CHAUTAUQUA LECTURE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4371, 27 January 1922, Page 2

CHAUTAUQUA LECTURE.

DR. LOVELAND’S VIEWS. ON WORLD TOPICS. A fine sample, of the best type of Chautauqua lecture was given in the Central Theatre last night. Only a sketch outline can be given here. ' ' Dr. F. L. Loveland enthralled the ■ audience with his interesting address, “Bolshevist Bubbles.” He led up to his subject by pointing put that tne Great War, in which 90 per cent of the world’s inhabitants had been di-i rectly on indirectly engaged, was bound to have a. vastly disturbing aftermpth. In this great stress it was vital that AngloShxondpm.' (Britain and America), should stand' together. The storm centre was' in the industrial world. The speaker - was called out of the Department of Justice in America by the President to study these problems. He had been 25 years in the department. There were only three systems of labour. The first was slavery that obtained before the Christian era, in fact since The dawn of history. The second sys-i tern was the feudal period, the days of serfdom, when feudal lords governed the situation. In 1749 the Frehch Revolution broke out. Three thousand persons owned most of the wealth of the country, the great mass of the people, 13 milliops, then rose up in revolt. The three great reigning houses, the Hapsburgs, (Austria), Romanoffs (Russia), and Hohenzollerns (Prussia), could trace their dynasties back to the days of Charlemagne, and the rulers thought they held Divine right to rule. The old Germany of art, science, and industry had been subdued by the Prussian, apd bound to tire yoke* King George of England, whose actions lost America, was a Prussian prince who hap'i penpd to get-on.to the throne of England. He had to hire Hessian soldiers to fight against America, because so many English people refused to w.ar against America. England, America, and Allies had: sent the> old Kaiser, into Holland .to chop i wood. Unfortunately they left him at the wrong end of the axe. (Laughter.) The fall of the Romanoffs, Hapsburgs, Hohenzollerns let loose a great wave of reaction, composed of extremists, who believed that all governments were, like their own, intrinsically tyrannical. These agitators went into all great industrial centries and aroused, the passion..and stirred the hatreds of the masses. They haunted the basic industries; those of food, fuel,, clothing, and housing. Their following they called the proletariat. It was well to remember that this word was of Slavonic origin, meaning ‘‘the propertyless persons, ’’ and this was what they wanted to reduce, everyone to. ' ’ '

The third system was the, wage system, due to the advance of science. The potency and power of chemistry and eletcricity were the main fatcors in bringing about our present industrial system. Chemistry and electricity had given us the auto-: mobile, wireless, and all manner of appliances. More than 80 per cent, of the machinery ofi ..the world to-day / was driven by ■ electrical and chemii cal energy. If New Zealand developed its electrical energy potentialities as it ought to do, then in 20 years’ time' all the trains would, be electrical. I ■ Chemistry and electricity wers making War more devastating. These had changed the old methods whereby the hardest headed and strongest armed ones got the victory. Chemicals, in the form of poison gas, was the new devilry. Already these mei thods were sp perfected that a bomb dropped on a town like Paeroa would destroy every living thing within fifteen seconds.

Ninety per cent, of the world's troubles to-day was due to the agitation of men who were men physically but had not trained minds or skilled hands. The combination of tools and machinery necessitated labour, for Olfactories. The capitalists combined and the workers combined, and then followed the strikes and lock-outs and the whole string of industrial troubles. •,

The labouring people found out their power during the war, hence the increase of disturbance; The war history shewed-that certain capital.! ists and! certain labpur people without conscience would sacrifice their fellowmen for selfish ends. It was then time to take both these sorts of people and subdue them. (Applause.) 'Bolshevism was the result of oppression off past regimes, but the oppressed had now become .the oppressors. World peace would never come so long as the 'great mass of mankind was in ignorance, and the rest just selfishly amassing wealth. Justice must take the place of injustice, and ignorance be dispelled before peace could come. And the ignorance ci the educated was the most dangerous of all. Of the Russians 160 millions could not read or write, so trouble was but .to be expected from such ignorance. It was wise to beware of the ’ coloured races ; there were 400 millions of Chinese, and only about two millions could read or write. If the waste places of Australia were, not populated with white immigrants then Nature wolud fill the vacuum with coloured peoples. New Zealand could make seven Belgiums, and then, have enough land to make a Den-, mark but Belgium had seven millions, against New Zealand’s one. Only by taking an intelligent interest in public affairs and so using the vote intelligently in our representa-i tive government would conditions imi prove. <