LUXURY AND PLEASURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 69

LUXURY AND PLEASURE.

THE CAUSES OF DEPRESSION.

PLAINER LIVING ADVOCATED. NAPIER, September 24. The Bishop of Waiapu.-in his opening address to the Diocesan Synod to-day discussing financial conditions and unemployment. said the root of the evil lay in the prevalent neglect of thrift, a mis taken view of the standard of living, and a gross abuse of system of credit. “ Credit properly safeguarded is of great service in the development of business,” said his lordship. “ but when used to push sales by the instalment system it becomes a serious evil, a canker eating into the vitals of sound finance. The standard of living is a phrase which was invented by political economists in the middle of last century, and it has done good service in drawing attention to the fact that in their state of affairs there were many workers who could not obtain the ordinary necessities and decencies of life. The Labour leaders have rightly been zealous for the maintenance of the standard at a satisfactory level, but undue attention to these points has led to the creation of a false standard. Everyone has been led to be dissatisfied with the level he has reached, and too often this leads nany _to adopt a standard above that to which they have attained. The standard of living is measured by the standard of comfort, and this sooner or later becomes the standard of luxury and pleasure, with the result that nearly everyone is treating himself to the pleasures and luxuries enjoyed by his neighbour with a higher income. All these have to be paid for in cash, whether by instalment or not, and there is no money available for the necessaries of life, with which alone the standard of living is concerned.

“We are spending millions a year,” added Dr Sedgwick, “ upon motors, pictures, and other forms of amusement, tobacco, gramophones, radio, beer and spirits, sweets, and gambling. Hardly anyone can claim that he is not to blame under one or more of these headings. Extravagance is rampart and thrift is almost unknown. It is quite possible for. us to live more simply, to forgo many luxuries, and to amuse ourselves instead of paying extravagantly for others to amuse us. This means self-denial.' The church has always urged upon her members the. wise restraint of all appetites and desires which constitutes the real virtue of temperance.”