FRENZIED FINANCE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20820, 12 March 1931, Page 14

FRENZIED FINANCE

Sir, —As I sab listening to Mr. Savage's fluent, exposition „of the ease with which money could be raised in the Dominion without, offence to anyone, except a few plutocrats such as encumber this working-man's paradise-to-be, .[ could not help thinking of Mrs. Hemans' beautiful lines: "I hear thee speak of the Better I,and." I would have gone home deeply impressed had the last verse not recurred to my mind_: "Eye hath not see it, my gentle boy." The repetition of this in my mind led me to think there must bo a fly in the ointment somewhere, and on investigating the report of the speech in next day's paper I discovered several flies, at least so it seemed to me. For instance, the railways were to. bo made to pay by the simple expedient of "co-ordinating transport." Fine words, but how to be accomplished, except by intolerable interference with private enterprise, which this democratic country would not accept, even from a Labour Government, beats me. Then, from the inexhaustible purse of the above-mentioned plutocracy, i.e., taxpayers with incomes of over £7OO, extract a compulsory loan with which to finance primary and secondary industries. In addition to this, wipe out the 1Q per cent, reduction on wages generally and impose an income tax again on the same gentleman of the long purse. Having thus made everything'lovely in the Ra "- den, "why trouble about world parities," as Mr. Savage says, or the price of butter, or wool either? Another fly in the ointment appeared to me in tie statement that the present method of dealing with unemployment "left the worker in debt and broken in spirit." I thought four or even two days' work a week was better than nothing, but apparently the idea is all pay and no work, alias the dole. How long that could be paid out of the stores of wealth hidden away somewhere by the gentlemen with over £7OO i. year is a problem only a Labour Government could solve. I igive it up. Boz,