MONETARY REFORM.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 79, 2 March 1938, Page 6

MONETARY REFORM.

ADDRESS BY REV. C. P. BRADLEY Eev. C. P. Bradley, late minister of the Willoughby (North Sydney) Presbyterian Church and an advocate of monetary reform, gave an address in Feilding on Monday, his subject being “The Threatening Disaster and its Prevention.” Mr It. Fair (deputyMayor), presided over a good attendance. Mr Bradley stressed tlio fact that our religion, philosophy, politics, and economics were based upon the presumption of scarcity. “Our economic

system is war, every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost. It is a cut-throat policy as though there were not enough for everyone, and we must fight for the little that there is If we love peace, if we. hate war, we must first stop the war that goes on in our streets every day. Business is war, naked and unashamed. This war leads to war for markets—leads to armed conflict. The wars in China and Spain are the same as the war in our streets, except that they use different weapons. If we do not alter the economic system, then armed conflict is a certainty. Under this system man can only live by preying upon liis fellow man. All this is because private

institutions are allowed to manufacture money. This is what produces an artificial scarcity, poverty amidst plenty. Compared to the individual 4000 years ago the individual of today is 5000 times richer. We are 5000 times richer per head, that is in real wealth—production; yet we are 5000 times poorer than the man of 400 years ago because of a national debt. This is the system that has been produced, and is defended by practical men. This is the system t’Tiit is being constantly bolstered by orthodox economists. Under this system every nation is hopelessly in debt financially, though the real wealth of the nations’ production is being sabotaged. Under this system we can continue to live only by going deeper into debt. “In my opinion,” said Mr Bradley, “the only hope for the prevention of poverty and war is financial reform. The banks must no longer he allowed to manufacture money—the nation must manufacture its own money. This is the first step. Other necessary reforms will come automatically.” Concluding his remarks, Mr Bradley said that Parliament had always been the servant of the banks, and at last the time had arrived when the hanks must be the servants of the people. If the people kept on clamouring for reform then reform was bound to come. “I believe that a change in New Zealand’s monetary system will come very soon,” he said. At the conclusion of his remarks Mr Bradley was accorded a vote of thanks.