THE CALL FOR MEN

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 56, 8 March 1922, Page 7

THE CALL FOR MEN

BRAINS IN PARLIAMENT,

TO 188 EDITOR.

Sir, —Allow me to thank you for having said in your issue "of last evening what must have been in the mind of every observant, patriotic business man in tire Dominion since the very early days of the war.. Let me also express a hope that your timely words will arrest the attention of that great body of electors who hitherto have been content to leave the management of the affairsof the country largely to the type of men you have described—men devoid of vision, hopelessly ignorant of finance and economics; spinners of words and reciters of platitudes.

"It is painfully clear," yo« aay, referring to the constitution of the present Parliament, " that the calibration is low all round, and especially so in finance and economics. Surely' the time has arrivea when some men of financial and commercial ability may be spared from the business of monej'-making in order to help in the business of the country." Here you have indicated the root of the whole trouble. But how are we to induce those men of financial and commercial ability to detach themselves from the congenial occupation of moneymaking n& give their services to the State? I confess I am not' ready with an answer, thongh the urgent need for such an expression of patriotism is overwhelmingly obvious.

I am finding no fault with the Prime Minister and his colleagues. Mr. Massey is admitted on all sides to be the strong man of the present Parliament, and whether we agree with every detail of his political, creed or not, we have to recognise his candour, courage, versatility, and practical patriotism. But he virtually obtains no help at all from the House of Representatives in directing the financial affairs of the country. The deputation of business men which waited upon him in November last with representations concerning reduction of expenditure and lessening of taxation displayed an infinitely closer acquaintance with the financial conditions and needs of the country than had all the financial experts in the House put together, excepting, of course, Mr. Massey himself.

Now, from the same source, I am told, we have some information regarding State and municipal trading enterprises which we never should have obtained had the investigation been left 'to the gentlemen we have elected to Parliament. Mri Massey gave these gentlemen their opportunity when he said in she Financial Statement that certain State services were being conducted at an annual loss, which should fall upon the users, and not upon the general taxpayers. But they had nothing to *say about the matter. The business men, on the other hand, took it up, and made out such a strong case for " the proper business basis " Mr. Bf assay had suggested that reform of some kind is now inevitable.

This, by the way, is a subject on which the public sadly needs to be better informed than it is at present. Perhaps you will allow me to quote a few lines from the Statement to which I have just alluded.

It is, the author says, to the producers, the manufacturers, and the traders all Governments must turn for help and support in times of financial stress. The fact that of the revenue collected as income tax in New Zealand last year no less than 62 per cent, was obtained from producing, manufacturing, ajid trading companies makes this fact abundantly plain. Yet these are the very enterprises that are being continually attacked by State and municipal trading undertakings.

Here is another paragraph which has a local application, and will be of particular .interest to your readers:

To come from the general to the particular, the case of the Wellington Corpdration may be taken. Years ago >a private concern installed in the city an electric system, and another concern installed a gas system. Both these concerns paid State and municipal taxation. Later on the municipality purchased the electrical concern, but left the gas company to operate privately. These two concerns remain in opposition, as they always have been, but one escapes all State and municipal taxation, with the exception of Customs duties, while the other pays every form of taxation that

exists in this country.

The point of all', this is that these State and municipal enterprise!, while escaping taxation themselves and_ enjoying other special privileges, »r« increasing the taxation on similar private enprises and benefiting only a mere fraction of tho community, and even this fraction in a scarcely perceptible measure. Mr. Massey has got at the truth and bad the courage to proclaim it, bn't the problem is too intricate for the capacity of the average member of Parliament, and for'sheer lack of business understanding and snpport the Prime Minister may find his labours sadly retarded. Hoping that your appeal will help him in his purpose.—l am, etc., EFFICIENCY.

7th March'