SOCIAL LEGISLATION

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2177, 17 June 1914, Page 8

SOCIAL LEGISLATION

i ,!■. 9 - • ... IN JEW''ZEALAND STUDIED' BY DANISH VISITQR Mr:;W::'Borbcrg;"M.A.,' a '-student df political 1 '; ccohoniy ; from Copenhagen, Denmarkj'-is at present visiting Wellington'with the intention of'inquiring into the. working 'of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. ' Mr. 'Bor.borg lias been travelling , for the last , three years in Europe, America, China; and Japan.. Ho has-already spent a couplo .of woeks ill Auckland, where he wasi able to meet the Conciliation Commissioner and also industrial. tiuions and employers' associations;' 1 Ho' has' only.been in Wellington a''day or: 60,' but since his arrival here ;ho has .interviewed the' Conciliation Commissiofie)- (Mr. P.. Hally), and le intends jjsiting the .Labour secretaries '/i-'foi* 1 thq .different Wellington unions,";- i.. ;i v ■ -■■■:.; Man and His Work. 'Asked by i .Dominion' reporter if ho would care .to. sp£ak. on the social conditions as: he found in tho Dominion, Mr. Borberg 6a'id that he. must decline,, as ho;ivas only'studying.-.the-question, and did not feol himself in a position to pass a criticism ;on a country which ho had only been in for .a few weeks. As regarded.)iis inquiries in different parts of the world, Mr. Borborg said that ho was studying;man in relation to his work. In New Zealand he had not'found the same opportunities to forward his studies as had been offered Mm .in America, whore ; tho industries were-' so much larger., ,He spent. .threes months in America, and what fit nick him most were the signs of-industrial management.' There had been an immense amount 'of .time spent bv scientists en almost every- subject, the speaker -intimated, but. man in his relation to work, with a view, to gettirig the best out of the worker,, had not boen, studied., Ho did not want to leave the impression that lie wanted anything in the nature'of '"sweated" labour, but ho thought that sufficient care was not paid workers' '-qualifications for -the work they-performed.- In America, he had. discussed the matter jpith .the doctor ,of the General' Electrical Company; one of the large American industrial'companies, and the doctor'' had told him of, cases where men" had dropped dead at their, machines, 'oh account of heart' failure. He admitted,, at" the same time, that no examination of' the men was made prior to, their' 'being taken on, to see if. thoy jjjere fitted'for their work.' And that,, despite the.'iact that they were endangering themselves, as well as others, by . being organically unfitted for their' work. ■'

While in China»Mr. Borbcrg was able to study the effect of European ideas on the Chinese'.. Ho also spoko-to several Europeans, connected with industrial and commercial business in',China. They.all seemed to agree,.lie said, that tho Chiiicso were lacking in the power of organisation, but, apart from that, thoy had had excellent faculties for industrial undertakings, and tlie work-ing-class Chineso wero able to stand physical strain better than any wliitb man. The commercial honesty, too, of the Chinese was as good-as that of any of thp..European nations. The Japanese, ho thought, realised that they wore lacking .in technical education on' tlioir work. :'" "" ' ' ' '

After spending another ten. days in Wellington Mr. Borberg will leave for 'Australia to continue his studies. • He will then, go back to Denmark, via India," in which cduiitry, lie will stay for 6ome timo.i. ; Arbitration in Denmark. ' inteiid° 4 to apply the' results,of .'youftOMcmtions? the'visitor was asked.• Ha ..replied that Ke could not say. Ho wds studying the various, questions on his own'account, and thcVcwere so many ways ill which he might apply his. studies.'' Denmark was/deeply interested, ,;he continued, '.in 1 Conciliation C'o)i'ric:ils r , a'fldi a coUpfo,'#.' years ago 1 an Acti(,\vasi„ipass.e(l .'"appointing oiie Conciliation Commissioner '.for the whole country. His powers were more limited tharftlioso of the Commissioners in Now Zealand. " tic ''Had' tlie power- to call tho parties in-a .dispute 1 together for a conference,, jvith", the 'idcabf their conting"i:p' a'?imitual settlement. '' If .they could not agree jib- could then mako a proposal.himself, ( and.if tho compromise 6Ugj*es&ct' wasvjiot.. acceptable'to 'both: parties he had itlfb Tight to/publish his proposal, so that the public could form an opinion on tho merits of it.'' And how did the public tlie findings of tho Commissioner?

"Oh/jrdu know public 'opinionjean /be' swayed ariy'way, ■'siijilingly concluded Mr. Borberg. 7 g i