MACHINERY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1931, 17 August 1889, Page 4

MACHINERY.

The following letter appeared in the Ota-j/o Daily ximcs o" *XO TJECa EDVIV.;,, his. —In a lotun* w no;: ?on kindly published for me on the 28rd of last* .February I made the following assertion ; —“ It is frequently alleged that commercial disorganisation is due to an appreciation of gold, I do not believe a word of it. The cause is that machinery has rendered the capacity for production greater than the capacity for consumption. Result: Over-production, depreciated values, factories shat up through being overstocked, employes idle, and consequently general disorganisation.” Perhaps I was rather emphatic with regard to the appreciation of gold, but I think that your very able article in your issue of the 4th instant confirms my statement with regard to machinery. In that article you say that, “on apparently trustworthy data, tho un employed* of England and Wales number one-fifth of the population, and that all other machine-using countries show similar results.” Now most of the European countries use machinery, so moat of them must be in a condition similar to that which obtains in England- I gather from the “Statesman’s Year Book” that the population of Europe is about 350.000. people, one-fifth of which is .70,000,000. That 70,000,000, according to the computation to which you refer,, is unemployed, and consequently not eating, or drinking, or wearing half what they would if they had been employed and in receipt of good wages. It is no exaggeration to say that they do not get half enough to eat or drink or wear —indeed, I think it is more likely they do not get one-quarter enough. It is asserted by Hoyle, in his “ Industrial Economy” (page 30), on the strength of Dr Pavy’s “ Treatise on Dietetics ” (pages 464-5), that a nation requires nine bushels of wheat per head to supply it with the staff of life. Now, we have seen that there are in Europe 70.000. who do not get more than half enough to eat. This means that 35.000. of them would, eat what the whole of them get, and that, therefore, there are 35,000,000 totally unprovided for. Now, remember that each of these would consume nine bushels of wheat per annum, or a total of 315,000,000 bushels. Eancy what the price of wheat would be if Europe awoke one morning and found that it required an additional supply of 315.000. bushels. This would not only greatly increase the price of wheat, but would also necessitate increased production. The same rule applies to every branch of industry. Proportionately every requirement of civilised life would be in demand, and extraordinary activity would be the result. Am I not right, therefore, in attributing the world-wide depression to machinery?

This, I think, proves the theory bo ably argued in articles published in “ Zealandia ” by the Eev. K. Waddell and Sir E, Stout—viz., that the State is an organism, which, in simple language, means that it is one body made up of many organs, Man is an organism, and if he should break his leg his whole system is upset. It is exactly so with the social organism. An injury to one of its organs affects the whole body. If a man happens to becomes sick, the State loses the product of his labor, and probably has to maintain him in the hospital. The social organism of Europe has 70,000,000 incapacitated on account of the misuse of machinery ; hence the unhealthy condition of the whole system. It is causing depression, reducing profits to a minimum, annihilating the weak capitalist, absorbing- the small capitalist into syndicates, and crushing industry with taxation for charitable purposes. The man with the broken leg felt most pain in the injured organ, but the whole body suffered. It is exactly so with the unemployed. They feel the pain most, but the whole social system suffers. We in New Zealand can play a very humble part in setting all this right, but we could effect a euro, so far as we are concerned if we only tried. New Zealand is a state — an organism—let it take care that its organs aro kept in a healthy condition, The . way to do it is easy. Let it protect its own workmen from competition with foreigh labor; fix a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work, reduce working hours until no man is place loafers who would not work in a penitentiary and make them work there, and compel large estates to be broken up, or make their owners produce a given quantity per acre yearly. That would make us prosperous in no time. Prices would he higher but everyone would have plenty. I know that this programme will not be carried out. The disease from which our organism is suffering must take its course, but it will right itself in the end. It cannot kill the laborer, hut it can and will kill the capitalist. He is the man who resists reform: he will eventually suffer. At the rate things are going, half the world will soon he unemployed, and who must keep them ?—The capitalist. And he will soon find the burden too heavy for his back. It would he better for him to take warning in time, if he wishes to prolong his own life. It must not he inferred from this that I am opposed to machinery. By no means,. I am of course in favor of the use of machinery to the fullest possible extent. What I want is to

employ machinery so as to lighten the work of the laborer, but not to work biro out of a wown;* of linns. T '.lVuuka, August 7.