TO INCREASE OUR PRODUCTION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 118, 12 February 1919, Page 8

TO INCREASE OUR PRODUCTION

SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES VIEWS OP BUSINESS MEN An interesting discussion took place at last night's meeting of the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce upon the question how best to increase the production of tho Dominion. Tho proceedings commenced by the reading of a paper by Mr. C. J. Ward,. entitled "How Best to Increase Production." In his opening remarks Mr. Ward touched upon the question of repatriation, and fiaid that soldiers who returned to the Dominion were entitled to receive their former positions back again. . -Hβ held that during the war there had not. been an increase in wealth in tho Dominion ; the increase had been in money values only. Production , had not increased, and the apparent prosperity of the country had not been real—it had applied only to a few and not to the bulk of the population, being based on increased money values and not on increased production of goods. There were only two methods of increasing produc-" tion: (1) By increased output from the present workers; and (2) an increase in the number of workers. It had been said that farmers should go in for more specialisation, but this necessitated con- ' sideration of tho question of aggregation. If the system of sinnll farms was; wasteful, what were the dangers 'of aggregation? Who was to own and work, the large farm, and where was aggregation or specialisation to stop? Increased' production from the mines was a problem of the greatest intensity, and in this connection proper regard should be paid to the results, to be obtained from ecicn-, tific research. Was' it a natural law of progress to demand that the wealth gained from tho easier methods of working - - the surface of the earth should contribute tho cost of obtaining and utilising the treasures that were more' difficult of access aud more refractory, in 'manipulation?. He maintained..that the full development of the nation was to bo attained by .the natural use of the ■ nation's wealth. Speaking, of the sec-, ondary industries, "ho said that these would provide employment for, roughly, one-fourth of the amount of capital outlay required in agriculture. Hβ main-' ta'ined that the secondly industries could increase their output, and that specialisation ; could-lie applied better to' such industries than to primary industries. The amount of importations to New Zealand totalled .£16,000,000, but in , tho twenty-two secondary industries already established in the country 10,000 employees could Iμ absorbed without ,any trouble at all. The extension of the industries was nil that' was necessary, U that wore done the net I'csult would lie to benofit New Zealand 'by over .£2,000,000 per annum. The secondary industries hud 'pissed the primaries..m the ,? value of their output, but the waste of ■ production was stupendous. ■ Ihe . waste in manufacture was absolutely ridiculous. 'Aβ■the result of the present methods of competition thousands of people were employed in channels in .which, they were not producers. That was .wrong. Greater consideration should be given to the labour problem, and more attention should be -givciv to the, question, -of education of the workers. They asked tho worker to take a wider outlook,.but they housed him in miserable surrounding?; they asked him to increase produVtion, and then they made him stand up in trams to go-to work. The workers claim for greater consideration had a lot in-it. Until they became a good deal more human than they had been in their attitude to the worker, then they would get none of the increased production they asked for. The workers had ever lien able to trust the employer, and the record of tho employer had be n _ such that he-was not entitled to he trusted. What should be aimed at in the direction of increasing .production, was to produce for 1150 and not for pront. ■Mr J. Hardie Shaw said the question as to'whether soldiers should be replaced in their former billets was an important one for the Repatriation Board to deal with. Many, men would not .desire to return to their old employment, and it was doubtful if any Act of.Parliament could be. passed compelling employers to take back men many of whom might not be fit. More attention should be paid bv' Parliament to tho,.matter of tanit reform which was .of. vital importance to New Zealand industries. . ■Mr B. Mapplebeck pointed out in connection with the question of repatriation that to his mind the most difficult problem was that of inducing men to return to their old employment. Mirny ot . them would desire to take on other work, and if-they wished to do so they could not be compelled to go back to their old jobs. A Fair Day's Work. Mr P. Holmes 6aid that production could be increased a good deal if the employees would only do a decent days work. That factor had to be considered. It was not a question of wages going up; it was a question of increasing the output. He did not favour amalgamating industries as it savoured too much, of forming trusts New Zealand was capable ot much more intense production than obtained to-day, but the workers were being led by a very bad set of men. The workers should be impressed with the fact that to increase the country s produc. tion it was necessary to increase the output of labour. • Mr W. Cotton considered that production could be increased to a greater • extent by. the development of the hydroelectric "resources of the Dominion, lo encourage the returning soldier to go upon tlie land the Government should cut up some of the improved .and ot the country, instead of making available land which, in sonie instances, was not capable of carrying a goat. Until the Government tackled the labour question 1 in a tangible manner the employers would never get the workers to increase P^ a ; lc^ n - FoVßylh . thougllt t tat before ' there could bo any increase in produc- >' tion things would have to be brought lwck to normal, and to that end ' it •β-as necessary to improve living con- ■■ ditions. Something must be done to benefit tho worker, and the housing-problem 1 would have to be tackled by the Government co-operating with local bodies in 1 bringing down a satisfactory scheme, lo increase production, it would be necessary 1 to have a happy/ind contented people. 1 In this connec-tioii education would do a great deal. , . N"ed for Organisation. ■ Mr. B. P. Bisliwortn stressed the need of greater .organisation, in _ business. ■ Labour liad grown more into its own 111 New Zealand, and it should have a greater share in what it produced. Taking the i case of the miner, he contended that the conditions of their housing should be improved, in order to bring about a better state of mind amongst the men. The housing conditions in some of the mining ■ districts were sordid, and a disgrace to the country, Organisation had sivon Labour a power, and. employers would have to organise, not only in their own interests, but in the interests of their , 'employees. To obtain greater efficiency a great deal needed- to be cut out of the ' - education system. Greater encouragement j should be given to children to employ their manual dexterity. More should bo done in tho direction of technical education, the children being taught howto use their hands along with their • brains. Dealing with repatriation, he • failed to see how female labour was-to bo ousted from certain work for which it was fitted. : Several other speakers contributed to 1 the discussion, and after Mr. Ward had ■ replied ho was accorded a hearty vote 1 of thanks.