LABOUR POLICY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 101, 30 April 1937, Page 9

LABOUR POLICY

FATE OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SOCIALISTIC DICTATORSHIP Mk. W. A. BODKIN’S ADDRESS AT MARTON An allegation Ina*, the Socialistic or Communistic pclicy of the Labour Party had not been placed before the electors and that the Government had won office by the grossest misrepresentation was made by Mr. W. A. Bodkin, M.P. for Central Otago, tu a large audience at the Civic Theatre, Marton, on Thursday evening, when the Mayor (Mr. I’. Purnell) presided. He said that the ideal of the Government was the abolition of private enti i prise and the substitution o( production tor use, and it already had legislative power to cany out its programme, which might bring injustice and hardship on tile owners of capital and property. He contended that the guaranteed price vias only the Uansition stage, ani) that the ultimate objective was the socialisation of tne land.

Mr. Bodkin said that he was gratified that the Acting-Prime Minister had made a direct statement that lor tne moment at least, there was no intention on the part of the Government to establisn a censorship in the Dominion, but Mr. Flaser had not answered the allegation that the policy of the Government was purely socialistic.

“He said that it would be a waste of a good food ingredient to take the rest ci my assertions w.th even cne grain of salt,” said Mr. Lodkin, “bat i want to suggest that the electors ot New Zealand, wnen they compare the Labour Party's election promises with the policy if has put into operation, will want more than one grain ol sail betore accepting any statements at all which emanate from Labour Ministers. When the Acting Prime Minister is worried, and wnen it is deciueaiy embarrassing to nun to reply to criticism, he prefers to ignore ms opponents’ statements and to make disparaging remains about them instead. . . 1 suggest that the Acting prime Minister is taking comtort m the belief that the peopie will oe lulled into mistaken commence and a false sense of security by the soothing syrup that comes from time to time from the Prime Minister and because ot the improved conditions that are being enjoyed at the present time. i'he Socialist programme is being Kept well in tne oackground, and i can understand the reluctance of the Government to admit the truth.” Machinery of Control. He said that Professor Murphy, an independent writer, had pointed out in a review of the Government’s legislation that it now had the machinery to control finance, commerce, and industry, but the issue or Socialism had never been placed before the people of the Dominion. There had been no suggestion in the Labour Party's election manifesto that the day of private enterprise was gone. Ihe policy being put into operation was inconsistent with the promises to the electors, and Labour had secured the Treasury benches by the grossest misrepresentation ever attempted in the hie of the Dominion. One of the proposals of the Government had been that the guaranteed price was to oe an alternative to the high exchange, that the monetary system would be based on goods and services, and that its senemes would be carried out without an increase in taxation. Those proposals had won the Labour Party the support of the Douglas Credit movement and the currency reformers, whose ideas had been capitalised. They had been deceived into believing that it was the intention of the Government to provide social services and other benefits oy tae utilisation of the public credit, for the first time in the history of the Dominion there was a dictatorship of the primary industries, and the dictatorship which had been established was apparent in every department of State. The Government was carrying out a policy of Socialism which had been preached by writers in other parts of the British Empire and the world, and one had to read the writings of those men to understand the plan of legislation which was beinz adopted in New Zealand.

Ultimate Goal. •41 ® Labour Conference last year Mr. Nash made a statement that Labour remedy was production fo, use a co-operative production for individual use, social ownership of natural resources, and social control of the methods of utilising those resources. The guaranteed price wa» only a means to an end. 'The ultimate ideal of the Labour Government was production for use. It was the policy of Socialists and Com mumsts to allow production for profit until the time had arrived to wipe out that system and substitute production for use. When the change came about capital would be eliminated altogether. Had that issue been placed LVh° re he T* rmcrs °f the Dominion? When the Minister of Agriculture hao promised the farmers an increase in the guaranteed price, he should have prefaced his remarks with the ultimate ideal of the Labour Party—production for use—which meant that the Government would not be satis hed until it had realised the social ownership of the land. Mr. Nash’s speech had shown the truth of onlv 0 fo S hi P ° liCy ’ , bUt he had s P° k «> only to his own friends assembled in council Why were Mr. Nash's utterances, the only speech made on the ultimate ideals of the Labour Party communicated only to the inner councils of the party? I ask you if this is playing the t 0 ? he electors of New Zeaif Bodkin ' w sen charges ° £ . th klnd are made to the Acting Prime Minister, he prefers to ignore them ln the hope that the improved oonditmns will so allay the fears of the people so that the Labour Party teUc «,t ‘° establish a Communistic State m this country. I wa nt to ~7° U b that when a c °™£ rarty has become strong, it has gained power by a subterfuge, and the people have not realised what has happened until it has carried out its ideals.”

The Reserve Bank Amendment Act provided not only for the control of

the credit and currency of the country, but it also provided the machinery for the social control of production, distribution, and exchange. The Government had control of tne London balances, and in the transitory period importers might be able to purchase funds, or they might possibly be licensed, but the time would arrive when the Government would be the sole importer to the exclusion of all other importers. If that were not so, endeavours to go in lor a system of collective bargaining in the United Kingdom? He had promised that New Zealand would exhaust her London credits in the purchase of British goods, and that meant that xhe Government would direct the flow of the import trade. The whole policy suggested that the Government would oecome the sole importer of goods and the sole distributor of commodities. There were millions ot pounds of capital invested in different businesses which had been built up over a long period ol years. It the Government were in a position to exclude -hem from trading as wholesale importers or retailers there would be a complete crash of capital, if such a state of affairs came about, the Government would be running true to the Socialism its members believed in. Question of Compensation. As G. D. H. Cole had stated, no Socialist could recognise the right oi any individual to receive or take in some other form the value of the property which had been expropriated. The system of road transport in New Zealand had been pioneered by private enterprise. It was probable chat in its early years considerable capital had been lost, but companies had succeeded over a period ol years oecause they had supplied a demand and had given service. They were entitled to the good will which they had ouut up ana wnich was represented oy the losses made in the early stages, let the Minister of Transport m taking over certain road services said • hat he was not going to pay for what ae described as monopoly vaiue. The people of the Dominion were too sporting and had too great a respect tor justice to stand by and see the State confiscate the property of private enterprises without making a protest.

Private enterprise could function only if it made a profit. Capital could only be employed so long as it was employed profitably. If Laoour could so oraer tne conditions of industry and commerce that it was impossible for capital to make a profit, capital would crash, and the Held would be clear for Socialism. That was the policy the Government had apparently embarked on. There had been no public demand that the State should take over the transport services. There had not been a single suggestion that the people had been exploited in any way. The only reason for the Government’s action was that it wished to Socialise the industry. The road transport services may have been taking some of the revenue from the railways, but they were contributing enormous sums to every other branch of the State revenue. The treatment meted out to those people would be meted out to industry in general.

Bank Reserves.

One of the reasons for the establishment of the Reserve Bank was in order to provide liquid reserves that would meet contingencies in economic activities. Banking systems had failed because ot a lack of liquid assets, but the Government’s policy of sorrowing from the Reserve Bank was going to deplete those reserves, until the trade banks could not look to the central bank for assistance in the case of another slump. It might easily come about that tne Government would be compelled to go cap in hand to the banks and ask them to buy Treasury bills to carry on. The Primary Products Marketing Act gave the Government the right to take over the whole of the farm produce of the Dominion, and the farmers should bear in mind that the objective of the Labour Party was production for use and not tor profit, that could not be disputed. For a few years the Government would probably oe prepared to provide for tne payment of interest and profit, but tnose payments would ultimately be denied The operative clauses of tne Act were vague, but it was possible that the language had been chosen to cloud the issue. In the debates in the House the Opposition had never ueen abie to obtain a definite statement about the payment of interest, which proved that the Government did not intend to pay interest at all. The Act provided that the farmer would get a standard of living comparable with the standard of life of the workers hi other industries. He would get that alone, irrespective of the price he received for his produce. The farmer did not have the right to appeal to the Courts against the guaranteec

price which had been fixed, and yet his only reason for an appeal would be his dissatisfaction with the price. In other words the Government could take produce which had been produced by private capital and private labour at less than the market value and the farmer had no redress. It was a fundamental right of the British people that they should havs access to the Courts, but as pointed out by Sir Stafford Cripps, the Socialists did not wish the Courts to have the power to review Ministerial orders. If a Socialist Government wished to take private property at less than its value it must muzzle the Courts. Control of Industry, The Industrial Efficiency Act provided machinery to deal with the merchants and manufacturers. The Government could make it impossible for industries to carry on by a policy ot taxation and industrial legislation. Capital would be driven out, and when industries were in a semi-bank-rupt or bankrupt position, the Stale would establish possession at liquidation prices. If industry were absolutely sick it would be impossible tor it to function. That would not perturb the Government, because it would mean a quicker realisation of its ideals. The accumulated savings in such forms as life insurance policies and savings bank accounts were available to the Government through taxation, and when the Government was setting out to become a huge trading concern, regardless of expenditure, then it would regard the savings oi the people as uncalled capital wnich it would call upon from time to time to make up losses. Although the country had had record exports and a higner national income tnan ever betore, there was a large volume ot surplus laoour. There were 24,000 men on sustenance and 21,000 on public works. The reason for this was because other industries could not find jobs for the men available. Surely in a wonderful country like New Zealand, when conditions were prosperous it would be possible to absorb the whole of the manpower. The Government had failed m this direction because it had imposed conditions on industry which nad made it almost impossible to employ labour profitably. Farmers and industrialists were going in lor increased mechanisation rather than take on labour. Labour-saving appliances were at a premium.

Butter Market.

Mr. Bodkin said that every New Zealand export, except butter, was realising excellent prices, and it was in the marketing of dairy produce that Government interference had taken place. When wool was 2s a lb. the last time, but.er prices had been correspondingly high, out to-day wool was fetching great prices, while the butter market was uepressed. It was the height ot absurdity that New Zealand should attempt to dictate marketing methods to traders in the United Kingdom who were the premier traders ot tne world. The number of brokers handling New Zealand butter had been restricted, and that meant that other brokers who wished to buy New Zealand produce had to buy from their competitiors. The Socialist Government had created two middlemen instead of one between the producer and the consumer. The result was that many brokers had sought butter from other countries, and had stimulated butter production in European countries to the detriment ot New Zealand. The New Zealand pooling system was meeting with the same disastrous fate as similar schemes inaugurated by other countries. Before the operation of the wheat pool the Canadians had 40 per cent, of the United Kingdom market, but their interference with the market had stimulat'd production in other countries to roch an extent that their share of the British market today was only 17 per cent. The New Zealand dairy farmers could rightly blame them Government for preventing them from participating in full measure in the reward that was enjoyed for other produce. Mr. Bodkin appealed to the parents of the boys and girls of the Dominion to realise the trend of affairs. There would be no prosperity until industries were profitable and could provide a livelihood for every section of the community. When a rich country like New Zealand could not provide work for thousands of people, there was something wrong. There would be no future for the bright Children of to-day if the present policy were to continue, and their talents would rot in idleness. He appealed to all opponents of Socialism to fight for the right of private property and private enterprise. Mr Bodkin's address was listened to with great attention and interjections gave the speaker splendid opportunity of driving his point£Wiome. Mr Bodkin was frequently applauded and the manner in which he dealt with several questions at the conclusion of his address convinced the audience that he is well acquainted with the leading political subjects of the day. On the motion of Mr J. Bush, a hearty vote of thanks was extended to Mr Bodkin for his address. This was carried by acclamation. A similar compliment was accorded the Mayor, Mr F. Purnell, who presided. Be wise, and advertise. But be sure it's in “The Chronicle.**