DOUGLAS SOCIAL CREDIT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21377, 29 December 1932, Page 11

DOUGLAS SOCIAL CREDIT

Sir,—The letter of the president of the Douglas Social Credit Association, in the Herald of December 24, so abounds with fundamental errors as to be unanswerable within the confines of a newspaper letier. lie even attempts a defence of his fatuous statement, that the words on a banknote mean • nothing. Why are they there? Docs he not know that "one pound" is strictly defined by Act of Parliament as gold of a quantity and quality certain ? When he has .'jbolislied the gold basis will he please explain what "one pound," or "two shillings," or "sixpence" will mean ? The words will then purely become meaningless. And his association shows itself absolutely incompetent to say what words will take their place. He says that the contract printed on our banknotes has been repudiated. Quite false. It hap been suspended, and the outside world discounts our ultimate ability to mako good at about 13's 6d in the pound—a ghastly discount, ruinous to our financial supremacy, or even stability. Jf ever the contract on our notes is repudiated, they will become valueless —not worth the paper they are printed on. I have shown that the curious "A plus B theorem" is founded on false premises, and the Douglas Credit folk have not attempted a defence. This theory affords no sound explanation of why wo cannot buy goods. We can, but we won't —we prefer to squander. We waste our money in buying (inter alia) useless motor-cars and benzine and degrading pictures from a country which .will buy nothing from us. Does my friend forget the great issue of credit in the United States a few years ago? With this the people did not buy goods but (shares and boomed the whole issue to destruction. Want of wisdom! Work and wisdom are the only two things of value 'I in this world —not laziness and swallowing great doses of financial impracticability as advocated by Douglas Social Credit. However - , my friend does make one sensible remark: I have destroyed his theory, but have put nothing in its place. I suggest, therefore, that our troubles are political, not monetary. 'ln our unwisdom we strain every nerve to retain money which has no value and refuse goods which have value. Let us think in goods and not in money. Let us enjoy the blessings of unrestricted business. Let us freely exchange goods with our neighbours to our mutual advantage. Let us enthrone wisdom in our councils. Let us have a qualification for the franchise. SIUJDENT.