Adjusting Our Social Relationships.

Progress, Volume XV, Issue 7, 1 March 1920, Page 745

Adjusting Our Social Relationships.

At a meeting of the Canterbury Employers' Association held at Christchurch on December 8, 1919. Mr. J. A. Frostick delivered some interesting and very thoughtful- remarks on what he described as "The Great Problem of the Day"the social relationship of men. Mr. Frostick began by insisting on the psychic or spiritual element in social relationships. A society regulated only by physical conditions could not stand—it became a rabble. He went on to say: "Just in proportion as materialism is . cultivated and undue desire for personal gain dominates society, the psychic or subjective influ-

ences lose their grip, thus destroying the necessary balance.' It is then disintegration sets in. This is the danger-point which now faces all the Englishspeaking peoples, notwithstanding their claim to be. the best educated and the most advanced in civilisation. We are slipping away from the traditional standards of Christian ethics and surrounding ourselves with an environment which inculcates the gratification of personal gain regardless of the injury it may inflict upon others. This condition is not restricted to any particular class of people, for, as a nation, we are casting aside all ideas of ethical restraint, and are drifting into that dangerous attitude of mind which declares that the power to enforce constitutes the right. The atmosphere of class hatred exists" to-day to a degree hitherto unknown, and although New Zealand is one of the most favoured'countries in this respect, yet even we are decidedly within the zone of danger, and must, find some remedy. A change has to be made in our social relations: a way must be found for establishing a better understanding by an alert and intelligent appreciation of the real dangers and difficulties. The feelings, sentiments, ideas, beliefs, and opinions of each group or class must be studied and understood. Social leaders from every class of society, seeing the issues involved, must endeavour to change the whole atmosphere; justice _must be established as between man and man."

"Civilisation must quickly rid itself of "those 'blind leaders' Who glibly'use the phrase: 'Emancipation of the masses,' and advise a method which sets' in defiance the laws of the State, bolsters up a system of direct action, and does not hesitate to inflict injury upon the whole Communitya concrete illustration of which is seen in New Zealand in the action of the coal miners. These leaders are not necessarily influenced by impure motives: they, in common with others, have recognised that the relationship of the classes toward one another is far from what it should be, but, owing to lack of knowledge of the first principles of economics, have suggested and inaugurated what they thought would be a remedy (known as the 'go-slow policy'), which has Droved to be worse .than the x disease, and has inflicted injury upon the whole communitv. including those it sought to benefit, This microbe of laziness was cultivated, and soon found favourable breeding grounds in the vicious environment of materialism, until it has permeated all classes, and we to-day are in the midst of an epidemic, the" chief, symptoms of which are to work slowly for as few hours as possible, and for as milch money as can be extracted by any means within the law."

"This method has resulted in under-nroduction—-causing high prices for everything. It would.not be fair Jo cast all the blame in one direction, because from my own. observation I fear that even employers, or, at least, some of us, do notannly ourselves as diligently as we did, say, twenty-five years ago. If there is any truth in , this- contention,' then, before we set ourselves to the task now before us, we must

take the beam out of our own eyes if we would sec clearly. There is no country in this world where the conditions of all the classes are more favourable than in ours for a proper adjustment of the national social situation—it needs but the inspiration to effort. The employing class is not quite free from blame for the existence of many things which should not exist. I do not propose to enumerate the sins of omission or of commission further than to sav that too often we have followed the path of least resistance, or have sacrificed right for expediency. Many things could be mentioned, but they must come under review in due course. I will, however, mention just one—intermittent employment.' With the exception of the excessive use of alcohol, there is no greater curse in any country than intermittent employment. It becomes a breeding--ground for sedition, anarchy, gambling—indeed, nearly every social evil through which any country can be cursed is traceable, in some degree, to the unemployed, and by 'unemployed' I mean, in its broadest application, the 'idle rich' as well as the 'idle poor,' for both are a national peril."