THE REAL TROUBLE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10687, 6 September 1920, Page 4

THE REAL TROUBLE

At last week’s meeting of the .City Council no little discussion centred rjund the recommendation of .the Milk Committee, that tho price of milk to the citizens of Wellington should be increased to Sd per quart. . In the course of the debate, the chairman of the committee (Councillor Norwood) said that they could make no complaint against the legitimate farmer. The real trouble was tho land speculator. Farms were changing hands every day, always at enhanced price's; and that had an important effect, on the price of milk. There can be .no doubt that Councillor Norwood liere touched, if not the solo cause, at, any rate the main cause, of all the trouble; and that not only in regard to milk. The land is the natural reservoir of all wealth. Land value is the prioo that not only the fanner, but every other worker, must pay for access -to that reservoir; and, manifestly, so - long as, through land speculation, land values continue mounting upward, the prices |of milk, butter, cheese, meat, wool, 'and all other forms of wealth drawn from the reservoir-must also continue to rise.

(• The facts—that the price of milk is to-be increased to 8d per quart; that the price of Joutter is likely to go to 2s 9d per lb; and that the latest “Monthly Abstract of Statistics” shows a rise of 49 points, or practically 5 per cent., in tho cost bf living—need ndt bo wondered at in face of tho announcement made by the Prime Minister in the House of Representatives on Friday evening. that tho Commissioner of Taxes had been furnished with 1 revised valuations of unimproved land in the Dominion, which represented, an increase of £34,104,681, which would be available for taxation in tho current year. Nor does this disclose the' whole of tho matter, for land valuations are so behindhand that, as Mr Massey stated, ninety specially-selected emergency valuers are being appointed to assist the Valuation Department in the work of revaluing tho land. Already the figures in tho “Abstract of Statistics” show an increase of over 100 millions sterling in unimproved land values in the past nine years. When the work of revaluation is completed, what will it disclose? So far as it has gone, we maintain, it has clearly, disclosed the need, not only for these ninety additional valuers,,-, but also for a substantial increase in tho land tax. Only by such an increase'can we put ■an end to tho orgy of speculation now going on, open up tho land to those who will put it to its best use, and by thus stimulating tho legitimate farmer, increase production and reduce prices.