WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 9 June 1931, Page 5

WELLINGTON NEWS

FALLACIES OF DEMOS.

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, June 8. King Demos nurses a good many fallacies, and the principal of suen iaimeits that is being paraded just now is that Parliament can with its

made laws vary, alter, nullify and a ti..-nd Cvvionuc laws, wiiicii from time immemorial have been known to no inflexible, i nree independent mem- ! hers of Parliament have ventured to propound a policy that Parliament | siiouia put iiuo operation. 'Joe a j,ii_ i ity of the members in question to I deal with so profound and intricate! a I matter as the economies of the country may be doubted, but apart front that tiieir proposals are nebulous. Tuev begin by reiterating what b a « already been said again mat tne position of our farmers is seriously hampered, and because of this they think th. a t more drastic measures than hitherto attempted may have to be devised and enforced, hut they gave no indication of the drastic measures. The utmost 'that can be done and should he done is to reduce costs, ami that the first- step in that direction lias already been taken in the reduction pf wages. No doubt tiiu-o policy proposers visualise reducing the fate of interest by Act of Parliament, sandbagging mortgagees and landlords, (interest and rents must bend to economic laws of supply and demand. Many farmers paid too high a price tor their land and it would, be" unwise to nurse such men. A good many uneconomic farmers must be weeded out, and-that in - the - interests of the qountry. The other four of the five points of the policy submitted by the independent trio are just as nebulous. "Finance, they declare is their third item of importance, and stop short at that.

Finance is not the third hut th© first item of importance in the country's economies. It is because the State and the individual are both crippled in finance that we are all suffering. If we had fqOie finance we would spend more and trade would be brisk and unemployment would ■diminish, if it did not vanish altogether. It is further stated by the Independents that many further industries 'Could- lie established "in -New •Zealand aind 'this and. every-, avenue; should hie—exploited: If a new- industry could be established . onUsi.; profitable ; basis private, enterprise > would soon have" 'it established; - Private enterprise is' . jnst eager fof . such ventures. arid there is no need for the Government to risk its slender resources in risky ventures.

It is impossible for New Zealand to lift the depression, that must be done- from outside. Our task is to assume that current world "prices for our surplus produce will hold for several seasons to come, and to adjust nmrv? 1 ? s ai.tnsi i , . our casts and values, ideas and notions to 'conform tort that. Within the past week or two individuals who have been created “(prominent citizens’ 1 by the hbifiih'tious journalist, have been predicting that the worst is oyer, and that by the beginning'of November the economic conditions will have taken a-favourable turn. 7

The present depression’is due "to the fact th a t all countries .ate unable to yell their export products at prices to yield reasonable profit. And this i» .' the 'case whether."the product isf that of Europe with’its comparatively High standard of living, or that of Asia with its . low standard of living. The copra, rubber and jute produced by cheap coloured labour, 'are just as much depressed as the butter, wool and meat produced bv white labour. Acts of Parliament cannot alter the situation, unless -tiiose Acts apply healing ointment to the sore spots in the body politic caused by self-seeking politicians. 'Pile world commodity prices are depressed because they cannot be sold freely to people who are willing and anxious to buy them, 'because politicians by their legislature have run ring fences round their respective countries, and the other fellow cannot see over the fence because of its height. Pools and cartels, subsidies and bounties and exploration ventures by Parliament only help to make matters worse.

If all the world would shed a little of its tariff madness and cut down the barriers by half their present height the countries of the world would be able to buy from and isell to one another more goods and services, and the merchant navies of Abe world would be ploughing the -seven seas carrying merchandise. The democrac ies, that is the common people, who are suffering the most, must raise their voices in a loud and prolonged cry for lower tariffs. Tariff war was initiated by the United States and i* is up to that country to call off the war.