DOMINION TOPICS

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 302, 16 September 1933, Page 20

DOMINION TOPICS

The Building Subsidy. The response to the building subsidy offered this year has been much more marked than that to the similar scheme operated last year. This may be explained partly by the more attractive conditions, and partly, no doubt, by an improved temper in the country. More people se<m to be convinced that bedrock has been reached, and that now is the time to move. Yet, as the closing of the scheme reminds the community, these things must have an end. Nobody can expect building to be subsidised in perpetuity. It is necessary to guard against the expectation of such conditions. This accords wltn what Mr. Jessep has said about the No. 5 scheme, which must not be regarded as a permanent institution—though the day of its complete discontinuance may still be a considerable distance ahead. Of the No. 10 scheme it can fairly be said that it has had a usefully stimulating effect on the building trade. —“New Zealand Herald.” Unfair Criticism. Sometimes it is regarded as fair tactics in political warfare to utter halftruths misrepresenting the facts; but the Labour Party has gone a little beyond that. It has been stated that the Government is responsible for widespread distress in the Dominion, and that it had the power “to deal effectively with unemployment,” and has not done so. It is as preposterous as it is unfair to say that the Government is responsible for the distress which unfortunately does exist, and an even less flattering description can be given to the statement that the Government has not dealt with unemployment. The councils of the.Labour Party may regard this as a fair way of attempting to catch votes, but electors should be able to detect the palpable injustice of such an attack. Unemployment would have Jjpen the gravest social problem in the Dominion no matter what Government had been in power, and to blame the present Administration for its growth ds no more sensible than blaming a Government for the weather.— Christchurch "Sun.” The Exchange Rate and the Public. Upon the whole the Government has no cause to complain of the spirit in which the urban community has submitted to the increase in the exchange rate. The action which was taken by the Government was opposed at the time both because it involved an interference on the part of the State with the ordinary processes of trade and finance and also because the level at which the rate was fixed was not justified by trade conditions. But there has been little or no factious agitation against it in the months that have since passed. It has been recognised that it was in the interest of the producers, whose condition in the great majority of cases was certainly desperate, that the Government took the step of arbitrarily raising the rate. And for this reason, without any acceptance of the view that the general interests of the country were served by the Government’s action, associations of business people and the Press have alike refrained from continuing to urge strongly their objections to the course that was adopted.—“Otago Daily Times.” Quality in Dairying.

If the dairy industry is to flourish the standard of manufacture must be raised higher and higher. Last year saw some improvement in quality, and this yedr it is hoped to go further. To do so means full co-operation of all concerned, and a contented factory staff is an important factor in such co-opera-tion. There is also the community view. Can wage reduction go any further with advantage? Must not the dairy industry, as well as other industries, envisage the raising of wages at the earliest possible moment, thereby increasing the wage-earner’s spending power, always provided, of course, that the best service is given for the higher wage. Mr. Taylor indicated that at Ngaire cuts would be restored as soon as circumstances permitted. Although the need for prudence must be admitted, it is to be hoped that judgment upon those circumstances will not be harsh. To recognise greater effort by higher remuneration is usually sound business. It assures co-operation between employer and employee, co-oper-ation which is essential if the Dominion’s industrial affairs are to flourish again.—“Taranaki Daily News.”

A Naval Occasion. New Zealand is the first British country in the eastern hemisphere in point of time, and Australia is the second. These countries form the southwestern border of the great potential storm-centre, the Pacific, across which two very suspicious neighbours, Japan and the United States, regard each other with mutual misgivings. There is every reason, therefore, why Australia and New Zealand shouid feel that in naval matters they form a vital part of Britain’s bulwark. This community of interest, which is strengthened by ties of common sacrifice in the close associations of the Great War. is enough to ensure the warmest of welcomes for any unit of the Australian Squadron that may visit this soutberlv outpost. The arrival, Indeed, of the Australian flagship H.M.A.S. Canberra, is a naval occasion of great significance, and the officers and crew may be assured that in New Zealand waters they are more welcome even than in their own ports.—Christchurch “Star.” Our Overseas Markets.

Whatever progress we may make in the Far East, or in any other direction, it is certain that we shall require in England, Scotland and Wales a market for at least 80 per cent, of our exportable produce, and that will naturally be an increasing quantity as land settlement on intensive principles becomes more general. We can obtain a guarantee of that market in only one way, and that is to purchase all we can of British manufactures. It is not a great sacrifice, indeed, it is no sacrifice at all, for we assume that preference would be given on the understanding that all other filings were equal. We do not wish the trade to be confined to the lines we have already established on the Home market. There is also a matter of about £40.000,000 in pig products to be shared with other competitors, for we believe that New Zealand will in the course of a few years obtain almost as profitable a revenue from bacon, as she now does from cheese.— “Southland Daily News.”

Butter Prospects. From the bedrock level of 65/-, touched in April, butter prices have improved by more than 50 per cent. Prices have risen steadily and in conformity with a general tendency among commodities. In recent weeks there has been the added factor of drought conditions, causing a sharp falling-off in supplies of Britain and the countries of Europe. Australia, too, has been affected by unfavourable conditions, and New Zealand apparently is alone in showing an expansion of output It is too early in the season to assess the prospects on the basis of present indications, but it is evident that a sharp decline in the butter production of many countries will do much to overcome the glut of stocks, and is already beginning to have that effect. A further factor is the changeover from dairying to wheat-growing and sheep farming in some countries. —“Auckland Star.”

Experts in Government. The Acting-Prime Minister has predicted that economists will play an important part in'governance, as consultants to those in office. The matter is one that has been discussed by many leading men at Home and abroad, and in- its Economic Council the British Government has a body of experts to which the involved economic problems of the day can be referred for analysis and explanation. Mr. Winston Churchill has advocated the appointment of an . economic sub-Parliament, free from party'bias, and containing commercial men, financial experts, and responsible trade union leaders, who would give the Government of the day economic advice and guidance. ‘ The more I think of the matter,” he said, “the more convinced I am that the machinery, of government would be improved by the creation of a permanent body of this kind.”—Christchurch “Times.”

The Inflationists’ Cry. Inflationists urge that the way to overcome the country's difficulties is to issue notes or Treasury bills, and they cannot object if the Government has been going what they have advocated. With grandiose inflation there would be little hope of real economies, and those who think the printing presses can solve ail the financial problems blame the economies effected by the Government for all the ills of the depression. Ready to find fault with, everything Mr. Coates has done or may do. they assert that unemployment is the direct consequence of the reductions in the administrative expenses, forgetting that unemployment was growing before these economies became effective, and that if no reductions had been made in the Government ordinary appropriations the load of taxation would have been heavier than it i* to-day.—“ Southland Times.” State Control in Industry.

Under the American National Recovery Act the State claims authority to interfere in business along the lines followed in New Zealand through the activities of arbitration and conciliation legislation, which demonstrated beyond all shadow of doubt that the paying of higher wages and the compulsory acceptance of shorter hours and other concessions, Inevitably raised costs and prices which were passed on to the consumer. Doubtless the Roosevelt plan will continue to attract world-wide interest, but it is doubtful if New Zealand, with its advanced labour legislation, its. provision of State and local relief of distress due to unemployment, and its sorry experience gained from extensive experiments in the direction of embarking upon large public works, paid for out of borrowed money, has much to learn from the American recovery plan.—“Timaru Herald.”

The Roosevelt Plan. New Zealanders are now beginning to realise, with the rest of the world, the colossal nature of President Roosevelt’s scheme and the staggering effect it will have, if successful, upon the social life of other countries. Mr. Forbes has been able to get first-hand informa tion about the scheme and to see it being applied to industry after industry during the critical period of change from individualism to a national commercial discipline. The thought uppermost in Mr. Forbes’s mind must have been: how is all this applicable io New Zealand? New Zealanders can be assured, however, that a successful outcome to the American experiment will be followed immediately by its adoption in Britain and by Europe in general. Then it will be the opportunity for New Zealand and the rest of the Empire to fall in line and march back to prosperity via rationalisation in industry—planned wage and price levels and hours of work.—“Taranaki Herald.”

Defence in the Pacific. The Australian Government has heen considering the question of harbour defence. The New Zealand Cabinet, it has been stated, will shortly be asked to consider plans for the reorganisation of the defence system. The immediate reorganisation is not likely to be extensive, but it is expected that the main attention will be devoted to strengthening the air defences. Protection of the Empire’s sea routes is a matter that concerns all Its parts. It calls for a common system and for contacts.- For that reason it is natural and desirable that • Australia’s cruisers should be visiting these waters and participating in exercises with the New Zealand Division. The visitors will be welcomed also for their own sakes, for the sake of common ties and past associations, and it will be hoped that the Australia’s stay in Otago waters will be as pleasant as all feelings of this community will desire to make it. — Dunedin “Star.”

A Question of Distribution. With the advent of winter in ths northern hemisphere exports from Continental countries will be substantially reduced and it is probable that prices will continue to move upward steadily. There is, however, a very present danger that a rapid rise Jn values will cause attention to be diverted from the very unsatisfactory state of affairs in the present system of marketing our i dairy produce in Britain. At the present time practically the whole of the Dominion output is landed at London consigned to a heterogeneous collection of importers and distributors. No real effort is made to distribute the produce throughout tire country, where, it is evident, there is a considerable demand for New Zealand butter.—“Waikato Times.”