HERCULEAN LABOURS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20953, 4 November 1939, Page 6

HERCULEAN LABOURS

Mr Semple, whatever else he may do, at least serves a useful purpose in injecting a little light relief into a political situation which some people are inclined to regard gloomily. What with exterminate ing the death adders that abound in this Garden of Eden, exposing the “boneheads” within his own party, “who have never done much in their lives and have not the faintest conception of the responsibilities or the difficulties involved in trying to bring the country out of a state of poverty and stagnation to the pedestal of security and comfort for its people,” to say nothing of “grappling with the difficulties, almost insurmountable, in fighting the whole monetary system of the world,” Mr Semple is having a very busy time.

And when he does, if ever, have a moment in this crowded life to reflect on the results of his Herculean labours, it must be galling to Mr Semple to realise that the confusion and the hardships are greater than ever and the death adders and the boneheads still infest the land in ever-increasing numbers. It is base ingratitude in such circumstances for the boneheads in the Labour Party to “whisper that the Government is not going fast enough and should do this and that.” Mr Semple might well ask if anyone could move faster than he. But he could promise an even more impressive turn of speed if the death adders, the boneheads and the “tremendous power of the money oligarchy of the world” ceased to impede his progress.

Even the ancient Greeks are drawn into the maelstrom. “The greeks had State control ox currency for 500 years before they were defeated by the Roman Empire.” To those unversed in the history of the ancient Greeks it is not quite clear whether it was State control of currency that led to the defeat of the Greeks, or whether the Romans were simply superior. In any case “there are no records of any country having since, obtained control over currency and credit so that they reflect the wealth of the people.” That is, of course, not until New Zealand took up the torch that the Greeks passed on and defied the “money oligarchy of the world.” It may be hoped, in passing, that New Zealand does not share the fate of the Greeks. But, of course, it will not, so long as New Zealand has Mr Semple to slay the death adders and crack the boneheads which may be the modern version of the Roman Empire.