MACHINES AND MAN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 740, 13 August 1929, Page 7

MACHINES AND MAN

INTERESTING DEBATE BY STUDENTS WELLINGTON T.C. WINS By 11 points “'ellington defeated Auckland in the inter—Training College debate last evening. The visitors thus retain the W'aghorn Vase, which is attached to this annual speech-making contest.

“That the introduction of modern machinery has been beneficial to mau‘ kind” was debated interestingly from all possible viewpoints. \Vellington, who presented alfirmative arguments,

was awarded 194 points and Auckland debaters, the negative aspect, gained 183 points out of a possible 300. The large crowd of interested students was presided over by Mr. V. C. ‘ Butler, president of the Auckland Col;lege Students’ Executive, Professor C. UV. Egerton, professor of English at i the Auckland University College, judgiing the speeches. . ‘ Mr. F. Baillie, in opening the arguments for the aflirmative, traced the ’development of machinery from an obscure to an important place in inidustrial activity. He maintained that \this rise corresponded with the increase in wealth and population. The health of the pes’ple the world over had been improved by the introduction of machinery, which had permitted the sanitary conditions to be overhauled. The speaker referred to machinery's use in the manufacturing of surgical rinstrumentst for safeguarding health ‘and to its uses in improving facilities for education and travel. ‘ Contending that machinery had con‘ferred no real benefit on the world. Mr. C. E. Wooller presented the negative side. 'He held that the introduction of machinery had made man subordinate to the machine. He illustrated his point by referring to the interest which the employers mani—fested in the training of apprentices in the Middle Ages when the guilds were in existence. comparing them with the present machine era in which he contended the employers had no time to study employees. with the result that the latter lost their individu» ality. He claimed that unemployment was due to machinery with which it was possible to glut the makers with goods. thus throwing men out of work. He also asserted that there had been general indifference to the church since machinery’s introduc» tion. Supporting arguments [or and against were presented by Miss. E. Higgie and Mr. J. Cowan. “’ellingtou, and Miss M. Chilcott and Mr. H. J. Addis. Auckland. ‘