THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1918. EXPENSES OF WAR.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11752, 29 January 1918, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1918. EXPENSES OF WAR.

The war expenditure of New Zealand, in common with that of other portions of the Empire, is being enor- . mously increased every year, and , when'hostilities have ended, and our | soldiers have been repatriated, the ; national debt will probably be double I I what it was before the outbreak of ' war. The interest on this debt will | amount to between £3,000,000 and £4,000,000 per year, _ without making provision for a sinking fund. Had the Government pursued a wise and statesmanlike course at the beginning of the war, it would have commandeered the whole of our exports at the rate ruling in, say, 1913. Tho producers would have been more than satisfied with the prices they obtained, and would have been in a position to contribute, if required, towards the war expenditure from their j ordinary income. The Government j should also have taken over thosefactories necessary for the production of uniforms, boots, etc. The saving thus effected would have considerably reduced the war expenditure. But those controlling our political destinies selected another course. They allowed millions of money in war profits—money purchased by the blood of our gallant soldiers—to roach the profits of private individuals, and now they are borrowing it back at 4| per cent, free of income tax. in order to meet the obligations of the "Dominion, What is the result? Thousands of people have derived immense profits from the war, and the Government, with all its taxation, does ont appropriate these profits, let alone reach the ordinary income of the producer. On the other hand thousands of men who are in a much worse position to-day than before the outbreak of war—business and professional men in particular—have their taxation quadrupled in order to pay the-interest on borrowed money, which, in all fairness, should nave belonged to the country- 1« this just or equitable?, Is it equality of sacrifice? Why should one man lose heavily, and. • another profit immensely, by the war?' Is a Government which permits such a thing worthy of the renewed confidence of the people? It is. too late now to appropriate the w#r profits in a- lump sum. The Government has allowed ihem to pass into private hands. But thf. least it can do is to adjust its ' taxation in such a way that those wlio have benefited by the war will be compelled to disgorge their profits and contribute considerably from their pre-war incomes towards the . expenses of the war. Unless and until this adjustment is made, the 1 masses of the people will he suffering a grievous injustice, and the Govern- ! -mtent will stand guilty of favouring the classes at the expense of the remainder of.the community.