CAPITAL AND LABOUR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2936, 23 November 1916, Page 4

CAPITAL AND LABOUR

HOPE OF A BETTER DAY. In. • his presidential address to fcha Conference of Chambers of Commerce yesterday, Mr. James Macintosh said: "It is to our mutual interest that we should pull together, so that wo may; quickly restore the ravages of war.If everyone could enter into this work whole-heartedly, with a. full determination to win through, what a great result would follow. What a wonderful changer has been effected in the Old Country! under the stress of war with regard to machinery, methods, and labour.- Is it not pleasant to see how all classes are working together for tho common cause, the glory of the race, and the advancement of mankind. How deeply onel, wishes that this happy state of- things would last. Is there never to be complete harmony between capital and la-< bour? Surely this is possible. At anjt rate it should be the endeavour of everyone to help forward the comingof that time. To-day the workman—* he . openly confesses it—gives as littlq as he can and cxacts as much as ho can. The employer, on the other hand, is no better, for he does_ exaotly tha same. There are exceptions in botW cases, but, in the main, I am sorry toi say! this indictment is true. , When! will the day come when men will be( as scrupulous and as careful to 6eo th»1( they give full value for what they re* ceive, and be more concerned be not paid over much than at receiving lesß than their due.. These ideas may, be considered Utopian, fyit .they ara, not, they are just the ideas of ordinary honest people. It is sad to goo thau, even in the midst of this war—the very, greatest the world has ever seen—wheri the very existence of our Empire is at stake, wrangling and bitterness should exist amongst ourselves, yet, so it is.At our doors to-day there is trouble between capital and labour. But for the belief that the day of reconciliation: i 3 truly coming, one would despair 06 the future of mankind. The hope is strong within all of us that a betted time is coming, a time when men will understand each other better, trust, each other more, and help each other* more."