FOREIGN CURES

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 139, 15 June 1933, Page 6

FOREIGN CURES

FOR NEW ZEALAND ILLS

ADAPTATION NECESSARY

Tho necessity of endeavouring, to adapt the conditions ruling in this country to the solutions adopted for the problems of other countries was stressed by Mr. J. S. Barton, C.M.G., S.M., when speaking at the annual social function of the New Zealand Bank Officers' Guild last night.

Uninformed people, he said, lifted the sayings of men iv other countries, out of their context and attempted to divert them to New Zealand, where they had no application. The attempt to enlist the aid of the banks in a socalled settlement of war debts and reparations had resulted in such 'chaus after several years that the Governor of the Bank of England was constrained to say that he did not understand the problem, and that after all his years, of experience.

"Tho use made of that statement by people here is that they are just as'wcjl qualified-to speak as the manager of the Bank of England, because, like him, they don't understand the problem,"] said Mr. Barton. "Could, anything be | more ridiculous? , Statements' aro made in regard to some inextricable foreign tangle, and an attempt is made to associate. them with tho comparatively simple problems of this country without any attempt at' adaptation." Tho finest service the bank officers could render to the country would be to endeavour to gain ail understanding of foreign problems and those in their own country with a view to learning how to adapt the one to the other. PROBLEMS NOT MONETARY. Mr. Barton said ho would like to quote the following proposition put forward by a leading authority of the present day: "Every financial transaction must.be preceded by an orthodox and proper economic transaction." That was a thing that was totally lost sight of, he said. The problem of today was 99 per cent, economic and not 1 per cent, monetary. There was no monetary or currency problem iv this country. . What Avas needed was confidence and1 'willingness ;. Jo ■'. use our national income. There was currency enough to settle every difficulty, including that of borrowing. Every borrowing plan that was put forward was not a currency or monetary problem, but an economic one.' Mr. Barton n^entioned, that he had just returned from two years' work in connection, with, the rehabilitation of Napier. In that comparatively small district, with'its small population, they had had tho responsibility of spending £1,500,000. The '-only difficulty in organising the spending of the money was iv arranging the economic! transaction, and that was'done by arranging for the- transfer of existing . wealth. Two large buildings' had been erected, and the money was obtained through, au arrangement with the insurance companies. The banka put it through their books so that the workmen could be paia without tho' Government having to call on its reserves. The banks iD°N'apier had not had to increase their cash supplies above the normal. . If the same thing were done proportionately throughout the whole country there would be a tremendous amount of spending, far in excess of the scope of the most optimistic, of our prophets and present-day leaders. It was said that we had monetary and currency problems, but it was found in fact that there were none at all; all that was necessary was for an orthodox economic transaction, to precede the' commercial transaction.