Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1930. MR. POLSON’S VISIT

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 May 1930, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1930. MR. POLSON’S VISIT

•JTIE West Coast, is not often visited by outside public men, apart from Ministers, and Greymouth should give a cordial reception, this evening, to Mr. W. J. Polson, the Independent M.P. for Stratford, and Dominion President of the Farmers’ Union. The West Coast has hopes of developing its pastoral and agricultural resources, and believes that with the aid of modern research, much of the land now left to blackberry and other weeds, can be utilised to produce valuable crops. Any advice or assistance Mr. Polson can give in this direction will be appreciated. ,As he probably knows, most of the Coast farmers are “small,” and this type is that the welfare of which the Farmers’ Union should ■ make its chief concern. The “small’ farmer, on the Coast or anywhere else, has many problems to settle, particularly the financial variety, and has to work hard and often to pay his way, and make some sort of living. Sympathy with him is general, but, too often, this sympathy stops at lip-service. As President of the Farmers’ Union, with zeal to help district rural producers, Mr. Polson will, therefore, be wholeheartedly welcomed, but it is understood that his present tour has also other purposes, including that of advocating new methods to increase national revenue. Here, Mr. Polson is on more debatable ground. His proposals, as outlined at Invercargill and other places, have been published, as telegraphed by the Press Association, but he claims that such reports were not quite accurate. It is to be hoped that Mr. Polson will, this evening, clear away 'any misunderstandings, particularly in connection with his schemes to increase taxation on “luxuries.” In this term, he apparently includes all forms of amusement, an attitude that, in these days, would require more evidence than he has yet provided to secure general endorsement. Amusement to ’some degree is a. necessity to many whose daily routine would otherwise be cheerless and, perhaps, intolerable. All taxation on amusement is passed on to the gen-

oral public, who thus have the choice of evils ; either to pay more for their little pleasures, or do without these. Unman requirements being what they are, the former evil has to he accepted, and further inroads be made on the purses of the small wage-earners. This being a sporting community, special interest is taken in Mr. Polson’s proposal to increase the taxation on total isator investments. Already, the Government .share of racecourse revenue is too high, many meetings, especially in the country districts, being, in ac-

tual effect, run for the enrichment of the State treasury, leaving all the burden on the club officials and j members. Any attempt to increase I such burden must be disastrous to 'country club meetings. Mr. Polson is well aware that in ordinary commerce, charging more for an article does not tend to/increase its sale. Similarly, if ‘‘tote” investments are to be further penalised, public patronage will dwindle. Even if it did not, what moral I right has the State to seize more. To-day, its share is too great; might

overcrowding right. This is not seriously denied by Ministers, yet Mr. Polson now advocates greater State rapacity. Crimes can be committed in Taxation’s name, as well as in Liberty’s. Regarding further taxation on picture shows, the advent of “talkies” has already increased the cost of this amusei ment to the workers. Can Mr. Poli son justify a further advance? We have not the space to comment on all Mr. Polson’s reported propos-

als, but will claim that the state of the national finances is not so critical as to warrant further financial burdens on the workers, among whom we include the “small” farmers of the Dominion. We repeat our former comment on this subject that Members of Parliament would be doing greater service to the country if they endeavoured to lessen national expenditure rather than father schemes to increase . I taxation.