BREAD OR FEATHERS?

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 1, 26 September 1919, Page 11

BREAD OR FEATHERS?

■ A HOJIILYON ';'HE SPENDTHEIFI'. Sir Auckland Geddes, at a meeting of the Crewe Men's Own Urotlierhood, said:; •. 'The money that was being squandered,on things which Were of no value waa colossal, "and the work that was ink these.things was of no.value in tho reconstruction ..of the State. TJie-people 'who had the.cash,were following couitjea which threatened to destroy our victory. There was.more beer being brewed, .for.example, in'tliis country, (A voice: It is -weaker.) It was more in quantity . than' before the war. ,Why did people say .the quantity was 6hort? .Because it was being swilled at twice the rate, because there was .more time to dniik it in,, and more money to pay for it. As a result, the brewers had to send over, sens for more hops and barley. "The, same thing occurred with a half hundred differont things. By sending overseas for beer, silk for stockings, feathers for hats,-"wo were increasing our debt overseas for things that did not matter. What we had to-get was food, raw material, cottoii. rubber, iron anil steel, zincj copper, oil, wool, .jute, The .niore' money we sent away for things that did not matter, the more we paid for the things that did matter. Tbo price of food next winter -would climb to a level none dreamed of. (A voice: More ■ wages.) There-.:would be no. money t|i pay wages, because it -would have (o go overseas -for- food. ■ Money for I wages ' meant, nothing-when there was no real vaiue'b'ehind. ..-■•■ "This country had forgotten the value behind money,' The value behind ivas .new things, that were produced for money... Our manufacturers were forced to charge .twice as much as America, and there were fewer markets in. the ..world than over before. Limitation.of output ..was .extraordinarily foolish. The mill- . owners limited output to. get higher .prices,;'and'operatives to make more work for riiore people.' ~lt was stark, staring lunacy. Transport' was the very life of the State. We were losing a lot of our remniniiifr' bits of mnrkets by transports delay. • There was a real transport failure in this country just now.' /'With regard to the general situation, he was not pessimistic, because he had the greatest .trust in the intelligence.and public, spirit of-the people; but it would , fie .jib easy task after five years of blowing capital to pieces. Tou cannot live like millionaires if you are ns poor as a ojuirch'.niouae,' sa id Sir Auckland. That is what we are to-day. This nation is now poor. It is living as if it were wealthy. ■' ' ,\ : "The classes throwing' the heaviest strain upon the oversees markets are the classes whoso iiiconio is in the form ..of' wages.. The wealthy people are so few it would not matter much what they did. ''Bread next winter, (added Sir' Auckland)' was more useful than feathers .this summer. Only by keeping steady, by imdcrHtanding oiie another's point of view, and by, rxercifing patience could we !hopo ' to ™t through to.a really satisfactory position. We riiust remember that we I lived by production, credit, and transport,, and "must call to our aid all the old 'patient-, toughness that had never deser,ted!!us''.in' time of trial."