DOUGLAS CREDIT

Evening Star, Issue 21746, 14 June 1934, Page 13

DOUGLAS CREDIT

The weekly meeting of the Dunedin branch of the Douglas Credit Movement was held on Tuesday in the Theosophic.il Hall. The subject was ‘ What the British Chambers of Commerce Say,’ and the lecturer, Miss M. H. M. King, M.A., read extracts from the report of the select committee of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce, and from the resolutions of the London Chamber, as well as from the ‘ London Chamber of Commerce Journal.’ The changed attitude of prominent men in the business, professional, and literary world was also evidenced by recent correspondence in the London ‘ Times.’ The .Southampton committee reported on the shortage of purchasing power that was at the root of our troubles, in the following words, which coincided with the analysis given by Major Douglas;—“ 11 it is borne in mind that in modern industry there are several processes, and at each stage capital charges arise in the same manner, it will be seen that the final cost of a product will bo heavily loaded in respect of these capital costs, which the community will not be able to liquidate. As the factory and machine costs attaching to modern production are progressively increasing, this defect will become more pronounced.” Similarly, the report adopted the same attitude as Douglas on the subject of the creation of money by the banks a lid their consequent control of industry “As the creation of money by the banking system can he effected as and for any purpose they consider desirable, it would seem that a power nothing less than control of the entile economic activity of the nation is vested in a private monopoly.” On April 19 the delegates from the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Great Britain passed by 280 votes out of about •iOO a resolution instructing the executive to appoint a committee to inquire into and report on the causes and remedies for the failure of purchasing power to keep pace with production.