SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 306, 14 September 1918, Page 9

SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION

Sir,—l notice in to-day's issue of The Dominion a letter over Hie signature of G. Kennedy, referring to some, remarks made by me on questions of social reconstruction. Ido not intend to make a practice of controversy on economic matters in the correspondence 'columns of the Press, and should welcome your contributor if ne would bring his helpful and friendly criticisms either to the AY.E.A. classes or tho University class-room, but on this occasion I shall use up the exception- to the. rule. It is proli&bly quite true that, as your correspondent suggests, my experience is defective .His cxperioKO, too, is partial; we sec life from different angles; but as I had thirteen years in business before I took up academic work, and prior to that had worked in a factory m university vacations, my experience of !ifo may not be as limited as he supposes. ■ AVe are all but human, anyway, the only difference being that some are niore painfully hii-. maiTthan others.

In regard to the motor-oar question, I did not suggest that motor-cars were an undesirable channel of expenditure. What I did saj' is that the man who buys half a dozen unnecessary motorcars under tho belief that ha is thereby helping labour is mistaken. Obviously by so doing he is increasing luxuries beyond the reasonable limit, ami, diverting capital from the' production of necessaries, thereby rendering them dearer in price for the poor. The frivolous expenditure of the rich makes life harder, and not easier, for the poor. This is beyond dispute. In regard to the churches and the social problem, what I suggested was that the influence of the 'churches for mood has been limited by the fact that their congregations are predominantly drawn from, the commercial classes ard :;lipir dependents. This is. true. It follows that such anti-social activities as land speculation, under-payment, and trading immorality generally do not receivo from 'the church _ the active .condemnation, that it is in the interests of the' community they should receive. All thoughtful churchmen and ministers of religion will admit tin's. My remarks were not intended to .reflect on religion at all; they were, in delivered before a meeting of the Christian Union of the University.—l am, etc., B. E. MURPHY. September 12,"