WOMAN'S WORLD. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1919. THE NEED OF WAKING UP

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 104, 27 January 1919, Page 4

WOMAN'S WORLD. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1919. THE NEED OF WAKING UP

It is difficult to find any justification in reason or common sense for the Government's apparent intention ; of allowing the National Efficiency Board to wind up its activities in the near future. The fact came out a few days ago when it was erroneously reported from Christchurch that the members of' the board had resigned. The report drew an authoritative denial that resignations had been either tendered or accepted, but incidentally it was brought out that unless wiser and t more enterprising counsels prevail a period will soon be set to the voluntary and highly important services the , board has rendered. In the course of a statement he made the other day, Mr. Fkostiok, Efficiency Commissioner for Canterbury, observed that the Government apparently did not wish the board to do work outside the order of reference (that is to say, the order of reference of tho war period), and the board must go out of office—there was nothing more for it to do. M.u. Frostick also indicated that the board would finish its )vork next month. The attitude 'on the part of Ministers which is here disclosed calls for explanation. Looking into the matter on its merits, they could have come to no other conclusion than that they and the country stood in even greater need now than during the war period of the export assistance and advice the board should be in a position to give. Not only in ,reg»rd. to this matter of the National Efficiency Board, but in a broader sense the first thing demanded of Ministers is, a clear ■ recognition of the fact .that in emerging from the war we have entered a period of new, great, and pressing problems and demands which will not' be met otherwise than by taking orderly stock of the resources of the Dominion—including as a matter of course our resources in the way of business and technical organisational] d marshalling them to the verybest advantage. It is difficult to. believe that there are any politicians so foolish as to assume that the war temporarily interrupted our normal routine progress, and that with the war over the natural thing to do is to drop back into old political ruts and grooves. If there are any so shortsighted they are manifestly incapable of grappling with the problems of the day, or even of realising their nature and magnitude. Politicians, in the Cabinet or out of it, who wish tp,take a continued part in public' affairs must recognise that the only policy now worth considering is that of freely enlisting all the useful forces available and giving them the widest possible working scope. Amongst .such forces the National Efficiency Board takes such a creditable place that the decision to dispense with its services must be set down either tomere drifting and lack of thought or to a. disinclination on the part of the Ministers who aro how in charge of the affairs of the Dominion to accept responsibility; This helpleEs attitude contrasts most unfavourably with what is being done in other countries. Much might be said, for instance, of the efforts that arc being made in the United States to enlarge the pre-war scope, of .Governmental activity and to as far as,possible broaden and extend the unexampled development of national organisation the war has occasioned. But there is an even plainer lead to the politicians and people of this- country in what is being done. in the same general direction in Great Britain. It is the essential ■ merit of Mr. Lloyd George's Administration, and one which outweighs its admitted faults and shortcomings, that he has succeeded to a remarkable degree in casting off traditional limitations and prejudices and in bringing together the most .able and competent men of the day with a single eye to results in..the.public:interest In particular, he has not, only drawn freely upon the advice and- expert assistance of men qualified by ability, experience, and'technical* knowledge to intelligently direct and control important public enterprises and affairs, but has allotted such men portfolios in his successive Ministries. Considering how fa-r the political fold in this country is from enclosing its trained intelligence, it would be a confession of ineptitude t'i admit that we are incapable, of following the example thus set inGreat Britain. Yet this or something very like it is implied in the Government's apparent intention of dispensing with the further services of tho National Efficiency Board. The matter demands attention, in view both of the immediate issues at stake and- of the representative .indication..lt affords of existing conditions. Much as it has been hampered,, since it was appointed, by war conditions, and to some extent by the jealousy with whicff politicians habitually regard any real or imagined trespass on the ground they have marked out for their own, the board has done a great deal of useful work. It has nowhere laboured to better effect than in protecting the farms and businesses of soldiers and so limiting the loss and hardship imposed on men drafted into camp., With repatriation in progress, various activities of a somewhat similar kind, but on a larger scale, aro.opening before the country, and it can ill afford at such a time to deprive itself of the assistance of experts who have guided it wisely and well in very difficult circumstances. At the same time there are still greater questions to bo faced. Here even more than in Great Britain there is need of expert guidance in dealing with the supremely important problems of national development. It is announced to-day that in the British Ministry Sir Eric Geddes is to take ovei a new Ministry of Ways and Communications. This means, for practical purposes, that in Great Britain the transport problem in its national aspect is to be attacked on non-poli-cal lines. There is an' urgent need of dealing in somo similarly bold and comprehensive way with transport problems and development problems generally in New Zealand. The best method probably, would be to create a non-political Public Works Board. It is in this direction undoubtedly that real progress lies, but the seemingly cavalier treatment of the National Efficiency Board suggests that the Government has by no means awakened to the necessity and urgency of bringing expert ability to bear upon the problems of the day irrespective of what aro called political considerations. Logically extended, its present afcfci-

tude tfould imply that the supposed interests of politicians take precedence over tnose of the country. Such an attitude obviously cannot bo reversed too promptly.