CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 263, 7 November 1939, Page 6

CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS.

THE GREEKS AND MONETARY REFORM.

(To the Editor. 1

The. latest outburst, by the Minister of Public Works is merely another example of the Labour <ioverrsment's assumption of infallibility and its extreme- intolerance of any form of criticism. Cultured men and women will not deny the debt they owe to ancient Greece, 'lnit nevertheless The Minister lia-s chosen a most unfortunate example wherewith to illustrate his idea of currency reform. If he had continued instead of stopping short whe r e it suited, he might have added that Greece at the height of its j-owr-r was able to levy taxation on numerous subject cities (consequently there whs nn trouljle about interest or repayment l ; that the skilled tradesmen who buiit the Parthenon "were slaves working under the direction of imported taskmasters (110 40-hour week); and that eventually the Greeks became a degraded and a demoralised people who fell an easy prey to more virile invaders. Another Cabinet Minister thinks that monetary reform would eatise individualism to '"flower in all it- lieauty.'' If. then, we accept Mr. Scmple'. siatpinent that Greece had State control of currency for .">OO years, how did it c>ni<> about that a( the end of that period t'ip Greek- as a nation were pliy-i:-a 1!y and morally degenerate? I \v mder if ri I.* thought ever occurs to our i«fi< d T.al.iur politicians that, on oci-ar-ion. there mi/ht be something' wrong- with the individual. ACTIVUS. \