LAND VALUES

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 38, 15 February 1933, Page 8

LAND VALUES

(To the Editor.) Sir, —I enclose herewith copy of a letter received today from the managing director of a large Melbourne business. The thanks of the entire community are due to you for your continued protest against the policy of the Government. Our present policy is bolstering up the fictitious price of land; we will have to come down to earth some day, and surely it would be better to face facts today and deal with our difficulties on the lines of the able plan worked out by Mr. Buckleton. Our primary producers must eventually be able ■to compete in the world's markets, and with land here infinitely dearer than equal land in England, it looklike madness to carry on as at present. The longer we delay the settlement the more costly it will be..-. Nothing is ever gained by putting 'off''difficulties.- Let New Zealand face her difficulties now and not leave them to posterity with a huge floating debt added.—l' am, etc., FACE IT NOW.

Following is the letter referred to by the correspondent:—"Regarding Australia, the Loan Council is sitting now, and the banks and certain economists are getting very critical about the States balancing their Budgets by giving Treasury bills to the banks. The bank is taking the view that the States should raise loans to pay their way. This was tried a short time ago, and the-effort was a miserable failure, .the banks were compelled to underwrite a large ■ proportion of it. So j the game goes- on, a huge pile of floating debt is being accumulated, and every shortage is financed this way. Eventually the banks will 'own.the Government, and the country's assets will be all pledged to the banks." '