The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1931. CONFIDENCE NEEDED.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 December 1931, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1931. CONFIDENCE NEEDED.

In a recent interview published in tbe Wellington Post, Professor Tucker expressed the opinion that the P-! sent economy- trouble was to a considerable extent psychological, and that the steady generation of confidence would have an uplifting effect. This is true; blit it is not the whole truth, as the Post remarked in eoni- ‘ ment. Comidfcuce is of little value unless it is firmly based. The world i has been seeking ever since 1918 to evade payment of the cost of four | years’ war destruction. Various devices have' been adopted to shift the I burden from one country to another and from one class to another. , Some of these devices, such as tariffs, have been temporarily successful; but they have really deferred settlement of the main account-. Xow at last I there is a public consciousness that ; something is wrong; and the effect of the public awakening is lack of confidence, which goes to the opposite | extreme of the self-satisfied optimism formerly ruling. Sober judgment should restore public confidence in a measure, but full confidence can be reestablished only on ix sound basis of public earning and spending. Neither repudiation of the liabilities of tbe past nor mortgaging the prospects of the. future will meet the position. There must lie a. balancing of all accounts. The knowledge that/ this is being done is the best tonic for a depressed world. But it is a slow process, and there is impatience, as is not surprising. Tbe wisest beads of the nation are grappling with the problem, which is universal in its effect, and far reaching in its application, a.s witness the great army of unemployed asking for relief and sustenance. So far, though most leaders of public thought are agreed as to the cause and have little eonpunction in naming the cure, a way out acceptable to those concerned has not been devised. Probably the best hope of providing a way will come from the United States, where President Hoover has lately suggested a suspension of debt payments for ten years! This is a period long enough to suggest it would be the beginning of the end, that by the close of that period new hopes and aspirations may be prevailing, for most of the leaders of the nations of to-day would be supplanted. 'Then new thoughts would be brought to bear,- thoughts not soured by experiences of the war period, but we would hope more in keeping with what is really a universal desire to-day-—a war debt settlement which would free the world from the burden of to-day which has so overloaded the universe that nations have become top-heavy and are in danger of succumbing to tlie weight of their financial obligations. Within that time, itshould be possible, too, to reach some workable agreement regarding disarmament, which is an extra burden now carried by the nations. If it is possible to assist in bringing in a reign of peace bv that means, then the nations must benefit greatly. As regards tariffs, trading arrangements, governed by demand and supply, Would adjust themselves. There would be a bettor spirit of give and take under less burdensome taxation, and nations would be freer to help one another, if not weighed down by heavy debt, payments to be provided for from internal production or manufacture. It will be a brighter world when matters are in train for a crefit settlement in the first instance, and confidence may be engendered on that account, because the trend is distinctly in that direction. The conferences now sitting may evolve the suggestion of a world Christmas box which would considerably brighten the outlook, and if that-were to come to pass in the next few days, it would be a very happy issue indeed. Hope springs eternal, and there will certainly be confident expectations that now that matters are reaching a climax something will happen to assist in removing any approaching disaster, and give brighter hopes for the immediate future.