PUBLIC MONOPOLY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 284, 20 August 1918, Page 7

PUBLIC MONOPOLY

ECONOMC DEVELOPMENT

AN INTERESTING PAPER

A meeting of the Industrial Association was hold last evening, -Mr. Fred. Evans, the president, being in tlio clmir. A paper entitled "The Economic Development of Future Industrialism" was read by .Mr. J. Bead, ex-prcsidenfc of the Trades and labour Council. The speaker said thut there was much improvement in our industrial system. He pointed out that industrially iii the past we had had disturbances cropping up periodically which had often had the effect for a while of rendering our industrial machine impotent, or interfering very materially with that smooth working which was desirable if wo wished to .attain the highest degree of production of wealth which was attainable. "AYo havo had various suggestions made to overcome the difficulties mentioned— of workers ill business; closer communion between employers and employed; the personal touch, as it is sometimes called'; and other suggestions which from time to time 'have been brought forward, but all of which hare either proved to be impossible of application or not to answer ill their results as well as had been anticipated by their advocates. It will ho noted that the troubles of industry mostly ariao through the apportionment of the product (value) created by industry. It is contended on the one hand that apart from a wage, Labour lias 110 right to any further interest in tho product (value) created, -while on the other hand the contention is made that if there is any improvement (increase) in tho amount of wealth produced, Labour ought to receive its fair return, cither luy way of a shortened working day or increased remuneration for its services." Jlr. Bead then, referred to tho efforts mado in 19J5 and since to increase tho hours of labour, and said: "Wo (Labour) make tho claim that thero is no justification for any retrograde movement such as is indicated, but rather that all tho reason is tho other win. AVe argue that with a continuous improvement in our methods of production, if thero is any movement in our working day it should tend to shorten; that thero is more reason for an increased iniuimum wage rather than a reduced one, in that hy improved methods greater wealth is produced, and thus more ought to be passed to tho workers." deferring to tho demand for increased production, he said: "If it is agreed that when a greater output is produced all parties in its production are entitled to a fair return from it, then something may bo possible to secure co-ordination in this respect, and it is a subject bristling with difficulties. First, let us look" back over the past, and we. shall iind that thero was no shortage of wealth production so Jar as liio world was concerned.. On the contrary, it- is admitted that periodically (he world suffered from 'over production' of wealth, and when this happened Labour was indeed in a sorry plitfht. Labour then asks: Jl' a greater volume oft production is brought about, will it have the effect of filling tho world market more quickly than was formerly the ease, and incidentally will it have the effect of putting large masses of workers out of work mora frequently than was. formerly the case, or keeping them out of work over longer periods? "Tho only family to which society as at present constituted can bo )iksned_ is that, say, where the wealthy father .nas just departed and left a large amount behind him. Ha has seen fit to transfer the bulk of this wealth to ono of his wins, leaving the others with very inferior portions. Trouble naturally arises, not because they did not have tho greatest affection and respect tor each 'other, but injustice has been doao relating to their material interests, and so long as this continues the attendant ■ trouble will also continue. The contention is now made in Labour circles that tho time has arrived .when tho idea of democracy should bo extended to cover economic matters, and undoubtedly ]M)litics of recent years have tended more towards the economic field, which I predict will become a much more pronounced factor in our future polities. ]f wealth wero spread more evenly over tho whole population as tho productive power extended, it would result in a much happier state of society than has been the ease since the incoming of our present industrial system.

"Waste of effort is nimiiaui in our present socioty, and personally I hold that great saving could be made in la-bour-power if wis wero to organise the whole of our distributive services. Distribution .at present absorbs a goodly proportion of our labour-power, for carrying out indifferently a secondary, although a neccssary part ol' our social polity. On the question of the economic development of the futuro it may be said that under our present arrangements it is impossible to do anything. Probably there is no industrialist, in the room who would not be'ready to admit that if he had tho capital at his disposal ho could placo his works on a. much better basis than is now the case, both with regard to volume and economy of production. Enlarging on this idea, .Mr. Read suggested that public monopoly had consistently b m one of Labour's aims over a long p-riod. "It may be asked, why 'public' monopoly? why not 'private' monopoly? Tho difference so far as tho community is concerned is quite considerable. In the first placo the privato monopoly is nevei concerned primarily in carrying out any service for the community, but in securing a return on tho capital invested in the venture, and the greater tho return from tho business standpoint the greater tho success of the venture. On the contrary the capital placed in a public monopoly is usually at tho disposal of the controlling power at a fixed and comparatively low rate of interest, nnd this offors a better basis in tho first place that.tho people generally should not bo fleeced in the interests of the business. Further, the public monopoly is largely actuated in endeavouring to carry out the service it undertakes in the inter'ests of the public Of course, it follows that if this system of public monopolies were to bo entered upon as the fixed poijey of any country or community, the best methods vculd have to bo devised to attain the best results. AVe would have to bring our reasoning powers to bear, using the best braina for organising that we have in (he community. Certain defects of our present industrial system could be overcome in such an organised scheme. For instance, such u blight: oil the population as unemployment ought not to be allowed in any society nowadays, and if there is any sense in the cry of increased production, that is a. point under any system _fhat would appear as an absurdity, for if we desire to increase the product to tho utmost extent, it; is an absurdity to hlive men looking for work—or, in other words, seeking to help production." At the close of his address Air. Read I answered a limnber of questions, and was heartily thanked for his paper, which it was admitted contained a good deal of interesting matter.