The Dominion FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1917. THE GREAT NEED OF THE FUTURE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 33, 2 November 1917, Page 4

The Dominion FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1917. THE GREAT NEED OF THE FUTURE

It is to bo hoped that a good deal may bo heard from the National Efficiency Board in tho near future in the way of recommendations calculated not only to ease and modify tho strain of war,- but to lay the foundations of after-war policy. The success of the Board in this direction will depend mainly upon the practical interest taken by the public in what is emphatically its own business—that it to say, the adaptation and adjustment to entirely now conditions of the industries of tho Dominion and of tho agencies which make directly or indirectly for the - development of untappea or partly-exploited resources. In tho conditions introduced by the war somothing more is demanded than normal progress on pre-war lines. What is needed is a new and bold departure in industrial development, and in publio policy as it bears on this development. The factor which must henceforth be given first placo in our calculations is the enormous financial burdon imposed by the war. We do not yet know how great a war burden the Dominion is destined to carry, but it will certainly be enormous in relation to our prewar resources, public and private. It depends entirely upon ourselves whether this burden is to crush and stifle our economic life for many years to coedc, or is to give tho impetus to such a tide of economic development and expansion.as will make it possible to bear this and other burdens lightly, and open new vistas of progress and social betterment. The elementary fact to be appreciated is that :no country which is takiug an active part in tho war can afford to neglect extraordinary measures to minimise the extraordinary burdens it has imposed and will leave in its^wake^ This is very clearly recognised in Great Britain, and the facts relating to after-war policy which havo been brought out in Britain carry a plain for country in spite of our different circumstances and conditions. Mr. Bonar Law was quoted yesterday as saying that if satisfactory conditions of peace were obtained Britain would bo able to bear tho financial burdon left by the war, A solid foundation for this confidence,, appears in what Britain has already accomplished. With millions or. workers transferred to military ana naval scrvice, and other millions engaged in turning out war material, she is maintaining her civil population with littlo, if any, lowering of pre-war standards, and tho Government is raising an annual revenue three times as great as that of any pre-war year._ The explanation of these marvels is that

the war which has imposed such tremendous burdens has also un'cashocl mighty forces of production which formerly were held back or wasted. It is aside from our present purpose to consider in detail the factors which have operated to this end, but it is to be noted that the 'enormously increased production of wealth in Britain during tho war period is only to a limited extent abnormal in the sense that it cannot be indefinitely maintained. A limited encroachment on capital resources is a feature _ of Britain's war economy, but this is a mip/or matter in view of the enormous body of 'abour that will be made availablo at the end of the war to speed useful production. Tho principal factors which have made it possible to so largely increase production in Britain arc the removal of artificial restrictions, the introduction of better methods, and generally tho elimination of slack and waste from tho productive sys- | tem as it stood before tho war. I .There is every reason to believe that tho increase will be maintained and extended, and it :s for this reason that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is ablo to speak confidently of Britain's ability to bear financial burdens which if set against the pre-war production of wealth would have been intolerable and crushing. The people of this country have precisely the samo incentive to concentrate upon increased production as thoso of Great Britain. There is no other way of minimising tho burdens left by the war and creating and maintaining conditions of stable prosperity. These arc facts which demand the attention of oil sections of the community, and it is evidently incumbent on the Gov ernment to give a strong lead _ in shaping a policy calculated to bring about increased production. Government action alone will not do all that is neoessarv, but in a country at tho stage of development which New Zealand has reached the Government is in a position to do a <rreat deal in the way of aiding and stimulating productive _ enterprise. The total field opened is. wide, but the Government coulcl not better make a beginning than by exhaustively overhauling the existing machinery of development. No genius for organisation is needed to enable anvone to perceive that oui existing' publio works methods are at once extravagant and meilierent, No attempt has yet been made to lav down an orderly and coherent plan under which the resources of the country would be developed expeditiously and to the best advantage The activities of the State in the domain of public works are determined not by a, competent anthority. but by the plav and crossplay of political foroes in and outside Parliament. The aim pursued is not to accomplish a maximum amount of developmental work with given resources, but to satisfy as many political demands as possible at a given moment. The result is seen only too frequently in halfmade roads and unproductive fragments of railway, As the Genera! Manager of Hallways lias pointed out in more than one report, his Department, though it has to take over railways and work them, is not consulted in any way in regard to their construction. No man would tolerate such methods in his own business. Pursued by the State in this country; they work out in hampered _ settlement and in a constant and serious handicap on production. By ending these methods and appointing an independent Public Works Board to carry out public works on a rational plan, the Government would turn the resources of tk State available for development to far better account than at present, and pave tho way for a rapid expansion of settlement and a corresponding increase in production. There are, of course, many things besides which must be done to tho samo end,-but this question of reforming our public works policy is fundamental, and should be attacked first of all.