THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1935. THE TAXPAYER'S CHOICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22717, 1 November 1935, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1935. THE TAXPAYER'S CHOICE

Even at this early stage of the general election campaign few electors should require to be told that in politics there is apt to be a world of difference between promise and performance. The point, however, is one which it is always necessary to bear in mind, and never more so than at the present time, when two of the three political groups in the field are tickling the ears of the voters in the most brazen fashion. In the soberly-worded and soundly-reasoned address with which ho opened his campaign in the Dunedin North electorate last evening, Mr A. S. Falconer, National Government candidate, gave a good many convincing reasons why the electors should refuse to accept the astonishing promises of the Democrat and Labour Parties at their face value. It is not necessary to list all of these reasons, because Mr Falconer covered what should be familiar ground to every elector who hopes to use his vote on polling day with a proper discrimination. But the candidate's method of presenting his case for an intelligent use of the franchise is of particular interest. Mr Falconer emphasised at the outset that it was the duty of every elector to examine the political situation, as it exists to-day, in the light of past experience and with due regard to future prospects "so far as they can be envisaged." If such an examination is made without preju-

dice, and if the future policies of the three parties are looked at together, the conclusion must be that the Dominion's best interests will unquestionably be served by the continuance of government on the present sound and business-like lines. Mr Falconer, of necessity, dealt extensively with the measures adopted by the Government to soften the hammer blows of the slump and to remedy the_ damage caused by a world-wide depression to the economic structure of the Dominion. He traced the steps taken from the formation of the National Government in 1931, through the crisis years and right up to the present time, to meet each new difficulty as it arose, and he underlined the fact of restored budgetary stability as the Government's unanswerable reply to its critics. His own words, on the actuality of recover}', need not be departed from:

There is now abroad a spirit of optimism, replacing the atmosphere of gloom which has prevailed during the past five years. Export values have improved, imports have increased, the balance of trade is favourable, costs of production have been reduced, and money is available in abundant quantities. Bank overdrafts are lower, free deposits and savings bank deposits are increasing, factory production is increasing, and building activities are apparent in every city. Business generally shows definite improvement, and there is an absence of any sign of that disaster which was predicted by pessimistic critics of the Government.

The picture is not overdrawn. Only those who deliberately close their eyes to realities can pretend that such a striking improvement in the country's condition has come about fortuitously, the truth being that it is the direct result of courageous and far-seeing administration. The Government, in four years of unprecedented difficulty, has designed the framework of recovery. If that desigu is approved by the electors —which depends 6n their capacity to recognise good workmanship when they see it —the Government in the next four years will complete the permanent structure. And what is the alternative? Mr Falconer has done the parties respectively offering it more than justice in his allusion to them. Neither has had any experience in office, and neither appears to appreciate one of the fundamentals of good government — that a country should strive to live within a reasonable assessment of its income. The Democrats condemn past borrowing and propose future borrowing in the same breath. The Labour Party, also feeling the urge to spend in the grand manner, would apparently create money, or otherwise conjure it out of thin air. Either way it would be a case of spending in haste and paying at leisure—with the privilege of paying, as Mr Falconer pungently observes, reserved for the taxpayer, present or future. Political windowdressing has heen reduced to a fine art by both Mr Hislop and Mr Savage. The Government's shop-front is drab by comparison. But quality is exhibited in it. Mr Falconer's last word to the taxpayer is, in effect, that when he is invited to pay his money and take his choice, he had better make certain of how much he can afford to spend.