The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1919. THE ROAD TO RUIN.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3338, 17 November 1919, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1919. THE ROAD TO RUIN.

3 Writh which I'l3 incorporated V “The iraihape Post; and Waimarino ' News.”

The zenornxous intirease, during the lastdyear, of goods imported fnom Japan into this little country makes one wonder whether we are not assist-

ing .the Japanese to attempt that which Germany has so ignominiously failed to .aceonipli»sh. The imports from Japan now total in value, twice «what was imported from Germany.prior- to ‘the war. In the year war was declared, the Value of imports from Germany was £620,400, in 1918 it had gone down to £393; but impzorts from Japan -in l9l4=,.a.mloun'ted to £187,501, while in 1918 -they had increased to the rather asvtorrishing extent of £1,214,865. New Zealand rnest largely imports‘ from Japan manufactured articles, food, drink, tobacco, and a small quantity of raw material. But why we should take our drink and tobacco frlom ‘Japan is not quite understandable. While the danger of trading with Germany ‘is so loudly and persistently proclaimed, our business people are rushing into the arms of an Asiatic nation which possesses 'a ‘Vll‘il€‘« military system that was cast in German nroulds. It has been urged that Germany built a navy out of pno-fits made by trading with British Dominions, if there was even a shadow of truth [in such a statement, how much more so must it be the ease with J apan‘? Why are the little brown Asiatic~s_ building lwtarships. of greater power and speed with inconceivable urgency, unless itlis that ‘they have‘ in view some such purpose as Teutonic. peoples n‘ursed and worked so hard for prior to 1914‘? It seems that the present is the time to determine to British satisfaction why Japan is so feverishly rushing forward a navy construction ipiolicy =of such tm-agnitude that it is causing western naval authorities and experts, as well as Governments, to View the proceedings with considerable doubt and alarm. The Japanese are adopts at putting the financial screw on to those they think must trade with them; they have raised "the rate of exchange against Britain and her Dominions -to such an extent that the British Gvlovernment has had to dcspateh to Japan some ten millions of pounds in gold to equal ise conditions. B'usinéssm.en in New Zealand are realising the new danger that they are contributing to, but so long as present-day e.'ommerciali~sm is mallntainesd businessmen will Say. “business is business; it is business the businessman is out for, not pleasure.” Is there not something hauntingly fallaeio-us about this business slogan‘? What does it profit the businessman to gain. the Whole business world to discover that he and his nation and race in the end have fallen into slavery to a ycllowskiiined military people‘? Anglo-Slaxon commercialism without militarism came distractingly near to sacrificing civilisation for a business phantlasm; states men in Britain are endeavouring to 'avert. a second attempt! at World liege-luony,_,lmt they are dismayed at the ‘almost hopeless task of subordinating dfivotees of the commercial cult. These devotees let statesmen underFtand that “business is business,” that‘ busines.=mr)n are out for busiHBBS. and will persist, although. it nil.-1y WFCCR Ul6 Empire. Were they to follow the l)llSllJOe‘g§vrf)ul'j:('3 adopt-ed by G““‘"‘")' and other prospective enemies and trade on that which the Empire produces there could be little

danger, .in fact, they would be erecting such a trade barrier that no enemy could break down. ’What we would emphasise is, that while .businoSS!lleil are building up production and manufactures in'a.lien countl'iCs; they are «checking production and nnitnufactures -in their‘ own Empire. There is 110 other way of ‘increasing and Sfablisillg production in alien countries than by giving it our patronage. 3 with Japan New Zealand is nearly 3 millioll and a, quarter at a disadvantage in one yearrs trading; we purchased from Japan f-ovcd, drink, tobaCCo, and 11131111‘ factured goods, and a small quantity Of raw material to the Value of £1,214,865, and all We could sell to Japan was Worth only £5415. The vital difi‘el'euce is that Japanese businessmen are selling what Japan produces, While New Zcalaud -buSill(.~‘S‘SlXleDe 339 buying in cheap alien‘ markets and selling ‘at a huge profit to their‘ own countrymen, it need not be pointed out that persistence in such trading must_ end in disaster. What New Zealand importsifrom the United States is just about paid for with exports, but there is no reason whatever,‘ "beyond ~,‘c—Z,‘l'o€~d ‘and political engineering why this Dominiiion should not export conimlodities of much greater value to America, Japan, :and all other countries, alien and otherwise, than it imports. We have i the means of production at hand, mil,lions of acres of land in the best clilmate in the world left uncultivated, land yet our business-men, as they are ltermed, do nothing in urging on pro-lduc-tion at home, whilje they spend imillions a year in buying food, drink, ltobacco, and manufactured articles iwlth Japan, and so help a prospective ;enemy to build- up a navy «out of all I proportion to the needs _of the country. i,For five years politicians and people iin New Zealand have been crying %aloud for production, and still more ‘ production, but the five ‘years of howl-V iug has produced nothing, it has not even caused one step to be taken -towards increasing the volume of production. Like ostriches, Government and commerce have stucktheir heads in business sands, and have imagined that charging a higher price for What the country does produce is increasing production. It should be patent to every man with any business instinct that these higher prices are not providing sufficient for the country to meetits liabilities, also that there is but one way to financial success, and that is by producing at the very least twice the volume there is for.sale at the present time. It- would -almost seem, although we vdovnot seriously suggest it, that Japan-'-in years just prior to the war copsiderably assisted the Teutonic plans by raising large loans in Britain. Just before the War there was no‘ country in the world in which money was easier, as deulon~ strated by the low rate‘ of. interest——4 per cent. Thedapanese were astute and discerning enough to _lay inn plentitude of cash before 1914, and the result has proved that Japan ’s exports new immensely exceed her im,ports. What would be the situation in New. Zealand if the volume of producti-on was doubled before the unavoidable fall in prices d.oes come? There are thousands of nlen——returned soldiers and others——wai’ting, nay, clamouring for land, still the land remains idle, and New Zealanders spend millions a your in purchasing‘ with cash their requirements in drink food, tobacco and manufactured articles from Japan.