A WORLD DISTRIBUTION SCHEME

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 103, 28 October 1933, Page 6

A WORLD DISTRIBUTION SCHEME

(To the Editor.) Sir,—Mr. K. W. do Montalk's Jotter on the above subject is or! great interest to thinkers about the world_ conditions today. Certainly thero is no overproduction cither of food or manufactures in tho world; and attempts to redueo output will only intensify the world trouble when the "leaa years" begin. Quite half the people of the world arc only partly' fed, and if the food production of tho- world today could bo universally distributed there would not bo nearly enough to meet the demand. Even a properly fed and nourished Europa could easily absorb all the available supplies, without the teeming millions of unfeds east of Suez. By an international scheme' to purchase all surplus production, above what ordinary trade methods today can. dispose of at a, fair price, tho price of primary produce would rise to such an extent that production would pay handsomely. Even if the commercial "surplus" were given away to an international distributing organisation it would- pay ■ tho producers to give it away. Take wool as an example on which I oneo worked out the relation botweon supply and price. .1 havo not tho actual results of my calculations here, but they showed that, with the average present supply at 3d a pound a reduction in the supply-by one quarter would increase the pries to about fifteen pence a pound. 'That is why I have not opposed the quota proposal. I beliovo it would at once raise the price, say of butter, to something like eighteen pence a pound or more if one quarter less quantity of butter were imported into England. The general effect of Mr. de Montalk's scheme on the poor peopla of Europe and Asia, would be to very soon give them a higher ideal of their needs and make them dread a return to the old life of semi-starvation. This in itself would stimulate millions to the offoi'.t to obtain to a higher standard of living and gradually a niako that so effective that they would work to produce enough wealth to keep up to the higher standard and continue to raise it as tho free distribution of food was gradually withdrawn through the establishment of tho ability to . purchase. Thus gradually everyone connected with tho production aud distribution of primary products, and later manufactured goods, would benefit by tho establishment of immense now markets amongst this awakened people. Take India and butter—giii is melted butter which is.the form in which it is used by the native Indians. Kight through India thero is a deep suspicion tho ghi supplied to the people is largely adulterated with beef fat and hogs' lard—the first being anathema to. the Bhuddists, the second to the Mohammedans. If Now Zealand could supply India with ghi guaranteed by Government to be pure butter, I believe the whole of New Zealand's surplus butter could soon be sold in India at a fair profit to New Zealand. As far as New Zealand is concerned, I believe a-small contribution from the hugo amount collected as unemploymenttaxes, if applied judiciously in introducing a temporary gift system of food in the East, would soon produce results which would so benefit New Zealand producers that the cause of unemploy-ment-would almost disappear, and the taxes with it. Mr. de Montalk has suggested the opening up of a principle which if wisely worked out would not only greatly improve trade and commerce, but would also raise tho ideal of the standard of living of the submerged Eastern peoples and so make the production of factory-made goods moro equal- in cost to that of the western nations than it is at present. As he says, this would do much towards eu: 'suring the peace,of the world by teaching the workers the plcasuro of more comfort in their lives, and the timo to do it is now while the fat years of production are still with us.—l am, etc., V. W. MACKENZIE,