THE NEW IDEA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 277, 19 August 1919, Page 6

THE NEW IDEA

INDUSTRIES BOARD, AND WHY

ADVOCATED FOR NEW

ZEALAND

TO HELP SECONDARY INDUSTRIES

Before the Wellington Industrial Association last evening Mr. C. J. Ward read n .paper in advocacy of the establishment in New Zealand of a Deportment or Board of Manufacturing Industries, with a view to fostering and protecting secondary industries. Initially Mr. Ward touched upon the number of officials cm. ployod by tho Stato in connection with i the primary industries, notably over 1200 j in connection with agricultural ujid pastoral pursuits, who were paid to heip the farmer from the analysis of the soil until the time the product of_ the soil was shipped away, and stated that there were, no reasons why tTio secondary industries should not bo given greater assistance and cneourageinqnt than was the case. That, could be done by setting an ijidiistries board on proper lines. Such a board was promised years ago, but in its place they lmd been given the present Board of Trade. The board ho propased should have a president who should bo a Cabinet Minister. 'In New Zealand they had adopted tho practice of giving a 'Minister three or four portfolios which "led to a dutusion of effort, but tho Minister in this case should have no other duties, and yet it would be found tlmt he would have plenty to do. There would be a council or advisory committee, and a secretary. Ho proposed that tho board could call on anyone for information, and he would give tho board power to remunerate anyone called into consultation. No councillor should be tho representative of any individual industry, but should act for all collectively. There should be on tho council or board a banker, merchant, professor of economics, professor of chemistry, accountant, architect, statistician, engineer,* representatives of tho mining, timber, woollen, and tanning industries, manufacturers' trausi port, and last but by no means least, | labour. There was a belief abroad that I tlio worker had no business ability, but |ho said that 184,000 workers on the Rochdale estate were responsible for three times the trade done in the wholo of the DomfriSin. He accepted that statement as a fact anil hoped that 11011sanso talked about employees not being ablo to manage a business would stop. The duties of the board would be to adviso how tho trade industries, and commerce could bo best encouraged, developed, and protected. One of tho most important points jn that connection would he the investigation of tho financial policies and methods in uso by the banks and other institutions | in connection with tho financing of the industries. What were tho duties of a banker? In his opinion they were to conserve the interests of tho directors, and shareholders. .For that very reason it was their duty to keep their assets fluid so that they could be speedily realised if bad times came. In that case they must consider the institution of an industrial bank, with or without Stale guarantee. What was the reason of Germany's strength bei'oro the war in financing trade? Whereas only about D per cent, of tho capital of the banks of England was invested in trade, 45 rer cent of the capital of German banks was so employed. He had discussed the matter with bankers, and had found that tho personal equation was a large factor in banking, but if the risk wcro wider in some cases the average risk would provide the corrective—a point not to bo lost sight of. At the same time he hold that it. was no part Df the banker's, duty to provide capital for buildings or such financial protection would mean tho total elimination of the company promoter, who would , not bo. able to pick tho eyes out of a business as he did now, as the company would be able to get what ■ capital it needed to carry on from the bank.'

Pensioned Off. Another point for tho board would bo to investigate the whole position with reRani to industries which were protected by tho tariff, and to report on those that were "worth -while" against those which were not. It might be that there were rsoino industries that would bo better. pensioned oil", owing to their cost to tho country. It would bo better for all if this question were investigated on its economic side and settled once for nil. It was 11 maxim of- political economy that liomo trade was tho best trade for the prosperity of a country, but there was involved'in it the consideration of economic "advantage.''' Should an try be encouraged and protected ill 0110 country, when it coukl be better pursued in another, taking supplies, labour, and other elements into consideration? Advantage," as ho meant it, did not mean oost alone, however. It was desirablo to consider whether State regulation and interference were right. Ho took the stand that if tho State protected an industry it had the right to interfere and n-gulate, in order to prevent profiteering, which was simply taking advantage of the market, which was the basis of the high cost of living. He favoured tho idea of fixing maximum prices, rather than a system of limitation of profits. If a* system of maximum prices were adopted, only by better organisation would 0110 manufacturer show a larger margin of profit than the other. He would also have the board report upon the advantages or disadvantages of a system of bonus on production as an piternativc to Customs duty on imports (tho present round-about way adopted). One point not to bo overlooked was that someone had got lo pay the bonus, and it might in the long run become heavier than' the present method of taxation. Tho board should also discuss the matI ter of a self-sustaining and self-contained country. The nation that depended largely on its exports was always a debtor nation. Older nations developod larger organisation, find cjuuo Hi time to depend more upon their secondary Mi an their primary industries. Foreign trade was largely a question of barter, and if our secondary l-riea were developed, they liiul that foreign countries would have to go to the negroes of -Africa if they were going to net an export trade. Exports beyond the payment of interest on private and public loans and on goods that must bo imported were of doubtful value. But with -Xow Zealand it wr.s a question of freights, lor to get tho ships io take nviii} oui primary products there must ho cargoes (for New Zealand), asi they could not travel empty—the distance was too great. Another point was the duty of formulatin« a scientific farill'-to define whether that tariff should lie revenue producing or for protection. If sweating were to be prevented in -New Zealand, what ot t-.io Sweated articles imported into Vw AmiandP There would be some industries that required protection, but 110 tariff should be high enough for a boss to lay back and take things easy On I his question statistics would be valuable and not difficult to obtain.

Scientific Research Work. \nother question was whether the books of'traders should be open for State inspection. The experience of tile practice in America war, that such inspection was of "Teat benefit to the. trader-it acted as a barometer, and told a. manufacturer whether lie wiis making more or less than the average ot his competitors. In one instance 1500 bootmakers vero supplying Hie Harvard College of hesenrcli with their returns, stock-sheets, "Si'i'l . everything, and I lie results of statistical investigation told the individual whore lie

point w:n the consideration of Hk» abli-Iniioiil n u-'wuvh laboraton- contvolbd by Hie Irct iiualucd expert possible lo secure, with a -alary wiil-ii'-itii 1 to attr.ll!; «iieh a man. «n< the c. lali'iisliiiu'iil: of scholarships on a ibevil scale available to men recommended by Ihc in'oi'L-Mirs at our colleges. He had been informed (hat (lie be.-'t men for research work were not always revealed by examinations, and that the system recommended would yield better results. Scholarships should bo 0? a value to cover all the normal requirements of the holder. Professor Easterfield had informed him that the scholarship of one lad was not sufficient to _ pay his board, leaving out clothing, aniusenjonts, etc., yet it would be difficult

to put a price on the value of the work of ihp.t young fellow to tho farmers or New Zealand. He was not making as much as a messenger running round the town. Ho had been told by a professor of the Canterbury College that such was the "ap between ecienco and industry in New Zealand, that there were instances where they had worked and mado. what they thought were discoveries only to find that they had been in piactice for years, and ho blamed tlio industries for not making greater v.se of tho laboratories. Many possibilities that seemed visionary became facts e\oiy d. y, and in life years could bo saved by the development of fill

More Points. J A point that the board should attend to was to investigate industrial I'™P° S '- tions likely to be of benefit to the nation, and'to assist development when such were approved: to investigate all industrial projects when it was intended to raise capital by Pf} 10 under tho Companies Act, and to placo the evidence before tho Minister responsible with a view of preventing such public subscription until approval had been granted; -to obtain plans of model factories for various industries, and to go into the merits of blocks on individual factory systems (taking liglu, an, sStion, sifety, power, and power transmission into consideration), asl tho workers wore entitled to nothing but the best- to investigate the system or nanl of s'vstem in the distribution of goods; Id upon tho effects of the initiation of prices or tho limitation* of profits by State mtorferenoc At tho conclusion of Mi. Wards im dress the chairman in congratulating thr'speaker said that his ideas were q ito up-to-date. Ho had recently read n.n articlo in an American magazine, dealing with industrial organisation in which some of Mr. Ward's ideas found expression. Ho was euro the paper would many food for thought. The Industrial Corporation was m dead eaS in regard to tho secondary industries and ho was sure that nianj , im messed with tho paper, would be' Willing to «ive information that would help when that help WW required.