just slipped a cog for a time and we don’t just know how to get into gear again. We are stalled on the line. We must get going or get smashed.