THE GREAT ISSUE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22718, 2 November 1935, Page 12

THE GREAT ISSUE

A few days ago a Labour candidate in Canterbury admitted that there had been " a mild flirtation " between his party and the Douglas Social Credit Party. "Flirtation" is too mild a word to describe the advances which the Labour candidate for Central Otago has apparently been making to the party which regards Major Douglas as the fountain head of financial wisdom. The impression left by Mr H. K. Edie's speech at Lawrence is that the candidate is hoping to raise Mr Savage's colours next month by expounding a confused version of Major Douglas's monetary doctrines. The extraordinary thing about Mr Edie's speech, however, is that, while it is largely composed of quotations from divers Social Credit sources, Major Douglas is not mentioned at all. _But, for that matter, neither is there any mention of Mr Savage. There is a reference to Mr Langstone, and one to Mr Jones, but they appear to have been brought in to enable Mr Edie to give an original twist to the guaranteed prices plan. According to Mr Edie, what Mr Langstone really has in mind is the creation of a central credit pool. All exports and all imports will go through this pool, so that if the guaranteed price for wool or butter is Is 3d and the London price is 9d, the deficit of 6d on exports will be balanced by an increase of 6d on imports; That is really not very helpful. Mr Savage in the meantime has amended his idea that the financing of guaranteed prices should be the responsibility of a brand new " national credit authority" to one which postulates that the money shall come from the Reserve Bank, which, without resort to taxation increases or currency inflation, is to be made to produce a money service " sufficient to give effect to the will of Parliament." Precisely what Mr Nash, Mr Jones and Mr Barnard are thinking on this troublesome subject at the moment is not on record, but it can fairly safely be assumed that they are still agreeing to disagree, in the affable manner of Labour's pundits. Mr Edie, at any rate, has solved the riddle to his own satisfaction. In the circumstances we are inclined to accept his view that the money question is "the great issue at stake" in the present election campaign. But we doubt if we mean what Mr Edie means. He says airily that all Labour will have to do is to increase the liquid capital of this country. • That " there can be no prosperity without inflation" is another sample of the candidate's astonishing economic reasoning, in proof of which he quotes the success of Germany's inflationary experiment as a means of "repudiating" her internal debt. In the face of such financial honesty the majority of the electors will also readily endorse the candidate's view that the " money question " is important. They will perhaps reflect that the Labour Party proposes quite openly to print money, that the Democrats propose to borrow it, and that the Government alone holds to the commonsense view that the country should continue to live within its means. It seems pertinent, in all friendliness, to suggest that Mr Edie should make himself better informed. Otherwise the electors of Central Otago may not be disposed to take him seriously.