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Well Known Economist Sees Trend Towards Small Ownership . . . How Poverty is Distributed Throughout Australia Neither Capitalism Nor Communism Gives Conditions Fit For Men "People often tell us that business
"Spiritual and Supernatural Life Cannot Be Sacrificed for Material Ends"
is in the hands of the big concerns," said Mr. Colin Clark (State Statistician), in the course of an address to Young
Christian Workers at St. Mary's, South Brisbane. "That is untrue," he added. "The tide is moving in the opposite diThe manufacturing indusrection. tries, which will disappear after the war, do not employ more than 20 per population. cent. of the working About 20 to 25 per cent. are engaged etc. forestry, industries, in primary Over half the working population is employed in service industries, such as building, transport, entertainment, and a great variety of other trades, all of which are suitable for carrying on by I think that, small property owners. after the War, we shall see that a much larger proportion of the people will own and run their own businesses. It is certainly our duty to work for that end by all means we can." Mr. Clark was replying to questions addressed to him by the Secretary of the Young Christian Workers, particularly how many people in Queensland had the security of owning their homes. He said: Approximately 70 per cent. of the homes in Queensland were owned by their occupiers. This was higher than in other Australian States; and the figure for Australia was higher than in European countries. In that respect, as in others, Australia was ahead of the rest of the world. But they had no reason to be satisfied, because that calculation included the houses of farmers, business men, and others; and a less proportion than 70 per cent. of the workers owned their own houses. Among the adult men in Quensland something like 30 per cent. were farmers or traders, or others who owned their own means of livelihood, and the remaining 70 per cent. worked for wages or salaries. Division of Property Ownership. The proportion of people who owned worth of property or more was as follows: Men in their twenties, about 27 per cent.: in their thirties, 32 per cent.; in their forties, 43 per cent.; at the age of 50, 46 per cent.; women under 20, only 8 per cent.; women in their thirties, 20 per cent.; in their forties, 32 per cent.; in their fifties, 37 £200
For Value and Service
the ownership of property mitigated that insecurity which was often the lot of the wage-earner. Dealing with different aspects of security, Mr. Clark said that the capitalist's idea of security was one in which the greater part of the means of production were owned by a small class in the community. In Australia, however, although it was a capitalist country, a greater proportion of the people owned property than in a country like japan, where the whole of the property was practically owned by a few families.
Conditions of the Workers. Capitalism left to itself was not concerned about the welfare of the wane earners. A farmer or a stock breeder made sure that his stock were regularly fed, that they had opportunities of bringing up their offspring, and that they were regularly employed. Capitalism left to itself offered the wageearners conditions not fit for animals. Capitalism was attacked by another school of thought known as Communism. The Communist doctrine was that all means of production should be operated by Government officials and that the means of production should be used to give the wage-earners conditions that were fit for animals; but neither Capitalism nor Communism gave them conditions that were fit for men. -
POPE LEO XIII
taught that the State should encourage the ownership of property by every family.
per cent.; women 60 years of age, 46 per cent. The average family contained more than one worker, and a number of women owned property. The ownership of houses did not mean unencumbered ownership; many properties are subject to debts, payment by instalments extending in some cases over 20 years. Many women, said Mr. Clark, acquired property by bequest from fathers and husbands; and in many cases married men made over part of their property to their wives. About 80 per cent of the families owned property; but not so much as they would like to see.
Property as Means of Security. The teaching of the Catholic Church, put clearly by Pope Leo XIII, is that it is the business of the State to do all it can to encourage ownership of property by every family. Catholics did not hold the ownership of property as the only guarantee of security; in fact there was no real guarantee of security; but it was the best means of security they could atPius XI said that tain in this world.
Conditions Under Communism. Under Communism as worked in Russia, the wage-earner had employment, and something to eat; but he was not given much encouragement to bring up a family, and one of the things happening in Russia at the present time was a tremendous drop in Very the number of children born. few people, especially in the cities, wanted to bring up children under Communist conditions. Although Communism gave work and something to eat, it did not give a choice of work. It gave no freedom to criticise, and no Whatfreedom of religious worship. ever the Communists may say about
it, what few churches there are in Russia to -day were for the benefit of foreign visitors. The whole popula-
tion, and particularly the children, had been systematically brought up atheism by the Communist Government.
The True Purpose of Man's Life. Both Capitalism and Communism were wrong in their views about men. The capitalist said man was here to make profits for someone else. That was untrue. The Communist said that man was here to do what the State told him. That was equally untrue. Man was here to prepare for quite another life in another world. In order that he might prepare himself for the next world he must have the material necessities for this life, and he was entitled to the comforts and enjoyments of life so far as they could
be produced and distributed, but he should not sacrifice his spiritual and supernatural life for material ends. In order to attain his true end man must have freedom and responsibility. They should be free to order their own lives, to choose what work they would do.
The Right to Choose Work. The Catholic Church did not condemn work for wages as such. The Popes had made that clear. It was desirable that as many people as possible should own property and employ themselves. There was nothing inherently wrong in a man working for wages, but men should have the right to choose their work. No loss of security could compensate for the loss of that right. Mr. Clark warned them against concentrating too much on security, because the people who had the greatest security were the slaves. They were housed and fed and given work. There was great danger that in concentrating on security they would sacrifice all liberties and reduce themselves to the condition of slavery, or something not far from it. (continued on Page 13.)
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