PRICE CONTROL ALPHABET

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27047, 23 May 1953, Page 6

PRICE CONTROL ALPHABET

ABRASIVES TO ZIPPERS MANY ITEMS STILL NOT EXEMPT In the last five years, a wide range of commodities and services ranging from abrasives to zippers have been released from price control. Just how far control extended is shown in a list compiled by the Price Control Divisibn of the Department of Industries and Commerce. The list covers 16 foolscap pages, and there are more than 1000 items covered by 785 exemption notices.

There is something under every letter of the alphabet m the list, including X-ray equipment. Among the items are ash trays and anvils, birdseed and bed warmers, cabbages, candlesticks, and collar studs, duck decoys and dog>foods, eyebrow pencils, and Epsom salts.

Face creams were freed from price control in 1949, but fly papers were controlled until 1950. In the same year, garters and glue, hair, ham, and horseshoe nails were exempted, and also a mysterious item described as jim crows, and jam-jar covers. There has been no price control of kumeras since 1948, but ketchup was not freed until 1950. Lipstick was exempted in 1949, and ladders, marmalade, mayonnaise and mouse traps have been free since 1950, as have nuts, nets, and needles.

Onions have been exempted since 1948, and opera glasses since 1950. Among the large number of items exempted in 1950 were pies, pickles, playing cards, and powder puffs, quilts and quarry stone, rabbits, relishes, and religious tracts, as well as sand, shingle, sandwiches, shoe polish, and soot destroyer. Trinkets were exempted in 1949, tea and telescopes in 1950, but tar not until last year. Umbrellas and valves were decontrolled in 1950, and whalebone whistles, and wheelbarrows in the same year. X-ray equipment and zipp fasteners were freed in the 1950 list. Prices Still Pegged Although decontrol of prices has been in progress for several years, there is still a long list of commodities, charges, and services subject to control of various kinds. Among the foodstuffs are sugar, golden syrup, treacle, wheat, flour, oatmeal, rolled oats, bread, butter, milk and cream, eggs, cocoa, coffee, honey, bananas, imported oranges and lemons, New Zealand lemons except the Meyer variety, main-crop potatoes, dried fruits, vegetable oils, and a fairly extensive list of groceries. Other items under control include rents, motor spirits and tyres, motorvehicles, agricultural machinery and implements, paints, drugs, rubber goods, leather, hides and skins, footwear other than sporting types, infants’ clothing and most lines of woollen clothing. Also on the list are fertilisers and lime, furniture except basic utility lines, bricks, timber, plywood, wallboard and plaster board, cement, tobacco, matches, beer and spirits, iron and non-ferrous metals and many hardware and electrical lines.

Certain charges are still subject to control. Among them are freight rates, fares, coal and gas, hotel tariffs, hairdressing, and picture theatre admission charges.