IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 218, 15 September 1930, Page 6

IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

GOLD STANDARD. EFFECT ON INTEREST PAYMjEflfg " . —- ; ; I %' ' (To the Editor.) •v' "• s An interesting letter under the nom-de T P lumc "F.J.8." ia a recent "Star" j. far evoked neither criticism nor support. As 3 a man in tlic street, I contend that "FJ.B"'' has got pretty near the cause of hard timee t not only in New. Zealand, but throughout the l world to-day. Not over-production, ? means, but most certainly under-consuiaptjoii l - ' Millions to-day cannot even get the tar '''' 4 ''- ' I necessities of life. If all the unemployed . t .throughout .the world were in a position 3 ; ' bu J w]iat they du-ely required,.the production'' l '■ > alone would employ each in turn producing ■ ' ' : wliat the other required. His latter potof ' the gold standard, has a direct bearing ™ : the former. Taking the war debt of Britain as an example, £8,000,000,000; was that amount'"" ' J borrowed on gold standard? Most certainly' "I ' not, otherwise it would never have been raised. W''* ' The pound sterling in those days eearcelv ' • averaged ten shillings' worth of commodity • «' The interest on this vast sum is a standard figure throughout the period of the loan (and one is apt .to think, as times are, for ' 1 Now . the pound is calculated to purchase fifteen ' shillings' worth of commodity, the ■ or-,5: ; per cent interest on that money buys " as much again as when the imonev was lent and should the pound have again- the'purchasing power of twenty shillings, which u • evidently the object of high financial circles *•. the interest, though nominally U or 5 per cent, is actually 9 or 10 per cent'in relation, ■' to the value of the money lent, and the ' equally big problem of repaying principle'a ' likewise affected. Gne thousand pounds'leiit when the pound was worth ten shillings u repaid by £1000 of gold standard purchasing " ' power. The war debts both direct and'in the form of pensions, etc., are the : problem each country has to face to-day~°and a new standard of currency will have to.be made based on the purchasing power of thessf* ' debts, before we will see any improvement in- ' ■ industry.' 1 A man with, say, £5 per week, mm ' pay directly or indirectly £1 per week in taxes, mostly required for interest and redemption tip of war debt. Cut that man's' wage down to £4 per week, according to improved" purchasing- • power of £1, and he still has to pay his fl'per •} '• week in tapes, but his purchasing power of ' the other £1 is lost to industry, and that means under-coiisulpiption and consequently more iinemployment. F.WH

STATE OFFICIALS.

• _ . , , v .; *4S|?!SSU: .Mi. Farquharson Jonas quotes a prominent ■britjsli statesman as saying, in roferenca to New Zealand, "Your Civil Service is out of I all proportion to'your .population,'" and' Mr.- ! J ones compares our population with the cities : of Philadelphia and Paris, saying, ."With thetv, jl population of a second-class city we lave the' Government of a nation." At first sight these , j are pertinent and somewhat alarming cumpari- ' sons, 'but; in reality, the conditions are. not j comparable.. The cities referred to are: not' j charged, in the comparison, with the services I rendered to.them by the "Government; of a j nation." Neither do these cities, finance their , >• own railways, telegraph, fire and life insur- v ,\ ance, , education, coal mines, tourist resorts, J ' ' «tc. If -in .New Zealand ithese services,'Spro- j vided by the Government, were entirely aboi*. j ished, and only those services retained which are the usual concomitants of the "Govern-^ ment of a nation," the proportion of Civil servants per. head of population would probably > be found to be no higher than in Philadelphia or Paris. In New Zealand the tendency for the last fifty years has been towards State ' control of' industries. Exception is always •- , j taken to this policy by interested, parties. . - •

But the same parties have no objection. to, in. fact they strongly advocate, State interference ■/, -. when such a course is likely to benefit their -. -V particular industry.' It is quite a common tiling for one trade to inspire Government ..' control, to counter the inroads of '. / trade. Every time new laws are passed, new regulations issued, additional . professions . 'become incorporated and the Government's called upon to hold the scales -of justice .'between competitors, the volume of work in Govern-' (V . ment Departments is increased, even if it does not involve the creation of new officials. But the people who demand this are often 'the ' , "loud speakers" when a cry is raised that •' , "your Civil Service is out of all proportion* Vto your population." The cure is in the hands , of the people. Abandon State control. Leave y ■ the whole business of the country to the'-trusts and combines. Give us the delightful atmos- ' ■ phere of Philadelphia, Chicago, et lioo genus; omnc. C. E. ARCHIBALD., ,rl,

UNIMPROVED VALUES.

"Sine Nomine" is quite right in claiming .. that the landowner renders -a service when he. pays to the State the purchase price of his land, the proceeds being used in the dcvcl6p;'v" , v'^ ? , _ ment of public services. This is exactly what.- - I have been suggesting should be done. 'It was on the bask of rendering service that in 1 Great Britain, whence our land laws were • ■ derived, the first grants of land were made. Successive Parliaments of landowners, however, renounced the obligations of national .. service while retaining the privilege of private ■' ■ ownership. A sub-editorial from the "Star in my possession shows that up to the time of Charles I. the whole national revenue ot Britain was collected from the land, arid if the same just principle had been maintained • a revenue of hundreds of millions would have been available to-day and no other form of taxation would be required. The purchasing H price of land is, of course, rent capitalised, I and if "Sine Nomine" will press his above- E mentioned claim to its logical conclusion I 1 assure him of my hearty support. I-do not ' I believe, however, that because a landowner I ■paid the original price of his land to the State, g thereby securing for himself the privileges of „C; 1 possession and use with public conveniences , I that this entitles,him to go on indefinitely col- -J lecting values that are subsequently created bj - t '. .8 the progress of the community.. Perhaps in | his lfext communication "Sine Nomine" will 'i, , 1 inform us what proportion of rental valnce J-*- g landowners are paying to the State (the 1 creator of them) by comparison with the .. j B amount that is being appropriated under oui s g silly system by private individuals who 8 no just claim to them? I suggest that the . latter amount in New Zealand based on the H B market value of land is easily twentv-fUe . . ; g millions a year. G. .HENRjy 8

BIRTH CONTROL.

All honour to the Lambeth Conference, I which is moving with the spirit of time?.All honour to "Calixta," who is also -imbued with the desire for advancement and P r °y es to have the courage of her convictions. Ihe enslavement of woman has continued long enough. Man takes fine care to regulate, the ■ animal kingdom—to breed only from the best and regulate the time of mating, etc., but any time and all the time is the lot of unfortunate woman. Many thousands—nay, millions—have been dragged down to an early grave tlijjougi the bearing of large families.'* All honour--to . our bishops and may more women conic toiward I'kc "Calixta" with an open mind w 1 the progress of humanity. ■ LET THERE BE.LIGHI. , w