OVER-PRODUCTION

Northern Advocate, 3 May 1932, Page 6

OVER-PRODUCTION

CAUSE OP WOELD TBOUBLES. EOTAEIAN’S OPINION. (Special to “Northern Afivocare."') AUCKLAND, Monday. “A mad world,” remarked Mr Sydney Pascal! in his address to Auckland Eotarians at today’s lunch meeting, on the big economic problems of the day. The world, it was said, had too much wheat, too much cotton, too much wo&l, too much sugar and rubber, too many factories. Over-production was said to bo the cause of our troubles, and to end them communities were burning their wheat and restricting crop production, while other parts of the world were starving, and all the time the different nations were piling up tariffs to prevent the easy flow of goods from those who had a surplus to those who wanted to buv.

The crying need of the moment was that every business man should make a study of economics, so as to tako steps to assist in ending the present depression. There was no especial reason why the present slump should not continue. The explanation of cycles would not suffice. Present troubles could only end when the people who, like Rotarians, were leaders in the world’s affairs, set to work and brought about an alteration.

Touching upon financial issues, Mi Pascall said that Britain did not voluntarily go off the gold standard; she was pushed off.

Fortunately the change turned out to have been one of the best things that had happened to the Empire in recent times. In the long run finance was dependent upon successful commerce. An international standard was needed, but it must not be the same us that which had acted so unfairly during the last ten years. Finance should be the hand-maiden, not the master, of commerce. (Some standard should be sought that should have an intelligent co-relation with values so that these would be reasonably stable.

To bring about the desired understanding between nations a beginning must be made by tree discussions upon sources of disagreement in the home and in the street. These should be followed by conferences on a wider scale. At the present time much was beiiur done in (his connection by Potarians in France and Germany, In a friendly atmosphere such matters as tariffs, re-in-nations and politics were freely discussed. If once it could be established that these two great countries could li\e amicably side by side a tremendous advance would be made toward world peace.

In mailers of trade the principle 1e recognise was that no one nation could obtain prosperity upon the ruin .of another, and he hoped that at Ottawa the tariff policy wonhl be such as would assist, not restrict trade*, between the countries of the world.