TURNING THE CORNER

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 34, 10 February 1933, Page 3

TURNING THE CORNER

(To the Editor.) .■Sir,—Howoften have we been told that tnecorner is turned, and better times are coming? When a motorist turns the corner, he has to do two things, he slackens Mb:speed before ever,he begins to turn hjs car. I£ he did not, the centrifugal iorce would send him and his car to, destruction. Having turned, he proceeds to travel in an entirely different direction to what, he-did before. And is not that what we shall'have to do before we cany turn the corner and see better times? Does, the big deficit, the minions ot.expenditure on luxuries, the immense sums spent on-sport, on drink on the totahsator look uke slowing down? Are'we to disregard the law* of economic science and take the corner full speed ahead? And if we do, can we expect ?? y. °r er- result than a fate similar to that-of a reckless motorist? If the; road-we are now on, and have been going on for several decades, is the right road, why do we now find ourselves in our present: difficulties? And if it is not the right road, what is the ■use of slowing down and going back•VanTi.On same road, instead of rounding the corner^ and striking in on the right road? How can healing the old mischief (the old inflation) with a new one do anything but plunge us deeper m the mire? Instead, of borrowing money w.must try;to earn the money. Instead ot importing millions worth of goods we must set up factories of our own; and instead of spending millions on unproductive work—road-making and grubbing gorse, in order to find work for the unemployed, we: must set them to work on developing ; our immense resources of water-power. Self-help should be our motto. Does it need a professor of econo-' mics to tells us that the present make-s'll"-methods can never give permanent relief? And when ther fail, as fail they must, what is to become of our unemployed and of the whole country? Consciously or unconsciously, those who have forced the adverse exchange on us have .'put a boomerang into our hands, if we will only use it.'. The 25 per cent, adverse exchange will: in the first instance be levied *pn our imports, and act in very much the same way as a protective tariff. Why not take advantage of it, before it has had time to rum our primary industries—as an inflation always has done, and always will do—and curtail our requirements of imported goods while getting under way with' local: industries?—l am, etc., : ■ HANS. C. HANSEN. Carterton.