The Daily News. SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1919. CAPITAL AND LABOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1919. CAPITAL AND LABOR.

"Just as all classes cave worked together to save the State from a foreign aggressor, so must they now again work together harmoniously to save society from the internal wrecker." "Words of wisdom these, for which the public is indebted to Mr Harold Beauchamp, chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, whose references to the numerous and bewildering problems of peace, in his customary periodical address to the shareholders, hear evidence of a knowledge of the subject. Mr Beauchamp, though representing capitalists, treats- the Labor question sympathetically and frankly, setting forth lucidly what Labor has to gain by the exercise of sound common sense in its relation witli capital, and what it ha 3 to lose by drifting towards collectivism and communism. "Industrial freedom." says Mr Beauchamp, "is the mainspring of progress—the indispensable condition of the highest degree of advancement. We shall need it in the dark days that lie ahead. With it, we may have courage to face, and confidence to overcome, the worst that can beset us, but without it, the.end may be confusion and disaster." In common with all who have given intelligent consideration to the outstanding problems of the' day. Mr Beauchamp emphasises that owing to the temporary loss of capital and man-power, the production of the effectives has to be increased in order that comfortable condition* may be assured for those who have been maimed by the,war, for the dependents of the dead and disabled and for the community in general, as well as to meet the 1 other heavy obligations of the watt, fieacs ifc & fikskm

waste must be eliminated—waste of material and waste of power—through cheeking production, and a grave warning is given of the effect of the tactics of thoss who cry, "Produce lesj, and have more," whereby wages and prices will pursue each other in an un ending circle, so that in the final results the workers, in spite of the continual process of wage-raising, will derive little or no benefit therefrom, while tho brain workers and others with fixed income must suffer ever-increasing hardships. Mr Beauchamp thus forcibly comments on the tactics of the Extremists—like the Kussiau Bolsheviks—who wist: to take a short cut to the milleiiium and refuse to listen ta reason: "In New Zealand this irreconcilable unreasonable element in labor—though temporarily prominent—has not imposed its impetuous reckless will on the great body of Labor. An appeal to reason can be made with workers who know that a steady maintenance and increase of production are necessary to assure labor's welfare; men who know, too, that a cast-iron restriction of their individuality cannot make for personal contentment. These men have it in their power to assure for themselves an infinitely better future than the obstructive tactics of their rash leaders could bring."

This is practically an appeal to the works to preserve their manliness and independence, a? well as to act in their best interests, and there is no question that the best preventive of the spread in New Zealand of the pernicious doctrines and principles of the Bolshevist and I.W.W. is the people's inherent love of law and order, coupled with the exercise of soun I common sense. Nothing can be more harmful than the limitation of industry so that a good workman produces only the same as the poor one. The crux of the capital and labor position is to be found in a more cordial feeling on both sides, and the establishment of a Parliament of Industry ta deal with all industrial matters from both points of view, including wages, conditions of work, profits, housing and other vital matters, i thus ending strikes, lock-outs and friction generally. Employers and employees each have their rights and duties and these can best be promoted and fostered in friendly conference. With regard to the benefits of individual freedom we cannot do better than stress the importance of the following remarks of Mr Beauchamp: "The secret of the progress which has marked the last century and made it the most wonderful epoch of human history has, I believe, been this—that, during its course, individualism has been untrammelled and personality Has had full and free play. Tho individual has felt that every field of labor—art, science, industry, commerce—has been open to him without restriction, and that in proportion to the capacity and ability brought to bear upon labor, whether physical or mental, and the foresight, energy and industry devoted to it, would be the ultimate personal reward. This has called forth the maximum of human effort, and tho results are seen in the national and social developments that have taken place among tho industrial peoples of the world during the century."

The main object is to beep the good ship Labor from the rocks and shoals of strife and turmoil, and by united effort to retrieve the position caused by the war b.7 bending to the task of increased production.