The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1919. THE INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 February 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1919. THE INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM.

When the armistice was signed 1 here was a general feeling of intense relief and thankfulness that an almost unbearable weight had !>eeu lifted from the shoulders of the people of Europe and the Overseas Dominions of the British Empire. The prospect of entering upon an era of peace was very heartening after the great tension caused by over four years of warfare and the strenuous conditions which the hostilities imposed on the community. An economic struggle after the war was expected, but not such an industrial upheaval as that which is now menacing almost every portion of the world. This unrest has caught Britain and the Empire at a most unfortunate period ol' exhaustion. There was a bracing up to meet the terrible ordeal of the military conflict and an unswerving determination to defeat the enemy and put an end to war, and it would seem there must now be a further strain to meet the industrial struggle that is now raging. This combat cannot be met with force, but must be settled by peaceful means unless it gets out of hand. The British Premier is throwing all his energy and rei sourcefuliiesa into the finding a

way for solving the problem, and 1 a gleam of hope has arisen in eon- ' sequence of the recognition of the 1 need for improved relations be- < tween employers and employees, i and the imperative duty of making ; a world-wide settlement of the " labor question. Part of the busi- ] ness of the I?eace Conference has ; been to refer this labor difficulty to a special commission, and there is also a project for a great interna-' tional conference for placing labor conditions on a solid foundation. There is no doubt that if capital and labor can be brought into a reasonable and equitable frame of mind that the problem can be solved. There are difficulties, but they are not insuperable. At the root of the trouble is a deeply fixed conviction on the part of the workers that have been and are being exploited. To remove all grounds of suspicion in this direction will tend more than anything else to bring about a better understanding, and that is why the announcement that a conference between officials of the British Government and representatives of trades unions agreed to the establishment of "Whitley Councils." has created a hopeful feeling that an avenue has been found which will lead to industrial peace, wherein the workers will partake of a fuller participation in the fruits of their labors. There is a general and honest desire to bring the subject of industrial unrest into the arena of practical politics. The problem is one that calls for wise and sympathetic statesmanship, so that we may hail with much satisfaction the possible application of the "Whitley system, which takes its name from the Whitley Report, : which was issued in 1917 by a [ committee set up by the Government to consider the great proI blem of "relations between emj ployers and employed," with a ' view to post-war conditions. It recommended "the establishment for each industry of an organisation. representative of employers and workpeople, to have as its object the regular consideration of matters affecting the progress and well-being of the trade from the point of view of all engaged in it. so far as is consistent with the general interest of the eomimmity." The committee desired that a chain of such organisations ! should be set up. linking the fac- [ tory with the national industry of which it was a part: there would be works committees in the factories, then district councils, and finally a national council. The wish : of the committee, which was composed of employers, workmen, and : social students, was to setup,inthe words of the "Round Table," t "some regular machinery for . bringing together employers and employed on an equal footing to discuss, not, as too often atpresent, ° matters where the interests of the two sides are divergent, but the much larger number of questions relating to their ommon business on which their interests are substantially at one. The establishment of a living symbol of partnership in a common service would not only improve mutual relations and prevent the growth of misunderstanding, but would give a new status and dignity, a sense of professional pride, to all who are ; engaged in activities which are, after all, in the truest sense national and social services." The great value of this system is that it brings both sides together as a regular proceeding, not at the r lime of a dispute, but during industrial peace, when everything that affects the daily life of the workers can be discussed and dealt with in an amicable and businesslike way. Of course, the success of the Councils mast, depend on flie recognition of the community I of interests between capital • and ] labor. but as they give the workers n share of control, a great ad- - vanee is made towards industrial partnership, and it is probable that on these lines the problem may be satisfactorily solved. If so,' the j world will be far happier than at | present, nud the masses will have ! their place in the sun.