HOUSEWIVES' PROBLEM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 160, 8 July 1932, Page 3

HOUSEWIVES' PROBLEM.

THE PERSISTENT HAWKER. MANY CALLS EACH DAY. LIC EX SING R EQUIB EM EN TS. When a housewife is in a hurry to catch a boat, a train or a tram, and is dc»irous of getting her morning duties completed before she leaves the home for a few hours, an unexpected call to the front or to the back door is one of the things that "puts her out"' most of all, although she will generally be careful to give no sign of her mental state. She will probably not iniiid the postman bringing her a registered letter, or a neighbour bringing her a gift of (lowers or some vegetables, although she would much rather that they C.lliic at sonic more convenient lime, but a hawker is one of the last persons t-ho wishes to see. Most of the articles he wishes to <-ell she has, or sho doesn't want, and if she wishes to buy them the would much prefer to go into the town for them, or to some nearby shop. There has a large variety from which to choose, ami she can be more assured of the quality of her purchase, and of the reasonableness of it* price. If the article she buys is unsatisfactory she car. return it. to the shop. In purchasing from ii hawker she has none of theso advantages. And ishe is aware of it, but .she is swayed by natural sympathy for the hawker. She knows that he is at least trying to earn u living and that it is not usking a great deal of a person to spend a few pence on some useful article. She realises also that many of (he men and women who have taken to hawking have known more prosperous da vs.

Wida Range of Articles. But in the city and suburbs to-day miiiiv lioiiscwives are losing patience with the hawkers who go from door to door, peddling articles, ranging from boot laces and soap to patent medicines and hair restorers, and whose nuinbern mi , steadily increasing. Housewives consider that they are lucky if they escape with one call a day, and there are sonic who have had up to six and .seven In fl day. Among the popular lines carried by hawkers are pads, polishes and varnishes, silk stockings, kitchen convenioncea and knicknacks. trifling articles of drnpery, tooth brushes, combs, elastic, garden .seeds, disinfectants, bridgescoring cards, home-made sweets, artificial flowers and. home-made lamp shades. Women and Girl Hawkers. Women and girls are. included among the hawkers, but they are less numerous than the men. They call between tho holies of 10 a.m. and' 3.30 p.m., a period during which they anticipate tho head of the household will be absent. Sometimes they are unpleasantly .surprised. for the limn is often less, tractable than the woman. On the other hand he is sometimes easily moved by an appeal. which is new to him, though not to his wife. There are few complaints regarding the behaviour of hawkers. The complaint is that there are far too many of them. There are nlso hawkers who poll fish, fruit and vegetables, and men who offer porno service euch as sharpening tools and lawn mowers. The great number of these hawkers are not lkvnsed, but some nre. It i* illegal, in moat boroughs and in the city, for persons to hawk without a license, and the traffic inspectors of tho various boroughs are always on the watch to catch tho unlicensed ones. In the One Tree Hill borough a license costs 10/, in Mount Albert the fee is 10/ for perishable goods and £1 for imperishable goods. In Mount Eden the fee is 10/, and in the city £1. No fee is charged for a fish license in the ,i(v. but a license must be taken out. No license is issued a hawker unless he is approved by the police.