NO RIGHT TO MAINTENANCE.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 August 1924, Page 4

NO RIGHT TO MAINTENANCE.

SOCIALISTIC CLAIMS WHICH wocld lead to sririnK. i Rv Sir Ernest !I«-n 11 >. Those ol it:- wln* tail carry oar memurk* back a quarter ol a icnuiry or more cannot fail to experience a sense of sati-lactioii when wo contemplate the arrangements that have l;oon made in this land of ours la avoid the horrors, which were formerly common, of men and women perishing through want, ami children going hungry lo mTioul. It is of uhc first importance that we should all understand what it is that makes these nrrnngcms.'tit-. pu-sible. that we should comprehend the economic ha>is iijiuu which they rest, ami Unit v.e should no! allow ourselves to he deceived, or drift into a frame of mind which might undermine me whole social iiihiic. and bring us to a worse condition than that from which we have es(,'ipcil. Ijife is a eoilslalit struggle with the forces of nature, and nnlv by maintaining in the must vigorous way our iin t!ie struggle inn we v.'ta front nature the unurislinient v.e need, and those amenities which, in evel-in-(leasine (piaiitities. are regarded as imeessities. If ell'ort is relaxed— il. indeed. we forget that there is liie necessity fur exertim -we place ourselves in dancer. AX CXSOI’NI) CLAIM EXPOSED. As human h zings we have no ri-jcht to anything that we will not ourselves produce. ami it is proper dl’ojccl lor study and argument as to what sort ol incentive is r.ipiired to make n~ perforin the necev.ary duties of production. " , ..ay that, v.e have any rights in this matter of maintenance may sound attractive and may appear to he in line with the political notion ol a man’s position in the world, hut it' is contrary to the real truth, namely, that all we have is re-por.-ihilities. Socialists claim "work or maintenance ’ sometimes even work or maintenance at full trade union rales and claim it as a right. Let us see how fallacious that claim really i-. Suppose we iniaL'ine a community ( onsl-lilig ol ten men. One man heroines diseased or ineapiieitateil. and tlm nine men rcimiiuim;. out ol the goodness ol their leearls. -av that they will maintain him. They siihmit to a tax of one-ninth of their iiieome in older to make provision for the tenth Ilian. That puts no hardship up on anybody; il is a practical. a

charitable and a humane arrangement. If it so; olid man linds hiuisell unable to pursue his vocation and the community still takes the view that all are I espoilsih!c for cavil, then too eight leniaii)ilip; workers would have to submit to a further lax in order to maintain the two who could not work. I lie hiirdcn heroines greater as tlm nut uiv.orbs increase, and il. presently, the stage is remind that we hive now leached in this ntry to-day. ami a party arises which say-: “We have the rielit to maintenance." it is obviously only necessary tor the whole t.u to accept that view far every hit ol m iulelialive t;i disappear. Ki oliomieally the inaiutei'anet* idea leads to straightforward suicide. Ihr

man v. l:o talks of charity or human kindness in t!:c.-e (lays ol political “rights” is considered out ol dal". hut it cannot If long hefnre it i' :'.u:;in recognise! that any measures taken hy t!u> puhlie lor tile assistniue ol lh' ! -e who may he in temporary difiieiiUit'-s ate whatever they may he called nothing more nor less tin'll charitt, ami that the attempt to get uwatv from this idea will, if persisted in. lead its to disaster.

There is a very ecu: ml IV'ding that il i-, desirable to remove the taint "I pauperism from puhlie n-sisiancc, that ii is rielit to wipe away any trine of si ip ilia from such things as doles, ami me are cnrniirngod to regard toe-e

thine.s as belonging as ol ripriil to a citizen—an attractive notion which we should all I e tCl.v gkid to clldm-r if it were not for the l.iiow k dge that it his

milv to he accepted widely eliding

bring our scriety to an end. I ■ rtiiuat Iv, tliere i' in each of U-s a Mllliei lit M"-:- of right and an instinctive de-ire to work which saves us from Hie damaye that our own politic: l ! tally v.-mhl otlierwise do to us. T|j|.; DEMAND FOP WOBK H\ tf.b.ms. Wbco we examine Mill t »:rtr the Per,i,nid f( l w,::k or maililelMU; o wboy in to see Imw far I ruin the patrol ecummii" !filth we are travelliny. hu trad, unions on tin* one hand. and scientific oryaui'Clion in iudu-iry on the ot*!••••. lotve developed a stale ot n(fairs, v liiolt, if properly understood, ami used with sense and under.-tum!-iny. i' full of put cot i ilily lor yo "I ter all of ps. hut which i' to-day Icing used far highly destructive ,*.irt.nsOs. Tin- ilenuiiid tor work i-. not i n* any v.i r!;. it i' for work on our own terms, at our own irc.de. in oar own way. Il a carpenter i- nut of work the demand ip that he should If maintained i:nl i T there is more onrpeiiteriny a, lie done, and wo have developed a system (if organisation witiili ticliially lorhids the cat inoitcr to da anything hut enipontcriliy. It is nef'ssary to yet back to first principles, la think these thiuys out airi-.a and to ash oiirseltos wliv wo work and how work arises. The only oxoiise for the oxistoiicc o! a carpetitor i- ; that his iollmv-citi/.eus rocjiiiro carpentering to he done. Ihe c.irpcnler does not toil with wood and saw for the p'ca'-nic of il.. or b r hihealth: he does it hceaii-e his noigh--hotif- require wood to he sawn, and il ho will s;;u wood to 1 heir sol o'laet ion they are wv'ling to gite l i hint "ill ol i heir production other thiuys upon which he call live. Iliac being so. the pi-ition arise-, when the carpenter's Icl-Inw-i it i:« us say: "Wo do not roi|iiiiv any more oarpciitoriuy iu-t now. hat wo do want a little diyviay done." Obviously tlio carpenter, if lie is a true citizen, desiring to i!" his share ol the yeucral work of tin.' (■(immunity in providing coinfoil ini' e.ll. will put down I i- saw. pick up a spade and (ill in hi* time with digging. lie can certainly have, no rielit- noon his fellows unless lie i. prepared 'in do any reasonable form of service that his liTlnwx lei|uirc. and yet. in these ciiliylitelU'd days, we have permitted a system to grow up amongst u-. whi' h limit- each cue uf u- to same highly specialised fimctiiui, which fe.rhid.i us to do anythin}; hut one job. which calls us “Id ‘ek-leys’’ if wc move to the right or to the left from the narrow path that lias keen allocated to its. Then we my we must, have work or main- , ten.’itice I Could anythin" be mere ,

absurd 'r I'll K WAV TO VII'.W WO!? K

_ Tin- trouble is. as I liavc said beloi Unit \vt‘ limit on thi- rjut'stioii oi wur up-ido down. Wo regard tvorlt as a U t cud in it-olf—as something which tii worker must have for Ids own benefit jjj Wo tliink only of the worker; wo liav j almost forgotten tlio jol> v.liicli I',' does • and completely forgotten t lit' par.-oi , t , for whom l:o tlot.s ; t. Wo niusl ge hack to a totally dilforont point o. , (l \ie>r. Wo must keep our mind, li.voi 11 [ion tlio purpose of the work and tin ~ <onsnuior of the work. Wo must start e wit!i the fact that wo work to sol ve other-; that if others had no wants there would ho no work for ns, and [. that if wo do not render good service am! give satisfaction to the others, wo are failing in our duty. I Such a point of view lead- to a!! sorts of interesting and old-ta hion.ed notions which need to ho revived. If each of ns. in doing a piece of work, would r.sk ourselves whether wo are giving satisfaction. whether wo are creating in the minds of the consumers a de-ire for more, then the unemployment problem would disappear and the absurd doctrine of the right to main-j toimlice with it. j These are questions which all of it- j need to ask ourselves—not only the working man, but the manufacturer, the merchant, and wholesaler and the retailer. 'lda? mentality which allows us to take over a job and how much we can squeeze out ;:f it for ourselves is far too common amongst its. It creates at the other end of the scale—ill the breast of the eonsiimer—a feeling of irritation and dissatisfaction, a determination to do without us as far as possible, it kills trade, reduces tie- : mniul and creates unemployment. Hnv- j ing worked ourselves into this wholly false and most unfortunate position, l arising from our own stupidity, we i

turn, round and say to the very porsoifs whom we hr.vo declined to serve that we have upon thorn some right to iniiintciiamc. We want to hold as Ion: yx over it is possible—and it should always he possible if wo act rightly—the proud tradition that in our land no man shall starve, but we are jeopardising the continuance of that position if we allow ourselves for one mumeut to entertain the notion that there is any right in the matter. We all have grave responsibilities and we should concentrate on t!ios».

PEEPS AT PEOPLE.

Indoors all d>v. Few opportunities for outings in the fresh air and sunshine. System becomes clogged. Complexion loses its freshness and brightness ; youthful good looks vanish. “Mnltexo" beauty’s restorative. “.Malloxo" (Wilson’s .Malt Extract) tones up the system, overcomes constipaion, enriches the blood, clears the complexion, banishes paleness, and res tores the charm and beauty of good health. The business girl. the housewife all who must -lay indoors during tli" be-t anil healthiest part of the day—should take “Maltoxo.'’ Xo need for a girl or a woman to grow old hefnre her time when “Maltoxo” is available. lib anil ~'l I!) jar.-. 71b tins for family use. ■•M'ltexo” plain for general tonic. “Malloxo" with Cod Liver Oil for those subject to chest and lung troubles.