VITAL ISSUE FACED.

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19662, 23 August 1935, Page 9

VITAL ISSUE FACED.

(To the Editor-) Sir, —In my several letters castigating the Labour Socialist elements for failure to face up to the first vital issue—that' of land restoration —1 have been careful to do two tilings. One was to explain that certain loaders of the calibre of Lenin and Bernard Shaw only adopted Socialism in desperation because the masses wore either too uneducated or too stupid naturally to understand the taking of the social values of land and leaving private wealth alono Incidentally Shaw first became interested In economics after listening to a lecture in London, The lecturer was Henry George, author of the greatest masterpiece of economic literature ever written. George’s exposition of the economic laws made instant appeal to Shaw, and when lie was lecturing in the IJniied Slates a couple of years ago lie made full and generous acknowledgment to the great debt ho owed America, through Henry GeorgeThe second thing, carefulness not to Include Viscount Snowden in my strictures, was because Viscouni Snowdon always faced up to the land question. If our Labour Party leaders here do not wish to be looked upon as political knaves, trying to impose upon Ihoso whom they seemingly consider to be bucolic fools, they will drop their guaranteed humbug and follow Viscount Snowden, who, in a speech in the Memorial Hall, on 'May 24, 1919, said, according to the published report: “Until they had abolished landlordism, root and branch, every other attempt at reform was building upon the sands Every reform not built upon common ownerslijp of land was simply subsidising landlordism. Every social reform increased the economic rent oi land. Therefore, unless they were going to continue lo waste their efforts by tinkering with social questions, as in the past, they must concentrate upon this fundamental question, lo secure the land for the people.” Note tho word “concentrate,” which is something vastly different from metcly making the admission that tho land, and therefore the rental value of it, is common properly by rights, and then passing on to a medley of tinkerings. Viscount Snowden said much tho same tiling recently before Hie Liberal Club, stating that all the present proposals for dealing with the economic troubles must be worthless unless the land is Ilrst restored to Hie people, by taking Hie'rental on Hie social values for public revenue-—ami then most of the rest will not he needed I | Present political parties simply roI present the efforts of some sections of Hie community lo shift tho burden 'of taxation on to oilier sections j Land restoration would abolish the ! burden, substantially at llrsl and j completely within a few years. The alternative is lliu historical one everywhere —wars, revolutions, break up of society, barbarism, ami further dark ages.—l am, etc-, 'j-. e. McMillan. Matamata, August. 20, 193 b