IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 17, 21 January 1933, Page 8

IN THE PUBLIC MIND.

THE FAILURE OF GOLD

MONETARY REFORM NEEDS.

(To the Editor.)

Our old monetary system of gold as a basis of security has collapsed, for slowly but aurel is gold being forced out of use. Gold , 7 measure of values serves the purpos* but go}d as a basis of security to curwn» note issue and real estate has served us ilf' in fact it has not served us at ali— W6 ; gold. Banks by means of gold as a basiTof security are enabled to appropriate »rivj,t and national credits and put them to their 01™ use, leaving the creator of credits a 1«« (minus his credit) of debt, bearing in perpetuity Banks, by breach o? contra, of payment of gold on demand, have forfeited all right to a monopoly of gold, and to. security of gold has gone by default. Enoueh about the old monetary system; what ar our needs for reform ? Our needs' f or reform are the needs of the unemployed, the needs of those in want and distress, the needs of the primary producer, the manufacturer anc' exoor ter; in other words, the needs of the masses Take our economic position to-day, £ s respect to supply and demand, and 'we find supply is there, demand is there, but the means (money), whereby supply and demand can bs brought together in the form of consumption is not there, and never can or will be there until we take the whole of production as a basis of security to currency note issue. Production, primary and manufactured, i' s real wealth. Take the whole of this wealth as security to currency note issue, and as production grows so let our currency note issue grow, for by this means and this means aloha can supply meet demand in the form of consumption. To take but one item from production's large family and ask it to act ai sponsor to the needs of all others is simply childishly ridiculous. I offer the following [monetary reform suggestions: (1) Production as a basis of security to currency note leaue(2) The value of gold to be made stable, and act as a measure to all other values; (3) State control of currency note issue; banks to act as bankers, not as security holders; (5) banks to facilitate the use of" private and national credits to the use of the creator of credits thus making it possible for the creator of credits to use this credit free of charg«~ J. L. VERCOE.

THE EXCHANGE BLUNDER,

We are not all farmers, and they have little to complain of, I am sure. Let the farmer take the importer's position for a while and then see if he would welcome this imposition that the Farmers' Government has imposed on us in the increased rate of exchange.' Mr. Stewart is quite right and just in upholding his views, as he knows the results will mean disaster. Is there no body of men in this God's own country with the brains to ttckla the Government on this subject, or are we just going to let it do, say and impose what exchange it likes ? It is plain to see It is a farmers' Government, and, having many interests in the tasteless butter and meat, naturally it is looking after its own interests and pockets. What other country in the world would have tolerated the action of the Government voting itself in power for four years without a referendum of the people? Not any, and now it has passed this inflation, as it is called, the Government can look for deflation of both money \ and people in this country, as the time is not far distant when Mr. Forbes and his colleagues will have their hand* full dealing with the exodus of Dominion population. Is it not time we had a few women in the Government to teach members a Me common sense, as, after all, it is only common sense that is needed and minus all diss interest. FAIRNESS TO ALL.

PRIVATE PROPERTY IN LAND.

As your correspondent refuses to toll as whether he regards private ownership ag wrong or right he stultifies himself as a critic of Henry George. All criticism outside of this fundamental is simply waste of time. Private ownership of land is, as George states, juet as justifiable as slavery, i.e., ownership of human beinga—and, incidentally, George the evils of the slave system were not as great as the evils incidental to private ownership. "Sine Nomine" should remember that the land question is a question of ethics, * crystallised matter. If private ownership ' 8 as immoral, cruel and unjust as slavery, then we are on safe ground when we strive for It* abolition. To say that any attempt to aboM it is an abstraction is simply absurd. As your correspondent is now silent on protection, I would like to point out to him that we free traders have such a strong case that wo welcome opposition. (In my experience J have never known a protectionist who was not in the end silenced.) It is a fact. worthy of note that private ownership has been' Condemned as far back as history takes us. It veiled no Henry George to tell us that robbery of a people's natural heritage is a crime.

HERBERT MULVIRIt-L.

WHEAT BOARD CONTROL

The Auckland Chamber of Commerce i» to be congratulated on the courageous stand it takes against the politicians, wheatgrowefs and millers' combine, who are out to exploit the consumer. Why are the master bikers not represented on the board (if siich is necessary) ? There is a Master Bakers' Association in New Zealand, but it is evidently deep ' n thought, like our Cabinet, whilst the growers dry being presented with fortunes every year, and the New Zealand bakers are selling bread at the lowest prices in the WOrWi With the result that about one-third of -We tradesmen are out of work. However, tne North Island can grow just as good wheat as tile South Island, so there is a chance 'Or the hard-pressed dairy farmer to change OVe and grow wheat, and participate in the 3 from the Control Board. To end this exploits: tion it is Only necessary for the master oSK e to join forces with the various chambers 0 commerce, when an early remedy can be , to break up the monopoly which now eXis in connection with the staff of life. MASTER BAKER. A POINT IN CRICKET.

It has been stated in Australia tha "diplomatic incideht" lias been pi'bvokea - the projection of a small leather and by a Nottingham collier towards the P® * .1 of hardy Australians who "A'ill B4 tne•• I b#g to suggest that the subject e -r esl wicket decisions by Australian umpires at matches be added to the agenda for Do^vrii.. Street. In the three Test matches alrea". played this season teii Englishmen ltA given oilt Ibw, as against three Australia ' although England batted one innings less Australia. This peculiar feature has not . uncommon in previous Test matches p .. in Australia, for during the first Test ot 1928-29 series four Englishmen, Viz., . Mead, White and Larwood, were thus <- . ■ "out" Ibw, but no Australians were. this imply that the latter, are more sin dodging the flying projectile? If not ' W T. else? ' 1 ...