LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21220, 29 December 1930, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE APPLE EXPORT TRADE. TO THE EDITOR. ,f IK ,~ Ma V I be permitted to draw the attention of the Otago Harbour Board and the snipping companies concerned to the fact that during our apple export season (March, April and May) there is no refrigerated shipping space available t?* - ’. Continental ports, say Hamburg and Rotterdam. Otago is, as you know, the only province out of the bruit Control Hoards jurisdiction, and without taking into consideration the question whether the growers benefit or otherwise by so being out. the fact remains that the Control Board, handling 1,000,000 cases, is able to book up all shipping space for Hie Continent, so that poor Cinderella, Utago, has to go without, with the result that the larger sized fruit suitable for redistribution from Rotterdam goes to the Condon market where it is not wanted. Ijc Control Board has very kindly offered to give some shipping space if the Otago glowers will nestle under the mother hen’s wing but surely if Otago voted herself out of control she should be high-spirited enough to continue to carry on independently, and this can only be done with shinping assistance. Probably next season only a tew months away, Otago may be given j 01TI J, shipping space, so that her crisp and. well-flavoured apples may also reach the remote parts of the European Continent.—l am, etc., •n,,. . , , L. C. Tonkin. Ettrick, December 24, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL ENTRANTS. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—l do not think that Mr Rodgers would have written such a heated protest against my criticism of the educational qualification of recent entrants into the junior high school had he been in possession of all the facts. I am not concerned one. jot about his pose as “ arbiter elegantiarum.” If he chooses to applv ■ to , “e ex-semor inspector for Otago he will, find that this gentleman needed no advice from me as to the gravity of the position. _ As for his objection to the broadcasting of my criticism, I had notnmg whatever to.do with that. I certainly did not desire any publicity,—l merely wrote one sentence as a defensive measure in a report addressed to ray beard of Rovernors. trustee for the educational welfare of these Oamaru children at the most receptive and formative period of their life, I prefer a policy of candid speech to hypocritical tolerance. That is my plain duty both to parents and to my own staff I say advisedly that the junior high school here has not had recently a square deal so far as the general standard of .the entrants is concerned. What is my evidence.. .First, the results of our entrance examinations in English and arithmetic, secondly, the similar experience of the Girls High School. Thirdly, the deplorable condition of First Form arithmetic this. y§ar, necessitating, for the first , time in the history of the school, me jettisonmg of all secondary subjects m the Second Form next year to enable pupils to attain merely proficiency, fourthly, the recent unprecedented investigation conducted by the Otago inspectorate at both schools, and the insistence on the despatch of all standard examination papers to Dunedin for insP6cti°n and valuation. ago i l° n K before any practical initiation of such intermediate eduti, °n r r- 1P . ew Zealand, I strongly advised tlie Minister of Education to experiment with junior high schools. Accordingly, 1 was pilloried in the press as a dangerous innovator and a purveyor of heretical doctrines. To-day it i 5 evident to the most prejudiced that this experimentation has made good. The Waitaki type Las been functioning for six years under the closest scrutiny. Knowing as I do the beneficent potentialities of its extension to similar intermediate centres of limited population, I. should be completely failing JP ™Y duty.if I did not. protest against the frustration of its distinctive purposes and inherent virtues by purely extraneous factorc.—l am, etc., F. Milner. Waitaki Boys’ High School, Oamaru, December 23. THE WAIHOLA-TAIERI MOUTH ROAD. TO THE EDITOR. .Sir,—l would like space to. reply to a discussion by the Expansion League on the Waihola-Taieri Mouth road, especially with reference to the liability of this road to. become blocked with snow. For the league’s information I wish to point out that it is not altogether owing to altitude, but to the configuration ot the country that this road is liable to be blocked by snowdrifts. I myself have seen the road blocked for weeks by these drifts, and. I think half an hour’s conversation with my father, who has known and travelled this road for the past 60 years, and especially his reminiscences of the early days when he carried the mail over this, route, would convince even the most optimistic as to the utter futility of attempting to. make this an all-weather road. There is another aspect with which I wish to deal. What is the attitude . of the settlers to the • proposed expenditure on this road? At a meeting of ratepayers held at Taieri Mouth, attended by representatives of the Bruce County Council, I proposed a motion to the effect that we settlers definitely do not. want the hill road, as it is perfectly useless as a haulage road to us. The response to my motion left no doubt as to whether the district supported me or not. Now, as the ratepayer settlers have never asked that public money should be spent on this road, I. ask, whether any public body has the right to saddle us with the upkeep of the road, I would at the same time point out that one-third of our rates is spent on the Main South road, from which we get not the slightest benefit. If the hill road is forced upon us, a great proportion of the balance-of pur rates will be spent purely for tbe benefit of summer tourists. To illustrate how worthless this road is as a business proposition, allow me to quote a case that was recently brought to my notice. A man coming to reside in this district sent his household effects 170 miles by railway, at a cost of £3 10s, and the cost of sending the same load by motor over the hill road was £2 10s. This may be taken as showing how utterly useless this road is to the settlers for tbe transport of goods. Further comment, I think, is unnecessary, and I can assure the league and other interested public bodies that this district will oppose this road to the uttermost.—l am, qtc., J. P. A. WHALAN. Taieri Mouth, December 26. FARMERS AND THE RAILWAYS. TO THR EDITOR ‘ Sib, —It is a pity the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants has not got enough to do with its own affairs to prevent it from meddling with the affairs of other people. The commission which sat to inquire into railway matters did not find much with which to encourage tbe public. Over-staffed, over-paid, and inefficient was how I read its conclusions! Machines newly installed not being worked to their full advantage, etc., is inefficiency. Over-paid—no money coming in, and the tariff put up to find wages for idle men, 90 per cent, of the proceeds from the land. Over-staffed with men to wave two (not more) trains through in 24 hours. Drivers earning £4O a month (with overtime) on branches that do not earn axle grease. What has been WINE, SPIRITS. ALE. NEW LOW PRICES AT EXCELSIOR HOTEL FOR LIMITED PERIOD ONLY. Always to the fore in service, quality, and value, the Excelsior Hotel again leads the way with special offers for Christmas and New Year. In addition to choice hampers at exceptionally attractive prices, the.ever-popular “Ex.” is offering, for a short time only, Special Draft Whisky. Ils bottle. Choice Port. 3s bottle. Fine Old Brandy, 10s bottle. Ale or Stout, Is 4d bottle. Ever since Mr J. Trengrove took charge of the “ Ex.,” quality has been a feature of the hotel, and when you obtain any of the above lines from this establishment you not only effect a substantial saving in price, but get the choicest beverage of its class—real “ Ex.” quality, something you can depend on and offer your friends with confidence. There’s enjoyment, satisfaction, and economy in getting your supplies from the Excelsior Hotel at these tlow prices. Address: DoujUng street, P *AJrU J " TrcD Srove, Proprietor.

done to put their house in order? Travel by train and watch the guard punch the tickets and you will find that for one ticket he punches there are sometimes four_or five passes or cheap passes. If the Farmers’ Union does not rise up and demand that these things be rectified we shall be saddled with such a burden that it will take years to get rid of it, if ever we can. _ In threa to five years’ time there will bo running in New Zealand high-speed heavy-oil engines, which will make transport vastly cheaper, and it will be an alarming thing if new railways are constructed in the meantime. The farmers are what the landlord of a certain hotel said when the five o’clock whistle went, “Well, I must go now; here come my working bullocks.” The farmers are the working bullocks of the railway. From the enclosed, which I cut out of the Overseas Daily Mail, your readers will see that the end of all branch railways is in sight, and the sooner the public gets down to tin tacks ” and demands reforms, the less there will be to make good later on.—l am. etc., H.P. Fuel at 4d per gallon, double mileage to the gallon, non-polsonoua exhaust fumes, simpler engine construction, trouble-free driving. These striking claims are made tor a new high-speed hvavy-oil engine, publicly demonstrated for the first time. The new power unit, which conforms In looks and performance In almost every way with a similar type of petrol engine, is rated at 95 h.p., and has been evolved by British engineers after three years of experimental work under nil sorts of conditions. ! Although the London General Omnibus Company has not yet bought any of thuse engines, It is pointed out that. It Its fleet were equipped with heavy-01l power units a huge saving in Its fuel bill would be effected. At the present price of petrol It is estimated that it could amount to as much as £BOO,OOO a year. Six of the new engines are being fitted experimentally to long-distance passenger coaches. POLITICS AND UNEMPLOYMENT. lO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Your correspondent “ A, E.’s ” letter on the above subject calls for little comment from me. I do not advocate a reduction in the standard of living of the worker or any section of society, out just the opposite. If “ A. E. " will read my letter again he will see that in concluding I wrote: “The standard of living will and must be raised in'all countries in the world through the advance in the application of scientific knowledge to industries.” He will also find, if he makes an analysis of the remedy suggested, that it will mean an increase, for, as pointed out, it gives increased purchasing power to all money (liquid capital) through the reduction in replacement price of frozen capital (machinery, buildings, commodities already produced and held in stock), thus bringing about an increased power of purchase, and creating a demand for the employment of more people. As to the immediate effect °f a reduction in wages and salaries, it will be seen that those possesslong stock, goods, plant, and properties are affected first, for as the replacement price - is lowered < they are taxed to the extent of the reducttion in price. So far as those w.orking_ for wages or salaries are concerned; their wages and salary, although lowered in money terms, will, exchange for goods at a reduced money price. Thus it will be seen there is no foundation for assuming a reduction in the standard of living of the worker. The remaining part of the letter by “ A. E.” can be answered by pointing out that all persons who contribute to the press are not concerned with getting to Parliament, for they seek not favours nor fear not scorn, and are only concerned with the welfare of humanity which can only advonce by truth. May I say that the letter of Mr«. E. MacManus hardly does him credit, for as a rule he attempts to justify.ijiis idea and argument by facte, and not by assertions, and he does the writer an injustice when he asks, ’Will Mr Moss explain why he wants to punish the workers by cutting down their wages?” I can assure Mr MacManus that Mr Moss does not wish to punish the workers, but to prove to them they are chasing a shadow. If there ore any who are punishing the workers of New Zealand it is their socalled parliamentary representatives who are to-day preaching the doctrine of increased money wages, in spite of the fact that during the last 10 years they were continually, inside and outside of Parliament, pointing out that increased money wages did not reflect an increase in the standard of living. Mr MacManus knows this to be true. Further, he knows that the same gentlemen were opposed to the Arbitration Court, while to-day they are vigorously objecting to any amendment necessary to give powers to that body to bring about an adjustment in money wages to allow economic law to operate and reflect itself with benefit to the worker. Will Mr MacManus deny this? With reference to an explanation of the reason for which I suggest a reduction equalling the exchange rate, I will use Mr MacManus’s example for ah' illustration. It will be seen from it that £lo3' ; 10s of New Zealand money is worth only. £IOO of London money. In other words, as it is an exchange in goods, it takes £lO3 10s worth of New Zealand goods to purchase £IOO of ■ British goods. As the goods exported from New Zealand consist to a very large ’extent of raw materials, which are used in the class of goods imported in New Zealand, and which the industries of New Zealand are capable ot making, it will be seen that if production costs were lowered £3 10s per cent, the exchange of raw material for manufactured material could, and would, take place in New Zealand for £IOO of raw material would exchange in New Zealand for £IOO of goods equal in value to £IOO of British goods. It must be obvious to your readers that .if our raw materials could exchange in New Zealand for imported manufactured goods, equal in value and price, there would be more exchanges made in New Zealand, with benefit to all sections, and it must come about if moneys are of equal value, for then countries would only exchange goods that it was profitable for them to import in preference to manufacturing themselves, It will thus be seen that what M‘Manus suggests —support to local industry—would be brought about. It will be noticed that I have taken Mr M’Manus’s figures and dealt with _ thenf\ from a national standpoint. Taking it by this method it is obvious that we are paying £3 10s per £IOO more by exchanging goods externally than we should pay by exchanging them internally, as could, be done by bringing our production cost equal witn British production costs—in other words, by bringing our New Zealand money equal to London money. , In conclusion , may I say to Mr M'Manus that, to advocate extended credits, the issuing of paper tokens, or a State bank, will not attain bis objective at this juncture. While what he advocates can be used to advantage at certain periods, it is ( reactionary policy at this period, for we in New Zealnntl are in the position that our lands, buildings, machinery, etc., arc all based on a price which is false in relation to that which is produced from them. To put them on a solid foundation requires either a policy as advocated by the writer or an increase in production which, of course, means longer hours or harder work. Will Mr M’Manus deny that the above is true? The writer suggests that Mr M‘Manus and “ A. E.” go a little deeper into the matter. When they have done so they will find that the writer does not, and will not, advocate or support anything that tends to lower tbe welfare of the workers. I understand it is easy to take the popular path, but it requires strength to stand for truth. 1 have learned the truth of the lines — Who la a brave man? Who? He who dares defend tho right when right Is miscalled wrong. He who shrinks not from the fight when weak contend with strong. Sir, the weak to-day, measured in numbers, are the few who are advocating the unpopular remedy—truth.—l am. etc., C. M. Moss. North-East Valley, December 26. UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF. TO VUE EDITOR Sir, —The interview with Mrs Marshall Macdonald in your Saturday’s issue forms interesting and gratifying reading to those who are free from bias and possess power to discriminate between right and wrong. A strong ring of moral courage expressed in her views forms a striking contrast with the miserable shallowness of the hectoring party politicians, who now, thank God, have become subject to a new situation that promises effectually to curb their narrow empirical dogmatism and more prominently expose their impotence. Mrs Macdonald elevates the subject to the highest sphere of human conception, which is that embracing Christian ethics. When she says that “ the very method of distributing relief is demoralising and tends to destroy the qualities of grit and selfreliance which should be encouraged in all,” she utters a truth known to every intelligent man and woman inside and outside

of the Christian Church. Her statement is arresting, not only because it is true, but because it_ at once awakens a consciousness within every Christian that it is part of his moral obligation to assist a reform which Christian ethics prescribes in the plainest word, embracing the welfare of every human being. None is to be shut out, even the basest in human estimation is here by the will of God to fulfil a purpose which our moralising philosophers have so far failed to explain, though they are ready enough to hurl their venom at them because they are unpleasant company and annoy fcsthetic taste, which is now very much confounded with Christianity. Mrs Macdonald covers, a good deal of ground and raises several very debatable questions. When she says that “ the standard of living in all quarters is too high for the resources of our country and very few make provision for the proverbial rainy day.” we enter upon a subject that embraces the entire field of the production pi wealth in New Zealand. Here we require understanding beyond that provided by ordinary education. We require the power that ethically discriminates the correct result from the incorrect, and that analyses the causes that produced these results. A standard of living requires definition. It rests upon personal skill or earning power and demands the opportunity to Work and the ability to give value for money. These two conditions are involved in the solution of unemployment and charitable aid, but the trouble arises from defects in our industrial system that are at present completely beyond control of any one individual and require corrections enforced by authority of the State. Let us. therefore, not be too haaty in our judgment. No one is personally responsible, and _ until we have discovered the economic defects in the system, no one can propound a remedy. An expert economist, if he possesses the moral courage, could - tell the community at once that cupidity requires to be forcibly restrained. That is an ethical proposition that first and foremost falls within the category of the Christian Church, the influence of which must be paramount in initiating the - steps primarily necessary to the success of any economic reform. The power of control at present ln , the . hands of the moneyed class, which wields it regardless'of equity. Ibis arises partly from a natural innate tendency to acquire, which is useful and necessary for progress, but requires a standard by which the claim of every individual worker is protected from unjust deprivation. It is the absence of such a standard in our economic-system that is responsible _ for the present financial and economic disturbance. The right to work requires not only the opportunity to work, ■ but also the right to an equitable remuneration, and this value can only be established by the personal skill of the worker, and not by the profit made by the employer, who is now tied up by the diminished'purchasing power of the consumer, which, the economists have failed to point out, arises _ from a false notion of value in assuming that production is primarily for the purpose of making money. In the nature of things production is solely for the purpose of supplying human wants in the production of which money forms the measure of value of the commodities produced and determines their price or cost of production., When we determine the remuneration of every individual worker by his personal skill which is necessary in assisting production, we deal with tangible commodities that are subject to exchange for the purpose of consumption. The consumer, therefore, is seen to b&- the final factor in production, and it is he who pays the final price involved in the process from start to finish, and for that reason requires the same protection from exploitation that is necessary for the protection of the wage earner. A good deal more explanation is required to clear the atmosphere for definite action, but the principal move must aimed at those who sit in power and fail to understand that the cause of unemployment is solely financial in its nature and requires a more drastic remedy than that of reducing the wages of the productive worker.—l am, etc., . ' W. Stvertsex. THE RAILWAYS BURDEN. • TO THE EDITOR . SiH.—With the above caption, you publish in your issue of the 24th inst. the considered opinion of the Associated Chambers of Commerce on the management, finance, freights, and fares of our railways, . and a reiteration .of the demand of the chambers that the railways shall be freed from political control and ‘ run on, business lines.” In support of their contentions, your contributors quote from the report of the recent Railways Commission, which alleged ■ inadequate rates are charged on certain classes of passengers and goods carried by the railways/ and made special reference to workers’ fares” and to “metalfor local bodies and primary products, such as gram, : potatoes, firewood, straw, coal, cement, bricks, tiles, fruit, vegetables, artificial manures, and so forth, being earned at lower rates than ordinary merchandise. Your' contributors assert that there can be little, if any, difference between the cost of handling them and ordinary. merchandise, an assertion which betrays a lamentable ignorance on their part regarding the, loading and unloading of ordinary merchandise and the primary products to which they make special reference. ' And have the chambers of commerce developed a “blind e y e , ol } this question of railway finance and freight. If not, how do they explain their significant failure to mention the essentially heavy losses on business men’s trams, run half empty on the main trunk routes, and the long-standing special concessions to commercial travellers, whose huge, and cumbersome sample hampers require special accommodation in closed -vane, with loading and unloading by the railway staff? Concessions, indeed! No section of the community receives more concessions and privileges' from State departments than that numerically small section which, the chambers of commerce represent. But my reason for this letter was not to criticise, but to seek information. It is easy to say Do away with political control ana run the railways on business lines.’’ Yes, but what is meant by business lines? As the Waimea Company once ran the line from Gore to Lumsden? Or as the privately or company-owned lines in Great Jin tain are run, or as the members of the chambers, run their private or company concerns? What do your contributors f propose with regard to the workmans farea, and the alleged inadequate ireignt rates on.the primary products? ■tell us, the farming community, in plain, unambiguous language, what the business experts .consider should be done and what it is they are really advocating when they quote with approval the recommendation or the Railway Commission to increase the direct freight charges to the primary producers in one section alone to the amount of £270,000 per annum? Give us um ’avnished truth as to the path they would have ns travel on,—l a, V-’ in W. D. Mason. Mnldlemarch, December 26.