PRODUCERS URGENT WEEDS

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14776, 15 October 1921, Page 3

PRODUCERS URGENT WEEDS

J INCREASED ECONOMY AND | LESSENED TAXATION. (Special to Times). | WELLINGTON, Friday. The farmers and business men of i Wellington arc not wholly satisfied ! with the reply the Prime Minister re- | turned to the deputation which waited j upon.him this week to urge the neeesI «ity for economy in public expenditure and a reduction in taxation. Though | they regret it, they are not greatly I concerned by Mr .Massey's disposition tn I regard the deputation as ovcr-pessimis-I tic, and some of its members are hosi tile politically to himself. They poinl : out, however, that the spokesmen of j the deputation confined themselves strictly to statements of fact, and carefully avoided any suggestion of party or even political bias. Had they done otherwise, the Minister would have had no reason to doubt he was among friends. The Deputation's Object. . The object of the deputation, it's promoters state emphatically, was to assist the Minister and his Government in effecting economies with a view lo lightening the great burden of taxation which, direcUy and indirectly, is oppressing the agricultural and commercial communities. Mr W. D. Hunt, who spoke with an intimate knowledge of commerce and finance, as well as with agriculture, from the merchant's point, of view as well as the farmer's, put the position plainly and concisely. "The result of reduced income and in- ' creased expenditure." he said, after showing the great fall in prices and the great rise in costs, "is that many farmers am failing to pay their way, and a large number will be quite unable to carry on." Men like Mr Hunt and those associated with him do not talk in this fashion at random or with the purpose of creating alarm. They want to get at the real truth of the matter, and to assist the Government in surmounting the difficulties by which it is confronted. Gravity of the Situation. But Mr Masscy, the farmers and business men feel, did not quite appreciate the gravity of the situation from the producers' viewpoint. He told the members of the deputation that they must avoid the pessimistic note, remember what was due to the credit of the country and "keep up their courage under present conditions." This, of course, was admirable advice —and to do the producers credit it must be admitted that many of them had anticipated it by heroic efforts —but it could bring consolation only of an ephemeral kind to the man on the land who. in spite of all his efforts, finds himself absolutely at the end of his resources or helplessly drifting towards that catastrophe. Little Substantial Relief. It is true that the Prime Minister talked of economies in the public service, and mentioned the need for lessened taxation. Already, he said, a saving of £1,500,000 had been effected in the expenditure of Government Departments, and it was expected a further £2,000,000 would be saved by the adoption of the recommendations of the Economy Board, which had to be sanctioned by Parliament. But apparently the savings on the butter and wheat subsidies are counted among the accomplished economies, and certainly the result of the Economy Board's labours will not he brought to book during the current year. If these assumptions are correct, very little substantial relief from these sources can be expected in the near future. A Gleam of Hone. There may be a gleam of hope for the sadly perplexed farmers in the announcement Mr Massey made lo the deputation that, he was borrowing half a million for "a special purpose." A very proper course would be the relief of those farmers who through no fault of their own. nor through niggardliness on the part of the, banks or commercial houses that have been assisting them, need further help to carry them ever the present crisis. But this could be only a tentative measure. The pressing need is the public, economy that will make lessened taxation and wider opportunities possible.