WORLD ECONOMIC CONFERENCE

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20905, 12 July 1933, Page 15

WORLD ECONOMIC CONFERENCE

TO THS MDITOB OT TH» fMJ9. Sir,—-The World Conference, doing nothing in particular and doing it very well, should pack up before tue prosperity that is looming in many directions makes a fool of it. We do bang an to the idea, that a practically self-appointed collection of individuals calling themselves delegates can turn civilisation into chaos or vie? versa. A civilisation of possibly a thousand million souls is not built to be snuffed out by anything the conference is likely to do or not do, so let us turn to something nearer home ana prepare for the good times that are ahead and" make the estuary a harbour, or irrigate the Canterbury plains or both. Years ago, when Christcnurch decided on getting the midland railway built to connect Westland with Canterbury, we raised such a hubbub tnax no government could withstand. Pro-, cessions, brass baft ds, fireworks, and a continuous stream of deputations to Wellington were a few of the propa | ganda methods used. The line was •tarted and put through. , H Times were very hard then, harder •than now in some respects. Spoonfeeding was not carried to the extent it is at present; 5s was paid for a nara eight hours' work. The limelight wa n<« thrown on the homes of the poo by benevolent organisations as at present. A soup kitchen was established in the old post office in Victoria square, after which good times came again ■ and we prospered for a time and founa all depressions since then have b®®|J very much of a muchness, apparently being part and parcel of universal economics and more likely to b e p order by cosmic potentialities' ana local energy than hazy-minded conferences and monotonous jargon in n '® ny languages and degrees of selnsness. Y °""' H. P. SEYMOUR. July 11, 1933.