THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE PUBLIC

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 30, 6 February 1939, Page 6

THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE PUBLIC

|_JAD the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Parry, contented himself with saying that the Government received the endorsement of the public for its revealed programme at the last General Election he would undoubtedly have been right. He has, however, gone too far when he says that the “mass of the people like them” (the import, restrictions) because he has no means of knowing. The shops arc still stocked with imported goods and these goods are being purchased by the public. The restrictive operations of the Government have not yet affected the supply of goods and it will be time enough for the public, to express opinions when the supply of imported goods is cut down. Then the complaints wiil be heard from the public. Mr. Parry says that there are ‘‘a few who arc raising violent objection.” He can hardly say that when the conference at the Wellington Town Hall comprised over 1000 business men. That demonstration alone indicates that at least five thousand adults are directly interested in the curtailment of imports and five thousand adult breadwinners means twenty-five thousand people being directly affected. The fate of twenty-five thousand persons cannot be lightly dismissed. The suggestion that 70,000 persons had their living cut off during the depression, as an argument in the present instance, reveals how lightly is Mr. Parry seized of the situation. During the depression the. income, of the whole community fell to one half, and a very real effort was made (o help those who were unfortunate, bur it must always be remembered that many people were in no position to help because they were receiving no incomes and were increasing their own indebtedness every day they lived. In a time of difficulty hardship is inevitable, but to suggest, as Mr. Parry does, that nothing was done, and, to use his words, “there was no outcry published then—they just suffered in silence,” is a distortion of lhe facts which are within everyone's knowledge. In Wanganui, for instance, a very widespread effort was made to alleviate suffering and it was a remarkably successful effort. Men like the. Rev. Mr. Goring, Mr. Halligan and Mr. Crowley and the late Mr. Symes, and ladies such as Miss Hamilton. Miss Dexter and her mother, the late Mrs. Dexter, and those who joined them, worked like Trojans to assist the distressed. Men on the Parapara Road in the camps were assisted in a very material way and at the instance of the Salvation Army the work was undertaken by the Inter-Bible Classes Movement. Those who assisted in this effort were not themselves living in luxury but were struggling with their own problems as well. Among those who willingly assisted with contributions in cash and in kind were the businessmen of Wanganui. As an instance, one chemist in Wanganui undertook to provide every man in the unemployment camps with free medicines and he carried out his word over a lengthy period. It is this industrious and generous class of men whose life’s work in building up a business is being smashed by the incompetent handling of the national finances by the Government in a time of prosperity. If the Labour Government cannot manage the National finances in prosperous times, how could they hope to cope with the situation in times of adversity? Should serious adversity present itself to this Dominion within the lifetime of the present Government, then the position would be ominous indeed.