The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1921. THE ROAD TO RECOVERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 September 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1921. THE ROAD TO RECOVERY.

Early in July, Mr. Edgar Crammond gave an address in London to the Institute of Bankers. lie presented a most exhaustive survey, not only of Britain’s, but of Europe’s, economic position after the war with the object of demonstrating what, in the light of ail the facts he placed before his hearers, should be Britain’s financial policy as a country. We in New Zealand are almost entirely dependent upon Britain for our progress; indeed, for our very living, and it is profitable for us to understand the difficulties and problems that confront the Motherland. Dealing first with the trade balance as compared with that for 1913, Mr.. Crammond showed that whereas in the year before the war excess ,of visible imports of commodities over exports was only £146,000,000. the excess last year was £378.000,000, in spite of the activity in the export trade of that year. Freights, insurances and other invisible imports would improve the position, though it has to be remembered that Britain is receiving less inter-

est on her holding of foreign securities, because she sold nearly £1,000,000,000 during the war, and : is in debt to A?neriea for about a 1 similar sum. Before the war Britain devoted hei' surplus wealth ' to extending her own enterprises ' and financing activities overseas, j In this connection Mr. Crammond : showed that years of trade .activ- ‘ ity at Home, and a growth in ' Britain’s exports, invariably followed the years when she used a 1 portion of her surplus wealth in ’ financing the developments of ’

other countries. The speaker then dealt with national expenditure. A few years before the war, national services absorbed about 8-J per cent, of the total estimated nai tional income. To-day they demand about. 32 per cent. Small wonder, therefore, if this great diversion of expenditure from productive to non-productive purposes should be depleting savings and impoverishing the life-blood of industries.' This condition, of course, is not peculiar to the Old Country. We have it here in New Zealand. Under the head of “Social Services,” the total in Britain expanded from £55,000,000 in 1911 to £143,000,000 in 1920-21, The remedy? The Government must at once curtail ruthlessly its expenditure. The employer and capitalist, in the light of the lawful aspirations of the wage-earn-ers, must do everything possible to restore the confidence which is essential for successful co-opera-tion, and must, by some kind of profit-sharing, guarantee to the workers an adequate share in future prosperity for present discomforts. For the wage-earners, inasmuch as they have profiteered during the war, a period of discomfort is inevitable. Its duration and extent, however, will’depend upon the readiness with which it is faced, and the willingness on the part of the wage-earners to say good-bye to the ca’ canny policy, and substitute for it the .watch-.

words of hard work and efficiency. From the highest to the lowest it is certain that a recovery from the ills of the war can only be accomplished by retrenchment, sacrifice, and hard work. What the wage-earners should do in England, as here in New Zealand, is to base their policy not upon impossible present demands, but upon a definite and carefully reasoned demand for a share in the future prosperity of the country for which all. must now be striving. That demand would he reasonable, and therefore it would eventually succeed because public opinion would endorse it.