READERS OPINIONS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12526, 11 April 1935, Page 3

READERS OPINIONS

IS THEBE- A iDOraijis' PLAN I ? ) : .. v (To- the'Editor). . i Sir,—Mr." Natusch. says that this League , “ignored all . the authorities quoted, by IMr . Daniel’ ’ in your ■ issue of March 20. This surely is hefc correct? Our. letter wa,s dated' March 25 and l we presume published in due course dealt with those extracts. Perhaps Mr Natusch did not see thn,t letter. ' Your correspondent, opens up the old old discussion as to the, batiks “usurping’ The privilege of, issuing credit and currency. We decline to go round .the circle again on this point, but will say (1) The banks have usurped nothing—their powers were granted by legislation and clos‘ely controlled, and can be curtailed in the same way. The •State has not, been robbed- 6fi any- right or power hut has voluntarily', delegated tlieni. (2) The hanks have hot a monopoly of issuing' credit; any one with assets can do this and it' is done every day. t Mr. Natusch then says what the farmers and others "would receive” under the Douglas Plan. From this we assume that the details of the Plan have- been worked out and arc ‘in actual! existence—oithenvise Ibis forecast is purely theory. If the details have been worked' out, cannot they be made public, to allow the people to judge whether the results would! bo (in. practice) what Mr. Natusch claims (in theory) ? That is our whole point, we and many others are tired of being told of the (enormous benefits (that will result from this plan; tired of til© endless academic discussion as to what this or that word means; tired' of the constant reiteration of disputable sta foments on banking, practice, so live ask* for the do tats of the Plan that the public may see how it will work in practice. To take one practical item °f the Plan as stated by Mr Natusch ; “Tinder the Just Price Dividend” bo Writes ‘all shopkeepers and traders would willingly register with the Economic Board and agree to give their customers the discount arranged. (probably 25 or 33 per cent), because mi presentation of evidence of these sales, the Board would arrange for these. .(The Board’s dutv would he to make these credits plus the amounts paid by the customers equal to the total cost of production pins a reasonable profit).” This, if it would 1 be workable, is a great sell erne for iho purchasin'. But how will it work in practice even if Mr Natusch could prove it to he sound? From whnt source is the cash to be found to coyer the discount ? In what form is the cash to be paid—in notes or coin ? What evidence of sale, would the trader have to .produce to the Board ? Must every purchaser sign a “bought” note? Woul,-j each such note show what specific article it referred to, so as to prevent collusion? How would it, work on small purchases? Wo’Adi a hard up householder have to sign a bought note for a loaf of bread ? If not, how is the trailer to get his discount returned? •' These are only a few questions to enable usan understand how it would work out in practice. It appears to ns impractical owing to the cumbersome nature of the proposal, the huge amount of extra work imposed Upon traders, quite apart from the more serious questions of inflation, etc. In passing, it is interesting to note that Air Nattiseb's proposal, above reverses the procedure proposed by Major Douglas, i.c. the A Taj or states that the purchaser pays the fill price and gets a receipt; lie takes that receipL to his hank and is credited with or paid l in cash 25 per cent, of the price. The bank then collects this from the Treasury. If this is.the scheme, it opens up even more doubts as to’its practical workability—e.g. “B” a hard up worker buys a. pound' of chops and pays Bd. He has no hank, so ho goes to the Treasury to collect- his 2d. Tlurik of the thousands of .such small purchases ail requiring a receipt, etc! If this only applied to big transactions and persons with bank accounts tho small man would not benefit, which is the chief inducement held out. However, Sir, the above is only to how what questions natural,’v occur to anyone. Wo contend that legitimate doubt can only ho setljeo by the production of the plan in detail.—’We are. Yours etc N.Z. WELFARE LEAGUE Wellington, Apt 6.