DOUGLAS CREDIT.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18796, 18 November 1932, Page 9

DOUGLAS CREDIT.

SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES. ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING. Steadily Increasing interest in the Douglas Social Credit proposals war evidenced at another successful meeting of local members hold in Tooralc Chambers on Wednesday evening, The special lecturer for the evening, Mr G. H. Fltzherbert, was unavoidably detained In Auckland, but Mr C. A. Magner lllled the breach. In Mow of tho large number of newcomers Mr Magner decided to deal with the elementary principles of the Douglas teaching and was followed with close attention. The speaker opened by pointing out | the glaring inconsistency of the pres-| ent situation, whereby we had vas! j stores of real wealth aboul ns and j even greater potential wealth, while at the same time poverty was wide-) spread. I “ It fell to C. IT. Douglas, fiendish ] engineer, mathematician and eronmn ' ist, to locale the basic cause of th • trouble." satil the speaker, "for under thp existing financial system there inever at any given period sn'M-ieu! money in circulation to buy back tic products of Industry. Tpls is due to the development of labour saving machiiiexy rontrieit/n

credit ns part of post-war banking policy." Mr Magncr wont on to point out that new issues of credit would be necessary to clear existing stocks, but this would not mean inflation under the Douglas plan, for money would bo issued only as goods were produced. It was essential that this be clearly understood, and hy means of the "Just price" factor there would always be one pound of money to buy one pound’s worlh of goods. Thus violent price fluctuations and booms and slumps would bo avoided. The National Dividend. The national dividend was an integral pari of the Douglas plan. “ Many people regard this part of Die plan as the most important, which is perhaps natural." said Mr Magncr. A citizen, by reason of his cilizemdiip, I should have his share of the national | wenllh, especially when much of the I world's work was done by machinery. | In his researches Douglas had invesj ligated Iho affairs of over ninety j Uritish industries. In not one ease j had he found Iho amount of money I dislrilniled in wages, salaries, and I dividends coming anywhere near the Iota! of prices of Iho goods produced. “ now can we ever get nul of the present lamrip' with a costing and On>■ m'hl system like that?" asked the speaker. In c'lneludlne, (he lecturer urged ids listeners |o study the Dnuc’as literature. Douglas' llieorv had b'en hoi’oix.ti.c.JtAtliU*- .Cur iZ yw-s.-It htV.l.

« been misrepresented, abused and ridiouled, but it had never been refuted. The plan for national reconstruction could be adapted to an exporting country like New Zealand. “ Therefore," said the speaker, ‘‘let the people of New Zealand once again leaif the world by adopting a social reform which is long overdue." (Applause.) A keen discussion followed and after several questions had been asked and satisfactorily answered the meeting dispersed.