"The Digger."

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 21, 6 August 1920, Page 8

"The Digger."

* FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1920. THE LAND QUESTJON. The assurance of the Hon. Minister of Lands, that tlie Government is doing its best for returned soldiers, is no doubt an expressiori propelled by honesty of purpose. Nevertheless, the Governmcnt's Land Policy has been reproductive of a iarge measuxe of disappointment. Not long 1 after the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act came into existence, . there gradually .grew a widespread opinion that too high a price was being paid for the land, furthar, that there was a .class of landowner who eould forsee what legislation made no effort to cheek — an opportunity to accelerate the law of supply and demand with the natural corollary, an infiation of values. The small farmer who joined the land gamble merely took advantage of an already existing set of condilioijs whioh hacl its origin with the class of land-owner previously referred to. At the same time, this action of the small farmer made an automatic contribution on pre-war values, and recent activity provision is made for compulsory acquisition of pre-war values, and recent activity has raised the consideration as to whether tliese landowners are prepared to be taxed on the price they are now asking for land. However, the present set of conditions is due to economic law. Quite so ! When the disintegrating factors of justice are given free plav, instead of providing an effective check to them, and directing economic activity along channels which

will produce an effective and effieient land policy. In'addition to its economic result there is also another phase to be considered. We nave passed through troublesome times, a period when German aggression crossed the threshold of Belgium under the guise of "Kulture." Had this aggression been successfully prosecuted, there would have been a disastrous depreciation of values instead. But what. prevented tliese conditions from existing? What kept land values up ? The soldiers who stood on the fire-step and suffered privations, and who, at any moment, may have made the supreme sa-crifice in preserving for future generations "the things that matter for a. nation," and as relative to our theme the preservation of land values as a natural consequence. This enabled an era of prosperity to take place, for which, to be gxiilty. of repetition, the soldiers were daily making the sacrifice. Can the R.S.A. be considered guilty of going to the extremes for asking that tliese considerations be associated with the evolution of economic law, and a"sk that they should be enabled to purchase land on the 1914 valuation. It is fair and reasonable request and will appeal to all thoughtful persons who do not place sliekels of silver before common- justice: lt was shown at the last Annual Conference, that there were" st-ill 6,000 men who were in search of land. They too must pay the penalty of the Government's neglect. The R.S.A. have always been doubtful of

the operations of Land Pprchase Boards anch-have consisteiitly asked the Government to create the maehinery frequently asked for m the columns of this journal. The cash transaction of the Government leaves it open for pressure being brought to bear upon the Bohrd, and cannot be regarded as an effective piece of maehinery, and the high price being paid for land will have a reaction upon the soldier setler when land values hecome more stabilised. The small farmer, and principally the small dairy farmer, is not doing so well as generally believed ; if you deduct the price he gets for his produce and tne amount which may reasonably be eredited to his family, then the high price paid, makes it more difficult for him to preserve a reasonable margin of profit after rent, and interest, etc., have been paid. The position as indicated in the Waitara "Mail" recently, seems to satisfactorily express the position : — "It is not ai all certain that when the Government buys improvel land at £100 per acre for the returned soldier to dairy on, they are acting kindly by him. By the time the man is ready to make the area productive his yearly output for, say, 50 acres of the presumably high quality soil would be-in the region of £600, and it is hard to see how even with the best herd and the most skilful management, his revenue will be very much beyond that figure. A Waikato case cited the other

day showed that a practical farmer earning £924 from 164 acres had to outlay all but £98 of that amount without allowing anything for the services of himself, wife, and three children. The man worked from daylight to dark, and his wife had broken down through work. He was only able to make both ends «neet by the fact that he bought his sfarm ten years ago, when the price was much below the present Government valuation. His improvements capitalised and the unearned increment ought to give him a good margin "should he desire to. sell, but possibly he wants a place to bring his children up on ; and if he sold and rebought, he probably would have to part up with all that he had made, so that a change in that respect would be of no advantage. Tbe speculator pure and simple/ however, has in most cases made a heap of money during the boom." This speculative activity has been oue of the greatest disintegrating factors in the operations under the Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act, while the speculators themselves have been carried on the banners of patriotism as haying contributed (somet-imes by compulsion) to the various war loans. These contributions have lost the quality of sacrifice owing to the rate of interest involved.