The Waikato Times With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1932. BRITISH UNEMPLOYMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18803, 26 November 1932, Page 4

The Waikato Times With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1932. BRITISH UNEMPLOYMENT.

The most momentous announcement In recent cables Is that the King’s Speech on tho opening of the British House of Commons contemplates the permanent existence of unemployment on a. large scale, possibly as large as at present. The reasons they give are all sound, though the conclusions drawn may be disputed. The increase of machinery, the cessation of migration, the over-manning of coal mines, reduction of armaments, and the entry of women into the labour market are the reasons given, and nobody will dispute their cogency at the present time; hut this is very far from saying that they are always to apply.

It would seem that the Cabinet which drew up the King’s Speech, and the Prime .Minister, who spoke of human “scraps," were both lacking in historic vision. We still hear of tlie hungry ’forties, which really extended from 1820 to 1850. These were cured, and Britain had prosperous times until the outbreak of tho Great War. There is no reason why we should not have prosperous times now if men could be induced to take a rational course. Unfortunately it is not sufficient to do this in one country; it must be in several, if not in all.

In tlie hungry ’forties the Government look definite measures. The extension of transport l>y railways was a great factor, and gold discoveries played a leading part. The first two are open to us to-day, and if wo cannot control gold discoveries wo can control currency, which is rut necessarily gold. The action taken in the hungry ’forties was to free trade from a mulliludo of harassing shackles, culminaling in Iho removal of Ihe duly on wheal. Hallway transport spread on its merits, and would have benefited by a little more control. Tho Home Government has apparently neglected to see what sleps were successfully taken at, tint time, and is itself moving in an exactly opposite direction, and now it contemplates permanent unemployment, which Mr Neville Chamberlain puts at 1,000,000 and Mr .MacDonald at 2,000,000.

Before the existence of permanent unemployment is considered the return of the 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 of unemployed in the world to normal work should be taken into account The British Government is confining its remedies to its own country, where it can achieve but a very partial success. The desire of each nation to construct an economic Noah’s Ark will submerge them all. Protection has killed the working of the gold standard, prevented the payment of debts, reduced the standard of living and increased unemployment. The Home Government proposes to settle the unemployed on the land. As most of them have been bred to industrial pursuits they will not make good settlers, and will require a dole. Then someone will point out that if food imports were stopped the dole might be cut out, and wheat imports may be subjected to a duty in order that wheat may be grown on a tenacre farm and reaped with a sickle. It is steps such as this that are bringing the world to poverty. Production of every kind has increased; invention has multiplied the mechanical aids to production; yet all these things are to be put on one side because nations cannot learn to live together. The root of our troubles is political; to bring about a cure is certainly hard; but it will not be effected by embracing the very errors that cause the mischief.

If we oan solve the present difficulties there are undoubtedly measures which can be taken to increase employment. The working day may be shortened to six hours, and at some future day to even less. At the same time the reward of industry will be greater; all the increased profits due to machinery will not go to capital. When these changes take place there will .be an increased demand for the products of industry and agriculture. We all live on payment for what we do for other people, and should not grudge the increased prosperity of any class, some of which will reach us at second hand. The call to-day is not so much for reduced costs as for increased returns.

The constant narrowing of markets will impoverish everyone, and the effort to keep benefits within political boundaries will end in there being few benefits for any.