The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1921. LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1921. LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITY.

A further step was taken at Eltham on Wednesday towards the attainment of provincial unity by the formation of a Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association, to consist of delegates from all county councils, borough councils, and, town boards in the province. This recognition of the principle of unity of being strengthened and advanced by cooperation should be welcomed warmly, as its advantages are so obvious that they need not be recapitulated. The more use is made of means for promoting and safeguarding the interests of a whole province instead of the various local bodies acting independently of one another the better it will be for the community Probably, in due time, when the advantages of united action are more generally known by the resultant fruits, there may be brought into being a central provincial body representative of all interests and able to speak with the solid backing of the whole province, on all matters affecting every interest and sphere of activity. Meanwhile there is much good work that can be accomplished by the organisations already created, and it may reasonably be assumed the efforts to co-ordinate the needs of the whole province will meet with a success worthy of its great importance.

EFFECTIVE MUTUAL SERVICE. In these times of industrial upheavals and dictation by the extreme section of labor, the fundamental principle that the whole scheme of organised society is dependent upon its effectiveness.in mutual service, appears to be put aside in favor of direct action and control. In one of the recent periodical circulars issued by the National City Bank of New York, the subject of “The Fundamentals of Civilised Society,” is ably reviewed, and the duties of modern society strikingly exemplified. The basic fact that the whole scheme of organised labor is dependent upon its effectiveness in mutual service implies that co-operative effort is essential if the community is to obtain not only a certain degree of intellectual development, but also a corresponding moral and -ethical development, and these desiderata can only materialise as the result of mutual obligations and the fulfilment of the responsibilities attaching to production. If, therefore* any group, having obtained

control of a given trade or occupation, the services of which are necessary to the maintenance of life or comfort throughout the community, suddenly discontinues such services unless certain conditions of its own making are complied with, the fundamental conditions of the whole social compact are violated, while mutual dependence becomes dangerous and impracticable. Fortunately there can be discerned a growing appreciation among the workers and managers of business as to the rights of the public. There are, however, certain noteworthy industrial axioms that are emphasised in the bank’s circular. For instance:.—

“Any system of policy that puts it in the power of a few ignorantly or wantonly ,to do vast injury to the community, or to subject the community to their arbitrary will, is intolerable .... and those who attempt to impose it on others will fail, and lose by so doing. . . The ‘one big union’ idea, which has fascinated some of the workers, because it seemed to offer the power to bring all society to its knees, is not convincing/ for the reason that nine out of ten of

those who would be brought to their knees would be of the working class.” National progress and individual welfare are alike promoted by increased production, and can only be attained by cooperative effort and mutual service. Organised Labor can do much for its members and the community, if it works in harmony with the economic law, yet will do nothing but mischief ifot works against that law.