AN OBVIOUS ECONOMY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 80, 6 April 1931, Page 6

AN OBVIOUS ECONOMY.

It is difficult to make the average citizen realise that often it takes two parties to effect the State economy about which he talks, in general, so vehemently. Every economy that the Government proposes is opposed by some interest or other. A leading business man in Christchurch, Mr. Norton Francis, has drawn attention to one particular sphere of economy in which the co-operation of the citizen is called for-rthat is, the travelling expenses of Ministers and their staffs. Mr. Francis is justified in saying that New Zealanders ask too much of Ministers. "If anything goes wrong, we must have the Minister down. We want a Minister to open a flower show, to lay a-foundation stone, to look into this and to look into that. I suggest that we shall all try to help ourselves and see if we can't get on without Government help and Ministers here and Ministers there." We pass on Mr. Francis' remarks to our readers. The way in which Ministers' time is taken up and.the country's money is,wasted, by these unnecessary tours is sometimes both humorous and scandalous. * Yet some months ago, when no member of the Government attended a bridgeopening in Southland, the Government was publicly rebuked at the ceremony for its neglect of duty. It did not seem to strike the complainants that Ministers were paid to do far more important work than running about the country opening bridges, and thafr it was not fair to hard-Worked men to add their burdens. Now .Mr! Francis raises the financial aspect. It is obvious economy that a Minister should not travel from Wellington to attend an unimportant function at the Bluff or Parengarenga. Personal and district vanity is largely responsible for these calls, and in these hard times it snould be curbed. '..-