DOUGLAS CREDIT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 494, 30 March 1933, Page 5

DOUGLAS CREDIT

POVERTY AND PLENTY LOGICAL CURRENCY CONTROL SOLUTION OF OUR TROUBLES ADDRESS IN ROTORUA At the Lyrie Theatre last night, Mr. F. N. Robson, editor of "Plain Talk" addressed a fair .audience on the Douglas Soeial Gredit proposals. His Worship the Mayor' (Mr. T. Jackson), presided. The spealcer prefaced his address by emphasising that while. it had become the custom to blame the government for all our troubles (and quite rightly), we must at the same time realise the truth of the contention that under our present syStem of franchise, whatever go ver nment we . get merely reflected our own mentality and intelligence. It might seem a stark insult to our collective intelligence, but it was painfully true. , In their earnest endeavours to eure th.e depression the Governmept exploited every avenue, but the one vital one — that of currency control. I Without this master key any government was entirely futile and powerle'ss, and must be suhserviant to and aceept the dictation of those who eontrolled cttrrency, otherwise they would receive no financial support. 'No Purchasing Power Every normally intelligent person to-day realised that our poverty in the midst of plenty was duef to lack of purchasing power whefewith to buy the commodities we require'd and which were offering for sale in superabundance. This lack of purchasing power waS mainly due to two causes — firstly, the rcp'lacement of man power by inaehir.ery iand secondly because money had been largely cancelled out of existence. To follow this argument, it .must be realised that the great bulk of our money was in the forrn of mere hook entries — a isystem of bookkeeping. With only about six millions of notes and coins in New Zealand our Year Book showed ba.nk deposits 'totalling ahout fifty millions. Apart from the paltry proportion of notes and coins, the whole of our currency, it • would therefore he seen, was. represerited s.'mply by figures in the banks' books. This, however, was the modern form of money and was quite sound so long as the total volume was kept Seientifically in proper ratio to goods a.nd production. ; Matter of Whims Any unit of money derived its value from the total volume in circulation but undeq the present system those controlling ■ currency _ did so without reference to anyone or anything. but their own whims. There was no limit, except a lself--imp,osed one,- oii the volume of money they could create or destroy — and to this was due qur slumps and hooms, ruin of indus,tr-y and im'poverishment of the people. • Under the Douglas proposals currency would he under community con- • trol and the purchasing power of the people would be 'scientifically equated with production hy means of the Just Price Faetor and a National Dividend would ensure at least a comfortable competeney to every man, woman and child. The spealcer observed that according to a report in the "Morninjg Post" Mr. Forbes, in Auckland, was still seeking ways and means. for further economieB as a cure for our [ troubles. ' To carry that logic to its natural eonclusion, if would save time if we all immediately lay down- .and starved to death — that would be the last refinement in economy. On the motion of the chairman, the spealcer w.ais. accorded a vote . of thanks.