OUTSIDE CONTROL.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 911, 4 November 1933, Page 17 (Supplement)

OUTSIDE CONTROL.

Effect of Central Bank Plan. MYSTERY TO MOST PEOPLE. <Written for the “Star" by E. J. HOWARD. M.P.). At a swimming function I asked a iend, “ What do you think of the iea of the Central Reserve Bank?” nd he replied, “ I don’t know anyling about it.” He was a swimmer, a owler, played a good game of cricket, new the names of the horses in form, id was a decent fellow. Who won the ar? The German type of mind hates eedom. They love to feel that ey are being directed; that newhere high up someone is nning what they shall do and how * r shall do it. We pretend we love f Jom. The Britisher loves to think l . Jack is as good as his master, and * t whilst we sing “ God Save the , g,” behind it all the people rule. a fact, a small section of the people ie, and they rule because they know lat they want and know how they re going to get it. Difference in Ideals. . The Commonwealth Bank slipped -'m the ideals and ideas Andrew •sher and the group behind him into -. ideas and ideals of a small group people in Australia. The ideals of -her were to have a bank where the jple’s credit could be pooled and id for the people who produce. The j mercial bankers’ ideals were to have bank into which all the commercial inks were to be compelled to put Jeir legitimate reserves, so that if one let. with disaster the resources of the hole could be called upon. The people’s bank could be used for ie production, distribution and exrange of goods produced. The bankrs’ bank or Central Reserve Bank is • r no direct benefit to the people, but an insurance scheme for the bankers mselves and to prevent undue comition amongst themselves. - he coming of a Central Reserve nk to New Zealand will not help the mers, the carpenters, the bricklayers, any of the ordinary people of New aland. In the short run it may not jure them. But in the long run it ill. It will prevent New Zealand from sveloping along her own lines. It ill place the Government of New Zeand under the dominance of an outde body, outside of New Zealand, and revent us from being masters in our wn home. Tha- was the German ideal. Had she on, her idea was to the world to :cept her ideals or force her type of vilisation upon everyone; that someie should order and others should ley; that freedom, as we know it, or link we know it, is nol good for the eople. New Zealand has been bitten y the preventive bug badly. For the umber of people we have in the ominion we have a record number of ws. And every law almost is a Thou shalt not.” What I* Behind It? Perhaps it will be as well to study ist what is the ideal behind central inking. After the war, and perhaps ;fore the war, nations were becoming debted to each other. Some large m in Britain specialised in railway instruction. By judicious advertising ley created in the minds of some of ew Zealand’s people that they needed railway. Some New Zealanders were producg a surplus of butter, eggs, bacon, 00l and wheat. So they had to find market outside. To buy the gear, 11s, engines, paint, cement and things r*ersea to build the railways we had > have money in England. But ,the ■oceeds from the sale of our surplus >ods were not sufficient to pay for ie machinery. Then another firm promoted a loan r us. The railway duly arrived and as laid down, and now we had only > send sufficient goods Home to pay ie interest on the debt. But ships mid not come out empty, even to ke our surplus goods Home. So we arrowed more machinery and raised ore loans. The promoters of loans >ok their flotation charges every time, id the floating of loans was a paying isiness. Then came wars and the Great War particular. We and all the fighting itions had to get ammunition and hes and guns and ships. The promo>rs of loans had a real good time, ame the end of war, and the loan pro. oters found the nations in a curious ate of debtors and creditors. The nkers met and decided there was only ie way to get their money, and that as to deflate. Blessed word. It meant > produce more and eat less. A New Slogan. After the bankers had met and decidl on their plan, conferences were call1, and we have had conference after inference, and another conference is ming. These conferences decided that ages must be reduced in all countries, he consequences of this policy did .strike the wise men at first. If roduction was to be increased and ages reduced, who could buy the ineased production? A new slogan >rang into being, “ Starving in the idst of plenty.” More and more the common people voke to the joke or tragedy. More id more the idea spread that there is no shortage of the things we needed it there was a shortage of tickets • tokens to buy the goods. The banks saw the danger of this awakening, id 4 So they haH to do something «t The idea of centrr 1 banking in .country was born. All ever t e this idea is being made law. In y Ljunt*’- there is t<-> be a ce..trai <. linked to one head bank which ' be in London or, maybe, in New k. he man at the baths said he didn’t w anything about it. He had an * of the horse that would win the jp. He knew Perry’s record as a nnis player. He knew Smithy’s time >m England to Australia. He knew - n Bradman’s r ord as a batsman. l was against bodyline bowling, but ie Central Bank a mystery to No Say in I ."w. There are a million ] eople in this ominion who are satisfied that Mr Drbes would not put this Bill through it was not wanted. They do n t amt to be bothered with the dr'-'ls. so is to become law next week. We e to be linked internationally by a ries of central banks. We shall have no say in the policy jiir own bank. On paper the bank '* belong to a few share*ers. But as a fact the shareholders have no say; Parliament will have say, except that the people can lange Parliament if they want to.

But a Ranfurly Shield match can sidetrack an election. The man at the baths said he knew nothing about central banking, so next week we get a central bank.