THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1949. LITTLE AND LATE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27221, 26 October 1949, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1949. LITTLE AND LATE

When a man has nerved himself against the shock of an expected explosion and it turns out to be a mere pop, psychological damage is done to his system. There is a feeling of relief, but the persistent reaction is one of resentment. On several occasions the Labour Government of Great Britain has prepared the nation for a slashing attack on its living standards, and the ears attuned for the blows of the axe have been assailed only by the snipping of a pruning knife. The damage to the morale of the people has been incalculable. And now, once more, the Government has blundered in the same way. A month after the act of devaluation, Mr Attlee has made the first detailed announcement of how the Governanent intends to exploit the anticipated advantages of this step. Stem warnings of economies had been given by Sir Stafford Cripps and by other spokesmen, but the measures taken amount simply to the cutting of expenditure by £280,000,000, which is substantially less than an all round ten per' cent, reduction in a budget of £3,780,000,000. Two sentences from Mr Attlee’s broadcast address provide the appropriate comment on this performance: “We must have an all-out effort, and you know that has not been forthcoming,” ' and “We are not yet going flat out in this fight for recovery.” • Though it may be considered that some of the specific cuts are illadvised, it must be said that, broadly, there is nothing done which could not, and should not have been done three years ago. The Government’s first concern then was to build the welfare State, although its first duty was to repair the war-damaged economy of the nation. At this late stage, and with the prospect of an approaching election to dampen its never high courage, its concern is to preserve that welfare State after .it has become plain that these expenditures should never have been undertaken when they were. More than this, Mr Attlee has shown, by inference, that he is still committed to the nationalisation of steel, a step which will have problematical results on one of Great Britain’s most valuable revenue-producing industries.

Standing by itself, the figure of £280,000,000 seems impressive enough but an examination of its details reveals the poverty of the inspiration which went into its compiling. Some of the economies are such as should be undertaken by -any Government in adverse circumstances. Others which might be recommended generally at any time are insufficient for this occasion. One—the reduction in the housing programme —appears to be singularly ill-conceived. But the whole programme is a negative one. There is no dynamic such as the nation has awaited. Mr Attlee’s nearest approach to offering something positive was made when he said employers and workers must give serious consideration to working longer hours, and he neutralised that by adding “ of course, working hours are not the solution in all cases.”