STATE SOCIALISM.

Evening Star, Issue 21717, 11 May 1934, Page 12

STATE SOCIALISM.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I desire once again to call attention to the grave menace of State Socialism. I understand that at the present time one person in every seventeen of the population is a Civil servant, and there, does not appear to be any class of business which the Government (or misgovernment) of this country is not prepared to try its hand at, usually with disastrous results for the taxpayers. Whenever the Government decides to venture into a new class of business it invariably results in the appointment .of another horde of Civil servants. There are few classes of business which arc now open to private enterprise, and which are not menaced by Government competition. Private business is so heavily taxed by the Government that it cannot compete with a State business of the same class because that is taxfree, and any losses of a State business have to be made up by poor old dummy taxpayer. The latest move of the Government is to enter the retail book trade by taking over all of the railway bookstalls which appear to it to be making a profit. These bookstalls have previously been operated by private enterprise. It seems that the Government will soon kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, for there will shortly be only two classes of people—Civil servants and those working on the dole to keep the Civil servants. —I am, etc., Taxpayer. May 9.