The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1918. A REMEDY REQUIRED

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 180, 19 April 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1918. A REMEDY REQUIRED

A statement made by the Minister of Public Works during the short session strikingly emphasises the need for methodical organisation of. our national resources which was recognised by Parliament, if only academically, whonit approved the National Service clause embodied in the Finance Bill. Speaking of his relations with local bodies, Sir William Eraser expressed the hopo that thoy would continue to be moderate in their requests, "because men wero not available to do works." He put tho position still moro plainly by adding that he had moro money at disposal than he could spend, 'because men were not available to work on roads and railways. This surely is a state of affairs which should interest every thinking man and woman in tho country. It is, of course, true that the Public Works programme which is carried on from year to year in this country is a coat of many colours. It includes the construction of public buildings, most of which mignt profitably _ be allowed to stand over at a time when, whatever our praotice may be, we havo really no resources to spare for expenditure upon luxuries and non-essentials. _ Telegraph extension, another prominent item on the programme, has doubtful claims in time of war, and the same is true of some works in rural areas which amount rather to 'the improvement of existing facilities than to the development of untapped resources. But in addition to these things the Public Works programme covers actual works of development, which, as they are carried on, directly increase the productive capacity of the country and its ability to maintain an increasing population under satisfactory conditions. To cut down work of this nature save under pressure of absolute necessity is to foolishly sacrifice our best means of ensuring future prosperity and of meeting our increasing obligations. This, however, is precisely what wo are doing. The amount of money available for development work is

necessarily less than in pro-wai years, and the labour force of the Dominion has been reduced by ivai demands. But considering that we have hardly Vrken the first step towards giving essential industries ancl occupations priority over those tihafc are non-essential it can hardly be maintained that the country is incapable of providing the labour which is needed in order that the balances in the hands of the Minister of Public Works may bo expended. Obviously, the actual position is that the labour which might be employed on public works which would benefit tho whole Dominion now and in future is being employed elsewhere or not employed at all. To. look at the existing state of affairs in regard to public works a little more in detail will strengthen the conviction that we cannot af ford to pursue the present drift. The first and most obvious fact to be noted is that the total expenditure on public works has fallen to approximately half of the total expended in 1913-14, the last full prewar year, and in the two following years. The totals for the years indicated (in each case to March 31) are as following 15)14 2,7ti0,T08 1915 2,737,364 1916 2,583,212 1917 1,775,513 In the interim financial statement which he made on Monday evening, Sir Joseph Ward showed that actual expenditure on public works during the twelve months to March 31 last, together with commitments entered into, amounted to £1,274,942. Big as it is, this drop in aggregate expenditure is no doubt inevitable in view of war conditions. Unfortunately, however, available figures also appear to afford little evidence of effort to divert expenditure from non-essen-tial undertakings to essential works of development, and so minimise as far as possible the effects of tho general _ reduction. The following table gives separately tho expenditure on railways, roads, telegraph extension, and public buildings in the years for which the total expenditure has been given: — Tele- Public graph ox- buildRailways. Roads, tension, ings. «£ 1914 .... 1,144,756 382,097 392,648 369,600 1915 .... 1,156,073 514,798 288,395 417,000. 1916 1,205,288 424,637 249,554 335,714 1917 .... 846,983 219,794 203,310 251,431 Similar details for the financial year which ended last month are not yet available, but in 1916-17 the total Public Works vote had already been greatly reduced, and yet in that year considerably more was spent on public buildings than on the roads which are needed to open up new country or permit closer settlement, and which directly facilitate an 'increase in primary production. As far as information extends the expenditure on railways has been fairly well maintained, but much of what has' been spent during the war period on public buildings and on telegraph extension might have been expended much more profitably either on. roads or railways. The position reached' and the prospect opened call loudly for methodical and enterprising a.ction. Something more than a financial adjustment is called for. No doubt some of the labour employed on non-essential public works is transferable and might be made available for the prosecution of much more urgent' works. The Minister should at all events satisfy himself on this point. That done, he should not be content to make abald_ fihat work is waiting and money lying idle. The needs of the case will perhaps only be satisfactorily met by giving tho prosecution of essential public works its due place in a comprehensive scheme of national organisation, but a,s a step in that direction tho Minister might Avell invite the co-operation of_ organised labour bodies in finding the labour he needs. Organised labour has every possible incentive to assist heartily to that end, for no section of the population is more interested in speeding the development of works which permanently widen the scope of employment and bring prosperity in their train.