CROWDED PEOPLES.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1919, Page 10

CROWDED PEOPLES.

A GREAT WORLD PROBLEM, EVILS MAY BE REDUCED, BRITISH ECONOMIC FALLACIES. Before the outbreak of the great war two classes of economists were at variance on the subject of production, writes John P. Young, in the San Francisco Chronicle. One set witnessing the frequent financial crisis advanced as an explanation of their occurrence the theory of over-production. Their opponents contended that it was absurd to sky that too many things were produced when it was clearly apparent that there wero many thousands, perhaps millions, who would gladly consume the surplus product if they were given an opportunity to do so. The adherents of the over-production theory were quite ready to admit that what was produced could be consumed if the producers wero ready to give it away, but a survey of the situation convinced them that comparatively few engaged in the work of production would stay on the job unless rewarded for their efforts, so in order that there should be no misunderstanding they prefixed consumption with the word "effective," which they made clear meant ability to pay for what was consumed either with cash or promises.

RETURN TO PRE-WAR CONDITIONS. An inspection of some of the numerous publications issued by the 'big banking corporations of the United States suggests that few, if any, of the editors who write with great fluency on economic topics have the slightest apprehension that there will be a recurrence of the old-time troubles, and that it is only necessary for the workers of the world to ceaselessly engage in the work of production to restore the condition that existed before the conflict began. Usually, although care is not always taken by the writers to make the fact plain, the reference to the pre-war condition carries with it the implication that it was perfectly satisfactory. Anyone disposed to dispute this assumption can easily secure the evidence which will indisputably prove that the disposition of mankind to promote congestion of population in areas with limited resources was producing results observed with concern by those who gave thought to such subjects, and was promoting movements the mere statement of whose purposes- will refute the idea that all was serene.

LLOYD GEORGE AND THE MINERS. Since the conclusion of the war it has been revealed that those who formerly dwelt on the certain evil consequences invoived in wastefully consuming such irreplaceable resources as coal and iron, were not indulging in pessimism when they emphasised their imminence. The British Premier, a short time ago, was forced to warn the miners of the United Kingdom that upon the reasonableness of their demands depended the future of the commerce and the manufacturing industries of Great Britain. The former, he declared, could not be successfully prosecuted unless outward bound cargoes of coal could be provided so that raw materials and foodstuffs could be brought back in abundance and be sold cheaply, which could be done only by providing freight both ways for ships sailing from British ports. For a while it was thought that the miners had taken the Premier's counsel to heart, but Frederick Harrison, the veteran champion of trades unionism, is making statements calculated to dissipate this impression. He calls attention to the decline of exports of British coal, and says that there is hardly enough mined for home use. "Our coal (British)," he says, is more costly than the coal of America, Belgium, or Germany, and therefore, there is no certain market for it if we had any to spare- We are faced with the suicidal necessity of having to import coal, to pay Americans for it, as well as for corn, meat, and cheese." A DIFFICULTY IGNORED. The Premier and Harrison alike fail to note the real difficulty presented by the British coal situation. The latter assumes that if the miners could be persuaded to speed up, and equal the American output, the trouble would be remedied, but this assumption takes no account of the fact that if the British output of 240 tons annually per man, which the miners of that country say is a reasonable quantity, were increased to 700 tons per man, the necessity of drawing upon other countries for fuel would only be postponed, for production on the seals witnessed in this country would speedily exhaust the coal measures of the United Kingdom, or make them so difficult to work that they could not be operated in competition with the mines of other countries.

The Socialist Daily Herald of London takes issue with the Premier and Harrison, and says: What is really to be feared is not the success, but the failure of the labor movement," and declares that "the great mass of trade unionists want industries nationalised, and desire them to be organised and worked for the good of the community," adding, "this, to us, is the only way by which the nation can be saved." It does not, however, indicate how this salvation is to be effected if it is desired to maintain the population of the British Isles, estimated at 48,673,380 at the close of the year 1918.

BRITAIN'S MAINTENANCE PROBLEM. It has long since been conceded that, in order to maintain a population in excess of ten millions, the British mußt draw upon the resources of other countries. For a long period Great Britain was able to do this because, although deficient in some particulars, she was rich in iron and mineral fuel, which she used to advantage, exchanging them, or articles fashioned from them, for the raw materials she lacked, which were obtained on favorable terms from backward peoples. According to Lloyd George, whose as# sertions are supported by well established facts, in order to retain the advantages hitherto enjoyed by Great Britain, it is necessary to continue the exportation of coal in order that the raw materials and the foodstuffs which are required to subsist the millions who are not engaged in the production of articles that do not directly contribute to their maintenance may be obtained cheaply from other countries. The Premier,-in making his: declaration, is simply restating the fundamental idea of the British free trader, that it was essential that Great Britain, in

order to make the best use of her Iron and mineral fuel, should obtain abundant supplies) of cheap food and raw materials to the end that her growing population might be profitably employed in manufacturing. The Manchester School of Economists built upon this foundation a superstructure which they thought would endure for ever, but their theory had the defect of failing to give due consideration to the probability of other peoples having like ambitions, and to the possibility of the exhaustion or impairment of the domestic resources which were the backbone of her economic system. INSATIABLE WAGE-DEMAND. It appears that the wage earners of Great Britain, whose leaders at least are devoted adherents of the free trade theory, are now disposed to'disregard the teachings of those who devised the system, and think that it is unnecessary to consider the menace of a competition in which the advantage will be wholly on the side of the countries with abundant natural resources, and with people possessed of the necessary skill to fashion them into articles for their own use aaid to create surpluses , for export. The Socialist paper referred to appears to be utterly oblivious to all outside impressions. Clearly it is laboring under the delusion that Great Britain possesses: a fund that may be drawn on indefinitely to satisfy the demands of workers, 'if its editors were not obsessed by that belief they would not conclude that the nationalisation of the mines, and perhaps of other industrial properties, will end their troubles.

The object of those advocating this { policy is to appropriate to themselves thejprofitß of the owners by increasing their wages and lessening their hours of labor. There seems to be no doubt that the compensation of the miners is too small, and perhaps their hours of , labor are too long, but the reparation of these defects could not cure the condition which Lloyd George says would ! result from the failure to provide British • ships with two-way cargoes. The ability to do so seems to be wholly dependent upon British coal for export being ; kept down to a price which will permit it to enter into competition with that of other countries. ' BRITAIN OVER-POPULATED. While this phase of the economic condition of Great Britain is dwelt upon by writers abroad and in this country, ; there ig an evident indisposition w> jjursue the subject to its logical conclusion, ' which seems to be that there are too many people inhabiting the British Isles, and that their redistribution in ; the widespread domains of the Empire ; is essential to its preservation. Such a course would contribute to the growth of sections of the world now in a backward stage of development, and by relieving a menacing congestion would avert an evil which has brought disastrous consequences in the past. Congestion may easily lead to illbalanced production. Doubtless the world would consume all that its workers have the ability to produce, provided that they were not all bent on producing the same sort of things. In a country of email area and limited resources there is practically no choice. Agriculture and the extractive industries afford opportunities to comparatively few. The great majority are forced to betake themselves to manufacturing. Even l when all the circumstances favored that industry the rewards ,-of the workers were small. It is not probabie that under the changed conditions which the great war has brought about they can be bettered, unless excessive competition forces the dispersion suggested. DEPENDENCE OF THE DOMINIONS. _ It has not been the policy of the British in the past to encourage their colonies and dependencies to create manufacturing industries for themselves. It has rather been their purpose to promote dependence on the Mother Country. The free-trade theory was elaborated with the view of convincing the people of the undeveloped parts of their vast Empire that they could occupy ' themselves most profitably in producing cheap foodstuifs and raw materials and ; exchanging them for cheap manufactured articles. The result has been to overcrowd the British Isles and to retard the development of the Dominion of Canada and Australia., Had the more liberal course of stimulating manufacturing in all parts of the Empire been pursued _ the effect must • have been a better disposition of its population. Meanwhile the object of making Great Britain the workshop of the world haß not been accomplished. Powerful competitors have sprung up who insist in engaging in those branches of industry 'hat she once hoped to monopolise. One of the most formidable of these is a people hardly known to those who formulated the free-trade idea. Japan is perhaps the most grievous thorn in the side of the British. Like the United States and Germany, she has built up a great manufacuring industry, and she seeks to produce and sell the things that bring the most profit. If the result is not to create that condition described as overproduction, mankind will have occasion to marvel. If the trouble menaces, it can be averted only by a policy of diversification of industry such as can be effected by helping rather than impeding the development of manufacturing in new countries. It cannot be by increasing the competition in the already overcrowded regions of the world. Production will be the salvation of the world, but it must be properly balanced to accomplish good results.

"It is the irony of fate," says a minister, who has just returned to Auckland from the Assembly meetings in the far south of the Dominion, "that while tha people in the north are crying out for rain, the people in the south are having heavy rains day after day, which are hampering the ordinary work of the farm, and throwing back, as it were, the season into a. very late one, although that does not mean that the fruits and crops gathered at this time of the year will not be prolific."—Auckland Star. The Feilding Star says it has reason to believe that authentic information (although so far unofficial) has been received by cable from Australia to the effect that the Imperial Government's contract for the purchase of Australian meat, which expires three months after the ratification of the Peace Treaty, will not be renewed. The Hon. D. H. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, was asked by a Star representative if the New Zealand Cabinet was doing anything in the matter. He replied that there was nothing definite yet, and what there was in the air seemed to indicate that New Zealand's contract with the Imperial Supplies Department would be continued. But Premier Massey has given a distinct assurance that before the contract is renewed all the producing interests ■ in New Zealand will be consulted as to terms, prices, etc. A special conference of delej gates will b» wiHwi. by Mr. Massey.