SOCIALIST DANGERS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 271, 12 August 1938, Page 7

SOCIALIST DANGERS

Principles Affiliated To

Communism

ADDRESS BY MR. BARKER

The first, portion of an address by the National Party'candidate for Wellington East. Mr. W. L. Barker, at the Melrose Hall last night, had a noisy reception from a section of his large audience. For the most part, however, he received an attentive hearing, and a motion of thanks and confidence was declared carried.

The remarks which received a mixed reception were in criticism of last Sunday night’s broadcast by the Controller of Commercial Broadcasting, Mr. C, G. Scrimgeour, and of the reference by the Minister of Public Works. Hou. It Semple, in Parliament to Mrs. E. L. Stone.

A book from which he claimed Mrs. Stone had quoted at Pukeora was produced by Mr. Barker, the title being "The Case Against Socialism.” He read the sentence: “The Socialist philosophy offers women economic independence and freedom as a substitute for the marriage bond.”

An interjector: Do you believe that the Labour Party is in favour of annulment of marriage.

Mr. Barker: No, but if Socialism comes, then that must follow.

Socialist Philosophy.

The Socialist philosophy was founded on the fact that the individual did not count, said the speaker. He was a mere unit in the collective group Without individual freedom there was little in life worth while. How could people of a Communist State own everything? That was done by a few private individuals. A voice: The Labour Party will not have Communists. Mr. Barker: That is all “eye-wash” and hypocrisy. In the ultimate form Socialism and Communism are identical. 1 Under the present Government, £12,000.000 of capital had gone out of New Zealand, declared the speaker. The Minister of Finance had failed to lower the exchange rate. Yet he went in on the promise to do so. New Zealand had an unbalanced economy. What was the' Government doing to establish secondary industries? A voice: Onekaka iron. Mr. Barker: That is a gamble. It might come off and it might, not. Factories in New Zealand were closing down, he said, because their costs were too high in relation to production. Legitimate industries were not absorbing the unemployed. A voice They are advertising for men every day. Mr. Barker: Then why are there 23,000 men on public works and 3000 men on sustenance waiting for work?

Mr. Barker said that the leading exponents of Socialism, who were followed by the present Administration, advised that the best way to overthrow its opponents was by taxation and interference with business. Business, in its many types, was the life blood of the country. The Government should see that justice was done as among the groups. It should step in only in the case of dangerous monopoly.

Unsound Finance. The function of the Reserve Bank was explained by the speaker, who said that in slump times the bank should finance by short-term credits at low rates of interest. At present the .Reserve Bank, although it was dealing to some extent in short-term credits, was lending for long terms. That was unsound finance. _ No sound Minister of Finance would spend to an unlimited extent on public works in boom periods because imports were expanded and the internal price level forced up. Industry was embarrassed, overseas funds were drained and a financial crisis faced. In the past, and to-day, borrowed money was put into unproductive works. A sound Government would build reserves in boom times against bad. The present Government claimed to be able to insulate the country. / There were two ways of doing that. One was by building up reserves. The other, was by a system of absolute State ownership. There was no other

Railways were showing a loss, and the State houses would do the same when the short term credits were transferred to long term. If all industries were owned by the State the whole country would go bankrupt. An interjector: You don’t approve of the State houses? Mr. Barker: They are good houses. But they cost too much, the rents are too high, they have no shelter, no sheds and no privacy.

In the city people were living like rabbits. Where was the housing shortage being cured? In 1930 there were enough builders and carpenters to build .1500 houses. In the last year 500 houses were built. The tradesmen were on public works. Confidence Undermined.

The policy of the Minister of Finance was undermining confidence iu the country. The causes were excessive taxation, State interference a/id a sense of insecurity. When confidence was undermined, capital left the country, and money that should go into legitimate investment was sterilised and went into the Post Office Savings Bank. Yet on the other hand was unemployment. An eminent authority had said that if New Zealand faced a recession the savings bank would not be able to pay out to its depositors.

There were only tw'o courses open to the Government if its present policy were continued, inflation and force. Undue inflation would be followed by the resignation of the governor of the Reserve Bank. A financial crisis would follow and the Government would fall. They would avoid that way. Therefore they must resort to force.