THE COST OF LIVING.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 199, 22 August 1919, Page 9

THE COST OF LIVING.

REDUCTION PROPOSALS. DIVERSE VIEWS. "V\ ith a view to reducing the cost of living, the Board of Trade should be ■ given extended powers. Legislation should be introduced rigidly controlling the profiteer, and restricting all commercial trusts, rings, and combines, with provision for a tine or imprisonment." This suggestion emhodied in the policy I brought down by Sir Joseph Ward, was also referred to Labour for their ' opinions. Mr. Tom Bloodworth, president of the ' Federation of Labour, said that Sir ' Joseph Ward was four and a-half years too late in respect to „is suggestions for ' reducing the co-t of living and imprison--1 ment for profiteering. ''It amounted to lacking the stable door after the horse ' had got away." He believed himself ' that one of the chief causes of the in- - crease in the cost of living was to be ' found in the methods by which the Gov- " ernment raised money for carrying on ; j the war —methods which resulted in tre- ' I mendous inflation of the currency. At- , I tempts which had been made to blame > producers, cither farmers or wage work- » crs. for increasing the cost of living bad ' been made with the object of diverting fl attention from the currency question,

i which, he believed, bad been one, if not I the principal source of exploitation and j profiteering in New Zealand. I Mr. Savage, secretary of the Labour j party, was strongly of'the opinion that it was impossible to hold prices down by legislation. America had tried it anil had failed. To legislate against trusts was impossible. His policy would be to nationalise the trusts. It was Sir Joseph Ward's policy during the past four aud a-half years that had accentuated the position. Mr. A. A. Rosser considered that whatever party "came before the country" now with a strong policy in regard to reducing the cost of living, it would receive strong support from the whole of the Dominion. Party would not count in the matter. "Look at America," he said: "she baa commandeered the foodstuffs and is prosecuting profiteers." Mrs. E. Xieol. secretary- of the Soldiers' Mothers' League, said that it was essential that restrictions be enforced, for the combines seemed to have Xew Zealand in their power at the present time. Under present conditions a man with two or three children living on a wage of ti per week could not make "ends meet." And, in view of more substantial int creases in various commodities, which | would be upon a basis be could not, at | the present time, meet, the distress in j some of the homes could hardly be conceived.