The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1932. THE EXCHANGES.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1932, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1932. THE EXCHANGES.

It would be interesting to know, commented the Sydney Bulletin, in « recent editorial what defence we have against falling prices. Certainly a hign exchange rate is no defence. I Such a rate brings us not one farthing more for our season’s wool or wheat. All it does is to penalise other members of the Australian community in older to pay a bonus co the exporters of wool and wheat. Trie price Australia gets is not affected m the simalliest deg i fee. We are ’told that what we want—what the world wants—is neither inflation nor deflation, hut stability. But you don’t get stability by such mere make-be-lieve and pretence as this. It would be just as reasonable to say that ■stability has been reached in wage s m New South Wales because when a man falls out of employment the dole is available for him. For the dole is a temporary premium, too, payable by the rest of the community. Surely we have-had enough of these subterfuges and evasions. The position is very plain. The markets in which we have to sell our products are very low. Instead, however, of facing that fact—a foot over which we have not the smallest control—we attempt to get round it by pretending that we are receiving more, and making up what we don’t get from our customers by extracting it, more or less surreptitiously, from the taxpayer (who has to buy money in Loudon to meet , interest) ,and - every. person who brings goods to Australia, no mattef what their Mature. The straightforward way would be to attack costs, But 'Nit, 1 they full ns, ‘that would only invite opposition. Let us, in? stead, debase the money in which we pay the men their wages.’ In some circles that would he called the confidence trick. And the amazing thing, i s that this ■scheme is proposed by people, bankers, economists or whatnot, who scarcely trouble to cloak tlreir sybhorrenee ofl Protection. One of the ways of reducing costs, 'they toll us, is lessened tariff protection— Costs clue to the tariff have been increased by prohibitions, embargoes and excessive duties. Reduced duties nwr be counted upon to lessen the price of some imports and of some locally produced commodities now excessively protected. Actually, what a 130 exchange rate does is to impose on every single article imported to Australia a super-Customs duty of something over 300 p.r. And that is the gift which these Free Trade friends of the farmers propose to make them ! Yet to this extent the advocates of a depredaed Australian £ are right: on account of the shortage of gold in Australia we do need to build up a strong position in London. To that end two thing® in particular are called for: (1) A steady reduction of all costs, so that lowered wages will be worth as much as the high wages are to-day, with a consequent increase of production for export; (2) a firm, restraining hand upon imports. That restraint should, however, he intelligent. As Professor Shann and his collb-boratfors ;n this, booklet say, tariff schedules should be overhauled. But you cannot overhaul a tariff schedule imposed by an exchange rate. That knows no exceptions whatever; every fool of trade required by the farmer, whether it can possibly bv made here nr not, is subject to this duty. And the farmer pays it. Far better. if the primary industries must have their temporary p"ei,limns and honimes, to collect the monev with intelligence and not ■|his hanhazard fashion, regardless of the damage it does in the process.'*