THE OAMARU MAIL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1919. A STRANGE STATEMENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue 13914, 15 November 1919, Page 4

THE OAMARU MAIL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1919. A STRANGE STATEMENT.

Unless he has been grievously misre- 1 ported by the Press Association, the Prime Minister has been guilty of vio- ] lating the teaching of political economy a.nd commonsense and universal experience. Dealing with the cost of living in his speech at Waiukn, he is reported to have said:—"The increased cost of living had met with much criticism, and many reasons had been advanced for it. One to which insufficient attention was paid was the inflation of the currency." The reason for such an explanation not having received attention .is that it is contrary to fact and absolutely ludicrous. Any inflation of the currency must inevitably increase its purchasing power for the reason that the relation as between the sovereign and other commodities will have undergone disturbance to the advantage of the sovereign. It is unnecessary to turn to the dictum of the political economist for evidence in support of a eontention that an inflation of the cur-, reney must inevitably cheapen commodities, for we have every day experience to guide us to the conclusion that if monev, the value whereof is determined by its purchasing power, becomes inflated it must command more of labor or of commodities in exchange for its possession. Let us illustrate the point in a simple fashion. If a tradesman carrying a ■ heavy stock is under the immediate necessity or obtaining money, he will at once seek to turn his stock, or -w-;part of it, into cash To accomplish that end he marks down the price of his goods and announces a "sacrifice sale" or:sometbin°- of the kind, and so gives a greater purchasing power to money, ■■the purchasers getting more in return for their temporarily inflated sovereigns or medium of exchange. Money can only become inflated in value by reason of its insufficiency to meet the demand, and where that is the case evervthing that it can buy -is depressed in value. The plnm tact, s that the currency has had nothing whatever to do with the cost of living. The experience of the Home Country suffices P to prove that point. Never lias the money in-■circulation been .so plentiful as in the past tew years Employment has been umversal and wik&s have been high. People, have had "monev to bum," and yet they have not been able to buy the necessaries of life. And why? The simple explanation is that there has been a diminished production of. the essentials of life because of human energy being "diverted into other channels. In. other wordv instead of i* R employment m the production of the means of sustaining life and promoting human comfort. It was very largely engaged m .manufacture of the moans of destroying life and creating misery and suffering. The consequence was an inevitable short supply of necessities, aggravated hv diminished shipping facilities to transport from abroad the commodities needed For counter-balancing substitutes Those who held supplies of the needful commodities seized the opportunitv to advance prices and so depreciated the value of the currency by diminishing its purchasing power, io -meet the situation and. enable people to live wages were advanced. Itas in its turn increased the cost of production, and the producer became a coadjutor with the profiteer in still furtifer raising the cost of living- The process might go on. indefinitely because, of the refles action of one thing upon another. The only means by which the cbst of living can be lowered is by increased production at a reduced cost, or, in other words, increase big the purchasing power of money. Considered purely as a medium ot exchange that would mean an inflation of the currency, and the effect would, assuredly, be quite the reverse of that assumed by Mr Massey. Of ™wse some may ask how it comes abovit that in this country where the production of many necessaries has been on ample scale the cost of living has bounded up to such an extent. The answer, is that the' conditions within the Dominion have been largely regulated by those abroad. So far own food productions are concerned, they have been enhanced in price by the Tmpenal government commandeering our surplus on a basis of payment determined by Home values. As to imported commodities, prices have been raised in the first instance by the purchase cost abroad, and: in the second by the opportunity afforded by a shortage for importers to exploit the public. _lhe currency has bad nothing do with it. Short, supplies and selfish profiteering have been the main operative forces. On Friday nest Oamarii is to be favored with'a visit from a Prohibition speaker of considerable force and personalis in the person of Captain Hawkins, of Pahiatua.. Mr Hawluns < was for seven,years, editor of the Palhntua Herald, and at one time represented Pahiatua in Parliament. He is a returned soldier, having been engaged on active service for nearly two years. He returned invalided in IMS. Mr Hawkins, who-is a .powerful-and effective speaker, should be well worth hearing. Eetumed soldiers in uniform will be given free admittance to the show on Wednesday and Thursday next. ! The Secretary of the N.O. A. and P. Association renorts that the number of applications for space at the show from side-showmen are numerous. Many of these are distinctly novel, and promise to be quite a feature of the show. The Columba sale" of work was brought to >a close last night. Good business was' done, the total for th<? two days' sale amoxmting to £225.

Music-lovers in Oamaru who will have pleasant recollections of the excellent, concert given by the Oamaru Orchestral Society some weeks. =inco will be pleased to learn that that organisation, will give another evening of good music in the Opera House on Wednesday. The object of the Society is to cultivate a. taste for music of a good class and to cater for the gratification of that _ taste as it exists and grows. There is no design to make money, and consequently the Society devotes the proceeds to procuring such talent as can be relied upon to give pleasure to its patrons with a change of faces and programme. On the forthcoming occasion it will have the assistance of such vocalists as Mrs Houlston. of Oamaru, who has been a successful competitor in the soprano section at the Dunedin competitions on several occasions, and Mr Neil Black, of Dunedin. and an Australian baritone who has won golden opinions upon the concert platform. Mr J. A. Wallace, the Dunedin violinist who created .a most favorable impression as a. soloist at the Society's previous concert, will again contribute to the wealth of a highly promising programme. The Society will also have the co-operation of Miss Anueti, of Tunaru, Miss Hawcridge. .of Dunedin, and Mr- Hayes, of Waimatc. An advertisement upon the . subject appears elsewhere, and to it we direct attention. p There was a. good assemblage of people in the Public Gardens last evening, when the 10th Regiment Band gave, the first of the season's series of municipal concerts. The programme submitted was very carefully chosen, and performed in a way that gives promise of theso concerts hemg of a pleasure-giving character, even to critical musical people. The calm nature, of the evening, and the cheerinl surroundings added to the pleasures of the occasion. - The call from Columba Church to the Rev. Walter McLean, M.C., which is being numerously signed, will he m the vestrv of the church at hath services to-morrow. This will be the last opportunity the. members and adherents will have of signing, as it is to be presented to the. Presbytery a* «• special meeting on Monday morning. . , At a, meeting of the Papakaio School Committee it was resolved to hold the annual school concert on the evening of Fridav, sth December, when a. crowded house is again, expected. Tlie aimual show of the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association promises to bo one of the. most successful functions the Society has held for several vears. Entries in most classes are satisfactory, but especially is this the case in the hacks and hunters arid pony classes, which provide the real entertainment of the =how. There are some especially good jumpers engaged in the High jump, and the veteran Mr W. Clyma- is to the fore as usual. The are more- numerous and attractive than usual and patrons will ha>e the opportunity of seeing an animal that has been'described as the largest bullock in the world. A request is being made to the retailers to induce them to close ab noon on the first day of the show. Returned- soldiers in uniform will be admitted free. \ The following local details are returning bv the Arawa:—T.W.O. (2) A. N, Befrv* (Mrs K. E. Berry, Weston), Private" F. R. Carr (Mrs J. Knox, Oamaru), Private B. D. Fraser (Mrs Fraser. Peebles), Sergt. E. Cecil (P.. Geen. Oamaru), C.Q.M.S. J. F. Laiirenson (F. Laurenson, Duntroon), Driver T. F. McLennan (Mrs McLennan. Palmersron), Private Win. Minton (A. Middlemarcti, Whare Kuri). Our Tokarahi correspondent writes: On Thursday a very successful picnic and sports 'gathering, as an anniversary of Armistice Day 01th). was held in a. paddock of Mr John Budge. The dav being fine, a- large number ot children and also of adults attended from Tokarahi and surrounding districts. Lunch having been partaken of. a start was made about 12.30 with a sports programme of some 30 odd events. The Sports Committee is to he congratulated for putting on a good programme, and. coupled with the Chairman (Mr Henderson), had the lion's share of the work for the day. There were other very willing hands, and, as usual, the ladies carried out their part in supplying refreshments and in many other directions. All the children received a toy as a prize. The Chairman called on.Mr .1. .T. Hore to address the. audience, and, after a- capital speech, a verse of the National--An-them was sung, and at Mr Hore's request all remained standing in fiilence for two minutes for the boys gone west. In the evening a social and dance was held in the Hall to wind up the day's outing. The general opinion expressed was the hope that the event would be an annual affair. Enquires were.marie regarding the position of districts with changed boundaries by the New Zealand Alliance, and the following . decision was given by Mr A. S. Adams, of Dunedin :—Districts formerly licensed and now taken into— no-license districts through the change in the boundaries automatically become no-license areas under the Licensing Act on the dissolution of Parliament. This means that liquor may not. he sent or taken into those areas after that time without advising the Court. Rush methods, of manufacture are avoided in the making of CLINCHER CROSS TYRES—they arc slowly and scientifically built—this is why CLINCHER CROSS last! 03 Actual tests prove CLTNCHER CROSS TYRES give more mileage and less worry than other' makes. This is why the AVar Office preferred them. S3 No matter whether a cold lodge in throat, head or chest, "NAZOL" will promptly clear it out Try it on sugar or through a Nazol Tnhaler. For heavy Motor Vehicles NORTH BRITISH' SOLID BAND TYRES are, unequalled. 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