The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1922. GOVERNMENT RETRENCHMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1922. GOVERNMENT RETRENCHMENT.

The Government is engaged upon a thankless and unpleasant task in readjusting wages and salaries, but one, all the same, that has to be faced and carried through if the Dominion is to weather the financial storm now besetting it. The proposals outlined by the Premier on Thursday evening are not so drastic as forecasted, the “cut” being in respect of the cost of living bonus, and not, as was announced, of the total wages and salaries received. There is sure to be criticism of the proposals, and we are bound to say that in some respects there is justification for it. The basic wage is fixed at £165, so it would seem that all salaries up to £2OO a year will remain unaffected by the reduction scheme, otherwise they would fall below the basic wage if the reductions applied. Why two groups should have been made for reductions where the salaries are under £320 and up to £soo' seems incomprehensible, as the three consecutive cuts in the two groups are identical—£2o, £l5 and £lO, making a total of £45, an amount which, if taken off a salary of £225 a year would leave only £lBO, whereas a man in receipt of £BOO a year will only have £5O taken off, just £5 more than the unfortunate recipient of a few pounds over the irreducible minimum. Can it be claimed these two cases are making equal sacrifices? If there is to be a. sliding scale —as undoubtedly there must be—its working principle should be equitable and the “cut” placed on the shoulders best able to bear it. It is generally conceded that both in the Government service as well as in community service—business and industry—it is necessary to reduce expenses, and this can only be done.by cutting down the wages bill where possible and in a just and reasonable way. Government retrenchment, however, depends mainly on a proper'system of organisation and . coordination. What is needed is a similar step to that taken by the Horae Government in appointing a committee, headed by r>ir Geddes, to deal with “Big Six” spending departments, as the result of which it is not. unlikely that the amalgamation of existing departments may ensue, in order to prevent overlapping, while very drastic cuts are ex•pected in consequence of placing all the departments on a busi-ness-like footing. That is the only way to make expenditure meet a falling revenue. It is not a question of saving pounds but millions, and that can only be done by expert business men who are specially qualified for the task. Mr. Massey quite rightly states that the cost of living has dropped considerably, and that it was understood when the increases were made that there should be a revision of wages and salaries when the cost of living had dropped to 52 per cent over pre-war costs. So no valid ohlection can be taken to the reduction proposed, at least to the principle. though, as we have shown, the details could he worked out more equitably. There may, of course, be an outcry against the reductions. It is probably only natural for those who have been enjoying the bonuses to object to having part taken away, but the Government is making the process as easy as possible, by gijrpodinff the reductions ovei a

period of six months. It has to be borne in mind that those affected will really be no worse off with the lower salaries than they were, say, last year, before the drop in prices came, and that though bonuses were not granted concurrently with the increase in prices they will have received compensation therefor by the time the last “cut” is made. Taxpayers must realise that the Government has no alternative to reducing departmental costs, which have swollen enormously during the past year or two, and that even wit'll the contemplated “cuts” the Government will have nd easy task in balancing its aeeouts for the present and succeeding year. We only hope the Government will promptly devote its attention to reorganising some of the departments and co-ordin-ating the whole of them, as against conducting them as separate concerns, that it will completely alter the methods in force,' and not hesitate to call to its aid the best commercial brains in the country.