PRYING BY STATE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20446, 17 June 1936, Page 8

PRYING BY STATE

MR SAVAGE SCOTCHES A RUMOUR

FAIR DEAL FOR ALL

By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, June 16.

A suggestion from Christchurch that the Government intended to appoint accountants to investigate the affairs of important firms particularly to see the effect of the new industrial leglislation was specifically denied by the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) in an interview to-night.

“Such a suggestion has no foundation at all,” said Mr Savage, “because it would imply for one thing that the Government is out looking for trouble. As I have said time and again from the public platform and elsewhere we have no intention whatever of harassing business people and putting obstacles in their way. At the same time this does not mean that the Government will not watch very closely any tendency on the part of industry to take undue advantage of the changed conditions.

‘‘There can be no argument against the fact that if one industry is allowed to exploit the people and make undue profits it can only do that either at the expense of some other industry or the consumers. We intend to watch developments of that sort and, if necessary, to make use of all the powers that are already available under the Board of Trade Act for dealing with exploitation. In the meantime our desire is to play the part of the referee seeing that both sides get a fair deal, because we have already recognised that the man who pays the wages is entitled to consideration as well as the man who receives them.”