WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1922, Page 3

WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l thought these were supposed to be the hardest times this country and the world has ever seen, but on reading the estimates one is- forced to the conclusion that things are not as black as they seem, or the Government, who should lead the way, would use a little practical common sense when making up the finances of the country. 1 refer to one item in particular, and it comes under the heading of military defence. We have been told that the Washington Conference has removed practically rf’. fcir of war few least the next

ten years, and yet the Government have set aside over half a million of the overburdened taxpayers’ money to squander on defence. This item could be quite easily done away with for at least five years, and the two and a-half million thus saved could be put to the far more useful purpose of opening up the back country, so that It would carry more population, and by the time the next war did come we would be able ot call to arms a far greater number of men than we did in the last war. It was proved that the training our soldiers had in the Territorials and in the New Zealand camps had to be all learned over again when they got to England and France. Goodness knows, the country has spent enough on military defence during the last ten or twelve years to keep a young country poor for hundreds of years, and even a brief respite from this crushing burden would be very much welcomed by the man who has to foot the bill. We have in New Zealand to-day many thousands of seasoned troops who were the pick of all the armies in France, bar none, who could be called up in twenty-four hours and take their place in the line without any more training. They got their training in the right place, and a company of them would be better than a battalion of your peace time soldiers. It Is going to take more than five or even ten years for these highly efficient soldiers who are trained in every branch of warfare to die out or become old men, so we need not worry about not having an army. Of course, Mr. Massey lias got to dance to the tune the military lords play, but I am sure there would be more of his followers returned at the coming elections if he saved this half million a year to the tax payer and gave the gentlemen in uniform a holiday without any pay.—l am, etc., “PRACTICAL ECONOMY.” Auroa, August SO.