The Dominion. THURSDAY, MARCS 1, 1917. NATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3016, 1 March 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, MARCS 1, 1917. NATIONAL EFFICIENCY

ytip programme of, the National ISfiicioncy Board, as it was outlined in our columns yesterday in a statement by (Sir j ames Allen, may at first sight suggest that the now body is to be loaded with an impossible, amount of work. The Board is invited to deal, in its advisory oapa-' city, with practically the wholo range of war and after-war conditions in this country, and presumably one of the first tasks demanding its attention will be that of delegating to other hands a very largo proportion of the work assigned to it under its practically unrestricted commission. Experience will probably show, however, that the Government has acted wisely in extending the working scope of the Board very widely. It is not to be expected that Mr. Ferguson and his colleagues will be able to deal in detail with more than a few of the problems enumerated by tho Acting-Prime Minister. The ultimate scope of the Board's useful activities will be largely determined by the success attained in creating or enlisting the aid of subordinate organisations working to a common plan, which the. Government will lay down in broad outline on the advice'of the Board. National efficiency, o£ course, implies a national effort. But in any case a committeo of business experts should bo of very considerable value as a Jink between the Government and the country in tho treatment of war and after-war problems. Tho Board is no doubt capablo of ■ doing a great deal of useful service both in stimulating practical inquiry and adaptation to new conditions, and in , bringing tho problems of the day, before tho Government in their essential aspects and freed from encumbering detail. The working range of the Board will be considerably extended by the arrangement under which itsmerabers are to conduct their inquiries, not only conjointly, but individually in their own districts. Heading tho Minister's statement as it stands, one danger which appears is that tho Board, as the directing and controlling centre of the projected, national efficiency organisation, inay be overwhelmed by an intractable mass of correspondence, reports, and suggestions, from the existing organisations whose aid it is proposed to enlist "with a view to co-ordinating the producing, manufacturing, labour, commercial, and distributing interests of the Dominion." In the interests of smooth working it seems very necessary, even as regards planning to promote national efficiency, that between the Board and these organisations there should be intermediate committees, each one of them taking the samo position in Mie main branch of national activity — producing, manufacturing, commercial, and so forth—as the Board does in the national scheme. Presumably something of this kind is intended. As its duties aro out- , lined, it is cloar that tho Board will invade the territory of such institutions as the Court of Arbitration, tho Council of Education, the Board of Trade, and others. This, of course, is in no way open to objection. _ Tho Board is essentially a bpdy intended to promote co-ordina-tion between existing organisations and institutions.

Ihe National Efficiency, Board is already doing good work in its treatment of war problems which bear immediately upon national economy, as, for instance, in its recommendations regarding the protection of'the farms and businesses of men who enlist or are called up for sorv-ice. The scope for useful activity in ensuring, as far as possible, equality of saerince- and the best possible adjustment of national and individual interests would in itself amply justify the creation of the Board. As to tho larger scheme of 'overhauling tho whole economic organisation of tho Dominion—which in effect is what is involved ir. tho Board's commission—results must depend upon the spirit in which the campaign in favour of national efficiency is received and supported by the people- of the Dominion. The National Efficiency Board is the chief operating factor in a methodioal attempt to induce the people of New Zealand to profit by the lessons of the war and recast their economic life, not only in order to meet the demands of tho war, but with a view to permanent bctteunent. Up to the present wo have failed, in somo respects lamentably, to profit by tho lessons of tho war. In the matter of industrial relations, for example, we are pretty much where we were when tho war began. Workers and employers in many eases are at cross purposes and divided into hostile camps, instead of working in harmony to promote- tboir common interests. Tn Great "Britain,, under stress of war conditions, workers and employers have drawn notably together and much lias boon clone 1,0 clear tho way for sweeping reforms. There is no such story to be told of this country. Apart, from tho foolish industrial strife that is seldom

if. ever wholly skilled, our.industries lire organised on lines ill-calculated to make- for progress or social bettermont. There arc, of course, many other directions in wh'ich reform is uceessary if any high standard of national cilietency is to bo reached, but this matter of industrial relations is fundamental and dominates our economic life. It is as well to recognise that unless the workers and employers of New Zealand aro able to escape from the habit of pulling in opposite directions l,ho most elaborately organised schemes for the promotion of national efficiency aro bound to fail. On the other hand, granted an accommodating spirit of co-operation and «i readiness to examine and deal with problems on their merits, setting aside prejudice- and rancour, there is no reason why Now Zealand should not accept the lead that is given in Great Britain and elsewhere and take a big forward stride in economic development.