The Waikato Times With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1930. CHEER UP.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18117, 6 September 1930, Page 6

The Waikato Times With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1930. CHEER UP.

The conditions of trade* in every' country in the world are depressing* and we must needs feel grateful to anyone who can show us that there is a silver lining to the cloud. Our prosperity is bound up with that of England, and it is very cheering to read the remarks of such a oapable judge as Mr J. M. Keynes. He says that Great Britain is more than holding her own in the markets of the world; that wealth is steadily increasing; that in 1900 Britain was four times as wealthy as at the end of the Napoleonic wars, and would be eight, times as wealthy by the year 2000, as when the last great war ended. He says that a gigantic experiment is being conducted in the redistribution of wealth, and that the condition of those with smaller incomes has been greatly improved—a revolution in fact, which the wealthier classes have accepted and often approved. He says that we may have made/ mistakes and gone too fast, but that on the whole the work that has bcetoklone is of inestimable benefit and that Britain has once more led the way in legislation for the good of the masses. At the same time while some industries are languishing others are growing. There are more people employed than at any date prior to the war. It is true that the numbers of the unemployed are great, but there is much vitality in a country which can absorb the large numbers who enter the'labour market from school every year. Though the numbers of unemployed are high it is doubtful if the percentage is as great as in the United States, and certainly it is not as high as in Germany. Moreover, Britain is a land of settled Government, a land where revolution is not feared. The dole, as it is scornfully called, has kept countless families from misery and prevented such riots and repressions as followed the Napoleonic wars. In a review in a new quarterly the same writer points out the weak spot in the Employment Insurance scheme, which throws the onus of supporting the unemployed members of any industry on the industry itself. The workers had a certain percentage deducted from wages; the employers had to supplement this at a fixed rate, and the amount was subsidised by Government. This meant that- the relief of unemployment was thrown on to those industries which employed much labour. Many forms of business which might give large returns might employ comparatively little labour. The costs of industry are raised at the very time when it is important that they should be reduced. Our own Unemployment Bill certainty avoids this error, as it does

not call on the employer to contribute, except as a citizen in the same way as others. This is perhaps as much good as, can be, said for the method proposed. Mr Keynes says that there is certain to be the same pressure from Trade Unions for improvements in the conditions of Labour as in the past. To this he has no objection in- principle, l}ut he points out that increased wages are a tax on the industry that pays them, and may make it impossible for that industry to compete in the open market. He would recommend additional social benefits in place of increased wages, such as cheap housing, State medical services, subsidies to holiday travelling. The cost of such services would fall on the whole community and not be a burden on any particular Industry in the Same way as increased wages. Mr Keynes does not'seem to have thought of one danger. The provision of so many free services by the State has a tendency to pauperise the recipients, which cannot be said of increased wages. After all, the burden of high wages is chiefly felt at a time like the present when 'the fall in wholesale prices and export prices is phenomenal. There is no record of any such general - fall since records began to be kept. It is this which has shown up the weakness of our Arbitration Court which makes its awards for a definite period and they become the law of the land until the period expires, whatever ohanges of value may take place. There are industries in Britain where wages and conditions have been settled by a committee of employers and employed for many years without friction.

We have difficulties and troubles in this country but none' that could not be adjusted with capable leadership. Unfortunately this has not been apparent for some time. There is too much party, which does harm. Party is inevitable and, on the whole, does good, but like other good things it is easy to carry it too far. We should Increase the pay of members to a figure that would make it a satisfactory career for young men of ability. The people of this country who can grasp the idea of thousands but not of millions ory out against paying a fair service for political ability. Rather than pay forty thousand extra for capable men they wilL have millions spent on railways that cannot pay interest, and hydro-electric works that call for the reports of foreign experts. We have reached the stage when our Chambers of Commerce beseech the Government to call in the services of a financial. expert who chances to be passing through- New, Zealand. There was a time when we claimed to give some kind of lead to legislation. Now we have reached the stage when business men wish to call in the services of a stranger to tell us what ails us. If our politicians are incompetent it would seem that our business men are worse.