IDEALS AND REALITY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 41, 16 August 1941, Page 8

IDEALS AND REALITY

If a practicable way could be found of paying for the war as they went along, that would be desirable, said the Minister of Finance on Thursday. But that meant taking from those who had and using it to pay for the war, and that might be wise or it might be unwise. There is more in it than this, for taking from those who have, carried to excess, involves a far greater number of people whose welfare is bound up with the stability of industry. This! Mr. Nash admitted when he added: "The taking of that sum out of the pool of wealth would have such a tendency to disturbance and disintegrating factors in the human element that there would be less commodities instead of more, and it was more commodities that would win the war, and not less." While using to the utmost, all resources and energies that can be directed to warwinning, we must try to keep the productive machine in good running order. It is no use wrecking the machine for an apparent ideal if this | actually hinders practical achievejment of our aim. We have always been opposed to imprudent and excessive borrowing, but there are times when the proper use of loan finance is eminently wise. The prudent business man or producer does not borrow if he can carry out capital works from savings, but when [the choice is between* impairing | efficiency or using a loan to meet a grave crisis, he will take the loan, j At the same time he will keep his borrowing as low as possible by cutting all unnecessary expenditure. This a prudent Government should also do.