NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 190, 11 May 1942, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

It is true, as stated by tlie Minister o£ Supply, Mr. Sullivan, in the House of Representatives last week, that the subsidy system has enabled the Government to stabilize the prices'of certain commodities without hardship to producers. Increases in production cost have by this means been met out of the public purse, instead of being passed on to those who actually buy and consume the goods. What Mr. Sullivan refrained from admitting, however, was that the subsidy system has the serious wartime weakness of encouraging rather than checking needlessly heavy consumption of commodities. A price increase direct to the consumer invariably has the effect of curbing the demand for a particular commodity. In other words, the buyer, in his or her own interests, practices greater economy. When a price increase is met by State subsidy, as an alternative to a retail price increase, the incentive to economize is missing. The consumei still pays, but in an indirect way, through taxation. The levy of additional costs, which the public cannot escape, is disguised. .When inflation is abroad in the community, as it is today, subsidies become a dangerous . palliative, unless, accompanied by the) rationing of all subsidized commodities so as to hold down consumption regardless of price.

Many people no doubt read with considerable interest the six-point “people’s charter” of social reforms which, as reported, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Temple, had pledged himself to work for after the war. Not so many, perhaps, realized that these points were concerned purely with material objectives. This is not to suggest that the Primate was unmindful of the spiritual essentials without which social reforms of . the kind he outlined would have no secure foundations. These essentials, nevertheless, must not be overlooked. Social reforms, the improvement iu living conditions made possible by a more ample distribution of the comforts and amenities of life demand from lhe beneficiaries a corresponding elevation in the standards of social morale, a higher conception than exists today of the duty of tlie individual to his community, of his responsibility to the State. Not otherwise will the new ordering of post-war society be safeguarded from the evils of social corruption which history has so often proved have attended an era of peace, prosperity and ease. The new conception is of a world made fit for humanity, but humanity must also be made fit for its ideals. The task, we are reminded by the principal of Rongotai College, Mr. F. Martyn Renner, lias its logical beginning and its fundamental basis in education, in the schools. He declares that education so far has failed where in this respect it might have succeeded. The real meaning of education, he says, has become completely obliterated by the materialistic conception of it; real education is something far more than that implied by the examination fetish and the training of a child„so that it could subsequently earn a good salary, and the whole system should be remodelled to meet the needs of the time. What are these needs? They are, emphatically, higher ethical standards in personal conduct, in citizenship, in politics, and in commerce. The foundations can be well and truly laid in the home and in Hie schools. * >:= * *

When tlie time, comes for the rehabilitation of ex-servicemen on a large scale, what is to be the definition of a “returned man”? The question raised by a correspondent in last Wednesday’s Dominion — promises to become a difficult one unless it is given thoughtful attention in advance. As the correspondent pointed out, the recent announcement that “returned men are to have preference in regard to State houses” may be taken to refer only to men on active service overseas; whereas Hie circumstances of this war are such that thousands of men may complete a long period of active service, involving an equal degree of sacrifice of civilian opportunity, without leaving this country and thus qualifying as “returned men” in the generally accepted sense of that term. In not a few instances men posted to various special duties in one or oilier of the Services have been denied opportunity to serve abroad, in spite of their efforts to join overseas units. Very rightly, such men have been required to serve where they can be of greatest use; but it would be indeed anomalous if their usefulness in spheres of home defence were to disqualify them from such preferences as mtiy be accorded “returned men” in tlie post-war period of general rehabilitation. Already the R.S.A. has recognized the immense changes of circumstance, as between Hie Great War and Hie present war, to tlie extent of broadening its title so as to include men of all Services. Tlie question of. rehabilitation privilege, however, has much more attached to it than Association membership. It is one demanding broad national examination, with a view to laying down a clearly-understood policy.

During Hie year ending March 31, .19-13, the spending committees of the Wellington City Council will be obliged to reduce their outlay by tin average of -1 per cent. In view of tlie steady all-round increase in costs, and special E.P.S. expenditure totalling £23,000 (an amount which does not include Hie substantial cost of providing public shelters), this is not as heavy a reduction as might have been feared; indeed, the announcement, made last week, that maintenance and developmental work, together with useful civic amenities, can be maintained at such a level, will have come as a mild surprise to citizens. Furthermore, the assurance that the Council recognizes Hie need to avoid at all possible cost any increase, at this difficult Hine for all, of the city’s rating burden, will have been greeted with relief and appreciation. WLnt must not lie overlooked, however, is that the council's spending power was heavily curtailed last year. Four per cent, less, even by our standards of wartime frugality, may mean a tight pinch for some departments. There will be greater need than ever to reserve every penny of expenditure for essential purposes. The fact Hutt the city will not be so badly off during tlie current year as some may have expected should serve to emphasize the importance of continued, rigid economy, and the very real, though negative,_adyantage to_bo. gained from.it