MORE DEPRESSION CORES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21694, 12 July 1932, Page 10

MORE DEPRESSION CORES

ro THE EDITOR Sib, —I quite agree with Mr Arthur Sainshury in everything he says, but I would like his opinion on the distribution of goods. In the event of a great revival of industry, so that everybody would be at work, where could we sell the goods we produced? As we all know, every country in the world is striving her utmost to export more and import less. If New Zealand produced enormous quantities of gbods and had no outlet for those goods, stagnation would set in again. But if she was a self-supporting country, say, like Russia, she could distribute them among her own people if wages were higher, because they would consume more, and if she found she was still producing a surplus the most sensible thing to do would be to cut down the hours of work to five days or even four and a-half days a week, according to the. accumulation of surplus, and not to reduce wages. Common sense ought to tell people that less work would mean'less produce, and still there would be enough for everybody and everybody would be working, and also happy.—l am, etc., Interested. Oamaru, July 8.

TO THE EDITOR Sir,— As a possible cure of the economic distress 1 suggest the issue of a paper currency consisting of a set of notes by provincial banks; similar, to the communal banks on the Continent, the issue to correspond with the present silver currency from, say, five shillings to one shilling—that is, one each for five shillings, four, Three, two, and one respectively, to a total of 15 shillings in all. The set to be issued on credit by way of a loan either to the producer or consumer, or both, and, in the first , case, subject to repayment at £1 sterling, and the other to be credited at its face value and repayable without interest, something after the style of the Douglas credit system. When a specified amount was released, the whole would then be re-lent as before until the note issue was fully indemnified, and afterwards continued further by the same means until a surplus to any amount was obtained for levelling gratis to agriculture and manufacture. Anyone desiring personally to assist the scheme could, on payment of £l, release and issue 15s for the common good, incidentally lowering taxation on wealth beforehand. 1 suggest that the borrowei obtaining such a free loan would be enabled to purchase in a wholesale manner, thus obviating to a large extent the middleman. I would design the.notes so as to show in facsimile the actual coin it was intended to represent, together with a date stamp for the calendar year.—l am, etc., Automakks. July 10.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— Yet another plan has been suggested for the much-needed release of currency, viz., that the Government should authorise and request the banks to create and to issue double the amount of bank notes which at present they are authorised to issue, and to hand over this new duplicate amount to the Government, as this would he sufficient for it to supply immediate wants, to pay interest on loans, and enable it to find work for the unemployed. Another plan was recently suggested in your columns, viz., that the Government should become a banker and issue its own bank notes, and specially promissory notes, to be current during years ahead in which it might have a breathing time to gather in its taxes, tariff duties, etc., and thus save the cost and all the interest of further loans and bonds. All business men carry on their business on credit, on promissory notes, this being undoubtedly a most convenient and useful method. May not the Government, which is the biggest of business firms, do likewise? The other hanks could sustain no loss and new life would he given to business generally, and if the great conventions in Ottawa, Lausanne and Geneva could agree to manufacture standard in-

ternational banknotes that would he valid all, oyer the world, then gold as currency could largely be dispensed with. Gold and the love of it are said to be the root of all evil, the curse of the world. The acquisition, of it, is the aim and object for which men struggle and fight, steal, kill and perpetrate most cruel and fearful crimes. Moses in his day effectually destroyed it. Must we “go back to Moses ” and sink all the useless gold of America and France in the seven mile deep Atlantic. No injustice need be. done to its millionaire proprietor and ample and even luxurious provision might be made for them, whilst “food, warmth and housing ” abundantly could he . provided for all. Men would have leisure for home life, recreation and profitable .studies, and thus find peace, rest, plenty and happiness.—I am, £tc., J. I. T.