UNHAPPY AUSTRALIA

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3304, 16 May 1931, Page 3

UNHAPPY AUSTRALIA

A NEW ZEALANDER’S IMPRESSIONS. LIGHT ON SAVINGS BANK FAILURE. ‘‘To be candid, the business world in Australia is ‘rotten’ and at present reeking with political corruption, thousands of unemployed, starvation and national bankruptcy, intermingled with the talk of Red revolution in the air everywhere; in fact it is heartbreaking to realise we are condemned and thrown into the mire by a lot of political blunders and associates of the Red Internationale.” In these and other stronger terms, Mr. Harold Alcock, a former resident of Wellington, described the present situation in Australia in an expressive letter to Mr. J. Johnston, road officer of the Southland Motor Association. Mr. Alcock is now resident at Lismore, New South Wales.

“New South Wales is in a worse mess than the other States,” he says. “The latest development here is the fact of the Government Savings Bank closing its doors and announcing that its object in doing so is to merge its interests by amalgamating with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, but the fact is, nevertheless, that they are ‘broke’ and on account of being an institution under the State Government’s control are not prepared to admit the fact. The truth would not only upset the equilbrium of the present Labour Ministry, but would also announce to the world that the State of New South Wales had become bankrupt! And while the business of amalgamation is being negotiated, thousands of the bank’s depositors are in the unfortunate position of being stranded without the wherewithal to buy a loaf of bread. What a deplorable state of things to exist in a country so rich in natural resources and the ability to grow sufficient wheat to feed the world’s populace! “The bottom is knocked clean out of business in New South Wales, no matter what line one may be selling. The public have tightened their purse strings to such an extent as to make selling anything beyond the bare necessities of life impossible. Hundreds of commei'cial travellers and salesmen in every walk of trade have been thrown into the ranks of the unemployed; many of them remain stranded and starving in the beautiful city of Sydney, while many others can be seen carrying their swags through the country in a vain endeavour to find employment. “Each town has its quota of unfortunates and many councils are building camps to house and protect their unemployed through the winter months. In these camps, I believe, can be found whole families, who, in a sense, have been refused the right to work and live. What will be the future outcome of such want and distress, God only knows. Personally, I am anticipating a huge upheaval as surely there is a limit to the suffering and forbearance of the workers and their stranded unemployed,” concluded the writer, who emphsised that he was not exaggerating the position, but giving a true picture of things as he saw them.