PROSPERITY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXII, Issue 4311, 31 August 1921, Page 1

PROSPERITY.

ONE ROYAL ROAD.

AUSTRALIAN BANKER’S ADVICuI.

The Deputy-Governor of the Commonwealth bank (Mr James Kell), in responding to the welcome extended to him by the Mil'll,ons Club upon his recent return from abroad, said he did not propose to go too closely into world finance. - He remembered reading a pamphlet when in Ney York dedicated to “ the man who knew ' knew all about importing.” That man, it was significantly added, “died yesterday.” Similarly,, he (Mr Kell) thought that the man who knew all about finance “ died yesterday.” (Laughter). What might be termetLthe devastation of capital and the limitation of production during the years of war ■were, he took it, the causes of the present financial condition. It was less easy to find the remedy. To his mind, the only remedy—the only royal road to prosperity—was to be found in work. The individual "who was prosperous was the one who worked. The nation that was prosperous was the nation whose individuals worked. Only by work could we recover prosperity. It was this one factor, in seemed to him, that was retarding ,the prosperity of British communities to-day. “ NOT WORKING EFFICIENTLY.”

“ We are not working either efficiently or enthusiastically/’ added Mr Kell. ‘ When I was in England it was heard on all sides that in the markets of the world British goods were being supplemented by German goods,. The reason is that Germany are working harder than we are.. The nation ■that is eventually going to win out in the peace struggle is 'the nation that can. place its manufactured goods on the markets of the world at the lowest cost. We cannot do this by /reducing our hours of labour to a minimum. / A voice : Or by going slow. Mr Kell: “Or by laying 300 bricks a day when wc can lay 600. The prosperity of Australia and of Great Britain depends upon one thing only, and that is work. The sooner yve can persuade people to give ,an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay the soonei’ will be opr progress along the road to prosperity. “ Another question is that of economy. Economy in administration is one of the serious subjects yet to be taken in hand by most Governments — not only in Australia. And it is nc use blaming Governments. We have to try to create ourselves a whole some public opinion in an endeavour to assist our Governments in adopting economical administration. (Applause. Uutil Governments dispense with every unnecessary man, and every person in th,eir employ has adequate work, there is very grave danger that receipts and expenditure will not balance for some time to come.”