PUBLIC OPINION

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20690, 28 December 1938, Page 7

PUBLIC OPINION

As expressed try correspond exits whoue letters are welcome, bat for whose views we have no responsibility* Correspondents are requested to write in ink. It is essential that anonymous writers enclose their proper names us a guarantee of good faith. Unless this mle te compiled with, their letters will not appear.

PLANNED ECONOMY 'To the Editor) 1 f 1 Sir,—The experience of New Zea- ; land is on all fours with that of other j countries where (tag State has taken ; control of industry—namely, that such . control results in reduced production. In Russia, Germany, and Italy the f State controls everything, and such a . pronounced Socialist as Mr G. D. H. Cole confesses that the standard of j living in those countries 16 below that . of capitalistic countries 'especially ’ that of Russia), and the standard of living depends on the standard of t production—a truth Mr Savage at last recognises. The inference regarding State control of Industry is evident. Messrs Nash and Sullivan between them are the dictators of industry New Zealand. The former has been r lord of Hie dairy industry since 1936, and of guaranteed prices. The fol- , lowing figures of dairy produetion are film ifn ■ 1 ; ter. 1 <9.810 tons; 1937-38. 137.542 tons—decrease, 8 per cent.; whey * butter, 14 46 tons. 1796 tons—increase 20 per cent.; cheene, 86.708 Inns. k ' 83,078 tons—decrease 4 per cent. * State control seems fatal to increased * production.—l am, etc., * A. WAR BURTON. ; Ngaruawahia, December 24.

POLES IN THE ROADWAY (To the Editor) Sir, —Perhaps as a preliminary to the excavation of the Garden Place Hill, electric power or light poles have been erected in the Anglesey Street cutting in a position which is obviously dangerous to traffic. To whom the pole* belong and who was responsible for their erection 1 do not know. They have seriously restricted the available roadway and stand, in fact, well out in the carriageway. Il cannot be contemplated that the poles should remain permanently, but if they arc only temporary it ig to be hoped that every possible precaution wtlj be taken to warn traffic of the danger.—»l am, etc., MOTORIST. Hamilton, December 27.

SPENDTHRIFT POLICY (To the Editor) Sir,—l would like to draw your readers attention to a statement punished in your paper on December 12 by Mr C. H. Weston Irom the National Party headquarters. He states that •the most unfair thing that has been said during the recent announcements of the Government's intention to license and control Imports and export# is the Prime Minister's charge that the responsibility for the present lies with the former Government.” Mr Weston talks about slumps and chaos. We have had in New Zealand a Government supported by Mr Weston during a slump. Was it lit t« handle the problem? 1 say no. The Nationalist Party does nothing else hut look for slumps, breakdowns in finance and chaos. We have to-day a Government which in slumps or whatever may happen to this country will steer us through safely, and if it cannot fiake a better Job of It than th, Goalillon Government did, I sav it it time we scrapped the lot. 1 agree with what Mr Favage, ouy Prime Minister, says regarding Imports. I would like to ask Mr Weston whore docs the common-sense policy come in by Importing anything Ihat could be produced or manufarUjr»il here in Ibis country, thereby giving our own people work? I.et Mr Weslon take Mr Forbes, whom Mr Weston supports, for inslanee. When he was Prime Minister he sent away an order j £ *”° oo lo Sweden for axle-boxe, for railway truck# and carriage, when they could have been manufactured m New Zealand and would have meant nITT'waVV ° r L 5. .i ,h 0 harnp old thing with the Nationalist Party—-import lm port, "borrow, borrow.” jt seemed to keep in the same old rut. Let the VationalJgt Party follow our GovernorGeneral, who has started a campaign for our local Industries p - Vow ind Mr Weston of he spendthrift policy of the party anvthtn sup , por ‘ s - lf he warns to know anything about spendthrift I ran tell him something. We take llrst. for instance, the Reform Party under Mr Massey and Mr Coales. What about he thousands of pounds wasted on ho Galatea Estate, which they bough! from their wealthy friends for the returned soldiers. it did not grow enough gras*, to feed rabbits What .became of it? Nothing at all. Now the next item i* the balloon loop in Mr Coates's electorate H< , as Minister of Public Works, squandered thousands of pounds o n that project, which never has been used from that day to this. Let me recall :to Mr Weston the time when Mr j Coates got up in Hie Rouse ami condemned the Labour Government for I wasting too much money on public works, and yel when Mr Semple, the : best Public Works Minister New Zealand ever saw. brought up the matter j of finishing that line in the House of ! Parliament. Mr Coates said that he . could not see why it should not be I finished. | I would like to recall another lnI stance regarding the Wairoa project, where thousands of pounds were also l squandered and thousands of pounoa worth of steel and material were lying . wasting away and men were thrown out of work. To finish it off the then | Government threw all the tools fntr» the «ea. And after all their Nears in Parliament, have they shown anything ; for it? The people were paying tlieni • salaries to keep them there doing nothing. If that is not spendthrift l j do not know what Is. ; Before Mr Weston starts Ihrowing bricks at another p.rtv he should find ; out the faults of Hie party »,«* is now supporting. The difference with the presenl Government is that it putt pint! ms liefore Nested interests, whereas Hie Nationalist Party puts vested interests before humanity. This has been proved during the slump period. , ! \ their fruits we shall know them.—• ELECTOR. I Hamilton, December 2i.