THE PEOPLE'S FORUM

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 139, 15 June 1938, Page 26

THE PEOPLE'S FORUM

From Our Readers to Our Readers. TYRE MANUFACTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. (To the Editor.)

In Christ chur.'ji we hoar the rumbling of the Auckland drums concerning the proposed estahli.-hnient of a rubber goods faetory in New Zealand. I have l.een .m the fringe of this business for seven *ear.-. and I trn-t you w ill lot me write a few linos so that those interested in this business will keep awake and keep th'.' drums going. The more noise, the more investigation, the better it will lie. Let us peep at Canada. This country has seven times the population of New Zealand, does not have as many motor cars per capita, yet in I'.i.iii she had ,i 2 lubber liicturies with a capital of i'l.'!.(MM>.(i(.)U with II.SMi pels.ms employed earning tiiMiiO.oiio wages. and turning out goods valued at C IJ.4oO.<MMI. 1 lie l'a.'iT iigures are up on l!):Sti, but in 1!,;f 7 she exported .t-'.'i.000.000 worth <>f rubber goods of w hit-li t'l .llM).O(M) %vae.\ ported to (beat Britain. So that if the Brit ish la< - t. lies are going to start a rebellion because they 10-e "S davs"' trade. let tlean li-lit for that million import trade from Canada. Apart from tyres; belting. shoes, soles, boots and bulk largely in the figures above mentio.ied. I see that llr. Boucher -taU'd that farmer.-' unions and motori-ts would lie stirred into action — good. Last year some Xeiv Zcalanders through the exchange were taxed to the tune of A) 13 millions to supplement sterling prices, so that farmers are aware that free markets don't suit farmers. -Motorist organisations know that over and above every j.eiiiiy of pvtml and other taxes gathered, til" rate and taxpavers are .-pending millions on the t ioulat ion of motor ca is. v i/.. the roads.

|So that two bi.' cla — -e- now the receiver"t '"'.ue national bounties would hear in detail liovv a new indii-trv could -tart in New Zealaid under .safeguards so j that it would no', iceeive the hiijrc siim[tliat they have been fortunate ill claimin,!'. Ihe more it i- aruued the bct'er. It you take ,he tyres on new cars inij ported, alonir with ordinary rubber im- ; ports. New Zealand con-utnc- up to I t'-.I It 10.000 per annum. On the-e li-un-I the Kii;:li-li factory would produce | t72.(lO(i.(ioii i,er annum if the ei-ht d.iv i nonsense were true. The fact - are that I two American, si veral Kni_'li-h and two J local concerns have a-ked the i.overn--1 mi'iit tor pc. n.i-.-ion to manufacture rubber e,.0,1s in New Zealand. The 1 < .o\eminent has taken time to drive a bai--ain -o th.it the con-iimer. the tax- , payer, the employed, the tmeinployed. the export ni.it ket -s and all are con- ■ -idi'ied. Frankly. I do li"t know what the result will i.e. Now let u- look at a larger canvas. In the Brit i-h Knip're | we have one quarter of the earth. \et ■we have only two white people to 1 S. A.'s ihrec'. There are now -even j more million- ..| white- in <iermany than jw e have vv !i ii e people in i lie vv hole i Brit i- ii Km pire. A - an iu ,1 ir-t ria I : •■lit it >" Bn--ia ha- come ahead with a -vv oop. aid in li.L'U'e- i- having tie-Briti-h Kinpitc behind. I wa- in London i I eeciit ly for .''ally a v-.ir and walk.-! I .no m'm *- in h. ■. -ii.■.■:-. 1 -av. a pia-e. I'll k 1' V., 1. -even mile- f I ."tit 1 lie cent i c of London, wii-.'e 'iv• •i * a 'lioi-an.l tn-w fact .'la'- have l-.-.-ii built in a few ,ar-. London i- >_o •'w iii'j fa-ter than any other part . f the Biiti-ii Empire: and vet ■.ur friend- in Auckland are at fever pitch : over peudinir di-a-ter -hotild New Zealand put up a rubber eo.nl- factory .under sale-lard- iittim.' to that in dn-lrv>. Sni• •l x a -en-c of proportion is needed. Then with a rubber indu-tr\ 'in full -vv ii"_:. vvi niu-t import cotton .and raw rubber. That niein- that we Would have a i la.nee to find new export market- with back freight-. Malay, he- ' side- 1k• inlt at the eros-roads of 1 lade. I herself im | .or' - I l .ooo.uon worth of con- ! Den-ed and dried milks. Then finally Britain'.- export trade of rubber I would not be le--cned a- liiuc'a a- our 'friend- sii-e-t : the loss of trade would be bv countries which do not buy our j eomlis at all. L. C. WALKEK.

SOCIALISM?

PEACE AND DESTRUCTION

Whenever a country has -utTcred violently. (evolutionary ion may be ' expected to follow. After the war tiermany turned to national -ociali-m to rcpa ir her de-ola ti. .|; : she made t InState c-upremc ■ at t h e price of individual liberty. Rus-ia revolted Irom ( /ari-m to exalt the State and charged i tiie eo-t.s to the ri.L'lit- and freetloni of (the individual. The world-wide trade deprtv-ioii ruck our Kmpirc and New Zealand rea-"ed wit ii a violent movement toward- State supremacy and ( ont incut a 1 ideas of ( oiv eminent. in the past our country ha- been »rov\in_r i'i -.i materially and powerful in the councils of Kmpire through steady evolutionary Socialism. iialatninj.' with i-tudied iu-tiee state and indiviilnal richtis. Our# has l.een the privilege of having t>e standards of Briti-h jr.tvorntuetit for jotidance. until -uddenly the aftermath of the uepre--ion ha- taken Ihe form of a revolutionary change. Tliits. however, has made the ii--ue before ,us all the more clear-cut. Shall we : stand for democracy and individual freedom, or are we jjoiiiu ha -k "J"! cen- • t u lies to the ideal- of Plato, who mainjtainetl that the State wa- .-upreme —s,<

, inik-Ii -o that tlii- in-.livillu.i 1 exi-ted f<>r I it Mini the State should take it- units , and <■]<>tlie. teed anil train them f.«r i whatever end- it cho-e ? Pu-sia }i a ~ ; adapted thin teaching to a greater I extent than we are dniti;. 1 >ut why do 'we need to jirii™ve<<. even halfway. alnn.2 a backward road': The prosperity of Britain lifted Canada. Australia and South Africa out "f the depression and exactly the same cau-e----otierated and were as —fill here. There has been no reason whatever why ■>11 r freedtim should he re-tri.ted in countless directions. The contagion of F.urope should never have reached our -liores. How deadly that contajion i~ our people have by no means yet realised. A Freedom T.easue i- called for i;i every city, town and village in our land, so that at the next election we can recover our !os-es and conserve for the' future the bett that is in the past. J. BUCHAX.

LABOUR'S POLICY. I gather from Mr. Adam Hamilton's speeches that private enterprise must l>e the foremost influence. Labour -ays wo ha\e through such a condition over a period of many years, tliat the time is now ripe (beca u.-e of increased | >r< i< 1 u»-1 ion through the increased inte 11 ii;oiu-t» of man) to advance the State's influence. The question arises why does Mr. Hamilton and his followers object to 111i ~. The only rea-on 1 can see is the individual de-ire for wealth. If an individual can obtain that without moral injustice to anyone he lias a perfect ' i-1 it to it. There are some cases where this can lie done, hut few. Mr. Hamilton s policy i- that private enterprise -hall predominate, which means the in-tcre-t of the few against the many, t Oiidit ions, t Are fore, must tie brought aliout to eiwlble one farmer to lie carried on the hacks of others to reach his de-ire. This is the cur-e us to-day. This desire for external money power, and thinking this is neces--ary for 1 appiness. | believe that we can make lite j-ood or lad. according to our intelligence. There ca:i he joy in wealth only when it is won fairly and used rightly. Mr. Hamilton's -tateinent re private enterprise controlled by the State is the crux of the whole question, and we should concentrate our thoughts on this line which is the dividing line between Labour and National-. The point is how l;ir and when must enterprise be checked. I -ay at the point of inju-t ice and far enough to prevent extreme money power and povertv. Mv experience shows Labour's policv is ■sound, and any working farmer, worthy, can make a happy living. 1 onl\ differ "" o"e point l health insurance). This I think should be approached and tackled from the educational point. J'cople should be taujiht to relv on them-id\es more for health. And it i- all in the intelligent u-e of fresh air. fre.-h water, exercise, sunlight and diet. AXuTHKR SMALL FARMER.

Mr. l.ndeaii. the National member for Keuiuei a, in a speech a*„ Kotorua tecentlv. i- rc|iorted to have mentioned -••met hi 11 a I mil t "comic ojicra" (iovcrn"iciit. and what sweeping and drastic measures he and his colleagues are to do w hell they ;_'et on tile Trea.-urv benches. Jt our prc.-cnt Ailniini-trat ion is ' comic opera." then 1 hope and trust the "opera will ha\e a record run and will continue to play to "capacity hmi-eV alter November next: for. after all, the Labour "coniic opera" is preferaide to the "National Triircdv" staged by the ( lppo-it ion. and which they are now trying to revive with a comeback, hut tragedy is out of date, and 1 do not think their curtain will ever rise on "Ait I." for them, although th"\- are us plenty of "prologue" ju-t at pre-ent. Another item in the Jmn. gentleman's speech. referred to the -upcrannu ition. social services and pen -ions. Due- lie mean to infer 'hat if elected lie and hi- party will abolish all tho-e magnificent mea-ure- once they '"■coiiie law ami are written into the statute- '• Also, do they intend to clo-c down. r\r partially clo-e down, the public works now in thereby throwing over tvM'iity lliou-and workers ,ei t.. the u lie 11! pi i 'Veil li-t. and incident a I'y lower if IL r the -pemlinu' power of the • ••. 11 nll \ .1. lIUNNKI;.'

Henry and another correspondent take lnt' to ta-k tor di-a with Mr. Dnn-muir. w lien lie -ay- that Soi-iali-in breeds war. and what we rei|iiire for |ieaee and plenty is a lar;je army and tia\y. It' the latter wa- tic i-a-e tile world to lie tlovviiiL' over with peace and plenty to-day; surely uc have aim- enoii'jh. Neither of the people who -eek to put me ri'jlit oil the matter of lvtis>ia dares to take ti]i my challenge. i.e.. to name a war fought dm the pa>t eeniury w ho-e root rau-e was not t-a pit ali-m. The \ cry natnre of the .»y>tcm under which we li\e I.reeds war. It i- to -ral> ami to hold, and to the devil with the other fellow. 1 have not to c;o to an unknown writer in the "l/.vest hi*' of more than four years airo to prove my case. Here is a Soviet • lovernment decree on the c|ue-tioii of military service: "One of the lia-ie aims of Socialism is to liherate humanity from the burden of militarism and from the barbarism of sannuiiiary ela-ht's between people-. The objective of Sociali-ni i- the general d i-a rina men!. perpetual peace and co■ operation of all the people- that inhabit the earth." Hut "in all coiinlries the imperiali-t bouru'eoisi,. i- in power. Its policy idirectcd towards the supple — ion of the ( ommiini-t revolution and the en-lave-ment of all weak peoples. Therefore, the Soviet Republic niu-t create it- own povvi-rful army." That -urely i- plain enough. and -hows why the lvu--iau people have to maintain -uch a huu>' force. I repeat, no nation to-day fear- Rus-ia as an nation. Admittedly the l'u>-ian people would ill all probability like to ,-ec the end of the eapitali-t -y-tctn. one of the chief rea-on- beinjr that the natural outcome of tlie capitali-tic system i- war. L'erhap- my two critics would have übtdieve that the cause of the t.reat War wa- Sociali-m. not capitali>m. and that if Ru--ia wa- a en pit ali-t ic nation, like (lermany or Italy, the cau-e of world peace would bo much brighter.