The Dominion. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1917. THE COMMUNITY'S POINT OF VIEW

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3000, 10 February 1917, Page 8

The Dominion. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1917. THE COMMUNITY'S POINT OF VIEW

An inspiring picture of the new Britain which, will make its appearance after the smoke of the great conflict has cleared away was drawn by Mr. Lloyd George _ in ;.his recent .'address to his constituents. He spoke of a new Britain, with her new commerce and industries; of new ' conditions for • capital and labour, and' new" relations': between them and the State. In the few raging years through which wo are now passing we are . acquiring a new outlook, , and great changes aro i being made in the character and destiny of our race. The war has •created an unparalleled opportunity for great statesmanship and courageous, leadership.' It'is 4 to be hoped ..that .this magnificent chancc of making a .fresh, .'start will not be lost. through. weakness of faith or poverty of imagination.. Me. . Lloyd George . tells ■ us- that-the present, muddle in the Balkans is due., to "lack of imagination. - By ."imagination", ho means breadth-of-vision, keenness of insight, the capacity to see and foresee, quickness in understanding what is passing through' the minds of others, and in anticipating the development of events. The work of Empire reconstruction which will have to be done after the .war is over affords almost unlimited scope for the to .exercise its powers. Our -achieve- : ments will, .be in proportion to our , !{aith... -If. .we 4 have. a.sure belief irr •the greatness'.of.. oui\ Empire's destiny- ami in-dts. capacity. for. .r.e.new■ing its strength,-then all 1 things, axo 4 . possible; but if we distrust ourselves and.are afraid to make great ventures of faith then we will inevitably fall back 'into'the .old: grooves and allow ourselves to be fettered once more, by _qld traditions and shibboleths "which sh'b]ild,'. be- .cast aside -by men" and..wom6h wjio. are" charged with the-duty. of .cre'aiing.a, •new arid better world. The war'has stimulated the public imagination. It has accustomed us to. large and comprehensive schemes. It has made us see the value of thoroughness and the folly of half-measures. There has been a general •enlargement of the national vision, and it is not'unreasonable to hope that the lessons we have learned in war will not be .forgotten when the return of peace enames us to turn our attention to .the array of . political--and social problems which are-pressing -for. sor ■lutionl If these problems are-grap 7 ■pled..with coura|eoti!iLy, : intelligent-. 'Iy, and in a'spirit of good-will there is no reason why' the Barrie'fs which block the way to the realisation of the ideal of a firmly united, selfreliant, and Belf-sivpporting Empire 'should,uot be reahsbd'. •'•"••"•; _ •• The work ..df-.reconstVuctiori'' Has . already, commenced, 4 .. It has become quite-evident that what was godcT enough for. our fathers "is .not. good enough for us.. The policy of.'drift •will # have -to be abandoned if the Empire is to keep pace with its competitors. The creation of the National Board is an indication that tho New. Zealand Government realises that our industries must bo organised and developed in a more ; scientific manner. In Bri- ' tain, committees, have, been set up to deal with such important, questions as demobilisation, education reform, : shipbuilding,. and .various, other matters of urgent importance. )Yhen Germany rudely disturbed tho peace of Europe wo wcro placed at a great, disadvantage, .because wo not prepared tor war. -Bear-'. ing this in mind, we' are taking •steps to be prepared for peace. Now is the. time to devise those-.new coneditions for capital and labour which must be established _if the-British Empire is to hold its own. The conflict between.capital-'and labour must be brought to an end. In' Eclipse 'or -'Empire," a- --book which.contains 'much useful ; information '•and many valuable suggestion's, it is stated, that "business in the future will call for'the highest standard of efficiency; co-operation and brotherlincss will make for the destructionof ignorant selfishness and merely personal profit, and wijl .be recognised to have succeeded just to the extent. that every employee' connected with tho .organisation.is riot.only' a better workman, but a.better,citizen." Tho industrial problem must be approached from tho national point of view, as well as from the standpoints of the employer and the . employee. Business must bo regarded as a form of national service, and "the business man. will Hot come to his own until • it'■ '-is •• universally realised that his service to tho nation is as great as that of the preacher and tho schoolmaster, and that the making of profits is only part of his many activities." Strikes and lockouts are forms of civil war which .should not bo tolerated in a civilised State.' They are an injury to the whole, community, and the community has a-v right to protect itself from tho loss and inconvenience, resulting from such bar--4 baro.us methods. Every, employer .is entitled' to' : '<&xpi2ct 'a 4' -fair day's

work for a, fair day's pay; but it should also..bo born© in mind that "badly, paid and badly tifiined employees can never bo anything else than unsatisfactory citizens, and since the a.verago man spends the greater part of his-life in-his day's work, tno employer must recognise that it. is his. responsibility that tho man becomes something more than a' mere-chattel in the organisation.'"-' Tho success of our schemes for promoting national efficiency depends largely upon the-reconcilia-tion of labour and capital. The failure of previous efforts to solve the labour problem have made some pcoplo inclined to believe that there is .no,solution for it; The pessimists tell us that,' whether we like' it or :noVthe fight'between the employers and the wage-earner's will bo resumed as soon aa tho war is over, and must go on till the end of time. ■But the British Premier refuses to adopt this attitude of despair. He is confident that the statesmanship of the Empire is capable of establishing. a firm and lasting allianco between capital and labour. Past failures do not prove that the problem is insoluble. They merely show that tho true solution has .not yet been discovered. There is no valid reason why tho interests of the threo parties concerned—the worker, tho employer, and the communityshould dg regarded as irreconcilable. As a matter of fact,' the real welfare of all' three "depends upon the welfare of each, and the way of reconciliation is not barred by any insuperable barrier. Me. G." N. Barnes, M.P., a British Labour leader of- great experience, is of opinion that we are passing away from the conception of employer and employed 'as benefactor and beneficiary, and' we are coming ' to' regard them as joint Servants of the •commiunity. He.'contends that it will, be Id . tho advantage of ono concerned ,if organised labour is taken into 'full, and frank recognition- and consultation. He says he sees "no reason why each trade should not have a sort of joint board of employers and employed with a Government arbiter in the background." Politicians and social reformers of. other schools of thought also feel that due woight should be given to the community's point of view. It ia now generally taken for granted that tho Stato is destined to play a much greater part than it has in the past in tho organisation of'_ trado and' tlis* application of science to' industry,' and industrial stability and concord are quite as important as scientific method' from the. point of view of national efficiency.