Evening star., 1940-01-09


the country that 1t was the inten-
ton Of his majesty's government
at the outbreak of q major war that
direct taxes, which are already so
heavy as almost to constitute con-
scription of wealth. would be still
further increased. Well, that pre-
diction was fulfilled when my heavy
handed colleague last September
placed his little finger upon the
shoulder OF the income taxpayer
and we have been getting at the
income taxpayer in other and more
indirect ways, too.
Our system of tax collecting has
gone & long way to prevent any
unreasonable profits being made out
of ornaments. and if such profits,
whether reasonable or unreason-
able, could still be made out of, let
us say, increased output, well, then,
there seems little hope of profit in q
good part of them.
And We passed the prices of goods
bill, which is designed to prevent
proflteering In commodities: and so
already the working classes have
suffered a very heavy reduction In
their income, and we have left them
mighty little prospect of being able
to increase it again.
Living Standards Reduced.
I don't say that we have come to
the end of our demands upon them.
But / do say that their standards
OF living have necessarily already
been notably reduced, and anyhow it
isn't possible for them alone to solve
the problem of how to reduce con-
sumption of unnecessary articles be-
cause two-thirds of the consump-
ton of the people of this country
Is by those who only have small
incomes, and therefore l say that
1t is necessary that they. too, should
make their sacrifices as is done not
only in totalitarian Germany but
also in the great democracy of
France.
do not mean to imply by that
that there must be no increase of
wages, but l do say that it would be
a mistake to tie up wages to the cost
OF living, which. in the end. could
benefit no one. because it could only
give an impetus to the vicious spiral
of alternately rising prices and
wages, and that is thing that all
of us want to avoid
In MT kaljouo o~r
authority upon economics would
dispute the truth of what I have
just said
Well. then, what are we to do to
win and If possible to shorten this
war? We must save, we must con-
troll imports, we must do without
commodities that are not necessary;
we must, If required. ration them in
order that all may share and share
alike. And the campaign for ma
tional savings by the purchase of
savings certificates and defense
bonds has made an excellent start,
and I welcome the readiness of the
workers to take their share in 1t.
would like to see the volunteer
workers in the campaign, but want
to ask them to redouble their efforts
and to say to them that the service
which they, are rendering is one
which Is vital to the interests of the
country.
RatiOning Started.
Rationing began yesterday with
certain articles of food, our supplies
Of which we draw largely from
abroad. We are planning to add
meat to the list before long, and
while there is no reason to suppose
that the country will have to GO
short of anything which is neces-
sary for health or for efficiency, we
shall not hesitate to add to the list
OF ration commodities if the neces-
sity for that becomes apparent.
What the government is trying tc
show is that in this democratic
country, with the assent of the peo-
Pile, We can make and carry out all
the plans which are necessary to
win victory.
II we are to be able to preserve
our standards which we have built
up over so many years after the war
We must first win the victory, and
to do that. we must be content for
a time perhaps to accept temporary
restrictions and controls which are
imposed in the interests of us all.
Ladies and gentlemen, 1t is not
easy to bring together all the fac
tors that have to be considered by
the Government in these days. There
is the maintenance and expansion
OF the fighting forces, there is the
purchase of what we require over
seas. and its transport in ships by
the shortest routes; there is the de-
velopment of our exports in order
to pay for our imports; there is the
sitting of German trade without
undue interference with the neu-
trails: there is the control of pro-
duction and of the import of unnec-
essary goods and luxuries; the reg
ulation of prices; the avoidance of
the vicious spiral-all these things
have got to be taken into account
and decisions have to be made in
the light of that review.
Plan for Victory.
What I want the country to real
ize, then, is that the war is going
on every day, although in a form
which is unfamiliar, and that every
restriction which they are asked to
accept is just one part of the general
plan for securing the victory in the
shortest possible time. Therefore,
if you find that you can't buy the
woolen goods that you have been
accustomed to, we'll, remember that
wool is wanted for the clothing of
the army. If you are asked to
lessen your consumption of bacon
or sugar, remember that you are
making available space in ships
which can be used for iron ore or
machine tools. If you are asked
to put your surplus into saving
certificates instead of spending it,
remember that you are giving help
ing hand to the chancellor in his
herc,1Iean task of finding the where