"CHRONIC SLUMP MINDS"

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22338, 28 February 1938, Page 10

"CHRONIC SLUMP MINDS"

MINISTER ATTACKS OPPOSITION DEFENCE OF PUBLIC WORKS SAVING FOR DEPRESSION A "LUDICROUS" IDEA In a defence of the public works programme of the Government, the Kvn. R. Semple (Minister for Public Works), when interviewed by "The Press" on Saturday ridiculed the theory of the Opposition that these undertakings should be reserved for times of depression. He charged the Opposition with having developed "chronic slump minds" and chided it with now preaching a policy completely contrary to its own acts during the last depression.

"The idea of easing off public works in normal times and speeding them up in lean times sounds very funny coming from the Opposition, who, during the last slump, sacked all the men, sold all the gear, stopped every job it had in progress, and turned the men into relief camps. It is strange to hear that theory being expounded by that bunch of fellows. Who is responsible for this curious idea I do not know, but it is definitely contrary to what the Opposition did itself." Acceptance of the theory would mean that no progress in the public works of the country would be made until a slump came. In other words, the people would be dreaming about slumps and hoping that they would come so that public works could be put in hand. The proposal was ludicrous. Demand for Roads For instance, New Zealand, the most highly "motorised" country, in the world, the United States excepted, had a traffic problem to solve. During Christmas 25,000 more cars than during the previous holidav season were on the road, and within two years the number had increased by 51.000. To suggest for one moment that New, Zealand should remain stagnant until a slump came before improving the roading system to cope with the increased traffic was, to say the least, absurd. A rural country like New Zealand demanded a proper roading system as one of the mainsprings of its economic, social, and industrial life. All that the Government was doing was towards bringing the roading system up to a modern standard to cope with modern transport and to create a modern degree of safety and efficiency—safety for the travelling public and efficiency for the farmers to get their products to the markets.

In the extension and improvement of roading, New Zealand was not alone. Every country had been compelled to push its roading schemes ahead so as to keep pace with new methods of transportation. The motor-car had revolutionised the system and transport was at the crossroads. Apart from constituting death traps, the roads were incapable of carrying the traffic. The Government recognised the problem and was tackling it the best way it could —and it was making wonderful progress.

"My friends on the Opposition benches are the last in the wide, wide world to talk about holding off public works till a slump comes. Surely they have developed a chronic slump mind. It is reafly humorous that they now propose the very opposite to their acts." "Not Spending Half "It has been said T am spending too much money. I have not spent half the money I have been asked to spend by representatives of public bodias. It might t>e suggested that we should stop irrigation works till the slump comes. We are going ahead to irrigate the soil and give the farmer a greater output from that land. Surely the work will be of economic value, even if a slump does come. As far as the railways were concerned, eight lines were started and stopped by the late Government after it expended £8,000,000 borrowed from overseas. A sum equal to nearly half that amount was spent in interest on those lines before we took office. We had to decide whether it was wiser to continue paying the interest bill and get nothing or to consider which lines had some chance of being of value to the country and to complete them. These pigeons, with all the feathers plucked out, were left to us by the other fellows."