AUSTRALIA: Turnip Money

If a turnip-grower could issue money he might say: "Here is a piece of paper good for one turnip. I promise to keep a turnip in my cellar for each piece of paper I issue, or if not a turnip then an onion or some other vegetable equally good."

What turnip-growers cannot do with turnips, Premier John Thomas Lang of New South Wales proposed last week to do with what he called "the wealth which Australia can produce in her primary and secondary industries."

Against this "wealth" Laborite Lang would issue money, as it is usually issued against gold. He also proposed that the interest paid on Australian Government bonds be reduced to 3%. Finally he urged the Premiers of all the Australian States to demand from Great Britain "as favorable terms in repaying our debt as were granted by the United States" to Great Britain.

Only the last of Mr. Lang's suggestions appealed to his colleagues. They know that Australia is in a dreadful financial mess, but they are not ready yet for tur nip money. On the other hand they could see no harm in asking of John Bull the same generous terms he received from Uncle Sam. Later in the week Laborite James Henry Scullin, Prime Minister of all Australia, queried London.