DANGER IN WEALTH.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 May 1920, Page 5

DANGER IN WEALTH.

WARNING AGAINST EXTRAVAGANCE. . FEAR OF A DEPRESSION. LOWER PRICES FOR PRODUCES. By Telegraph.—l'ress Association, Wellington Night. References lo the public finance"\Vcte' made by the Prime Minister at the animal dinner of the New Zealand Dental Association to-night. Mr. Mastfey said he did not wonder that there was to-day a great clamor for public expenditure.' Development, improvement, and expansion were wantii( every direction, and each of the claims was in itself good, but New Zealand had only a certain amount of money to spend, and that point could not be emphasised too strongly.

'•lt will take us all our time to avoid a wave of depression," said the Prirao Minister. '"W« do not want depression, and 1 believe tlig,t it can be avoided, but it can be avoided only by eare, economy and industry on the part of the people of this country. We must curtail the extravagance that has been going on in town and country for a long time past. Money has been plentiful in New Zealand, more plentiful perhaps than in any other part of the .Empire. Tne people of the Dominion concentrated during tire war on doing everything they possibly could to supply the heart of the Empire with the products it required for Hip use of its people and for the army and the navy, and the consequence has been that money has poured into this country in a way we had never experienced before. "But » change is coming over the scene. You will have seen from London that already there has been a drop in prices. The commandeer ot cur products is coming to an end, and we must not expect to receive for our principal products the prices that we have been receiving. There is no question about that. Some people will see consolation in a reduction of the cost of living. We nil want to see the cost of living reduced, but remember that we are not likely to have the amount of money to spend that we have had during th« last few years. That is why I wish to impress upon the public of this country the necessity of being careful."