The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, TUESDAY, FEB. 25, 1941. ECONOMIC CONTROL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20489, 25 February 1941, Page 6

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, TUESDAY, FEB. 25, 1941. ECONOMIC CONTROL

It is apparent that the Government has been toying with the idea of imposing a more rigid control of the economy of the Dominion but it is not nearly so clear that it intends to go to the lengths demanded by the present situation. The first indication of what was in mind came from Mr. Coates when he told an Auckland audience that he thought the Prime Minister agreed.with the idea that there should be some general directorship council to devise the best means of increasing production and stimulating the war effort. Even Mr. Coates appears to have spoken euphemistically, foi “directorship council” is a somewhat nebulous term. He would have been better understood had he said straight out that it was necessary for the war activities of the Dominion to be placed under a dictatorship—a voluntary dictatorship entrusted to the War Cabinet. Nothing less would meet the position. The present system, however sufficient it might be in peace-time, is too slow and too cumbersome to act in time of emergency. Any opposition to the sacrifice of socalled democratic rights has no real foundation, for the fact which must be faced to-day is, that unless drastic measures are resorted to democracy and all the rights which attach to it may become a thing of the past.

Mr. Fraser appears to endorse Mr. Coates’ view, but the difficulties with which he has to contend are illustrated by his own statement. The question of an .economic council, he says, has engaged his attention for some time. That is all to the good, but where has it led? Last week the Prime Minister mentioned the matter to his colleagues in the Government, to the War Council, and to the caucus of the Parliamentary Labour Party. • Apparently there was no strong opposition in those quarters, so now Mr. Fraser proposes to go further and he hopes to discuss the project # with the Federation of Labour, with the Employers’ Federation, and with others interested. Already he has mentioned it incidentally to representatives of the manujjacturers. So far, therefore, the idea has been mentioned to four different bodies and there are a number of others with whom it is hoped to discuss it. All being well after this process has been followed, the Government “probably’’ will call a conference “in the near future” —apparently to go over the whole matter again. It should be obvious to anyone that this sort of approach is too slow to be effective in war-time. What is needed is prompt and effective action and not merely discussions, consultations, and conferences, which even though they might succeed in the long run might well be too late. Even in his vision of the possibilities of his plan the Prime Minister is too short-sighted and too long-winded. He envisages an economic council to survey, to advise, and to guide the production and industrial activities of the Donrruon during the war period. There is to be organisation, co-opera-tion, and goodwill. None of these things, or all of them together, is enough. What is wanted is firm leadersh.p, direction, and control; in other words —and what is the use of mincing words under present-day conditions? —the Dominion must be placed under a temporary dictatorship in order that a permanent dictatorship can be avoided. The Government itself, with the support and approval of the organisations associated with it, has not hesitated to assume dictatorial powers over the normal peace-time life of the community. Why, then, should it hesitate to act on the same principle when dealing with problems and emergencies which make all those of the past pale into insignificance? War cannot be waged successfully by democratic methods. Even as it demands a sacrifice of personal liberties,

30 it also demands a temporary aban-* donment of the system under which those liberties are secured and unless that course is followed the whole system may be irretrievably lost. A further illustration of the weakness of what Mr. Fraser has in mind is given to his suggestion that there should be another conference similar to the economic stabilisation conference held last year. That conference deliberated for exactly a month and it issued its report five months ago. In the meantime, how many, if any, of its important recommendations have been adopted? Assuming another conference working on similar lines and with similar results, the war might be over and the fate of New Zealand might be sealed before any results could be achieved. There has been far too much talk already; what is wanted now is action, clear, prompt and decisive. If the Government will go to Parliament and ask for authority for a War Cabinet—representative cf the people as a whole as distinct from any particular party—to take whatever steps it considers necessary to the war effort it should have no difficulty in securing immediate approval. The present situation is so serious—and it may become much more serious in the not-far-distant future—that there is no time for the old methods and no justification for them. Let the country drop everything else but the war effort, let it support whatever leaders are entrusted with supreme powers, and then, but not until then, will it be able to make the effort of which it is capable.