Readers Write

Northern Advocate, 16 December 1939, Page 8

Readers Write

I am pleased to see that farmers’ j wives are at last expressing their • views on the situation that has de- ? velopecl in the farm-i

FARMERS' COMPLAINTS.

ing industry. It is? indeed sad and dis-| couraging to see menj

who should know better advocating? non-co-operation and stirring up* strife. Apparently the Farmers’ Un- j ion in the North is being used as the | mouthpiece of the Opposition. i

! I look around and see womenfolk? from the country well dressed and ap-1 parently prosperous, with good motor • cars, trips to the beach or the Exhi-1 bition, and I wonder where all the I I hardship they talk about is. Their • jchildren, too. appear happy and in-? jdulged in all sorts of pleasures. Yeti i women who were never so well off be- ? j fore are complaining of poverty and * I groaning about the Government. li i don’t think that is playing the game.? It is a poor dog that bites the hand | that feeds it, and I think all should ? put their weight with, instead of’ against, New Zealand. i There is not going to be profiteer-1 ing during this war, and decent citi-f zens should not expect to get rich at | the expense of men’s lives.—“FACE? FACTS.” ]

When a war is in progress one hears some very rash and misleading statements, such as “The last man will go to war, but the last

CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH.

shilling will never be in danger’; “Re-

duce citizens’ incomes to the level of a soldier’s pay”; “Make a capital levy to finance the war”; and many other statements and suggestions that would wreck the country.

The most serious aspect of such proposals would not help to finance the war, as I will show. There is no idle wealth; it is all applied to industry—primary and secondary—and is the very basis of our economic system, giving employment to the very people so prone to delusion by such warped intellect. Supposing that it was possible to withdraw money from capital assets, the result would be to transfer capital from one account to another. It would still be New Zealand money, not sterling or foreign funds, and would not purchase one military aircraft.

As each nation must live upon its own production or borrow, so it can only prosecute a war by the same principle, that is, to the extent of its material resources.

Beyond such measure, the implements of war must be obtained from abroad, for which New Zealand must have (sterling funds) foreign credit. This can only be acquired by gold or goods exported, or a loan raised in the country that is able to supply.

The U.S.A. is the potential market, and, to take advantage of this, dollar funds are essential. The British Government are faced with the same problem.

Certainly we must have local funds to utilise the foreign credit. This can be got by taxation, interest bonds, or the Reserve Bank, and offers no difficulty. The real problem of all nations to use the resources of others is foreign funds. The manufacturers abroad must be paid in their own currency, enabling them to pay wages and working costs, and to buy raw materials. It is here, that the savings of the people are drawn upon, or, alternatively, banking organisations, and we, or other nations, are served by way of loan on which we must pay interest.

Why complaint of workers here, when this procedure employs fellow workers elsewhere —in the main, England? Rather than raise a loan, are we to risk defeat by an “ism” more formidable than Capitalism? In a democratic country where the people have pensions of different types, and other social amenities, all are capitalists, if their incomes are capitalised on a 3 per cent (P. 0.5.8. interest) basis.

I would point out that with universal franchise, the middle class possess the strongest voting power. An enormous responsibility rests on their chosen representatives. They must fit themselves for the task. On them will depend the welfare of the greatest Empire known. They must me scrupulously impartial to all classes of society, and all their actions must tend to establish confidence. Confidence is the basis of prosperity, without which no progress is possible. To create a fear complex in an important section of the community would be a disaster. A domestic animal will fight because of fear, and the human element will resort to violence in spite of refinement in all other respects. Reverting to the problem of conscription of wealth, I have put the case as it appears to me and desire to clarify the position to every person qualified for enrolment. If my convictions are wrong I will submit to correction. —E. WOOLHOUSE.