PUBLIC OPINION

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21214, 10 September 1940, Page 7

PUBLIC OPINION

As expressed by correspondents whose letters are welcome, but for whose views we have no responsibility. Correspondents are re- ■ quested to write in ink. It is essential that anonymous writers enclose their proper names as a guarantee of good faith. Unless this rule is complied with, their letters will not appear.

ATTEMPTED UTOPIAS

(To the Editor) Sir, —Mr Warburton's passing criticism of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Utopian scheme is nothing new. Utopian experiments have appeared upon several occasions in history and have failed, the reasons for failure being the conviction in the minds of the originators that such abstractions as freedom, justice and equality were eternally fixed, applicable at any time and place. All that was necessary was that (a) some powerful ruler should use his governmental authority to reorganise his kingdom on the lines of the new plan; (b) some wealthy philanthropist should advance the capital to permit a sample Utopia to be set going; or (c) that sufficient people should by pooling their resources be able so to begin. Attempts were made in the last of the three ways, always 'with the result of demonstrating that within capitalist society men could so cooperate to produce only under the conditions of competitive capitalism —only as units in a capitalist whole. But the noble idealism of the great Utopian thinkers was not entirely devoid of practical results. Like Mr Warburton they failed to understand Nature and society in its motion with all its dialectical richness. They differed from Mr Warburton inasmuch as they gave constructive glimpses of the forms society will take when the present struggle is over.—l am, etc., T. HARRIS. Frankton, September 9

INDUSTRY AT FRANKTON

(To the Editor) Sir, —Frankton Junction has been placed on the map, and has been made conspicuous by the fact of it being a railway junction. It naturally follows that its geographical position has caused it to be an industrial centre of some importance, where men who earn their living by the sweat of their brow eat and sleep and build their homes in the area that was delineated as “residential." People who were gifted with instinctive knowledge and constructive ability to erect dwellings were given the assurance that they would have all the rights and privileges that democracy has to offer. Why was it, then, that “military objectives” in the shape of oil tanks were permitted to be erected in the residential area of Frankton? Assuming that the tanks or reservoirs recently erected in this area will not be the object of a military attack, there remains the potential danger of an explosion by other causes, and the one to be dreaded most is the direct rays of the sun. It is well known that bright paint on the receptacle containing benzine repels the heat of the sun, thereby lessening the evaporation and consequent danger. Black or green attracts the sun’s rays and increases evaporation. It is therefore not through idle curiosity that the writer would ask the question, Is the dark greenish colour now being applied to be permanent? We who live in close proximity to the tanks referred to are entitled to ask, Have we any right to object to their presence? or, Why were we not allowed the privilege of objection before they were erected?—l am, etc., B. SMYTH. Frankton Junction, September 9.

TO END CLASS WAR

(To the Editor) Sir, —I was much impressed by a statement made in a 8.8. C. broadcast lately that the co-operation of British labour and capital in their great war effort had proved so successful that it was hoped that it would be carried on after the war, and become a permanent factor in industrial life. This is a consummation to be wished, as it would put an end to the long and suicidal class war between capital aiid labour. This co-operation would result in capital and labour replacing perpetual war by a perpetual alliance. To those imbued with the Marxian doctrine of “exploitation" this will appear a detestable doctrine, but all men of commonsense will hail it as a very satisfactory end to an unnatural war. I have never yet been able to see any insuperable difficulties in the way of the establishment of a partnership between capital and labour, each of which is an indispensable factor in production. The capitalist cannot use his capital in production without labour, and the worker cannot produce without the plant, stock, supervision, etc., provided by capital. So far as I can see each side will have to agree to one fundamental principle: Labour will have to agree that the capital invested in the business should get from the

profits a fair interest; capital must grant that Labour is entitled to all the reward and all the freedom of action that the business can safely give it. Agreement on these pointß should not be impossible. Of course, any policy aiming at the abolition of the class war will meet with violent opposition from those industrial stormy petrels that

fish in troubled waters, and from those whose ideal is the dictatorship of the proletariat. For the good and for the peace of mankind, these howlers should be disregarded, and labour and capital should become allies.—l am, etc., A. WARBURTON. Ngaruawahia, September 7.