COST OF LIVING.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 148, 21 June 1912, Page 2

COST OF LIVING.

COMTVTISSIOH , COKTiHIISS ZNVSSTIGATZOKS. THE CAUL, OF THE TOW3TS. SCARCITY OF COUNTRY SETTLERS. Evidence regarding the price of produce and stock teas given before the Cost oi living Commission yesterday afternoon by J. E. ifakgill, dairy farmer, of Waiuku and Waikato. He suited that prices of ]ate years had gone up considerably. Cattle had also increased iv price. In 1902 lie was able to purchase springing heifers at £4 15/, wiiiie the same class of animal now sold at £10. THE SCABCITY OF FISH. Albert Sanford, managing director of Sanford, Limited, fish dealers, stated that of late years the wholesale price of fish had risen 50 per cent. This he attributed to the fact that the Government had prohibited trawling in the Hauraki Gulf. There was an understanding among fishermen regarding the price of fish, but he did not think the public were charged too much. William P. Black, printer, expressed the opinion that the increased cost of living was primarily due to the waste in distribution.. .In his particular street there.w.ere.over a. dozen printers all paying £4 a. week rent. The Commission resumed this morning, when there were present: —Mr. E. Tj-egear (chairman), Dr. Eight, J. Jtob.ertson, M.P-, W. Veitch, MJ , -, E. Hall, and A. .Fairbairn. THE CKAZE FOR EUXUKY. Major D. H. Lusk, farmer, King Country, eaid he had lived on his present farm for ten years. To live properly, he contended, three things were required—a sufficiency of wholesome food, such clothing as was necessary to keep the body dry and warm, and a house of such size and with such sanitary conditions as -would supply a healthy residence. If this interpretation were correct, then he was of opinion that the cost of living in the country had not greatly increased during tie past twenty years. As far as the towns were concerned, the cost of food and clothing had not upon the whole increased, but the Tent of dwelling houses had increased largely during the last ten years, the reason being that it now cost nearly double the money to build a house than it did fifteen or twenty year? ago. Hi unhesitatingly asserted that the so called and much complained of increased cost of living was a myth. The trouble •arose from the higher style or standard of living, and not because the cost of the necessaries of life was higher. Tlie same sort of plain food and plain clothing 4a general use twenty yeaTS ago could still be - procured at about the same cost, but the style of clothing and feeding now in vogue was more expensive. The cost of building had risen, as the style of building now required by all classes -was of necessity much more expeasiv.e /'because. more luxurious- He 'believed that the action of the monopolies, combines, trusts, or other associations of manufacture had had little effect on the rise in prices. As to the combination of sellers, he was not certain, but he was perfectly certain that the prices charged' to the con : sumer by the retailer'of the necessaries of life were far in excess of the prices obtained by the producer of those articles. This pointed to the desirableness of the groducer and the consumer ■being brought into closer intercourse, as this would do away with much of the cost of the middleman. The extent of the rise in the price of land: contributing to the rise of the price of commodities during the last twenty years was very slight, because the price of all the principal articles of food raised or produced in New Zealand was absolutely regulated and determined' by the wide-world markets. Nbw Zealand was essentially an agricultural and pastoral country and produced, a much greater quantity of foodstuffs than required by the resident population, and farmers therefore absolutely depended for their living upon what they could get for their labour from outside and foreign markets. The fact that the young men and women were flocking to the cities, tempted by artificially-raised wages,- which could not possibly be paid by iarmers, was greatly to foe deplored. These young people did not as a rule improve their condition, but Tather "fie reverse, as their increased wage's. did not meet their increased "expenditure, and they acquired extravagant habits. ' To the Chairman; There "had been a large increase in the price of timber. BY thought this was chiefly accounted for "by the rise in bushmeh's wages. There was a very great difference between -the wholesale and retail prices of farm produce* ''"Would 'this seem to point to the existence of-a combine or a.. ringi , " — '1 have suspicions- that there is a ring, i ibiit I cannot say definitely." "Continuing'," -witness, .stated thai the labouring class ..in..town seldom saved intfney, T blrfc the workers'in. i;he country could save money. . There was any amount of work for the workers available in the King Country district, with better pay and better conditions than prevailed in "town. ••To Mr.-Veiteb: ifie thought that if the advantages obtaining-in the country districts were generally known, there would be a greater population in the country. Immigration would be a better means, howeverTo Mr. Fairbairn: The present rate of wages- was hampering settlement in the country. He did not believe that increased wages were eventually a benefit to the worker. To Dr. Hight: The cost of housing had probably increased during the last decade by ten per cent. In his district the farm labourers occasionally bought farms. of their own. To Mr. Robertson: The rise in rent was principally due to increased wages. He did not think tie increase in land values had affected the house rents in the country. FOOTGEAR. (Thomas Miller, boot and shoe retailer, Victoria Street, gave evidence that he dealt largely in colonial and English kdbts and shoes. His •business was entirely" a cash one and was largely with the "working classes. The Preferential Trade Act of 1903, which added 50 per cent, duty to American and foreign manufactured boots, shoes, and slippers, increased the cost of these lines, but Sad a good effect in decreasing imports from these countries aiid increasing English.imports. The Xew Zealand Customs T.irifl passed iv 1007 resulted hi a marked increase in the 'price of aeariy all imported lines of boots and shoes and slippers. ■ This .increase was most marked; and fell heaviest on'tlie'.class of boots ami shoes ■worn by wbrkiiig men, tieir

wives and families and whose average income would not exceed £42 10/ per week. The advance in many lines worked out from 25 per cent, to 75 3*er cent, in duty afone. Tfrfe 1907 tariff as passed actually lightened the duty on a highpriced boot, but increased it considerably on workers' boots. Boots sold at from 9/ ito 12/6 per pair. The duty on a man's boots retailed at, say, 9/ (English made) per pair was now 45 per cent while formerly it was only 22A per cent., showing an increase of 22 J per cent. This increase of duty had actually stopped these lines being imported, as it was impossible to land them to sell at a payable rate of profit, as with freights and other expenses added they would at least cost 65 per cent, on English price to land. The wealthier class who could afford to pay £-2 for a pair of boots costing, say, 25/ at the English factory, formerly paid 5/1* in duty, while now they woulrt only pay 5/3. This was an extreme case, a.H few boots were imported at that price, i The Customs Act of 1907, which lightened the duty on high-class boots and actually took all the duty off motor cars, inoreased the duty on boots and shoes and slippers as worn by the workers, therefore penalising the man with a family to support. A child' 3 straip shoe to "ti-t a child of about 24 years of age, had a former duty of 22J per cent., While the present duty was 40 per cent., an increase in cost of 17-V pe-r cant. This was not an encouragement to keep the cradle full. If the retailers wanted to import a child's warm felt slipper to fit the same child, with a leather strip on over the sole to keep out the damp, the difference was still more marked, as formerly it was 3d on such an article and it was now 9d or 65 per cent., an increase in cost of 42J per cent. A woman who formerly purchased a pair of velvet house slippers for 1/3 retail had now to be satisfied with an inferior wearing article for the same price, as the 1907 tariff put 6d fixed duty on a velvet slipper, thus adding about 50 per -cent, to it 3 original cost. On women's carpet slippers wibh leather soles (formerly sold at 1/11 retail) the duty had in-areased to S3 per cent., an increase of 42* per cent. If the slipper happened to have one extra layer of leather on the heel, another 50 per cent, was added, the Minister of Customs having decided that the slight addition in the -Way of leather made it a shoe. Canvas shoes had the duty increased to a)bout 85 per cent., being an increase of 62J per cent. On evening shoes such as worn by domestic servants, the duty had increased from 22$ per cent, to 115 per cent, since 1907, the prices of boots and shoes to workers of New Zealand espeoally had increased materially, and he submitted that the increase had been caused by the 2>Tew Zealand customs tariff of ISO , ?, sufficient discrimination not having beta given or judgment exercised when the tariff was being considered. Local manufacturers owing to want of skilled labour could not do more than they were doing at present, and they had the greatest difficulty in tlieir orders in 2. reaso-irable time. The chairman: is -there any combination among the retailers? —Some years ago an attempt was made to fix prices, but it never got beyond the "moot" stage. There was at present an association but it was only for the regulation of hours and to deal with the half-holi-day question. To Mr. Robertson: The cost oi raw material was •constantly increasing. He did not think New Zealand manufacturers had increased prices more than fchey had been Compelled to do by the increases in the prices of material and Iflibour. If an increase of wages was made nest month, as was almost certain, it would be necessary to hand that increase on. to the consumer. "DOES PBOTECTIOX PROTECT?" Frederick Maskell King, clothing manufacturer, quoted figures showing the increase that had taken place in the cost of production. A suit which 15 years ago used to cost 10/6 for making, and which sold wholesale at 32/6 and retail at 45/, now costs 14/6 to produce, the wholesale price being 38/6 and the retail price 55/. Colonial tweeds formerly cost 1/5 now,cost 1/SJ, owing to the higher cost of wool and higher wages. The cost of making men's trousers used to be 1/7, 1/S, 1/9, as against 2/, 2/1. and 2/3, fche making of small suits from 3/6 had increased to 4/3, and the cost of making shirts had increased from between 15 to 20 per cent. The Year Book showed that protection had increased the cost of clothing £126,781, wkereas the increased cost of tax to the people in excess of wages paid £335,495, showing thai protection was useless. SILOUR iJILLIXG INDUSTRY. Peter Virtue, manager of the Northern Roller Milling Co., stated that the fkrarmiHiag company he had never been, directly or indirectly connected with any combine or association, and he was pleased to say that with the support of the public and. judicious buying of only the frrst-clnss grain, producing an excellent article, they had been able to maintain their own. He considered the nouT-millrng industry was one of the most important ia the Dominion, for the following reasons: It came ithird as Tegards value of output, but "it must be remembered that this output was based on low values, for instance, flour, say, at £9 5/, oatmeal £11 10/, bran and sharps at £4, all per ton. How would 'the other leading industries, tatter and cheese, compare at the same values, instead of £85 per ton. Flour milling gave no end of employment with its numerous adjuncts, which were not shown iinder the heading of milling, such as wheat and oat-growing in all its stages, consumption of coal, harvesting and milling, making and )rinting of bags, etc. Both being bulky articles, the freights, railages and labour charges came remarkably high on mill products, but would hardly be perceptible on high-priced articles of small tonnage, like butter, etc. To illustrate his argument, 2/6 per ton on coal would be felt by the consumer and manufacturer, but on high-priced articles of small tonDage. like tobacco or teas, it would not be noticed, so it was obvious it was the bulky, raw material gTown in the Dominion that gave most employment. Mr. Virtue further stated that if flourmilling were disposed of, nat/rally wheat-growing would disappear, as duty-free flour would kill it. Grain contributed about three-fifths of the railway revenue of the South Island. It was obvious it would interfere seriously with the labour and coal markets in ai its phases, and to meet the revenue | deficit it would be necessary to raise) all railway rates throughout the Do- j minion- "if flourmilling were disposed of by free trade, every carrying and handling industry in the Dominion would suffer seriously, as there would only be one handling charge instead of two. For instance, grain had to be carried to the mills to be gristed, and then disposed of. With free trade 'flour there would only be one to its destination, thus seriously interfering with the labour market in all its departments.

2TO WHtiAT RING. ■ Dirring Ms 30 years' experience, said Sir. Virtue, he had never known of a wfaeat -ing ot corner in the DommionTrue, there had been shortages, owing to weather conditions in the Dominion and foreign parts, over which no human being had control. Some speculators, who always buy, might have got in before an advance and made money, but their price was never above market rates. Throughout the world at the stated time these speculators, owing to luck, had been called thieves, but how often had they fallen in and been called foolish by those in the know? With our smail customs protection duty of 20/ pej. ton on. flour, and oatmeal a little under an eighth of a penny per pound, and over-aitundance of milling in the Dominion, with the keenest of rivalry, augmented with a harvest for every month of the year throughout the world, the consumer'had nothing to fea.r. Mr. Virtue then read the Do-rG.irn r ''i -,-* ■Commonwealth tariffs, showing this the Dominion tariff was 150 per cent, lower than Australia's. The Dominion, he said, would never be able to compete with the Commonwealth's milling industry, as it was encouraged in even- conceivable form. Whenever the wheat markets hardened through unforeseen circumstances, a '■ tain section of the community cried, •'Off with the duties," little knowing what they were, and what disaster it would cause in the labour market. TRADE OR PROTECTION. They must not overlook the fact that w.ith breads tuffs antd butter, they had introduced European .ideas into the Orient, and the .producing areas have not increased correspondingly. They were agitating for the opening up of the lands for agricultural purposes, but what use would there be in doing so, unless the products of the soil were protected against the surplusages of fche Commonwealth, America, and India? It was obvious heavy land taxation with freetrade would not. he much encouragement to go on the land. Concluding, Mr. Virtue maintained that the cost of living bad not increased. It was a higher standard of living. Groceries, kerosene, etc., were qnite 60 per cent, lower than they were 30 years at>o. Hoase-rents were, higher, but the present class of house, was up-to-date with conveniences. But wages had also advanced 30 per cent. The increased cost of living was due to the higher standard of Irving that now prevailed. A EISE OF 15 PER CENT. Dajiiel .Joseph JVlcGown, dealer in farm and dairy produce, said that during the past ten years the price, of dairy produce had probably gone up 15 per cent. This was due to the improvement in the prices realised by the Home and foreign markets. From 75 to 80 per cent of produce was exported during the 'flush" season. The Chairman: Is there any combination of merchants here to regulate prices?— None whatever. There is open competition ?—-Yes, and very keen at thai. To Mr. Fairburn: There was no difference in the prices of winter-made butter and butter taken out of cold storage. Two years ago, after the drought, tbe price of butter was 1/5 a lb, the wholesale price being about 1/3 per lb. The a-werage retaalex -wanted lid or 2d per lb for handing it on. THE GAS SUPPLY. William Forsyth Stewart, secretary of .the Auckland Gas Company, stated that in his opinion the company was a flourishing concern. There was keen competition between gas and electricity. The company only had one price, and they made reductions upon a basis of quantity. An ordinary householder could get his gas for 4/3 net per thousand feet. The minimum price for consumers of gas to the. extent of £20 net per month was 3/5 per thousand, feet. In 1892 the ordinary consumer's price was (5/8, in 1994 it was reduced to 6/ net, in 1895 to 5/, in 1906 to 4/9 (with special discounts), in 1908 to 4/6 (with discount), and in 1910 to 4/3 (with discounts). The company paid dividends at the rate of 5-3 per cent on the market values to between 800 and 900 shareholders. The witness presented a balance-sheet of the company's operations. , (Proceeding.) FAKMERS' VrZWyS PROTEST. (By Telegraph.-^—Press Association.^ HA-WvEKiA, this day. The Taranaki executive of the Farmers' Union passed a resolution protesting against "the farcical manner in which eviden-ce is taken ibefore the Cost of laving Commission, both in not giving ■reasonable facility -for -country evidence, and sitting only in the larger centres," and the members for the district "will be asked to faring their protest before the House. A copy of the resolution is to be sent to the Taranaki members of Parliament and to the Dominion executive.