TOPICS OF THE DAY

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21358, 28 February 1941, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY

Private Enterprise > “ In this question of private enterprise at the beginning we have today an example. I refer to aeroplane construction. No one would have asked the Government to put money into aeroplane construction fifteen years ago. It was almost a bankrupt concern, but private people came along, and it is they who have saved us at the present moment. That is an example of that speculative private enterprise which is despised by many people today. When war comes along you have to harness every resource that you have in the country. Just as private enterprise must not exploit us in times of great emergency, so it is also right to say that we must not exploit it. We must give it as fair a deal as we can in all the circumstances. There are some people who think that it is the privilege of railway stockholders to keep their money invested in a concern of national importance but never to obtain a fair return on their capital. Some people look upon railway shareholders almost as enemies of the country.”—Lieut.Colonel Moore-Brabazon, British Minister of Transport, in the House of Commons.