FIGURES AND TRUTH.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19442, 30 October 1925, Page 6

FIGURES AND TRUTH.

In the course of his speech on Wednesday Mr. Coates made reference to certain figures which had been published by the local Opposition journal and explained that as the figures were taken from the Budget they did not disclose the actual position of the Railway Department’s finances, the Budget being, as he put it, a summary of the cash account, while the Railway Statement provided the balance sheet. By taking the Budget figures the critic led itself into a little error of some £300,000. Its mistake having been pointed out, it offers no apology, but incorrectly asserts that Mr. Coates “made the astonishing statement that the Budget figures could not be relied upon.” Mr. Coates said nothing of the kind. Either the critic is deliberately distorting his statement or is incapable of understanding it.

® The Opposition journal hastens, in its usual fashion, to draw the red herring across the trail. “But even admitting that there was an error of several hundred thousand in the Budget figures” —Mr. Coates, it is clear, made no such admission—“what,” it asks, “is that in comparison with the millions upon millions which have been piled on the public debt?” Mr. Coates on Wednesday fully explained the reasons for the additions to the public debt, showing that whereas in 1912 77 per cent, of it was interestbearing, at the present time 90 per cent, of the debt, apart from the war debt, is bearing interest. For the money that has been borrowed for developmental works the Dominion has assets to show, and assets that pay interest on capital cost. The Opposition journal has not had the common decency to publish a word of the Prime Minister’s statement on this subject; if it had done so its vicious criticism would have fallen to the ground. Instead it makes utterly futile comparisons of the amounts borrowed by different Governments —futile because they fail to show what the borrowed money has cost, for what purposes it has been used, and what return is being obtained for it. Moreover, the Opposition journal calls to its aid the partisan opinions of other jaundiced critics, and then quotes the fantastic statements of some academic economists in Christchurch, whose figures show that in considering the public debt they have quite overlooked the fact that borrowing has given the Dominion assets as well as liabilities. The unobservant economists tell us that the national and local body debt of the Dominion has been increased by £l7 per head of the population since 1920. They say not a word about what that £l7 has purchased—hydro-electric works, railway improvements, drainage, water supply, local transport services, and many other facilities. Let us ask ourselves in Wanganui whether the local and national facilities that we have obtained during the past four or five years are not worth £l7 of anybody’s money. Surely they are worth it. But let us remember that 90 per cent, of these facilities are costing us nothing by way of taxation; they are paying interest on the money that we borrowed in order that we might enjoy them. Once the truth is told about borrowing criticism is disarmed.