PRESS COMMENT.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 October 1925, Page 4

PRESS COMMENT.

TliE COAL PROBLEM. “J trulv believe it ought to he pos.siOJo lor a l;ur settlement to he reached m the coal question. 1 put it another way, and that is this: It there •suoiilu be trouble—well, alter a long and weary tunc, no doubt some settlement will be reached in the end. Jlj.it it. l.i iar better il it is possible—as it is possible— lor men to look at the tacts m the late, reach a settlement, and not have a whole period ot trouble and the hurt and ill-leeling which will result. —Sir A . Stcel-Maitlaiul, .Minister oj Labour.

IflE VI RITES OF VISITiNG internationally.

"It is easy to secure lirsl-liand iniormatioii concerning polities but no visit ol a lew weeks, or months, can allord lirsl-liand knowledge ol the juices which nourish the roots ui the great national tree. This wants ihe

microscope ‘of intimate aeipiaintain e and ol thoughtful scrutiny— not the irotliy imagination of novelists who pay nimble visits anti jot down ingenious impressions gleaned chiefly Iroin blurred visions obtained from Pullmancar windows, or from the lia.-.y aimo sphere ol the antecluimbers of lecturerooms. This year more than half ot the Senators of tho Knitcd States have visited England in a worthy interest and ell'orf to learn as much as ihe\ could of the economic and social conditions existing here, flow many British members of Parliament, have shown the same interest in America r" Mr C. A. llrooke-Cuninghani. in "AngloSaxon I'iiitv and Other Essays.” A CALL KOR IMAO I NATION. " It is in the educational sphere that we may host reconcile all classes and really get a national union sullicietil to carry us through the dark days that lie ahead. II an industry is to succeed in the proper way and he of real public service it must have not merely technical proficiency and skill hut the quality of imagination, founded upon accurate knowledge of laits, training of reasoning facilities and knowledge of the world. This quality of imagination is a thing we most need at tin present moment in all branches of cmi national life. Imagination will enable us to throw our minds forward into new methods, not indeed by taking leap in the dark, but by basing ourselves on what is old in order to go on with what is new.”—Lord Eustace Percy, at Swansea. CAPITALISM WORKS. "In spile of the fact that economic change will not always lie elfecte.l in lhe best interests of society, and in spite of the exceptional unevenness o! the rate ot change with its incidental disharmonies which may lie produced, there seems lit! !e ouest ion that l lie ris of capitalistic undertakings had introduced economic innovations of very great net social advantage. Capitalist nndcrlakiiig had boon pur excellence a progressive force, as the material piogress of the List century bears witness. On the civilisation of Western Europe its influence was revolutionary ami ieoiiiielastie. and resulted in a wide refashioning of tilings anew. The results of its coming in the New World have been equally remarkable, ami tin t show fair to he more reinaYkablc -til! in the ancient civilisations of Asia. In this value as a progressive force lies its chief advantage over classless individualism: ami as long as this outweighs the disturbing effects n it It tv! i:-L ils consort, monopoly, embarrasses it. these latter will lend to lie tightly regarded in the main a. the nei i-ssa r\ price iif economic progress. The plea that ‘it works' is usually for habitridden humanity sttUieieid persuasion." -Mr .Maurice Dolili. in his " Capitalist Enterprise and Social Progress."

THE REAL IM'RPOSK OK SCIENCE. " What is the real purpose of science 111 the comprehensive -en-.e. what is the common inspiration, the common ambition behind such enthusiastic and

sustained effort in so many direct ions f The question may -mem idle, lor a sort of oflieial answer has often hern given. It was deemed suflieicul to point to the

material gains, the enlarged powers, which have come to us through science, and have so transformed the external part oi our lives. The general aim was slimmed up in an almost consecrated formula: ’ to subdue the forces of nature to the service of mail.’ " Professor Horace Lamb. Sc.l).. L.L.D.. President of the British Association.