Evening Post

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 145, 16 December 1942, Page 4

Evening Post

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1942,

A FIRM HOME FRONT

A nation cannot fight a foreign enemy unless it has a solid home backing. That means order, steady morale, stable conditions for work and life— a firm home front and a determined and united people. That is why a special and comprehensive stabilisation scheme which has long been necessary has now become imperative. The Government that has launched it will not win applause, because most people, while admitting the general necessity, will be extremely, critical of the particular application of the plan to their own affairs. Nevertheless, no Government in New Zealand could, with the signs and portents of danger now showing, delay longer in taking drastic action. The gap between purchasing power and available goods and services is nearing £100,000,000. Hitherto reliance has been placed upon taxation, savings campaigns, and loans to reduce surplus buying power, and upon price control to keep the cost of essential goods from rising. But now, as the Prime Minister said last night, the excess - purchasing power has begun to swamp price controls. The evidence is on every hand, with' high prices asked and paid for uncontrollable lines, and excess money a temptation to the black market operator. Now, nothing less than- drastic and even harsh measures can be effective ih checking the danger. Already it is too late —for practical purposes—to enforce a completely-just scheme. Things have been done which would have to be undone, and while this correction was being attempted, with much resultant dissension and bitterness, the danger would be increasing. We pointed out long ago that the payment of high overtime rates for extra hours worked regularly under war necessity must increase purchasing power out of proportion to the increase in goods. This made the gap, which 'has now become a gulf. Profits have been kept down or taxed off; farm prices have moved upward very little; but there has been the steady pressure of rising costs—partly from the cost of overseas supplies, partly from war risks and losses, partly . from the increasing labour cost. A lack of balance has been developing, and has been severely felt by those in the weakest positions—pensioners, soldiers' dependants, all people with fixed incomes, and others who are unable to offset increased charges by added earnings or overtime payments. The Government's hesitation in applying true stabilisation has resulted in the growth jof this inequality. Now it would be difficult, if not impossible, to correct jit altogether; for something must be I done and done quickly. That is why i the scheme now inaugurated, though comprehensive, must have many and grave imperfections. These defects are the result of faulty economic generalship, of failure to anticipate attacks and co-ordinate defences on the home front. Nevertheless, the prime and urgent need how is a stable line. General Auchinleck's line at El Alamein was the first step to convert defeat into victory. Here, too, the line must be held—even though it is an unequal line. . In writing this we do not underestimate the perseverance, the practical common sense, and, honesty of purpose of the Stabilisation Committee which has worked to prepare this scheme, nor the courage of the Government which has, though late in the day, accepted responsibility for a task that if must know will bring it more kicks than praise. The difficulty ot the task, and the painstaking effort made to produce a plan that will be acceptable, and therefore workable, and as far as possible equitable, are evident in the far-reaching and complex regulations, as well as in the Prime Minister's forcible appeal. It is in the spirit of the honesty of purpose shown by the authors of the plan and in Mr. Fraser's plain call to the people to guard their real social security that the plan must be viewed. This will entail many individual sacrifices—often by those who have already sacrificed heavily in profits and produce prices, and in the purchasing power of fixed means. Yet they may be asked to bear this, because it is the only workable way of averting that greater disaster that cost and price chaos would involve. This scheme at least will preserve the necessary standard .of living. It will — if successful —retain a constant purchasing power for money spent on the necessaries of life. And the 110 items of necessary and standard goods and services in the Wartime Index assure a good life—materially speaking—*comfort, and even luxury as compared with the life of our sons overseas and cur kinsfolk in Great Britain. The scheme will assure this if it is successful. It will not be easy to make it successful. As soon as the line is fixed it will be subject to attack. Pro- j vision is made for the correction of! gross anomalies, but if this leads to numerous and substantial revision' measures the whole basis of stability will go. Therefore, the Government must be firm in maintaining the essential elements of the plan. Certain inequalities have been embodied in the plan. The Higher wages won by groups of workers in strong strategic positions have been set for the stability period. Other workers and other recipients of income could with justice have asked that a better balance should have been brought about before stabilisation. The measure for the first genera] order increasing wages has been set at a rise of 2& per cent., presumably to allow for whatever rise has taken place since the last general order. But other occupations, particularly primary producers, might have demanded that higher costs falling on them since their returns v/ere last adjusted should also have been taken into account. It would have been better if these things had been done. No doubt the answer will be that it was impossible to do them without jeopardising the economic front by delay and conflict. But at least the Government must see that any changes made lessen equality and do not aggravate it. There must be no surrender to powerful groups that have already won the most favourable positions. The Government must be firm. The first sign of weakness, the | first suspicion of surrender to pressure, allowing a section to escape from common sacrifice, and the whole plan will be defeated. There will be a wedge driven, the line will break, and there will be chaos.