Editorial Comment

Progress, Volume XIII, Issue 6, 1 February 1918, Page 125

Editorial Comment

After the War—the Soldier

It is the general belief that the war is within reasonable reach of victorious culmination. And as a consequence, pressing and important problems associated with the critical after-the-war period are now being carefully considered, both here and in England. First and foremost is the need for an effective policy of placing tincitizen soldier back into the ranks of the useful producers. Here the human element comes in, and we may expect to find material which will not be too plastic in the hands of well-intentioned people having a belief that a scheme has only to be excellent to commend itself to the returned soldier, It must be kept in mind that these men, for several years, have been living a life utterly alien to peaceful home conditions, that hardship and nerve shock have made them impatient of steady-going conditions, while a just sense of the value of their patriotic sacrifices will cause them to demand special considerations. An attempt to train men in handicrafts at the New Zealand convalescent homes was an utter failure, for the reason that the men declared that they were entitled to a rest, and wanted all they could get in order to recover from their troubles of ill-health. This phase of the problem will have to be frankly recognised by our administrators. The difficulty will be overcome in time, and by the aid of a liberal scheme of temporary allowances associated with the Avar pensions scheme. We are glad to note that the Discharged Soldiers’ Information Department has issued a booklet devoted to the training of partially disabled soldiers Avho will have to secure a change of their former occupation upon returning to Ncav Zealand. “Second only to winning the Avar,” states the Foreword to this booklet, “the problem of the Returned Soldier in its various features is the most important question Avhich the Dominion has to face. Upon its successful solution hinges in a great measure the rapid recovery of the country from the effects of the Avar. It should be a matter of absorbing interest to every right-minded citizen. It is the paramount duty of every one to do everything in his

power to rehabilitate those who have made such great sacrifices in the service of their country." The photographs and descriptive matter in the booklet show that a good start has been made in this valuable work, technical schools being utilised for special training. Wool-classing seems to have appealed to a number of the men in Christchurch, engineering in fnvercargill, and both these occupations, in addition to the commercial course, at the Dunedin Technical School. Every employer can assist in this splendid national work, for in the large establishments, at any rate, are places which can be filled by partly disabled men, who will pick up further knowledge and fit themselves for better paid positions in due course. .Meanwhile, if they are partly disabled, the system of allowances enables them to be sure of a total income of £3 per week.

After the WarIndustry

There is a -wider aspect of this great subject. The reconstruction of affairs after the war, when industry will have to be diverted back to peaceful channels calls for the highest powers of industrial statesmanship. A time will come when busy factories, turning out record outputs, will suddenly cease this war work. What will happen to the hundreds of thousands of men and women employed by these organisations? The task of reconstruction must be tackled now, and the lines carefully laid if England is to avoid an industrial upheaval after the war. Employers have had to pay high wages, and they may be tempted to go back to the pre-war standards. That way revolution lies, and we believe that enlightened opinion in the Old Country is strong enough to prevent any move of that kind toward disaster. It has to be remembered that in the great manufacturing districts of America, the highest wages in the world are paid to metal and textile workers. Organisation, standardisation, and huge outputs enable this to be done, and millionaires created at a more rapid pace than in England. Britain’s wasteful system of competitive private railways can surely not return, and although this does not apply to New Zealand, there are other elements in the problem which we will have to take into consideration. The first is elimination of waste in production and distribution. The utilisation of water power, and the co-ordination of the supply of steam and electric power in manufacturing districts are instances of methods which could be employed by the State for the general benefit. New Zealand wisely determined that its enormous natural waterpower resources should be developed by the State, but the State must show enterprise in the matter, and not confine its activities to one successful scheme in the South Island. Wo have the advantage of emploving os Chief Electrical Engineer, a .gentleman with the broad and thorough technical training enabling him to undertake great national schemes, and we are glad to see that he has not been discouraged by temporary difficulties due to lack of labour, material, and Governmental enterprise, but that he is planning for the big things after the war. With cheap power, our splendidly endowed country could, with its wealth of raw material, become one of the greatest manufacturing countries South of the Line.

A vigorous policy after the Avar should be the slogan of the people of the Dominion, and the Finance Minister must be encouraged to increase his reserve, now standing at £4,000,000 for use in public works and the settlement of soldiers. The Minister of Public Works stated recently that he would be able to employ ten thousand men if he could get them. This indicates that the Government's plans are well advanced, and they should be kept up to their promises, for the problem is much simpler of solution here, where the war has stimulated the primary producing interests, and the cessation of hostilities will not mean a drop in the demand for our products. There will be a diminution in price, but improved methods of production by the use of mechanical aid on the farm will help to make up the position, while a guaranteed market in the Old Country, with a highly probable extension to France, will encourage the farmer to continue in the business and spend capital in its development. State owned steamers must, become a real fact. Australia has fifteen already in use, thus relieving to some extent the anxieties of the Australian farmer over the problem of freight. We must do the same, for it is not conducive to confidence to have, between the producer and-his market, a private monopoly which has shown its: If not to be above the temptation of taking profits out of all proportion to services rendered, when it could safely demand them without fear of competitors stepping in to reap a harvest.

After the War The Empire

Now we come to the Empire aspect of the question. The war has drawn the countries of the great British Empire closer than at any period of their history. Union is now a real and enduring thing, which has passed out of the realms of academic discussion. An Empire “Resources Development Committee has been set up in England for the pin-pose of concentrating energy upon the problem specified in the Committee’s title. Within the Empire are all the resources required for the development of civilised peoples. They have raw materials of every description, and the necessary technical brains to turn them to the best use; climates suitable to the growth of all plants required in manufactures, and minerals covering all the range of requirements. It is in the great democracies of the Empire that the enormous potentialities of Imperial resources find their fullest opportunity. We can work out our own destinies as a people, and have absolute control of our own territories, but we must co-operate closely with the Motherland in the production of those materials, on the successful, utilisation of which will depend the future progress of the great federation of selfgoverning democracies over which the King rules. New Zealand ..should have its representative on this Empire Resources Committee, for by this means we can call attention to our potentialities in minerals and products of the land, our wonderful sources of water-power supply, and the presence of a virile and intelligent population capable of developing any branch of industry if provided with the capital for the purpose.