SCIENCE CONGRESS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 11 January 1913, Page 5

SCIENCE CONGRESS

CABLE NEWS

(United Press Aviation— By Electric Telegraph —Copyright.)

SOME INTERESTING PAPERS.

(Received La*t Night 9.4, o'clock.) MELBOURNE, January 10. At the Science Congress, Professor Kirk, of Wellington, gave a presidential address, before the Biology section, dealing with the present aspect of some of the problem sol Air C J Re-akes, Chief of the \eterinary '"Division of the Department of Agriculture in New Zealand, contributed notes of investigation °n the nutritive disorder of rnmmants called "bush sickness."

THE STANDARD -OF-LIVING

WHAT IS NECESSARY TO RAISE IT.

(Received January 10, 9 a.m.) MELBOURNE. January 10. Before the Science Congress, Mr Robert Mackenzie Johnston. 1.5.0., Tasmanian Government Statistician and Registrar-General, read a papei on "Wages." He said that the standard of living of the people as a whole ooukl only be raised by cheapening the cost of commodities, further improvements in labour-saving machinery, and the allied natui al foi ces. An arbitrary increase in nominal wages. if restricted to a few industries, might increase both nominal and real wages or tho purchasing boivt of the v. - *}£re-^ari l ers belonging to those tracing but if this mere raising of nominal wages was too w'delv ext n ndof] it "•ould tend to lo«e tho advantnee to + l-tncp whom it included, owini£ to tb n fact tbnt they wore consumers as well as producers.

BASTS OF SOCTAL SYSTEM

LABOUR NOT WF SOLE SOURCE

OF VALUE

(Received January 10, 9 a.m.) MELBOURNE. Jaliuary 10,

Dr Mercer, Bishop of Tasmania, read a paper on "Labour...a.s the Basis of the Social System." Market prices, he said, were almost entirely the result of the automatic working of the social forces. "It is hard," he said, "to find a satisfactory substitute for labour, which was not the sole source of value. Land and capital, apart from the questions of individual ownership, have their part to play. We may grant that a living wage must be established . but we must nre-serve a large f-rnhere for industrial freedom in a system of free and open markets if industrial stability is to -be assured."