TIMES OF UNREST

Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1920, Page 5

TIMES OF UNREST

TROUBLES "DISAPPEARING." PAPER CURRENCY BLAMED . FOR MONEY SHRINKAGE.. . "We live in strenuous times, and there is a great deal qf unrest," Mr. Maseey remarked when addressing the Press Association. The unrest was in our own country, but he was glad to say it was disappearing. We had to expect unrest, for that had followed every groat war while reconstruction was going on. Our principal trouble here was the high cost of living. We could get over it, but first we must find its cause. He was confident that the good sense of the British people would overcome these difficulties. Perhaps it might be said that the high standard of living had something to do with it. Production had been lessened, and then there was the high cost of production. But, this was going to be a far morn serious thing in Britain and other countries,! and we had to import a lot of things from those places. He thought the most important cause of all was what was taking place in con-' nection with the currency. We could not finance n war without paper money, and it had been issued in enormous quantities, particularly in Britain. What had happened was that the value of money had gone down, rather than that the value of commodities had gone up. Not till the currency had been got back could we got back to normal. He did not think wc would ever really get right back to normal, but we would get back to prosperity. For that matter we were prosperous now. Another thing was that we must exert ourselves. Hard work and production were essential whether we toiled in a printing-house or on a station. If we did this wc would come right, and it would not take very long. In England they were commencing to withdraw the paper currency, and when the surplus was withdrawn, things, including the American currency trouble, would come right.