TO OVERCOME THE DEPRESSION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 36, 5 October 1931, Page 5

TO OVERCOME THE DEPRESSION

HOW WOMEN CAN HELP ADDRESS TO LEAGUE OF MOTHERS BY METHODIST MINISTER. ENCOURAGE THRIFT: AYOID EXTRAVAGANGE. TRAINING THE CHILDREN. Mrs. A. C. Randerson, !n tbe absence of 'the President, Mr. H. Bertram, who is aV present on holiday in Auckland, presided oyer a large ga- : thering of members at tbe monthly meeting of the Rotorua branch of the League of Mothers' Association held on Friday afternoon in the Methodist school room. The acting-president then introduced the speaker for the afternoon, the Rev. W. H. Speer. Mr. Speer, choosing as his subject "How Women Gan Help to Relieve the Depression," expressed himself as rather diffident of speaking hefore sueh. a' large audience. He, however, thought that some might be interested in learning how every woman to-day could help to ease the present situation. After the address Mrs. Randerson thanked Mr. Speer for his interesting talk. Afternoon tea was then served, after which a most amusing competition was arranged, the winner being Mrs. King. During the afternoon Mrs. Greene gave two perf ectly rendered pianf orte solos, which were enthusiastically received by her audience. Must Be Discussed. Referring to a recently published remark made by a visitor to New Zealand, who said "to talk about the depression is lunacy," Mr. Speer said that though talking might make the depression more noticeable, it was nevertheless necessary. One might speak of it foolishly, of course, but such a serious subject, one that President Hoover had described as "equalling the severity of the Great War," called for serious discussion, by the whole of the people who constituted the present democracy. In enumerating the causes of the depression, Mr. Speer listed war first. There had been a terrible depression after the Napoleonic wars, he said. Riots in England in the early 1830's, public distress, general agitation, famines in Scotland and Ireland, had all been rife in what the world knew as the "Hungry Forties." These effects were still noticeable even in the first fifteen years of the nineteenth century. As a result of the last great war, problems had arisen to which there seemed no possible or immediate solution, the great accumulation of war debts being one of the most prominent. After the war, we spent four years positively hlowing wealth into the air — into the very face of heaven. Millions were wasted, exactly how many only statisticians could tell, until all capital was practically exhausted. Then caine the question of reparation and the question of finding money to rebuild th devastated country, to re-establish old indnstries that had given way to the manufacture of armaments and food. Accumulation of Gold. Then arose the controversy about the gold standard. The gold of the world had accumulated into the hands of a few — America and France had plenty and knew not what to do with it. America was owed money from all directions and the people had nothing to pay with but goods. This payment, however, was no use to America, throwing, as it undoubtedly would, thousands of American people out of work. Moreover, where were the debtors to obtain the goods for payment if no money was available? "The only posible solutions," said Mr. Speer, "are obviously a moratorium, or else complete cancellation of all war dehts, though this latter course will mean a heavy loss to Britain, as evidenced by Russia's repudiation of her large debt." The second cause attributed to the depression was the general high standard of living. This again was a by-product of the war. Higher incomes, higher salaries immediately after the war, had enabled a large numher of people to assume a luxurious mode of living that they had previously been unaccustomed to. This had meant the almost total abandonment of economy, the too free spending of money, and as a result there had grown up a newer and younger generation with no idea of saving but with widely expanded ideas. Wisdom in the spending of money was absolutely essential; mere imprisonment of every sixpence was not economy; this something that the Government called economy was no use. For the party who advocated high wages, high spending, and larger purchasing power, there was something to be said, but it was ohvious that the position to-day was one where goods had reached a state where their cost was too high for their value, thus producing a deadlock. If things continued as they were, the country would be in desperate straits, continued Mr. Speer. There was an urgent need for wise economy — a restriction of rates, investigation into the best ways of speiiding public money. Spending was not greatly helpful if done carelessly; it did not create wealth. Spending might result in a certain amount of revenue, but it certainly was not justifiable. Won't Give Up Pleasure. Quoting an editorial in a recent London paper, Mr. Speer remarked that while large crowds indulged in expensive holidays, the country was full of unemployed. As the London editorial had remarked: "his pleasures are the last things that an Englishman will give up." The Government might suggest remedies, the speaker continued, but only the people could effect them. Nationally and Imperially, the income was heavily down and it was necessary to adopt the old adage and "cut one's garment to suit one's cloth." "And this," said Mr. Speer, "is where the women of the nation can help. They are in the best position to check the downward trend; they are, in most households, the holders

of the purse, and have it in their power to change the trend of public thought. No fashion, no sport, can exist unless it is adopted by the womenfollc. Public taste and customs are largely created through the consent of women and they are able to create a vogue for simple living and to look upon waste and extravagance as "out of fashion." Then, too, in the training of the younger generation they can introduce a desire for thrift and the habit of looking ahead." According to Mr. Speer, the present generation spent too freely. They had no obligations, and it was easy to spend their money as they earned it! They had no idea of the problems of the future and were only sailing towards later difficulties. He considered that the women of the country could inculcate the value of thrift and watch expenditure in the home. It was necessary for someone to build up reserves of capital — all could not spend at once and when the big capitalists failed and large sums of money were jost, someone nad to supply the state capital for only thus could a state live, Quotation from Genesis To uphold this statement, the speaker quoted from the Book of Genesis, stating that an autocraey in these cases could do what a democracy could not. Pharoah, the adviser of Joseph, had stored up the surplus of a fat season and as a result later tided Egypt over a crisis. "But we," said Mr. Speer, "have spent all our surplus and borrowed against our good years. Had we so saved we would now have no burdep of debt. We would be living a quiet, thrifty life, in solid comfort and content." ".t-» i« As a f urther ref erence to the training of the younger generation the speaker stated that New Zealand's wealth lay in her soil. Canada and Australia might he the graneries of the world, New Zealand was the farm of the world. Women must turn the minds of the rising generation to service upon the land and strive to make New Zealand fully productive; she had only just hegun and had still a long way to go. "Lead the minds of our young people from the superficial views of life; encourage in them the "long view"; teach them to realise that there are days beyond to-morrow — that they are responsible for the years to come. Thus I see our way out of the depression; it will surely pass and give way to a general solid prosperity and we will be able to say with Shakespeare: "Sweet are the uses of adversity," Mr. Speer concluded.