The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING MONDAY, JUNE 20, 1938. THE PRIME MINISTER’S TOUR.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 13886, 20 June 1938, Page 4

The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING MONDAY, JUNE 20, 1938. THE PRIME MINISTER’S TOUR.

Xiie visit of Mr .S& v to Pahiatua on Saturday afforded many town and country folk an opportunity of seeing our energetic little Prime Minister in person. Prom one and all he received a very cordial welcome and it was a courageous gesture on the part of Sir Alfred Ransom to associate himself with the visit which indicated a strong measure of goodwill on both sides. Irrespective of his political creed, Mr Savage as Prime Minister, was entitled to a warm welcome from all the people and there can be no denying that he was most enthusiastically received on Saturday. In his sjieecli Mr Savage emphasised that the Government intended to g-o on with the euperanil uatiou legislation this next session and that no married couple over the age of 45 would be receiving less than £3 per week. He qualified this by saying that there was not a man or woman who would be able to say that it would not reach them. It will be interesting to see how he will make good this assertion. When speaking at Stratford previously Mr Savage made a defence of the guaranteed price system, and it can be assumed from the statement that the reason for the proposed distribution of all or part of the surplus accruing to the Dairy Account this year is to compensate the farmer for his higher costs, Mr Savage conceding that “there is great difficulty in ascertaining farm costs.’ 7 Even if this contention is correct i~ is rather beside the point, for if the dairyman is to be given a price to allow him a good profit margin irrespective of a long-term average based on the open market, the scheme ceases to be a guarantee on a sell-balancing basis, and becomes a subsidy at the expense of the whole community. This is justice to the dairyman, possibly, but it is also very unsound economics, because the rest of the country is equally saddled with increasing costs, and is equally entitled to a subsidy to carry on ; but for every section of tho community to subsidise every other is reduetio ad absurdum or it is inflation.