THE DEPRESSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18447, 7 January 1922, Page 11

THE DEPRESSION

PRIME MINISTER ON THE SITUATION. (From Opr Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, January 6. To a certain extent wo are in difficulties, skid the Prime Minister, when speaking at Waiuku yesterday. Mr Massey said that the times we were now passing through were somewhat analogous to those of the ’eighties, but ha did not think we were going back to that. There was no occasion for despondency. In a period such as this, when wo were recuperating from the effects of the war, retrenchment was inevitable. The country had been called upon to face a heavy burden, and.now it had to meet the interest and sinking fund on tremendous sums borrowed. Other obligations were for tno maimed in the war, and their dependents during the war period too._ Em : ployeos in many of the State services had been -granted bonuses to meet the cost ef living, and the time had now come when the Government had to ask them to accept less. Expenses had to be cut down In other directions. In a couple of weeks fun details would be given of what had been done, and what it was proposed to do. Retrenchment was a difficult matter at any time, continued Mr Massey, but when it had to be done in the face of falling markets it was a most difficult task. Referring to produce prices, he said the butter slump woe not permanent. He thought the 40,000,000 cases in storage in England would be consumed in a few-weeks. At present a. conference was being held in Wellington to discuss what to do in connection with our butter at Home and ho was not going to interfere with _ the producers. _ Dealing with meat, he said that the position had reached such a stage when the .Government recognised that it nad to do something to bring things into a better state. He showed how the producers’ share of the prices realised had dwindled from 80 per cent, to 46 per cent. He did not say that the fault was all on the other side. The cost of production in this country must be reduced, and ho hoped to be ahle_ to reduce the freights on the railways in time. The desire of the Government was to see the primary producer getting a fair return for his labour and capital invested. It was a time £or co-ordination and organisation. He refuted the idea that the meat pool proposal was a socialistic experiment. This was an occasion when the Government thought it right that the State should be used to benefit the producers and the people generally. It was not Socialism; it was co-operation.