PROBLEMS OF THE NEW AGE
NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SWEAT
QUIT TALKING An article in tho "Mail" by Dr. Eaton, headed "England at the Cross ;lioads," is as applicable) to New Zealand as it is to the Old World. Di. Eaton, n Canadian by birth, who " ns /.°J lonif pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church, Now York, and during the war chief of the National Service Section ot the Shipping Board in tho United otaws, begins by statins that the social problems pressing for solution in Lngmnu and America liavo grown out ot our common effort to apply tho principles or political democracy to economic and industrial conditions created by an nfio <" mechanical industrialism, the new organ of civilisation is industry. \\c are at the threshold of a new ago with new nucloatory energies creatine a new nual"ity of social structure. Tho danger that threatens to destroy tho world to-day lies in the realm of the spirit-ignorance and ill-will, inflamed by a materialistic coi'ception of life are marshalling tlio bru..j> force of money 'against tho brute frr.'B of numbers for a fruitless etrngP [ 4 which both will be destroyed. *F- iiotioctli all legislation, all thinking, >n jl" miiu atrial organisations, must bo in terms of all the people. In e- j 'ww land the whole, people are thrillin" Vith aj new sense of selfhood. This n,i. ■wakening to self-consciousness of all b.e people calls for some better instrument of expression • than ■ the class struggle which has characterised tho past generations. If capitalism has been the instrument of a class, it must now beometho instrument of all. If the capitalistic svstem cannot become the economic organ of all tlio people it will cease' to exist. Tho labour union has l>een 'the necessary and useful organ of , class. If it has in it a universal valuo it may become the onmn of all tlio wonle. Otherwise it will have to bo abandoned. From now on no man can claim special consideration because he. is a working man or an eraptorw. TTo must rost'liis rights upon the fact that lie is a man. And his rights •.nlMiave no value except in «! * ar ns are functioned l).v his clntiefl. "For fivp vcni>! this nation has poen oikwi"p<l inVnendin? money upon nonproductive effort. Now the conntry face' the absolute of ' work being doi.e that has as b object tho nrod notion of hUra ,ndTl the and machinery and fue. imd all the ordinary necessaries of life. I sea no war of setting this work done b> Act. of Parliament or by fine T> ro ?raTnmoa of social reform or by strikes and lock-outs, or even bv hearings before learned commiSs. " The onlv way to g»t coais to d'g it out of the mine. Food canTot be produced by any T , c lie chaiw in l aP(1 tenure. It. grown in tho fields or brought from tant growers by an exchange of poods produced by work. There i« no substitute for went. 'Work is naid for bv 1 e com-nunity because if fnrn«th commun'iv with something that it wants. Tf the worker produces:all of a commodity that the community needs ],« is a useful public servant and is entitled to. fuii °;V Bi Yw? community f flr f']-' "P*' i 1,:, a i,<,ro dered. If be will not. produce his ,lia e of wh»t his emmtrv needs, then one else must take Ins nlace And this is true of every class of worker.
Coal Production. Problem. I have been greatlv impressed by tho ninny signs that Kn-Tancl will smf_ for this winter from. lack o fuel. Ac cording to an English authoiib ho nvera<*e yearly output foi a , : Snor'is 226 tons, while for an Amer - can miner it is three times that amount. Tlipso figures raise the question not ftt> to what will become of the miner o the mines, but what will become . of liu hwl \n American contractor is eiectii," rolling mills in England. From the" snme Wue prints he has contract's in Pittsburg, "loungstmwi. Ohio, and in England. He is paying .>0 per cent, more for the same artic o made in Eivland for use liv Lng.and than ho navs for it in Toungstown. And He workman there is receiving 30 per cent. hifli«r >va*iea timn novo. ff I were an Englishman 1 e^ ulll gravely concerned over these fact*. J lie En"iish workman is as good as the best In "inkling and (he steel imus to ho i not competing with men of his own breed', except in part; for .a largei proportion of tho iron and n>">o workei# oi America are from central and' 80 "^J Europe. Why should a Pole or Sto in America mine more coal or produce, moie ot«e1 products, than an Engl'.ghman in Enrland? Is it a question of. niaclmieiy or method, or is it a slate ot mind? As a general policy I can seo only one thing for any man who loves his conntrj, and that is to pet to work and at work until the danger :<s past. I shall follow with eager interest tho proposal to nationalise British miners In America manv of us used to belimo that th» Government could do railway running and mining, and some other things better than could private interests. We don't think so now. The war has oused us The other day, when tho railwajmen, who aro a vmt high type of workers, demanded nationalisation ot Uie railways, tlipv wore met bv storm of protest, from all classes, workmen incliulod. We aro nfrril of' cracv and red-tape and taxation to make up for losses due to the stupiditj o» political administration or public utu - ties We are coming back to the good old British doctrine that, the less lnferf&renco from Government industry tho better. Tho best government is se igovernmcnt. One of the greatest delusions tilvji t ever darkened tho mind iv.jin is the theory that you can wtho institutions of industry by means of a political machine. Conditions in America. Tn both England and America the masses of men have greatly inmroml their position durine tho war. _ Drastic taxation has taken the money irom lb' rich and high waffes have distributed it amon? the working classes. Tho classes aro closo to ruin 'because of high taxes high prices, and little or no increase in Kilary. Trado and industry are more or less dislocated by new vorld conditions created by the war. . Govern, rcent interference with the business and liberties of the individual has grown like a cancer. And tho fanatic, faddist, anarchist. Bolshevist, is busy, day and night, seeking to create revolution, tear down tested institutions, and usher in the millennium by killing the goose that lays the goldon esg. Wo have m ' countries wise aii'i worthy leaders botli among employers and employees. But these men, who are Americans and Englishmen fust and class men second, n~ being pushed aside by wild extremists of the Trotsky typo whose ignorance of the. laws of life is equalled only by their invincible aversion from work. I do net believe .that either the radical; in Labour or (lie reaet'onarins in Capita reivcsent their respective classes. . . . Certain things roust lx) done here aill America nt one if wi; are to escape ccnnomic, chaos nnd serious sulTeri"F.mplovers and employees niu'i get together oil a bns'rc of national service. Tt is plain treason for either Labour or Capital nt the present time to advance their own interests by destructive and I'cvohit.ionavv -strikes or cuun'm fin:", cinl manipulation. The progress and prosperity or both depend upon tV vell-b«ing of their country as a whole. I'.vervb'xly must nuit fliinlrng in ten»s of n" chsi and begin to think in the terms of the nation. . We must work foi England iust »r- oir soldiers and sailers fought for England.. . . The cure for ill-will is intelligent selfdiscipline ii'' a humane anil moral .conception of life. The way to pet rid of a small idea is to put n. big idea in itf place. The uoima! Englishman or American has no more use for a "proivtar'on dictatorship" than he has for the v'.ile of a dam:e',.:>ns lunatic. And much ef tho backwash from the madness is alien to the b'st ideals of the Mnglish-sp.'ak'ii;! working man as it is repugnant tn Ins intelligence. If 1 were ii work '• li-iii' a 5 I """ ! r '"' of my life I should be deeply depressed hy t.fie desiierate efforts being made at the moment of my country's need and danger to reduce mv life to tho stature of a weakling. I should lie ashamed to he put in the position of asking for a six-hour day surrounded by an entanglement of legislative safeguards for fear that I got a smooch of coaldust on my
nose or soil my fine' linen by sweat. A. man who must bo protected by law from working inoro than six hours a day is too dolicately organised to wear trousers. Ho ought to bo garbed in petticoats and have a nurso to stand between him and tho rudo roalities of a workaday world.
A mine owner is simply a trustee and servant of tho nation. A mine worker ( is exactly the same. Every business is a wcial service, otherwise its profits aro got by fraud. Every worker is a. national servant, otherwise ho had no , right to demand wages from the- nation , for his work. A coal miner will risk his life without a moment's hesitation to rescuo a drowning child from tho river; but the siunc child may dio of pneumonia this winter because tho same miner for some inscrutable reason is permitted by his union to work only a few hours a day. This theory and this practice really havo nothing to -do with tho needs, rights or wrongs of the worker. They aro the expression of a wild, revolutionary purpose, which hns its source outside England, to destroy the so-called capitalistic system by reducing hours and output to a minimum and increasing wages to a maximum. If iU English speaking peoples, through cowardice or inertia or ipnoranco, permit this programme to develop they will Tichly desorvo tho ruin which will overtake them. How to Win tha Peace Tho supreme need of this hour is for everyone to quit talking and go to work. Let us tako on faith, if we cannot beliovo it otherwise, that you cannot get more meat out of an egg than thero is in it. . Wanes and profits both are paid out of production. And production is our only salvation to-day. For fivo' years wo havo been destroying materials and men. The world's stock of food and goods is at its lowest ebb. It will tako yeara of the most strenuous effort to get -back to normal, let alone to create a surplus Thero will be moro than enough work for everybody, and eveiybody must work. Pinch off the social parasites whether they bo cooties or humming-birds and put them to work.Let those who are most skilful in preparing programmes for the salvation of > the working man change over and take a turn with the pick and plough* It we make everybody earn what lie gets it is reasonably certain that he will iret what ho earns. England won in the nar. Can she now win in the peace? I believe she can and will, and she will do it as sho has done so many great things before—by hard, honest work and a equaro deal to every squaro man.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19191125.2.91
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 52, 25 November 1919, Page 8
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,919PROBLEMS OF THE NEW AGE Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 52, 25 November 1919, Page 8
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.