COMBATING SOCIALISM

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4961, 27 February 1937, Page 5

COMBATING SOCIALISM

INCONSISTENCY OF GOVERNMENT ADDRESS BY MR. S. G. HOLLAND. "New Zealand, built up on the thrift and enterprise of our pioneers, is not a Socialistic country." This was the keynote of the address of Mr. S. G. Holland, M.P. for Christchurch North, delivered in the Municipal Hall on Thursday evening, to a fairly large gathering. A new enthusiasm for the National Party was sweeping the country, contended Mr. Holland. It would be needed, for the National Party had no compulsory unionism to aid it in fighting the coming election. The Mayor, Mr. T. Carroll, presided over the meeting, and the Dominion organiser for the National Party, Mr. G. Edwards, was associated with the speaker. "Stop this country from being thrown to the wolves of Socialism — it is worth fighting for," urged Mr. Holland at the opening of his address. He contended that the National Party had a great future ahead of it—that party was now on the bottom of their ladder, while Labour was at the top of theirs, not another rung to go! Yet the speed of the National Party's climb depended on the thirst for political knowledge and the activity of National Party supporters. "I am not satisfied that New Zealanders are Socialists," said Mr. Holland. "All the voters at the last election wanted was a change from the 'old gang.' They wanted young men, and at the next election the electors will have an opportunity of voting for young men in 59 seats. "But don't make a mistake, a Ministry of young men would be as great a tragedy as one of old men —we must have a leavening to curb the impetuosity of youth," he said. "I tell you this to show that we have a nucleus of a younger party; and I will also tell you that if you send Mr. Broadfoot back, he cannot miss Cabinet rank." On thrift had New Zealand been built. Yet the Prime Minister decried thrift and would do away with private savings; and all the while that the Labour Party was showering money about in every direction it must not be forgotten that it was the taxpayer who would have to find that money. "Practising Socialism." Socialisation was the antithesis of private enterprise. Certainly some Labour Party men were said to brake the more extreme members of the party. Such was Mr. Fraser—and he recently said that he believed in equality of income. How did they practise what they preach? When the Director of Education received £I4OO a year, the Director of Broadcasting received £2ooo—and which was the more important position? Also, there was the recent appointment of the Director of Commercial Advertising, at £SOO a year and 7% per cent, on all receipts. "When I mentioned this to a man interested in radio advertising in Australia, he ejaculated, 'Why, he's a millionaire,'" said Mr. Holland. The remuneration from that post could not be less than £SOO0 —and what was more was it right that a man in that position should be paid on a commission basis? What would we say if the Chief Postmaster were paid on commission?

Quotations from an article in a 1931 "New Zealand Worker," then the Labour Party official organ, were quoted. One was, "How can the Government make best use of the resources at its command," and the answer was, "By becoming employer as the commander of an army." Would New Zealand stand for regimentation? Loss of Country Quota. Mr. Holland said that if the Labour Party was returned next election we would lose the country quota, and whereas country electorates sent a man to Parliament with 12,000 voters, it would take 16,000 then. Surely Australia had shown enough examples of the effect of Labour's incursion into the realms of business. However, in New Zealand examples were not lacking. Until recently the Christchurch Tramways had never struck a rate. When Labour came into control, however, the result was seen in the fact that during the last three years £73,000 had been taken from ratepayers. What had happened to the promise of the Labour Party to reduce the exchange rate and abolish the sales tax —never in the history of the sales tax had the collection been so high as at present. Even the Labour Party would have to agree that taxation reduced the power to produce—but on the premise that all money collected for Government purposes had to come from either loans or taxation, 6s of every pound of production went to the Government. Mr. Holland quoted several cases of hardship—one man whom the income tax department could only make his net income £lOlB had to pay £2220 in taxation. Redress had not been forthcoming. Though £2O a ton was paid by the taxpayer because of the disparity between the guaranteed price and the ruling rate for butter, the farmer was not receiving a payable price—and the tragedy was that, because the butter merchants had lost their liberty of action, the margin between the Dominion's and Danish butter had widened so considerably it might be very hard to get prices back to a better basis. State Control and Interference. In implementing its policy of State ownership of industry, three joinery factories had been built. Though the •machinery for them cost £30,000, only one organisation had been given the right to supply. Was that a right move for a Government? Then the Public Works programme had started and the men were to earn 16s a day. According to the Minister of Public Works, however, the men on an average earned 19s 7d a day, while the Government policy had driven more women and children into the cowshed than ever before in the history of New Zealand. "It's a public scandal," said Mr. Holland, continuing by dealing with the added costs the farmer had to face, which made it impossible to em-

ploy labour. The added costs in the freezing industry alone were £460,000. Since then, the statesmanship of the Minister of Labour had given the men another 3d an hour, and in giving this he had thrown aside the very laws for which he was responsible. A man who would do such a thing as that was not fit to be a Minister, said Mr. Holland. Also, it had to be remembered that the Labour Government had instructed the police to stand for trespass, and that the Minister of Labour recently stated that he hoped the Labour movement would soon be strong enough to take control .of industry and decide on matters affecting industry without reference to any court. Stricture on Basic Wage. A stricture on the basic wage was made by Mr. Holland. Not only was it bad, he said, but the Labour Party when it put it into operation knew it was bad. With Australia's experience before them they still went forward. The basic wage was to provide reasonable living conditions for a man,.his wife and three children. In New Zealand there were 256,000 adult males—but only 153,000 wives, and there were only 233,000 children. That meant that we had to provide for 640,000 non-existent dependents—could industry carry this? "If this is not class legislation, I'd like to know what it is," said the speaker as he referred to the disparity between the basic wages in town and country. Overtime in Government Service. Recently the speaker asked a question in the House as to whether the Post and Telegraph Department paid overtime. The answer was that it did. Mr. Broadfoot, however, asked for further particulars, and it came out that overtime was paid, but it was at standard rates of pay. Repeated questions elucidated that the same principle was followed in all Departments. Recently the Government became tired of having this point hurled at them, and a new schedule of overtime rates was issued. Under this, however, if a man's standard rates were 2s lid an hour, for overtime he received only 2s 6d an hour, and so on. Was this the Government that was going to practise what it preached, and what it made the private man do? Wages For Youths. The Labour Party had asked for co-operation in Parliament—this was how they had co-operated. Starting wages they proposed to increase by 32" per cent, under the Shops and Offices Act. When the National Party agreed to this, however, the Government, saying it must be wrong, promptly increased starting wages by 64 per cent. "If that was their cooperation, they would have to wait a long time to get more," said Mr. Holland. 'This starting wage is one of the things that is going to put our party back into power," continued the speaker. "Length of service is the basis on which wages are fixed, so that, if a boy has spent a year selling bananas, what chance has he of bettering himself in an occupation in which he has no experience, what chance of going into a jewellery shop? I know what it is, because I have so many constituents asking me to help take their children into industry. Also, I know that there is the greatest difficulty in keeping boys at school because of this legislation passed by a Government who were going to make secondary education available for every child." Questioned as to whether he adhered to the old platform, Mr. Holland said "No —it would not suit present conditions. A new constitution is being evolved and we are going to profit by the experience of the past." To another query he said he did not anticipate that a guaranteed price for wool, to catch up the losses on butter, would be imposed just yet, but he did know that the farmer would not receive as much return as at the present time —it would be taken from him. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the speakers, and to the chair.