ECONOMY.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 1979, 22 November 1921, Page 4

ECONOMY.

The Prime Minister will have the support of the whole community in his endeavour to bring the expenditure of the country down to a level that will be covered by the diminished receipts. He lias a difficult task to perform, but unless he faces tho position courageously, the Dominion finances will very shortly be in inextricable confusion. Mr Massey stated in the House last week that the war had been responsible for the greater portion of the increased expenditure in recent years. That may be so. But why the hundreds of superfluous departmental officers should have been retained until now, nobody can satisfactorily explain. Sir Francis Bell stated a few months ago that the State was carrying a large number of these officials in order to prevent unemployment from becoming rampant. Mr Massey does not, apparently, agree with his colleague. He does not admit that there has been any extravagance. The public are the best able to judge in this matter. . They will be inclined to believe that if Mr Massey can cut down his expenditure by two millions this year, he could quite conveniently have cut it down by half this amount last year, and thereby have avoided the taxation that is ata present pressing so heavily upon the people.