THE COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 71, 17 December 1919, Page 7

THE COST OF LIVING

DISAPPEARANCE OP SILVER IN FRANCE STRINGENT SEARCH AT FRONTIERS ' Paris, October 2.1 Paris is Jiow suffering from .a peridot famine in coal, butter, eggs, and small change. Despite tho consoling promises of Ministers six mouths ago to t.ne effect that there was no possibility of Paris l>eing short of coal for a fourth winter, "black diamoijds" .fire now appreciably scarcer than they have been at any time sinco the war began. Many coal dealers, as a matter of fact, have closod their premises in despair. Butter, which is quoted at Sfr. the (171-ounce) pound—Sfr. Bbo. wag paid yesterday—is practically unprocurable anywhere, and eggs are equallv scarce. The supply of milk ; s somewhat more satisfactory, but the only certain method of securing it regularly, if it is required for children of tender age, is by obtaining a special card from the local Town Hall.

Tho cost of living is now beyond all question, dearer throughout France than at any timo since the war began. Some indication of a general character may be gathered from a poster v.liicli has just beon issued by the Paris RestaurantIcoepers' Association for the purpose of vindicating themselves from tho universal charges of profiteering that have been brought against them for some months past. Sirloin of beef, which was sold at 3fr. EOc. the kilogramme (roughly tw.o pounds and n fifth) before the war, now costs, they state,' 12fr. 40c. Veal has risen from 3fr." to 13fr. -fOe., mutton from 2fr. 80c. to 18fr. 20c., butter from 3fr. GOc. to 12fr. 150 c. These prices are, of course, those paid by proprietors of restaurants, who buy regularly r.nd in large quantities'. The casual buyer is charged at a muoli higher rate. The price of wine has gone up, the same poster states, to tho extent of between -ICO and 500 per dont. Coal for cooking, vl.ich cost -12fr. before the war. i.s now IfiOfr. Laundry charges aro between three'and four times the pre-war scale, while the price of all materials used in the restaurant industry has similarly increased, notably in the case of glass and china. Small Change Scarcity. The recurrence of famine conditions in regard to small change is becoming aeriotis, and is resulting not only in universal inconvenience, but actual loss of business to an appreciable extent. "Have you got any change?" was a taxi driver's first question this afternoon, and he declined to discuss professional affairs further until I satisfied him that tho necessary silver coins would bo forthcoming at the end of my drivo. A worried Poilu,'whose smallest) available substitute for currency was a five-franc note, was unable to secure change to send a shilling telegram at tho Central Telegraph Oflico this afternoon, either from the clerks at the oountor or from ten or a ■ dozen other members of the public who were waiting to be served. Everybody possessed two or throe copper or aluminium coins, however, and eventually, for the sake of what his three medals told us, •. we clubbed together and enabled the lad to get his telegram off.

. "Hard money," indeed, seems to have 'disappeared. I have not seen a French gold piece since 1915. For this state of affairs two reasons are given. One is that eveirbody is hoarding currency under the influence of tho widespread feeling that exists that another war is probable in the near future. This hoarding, indeed, is not confined to coin. One of • the leading French financial - experts stated in tho Chamber on Friday that between four and six hundred millions sterling' in French bank notes are lying idle in the strong boxes of the people at the present moment. It is generally believed here that even the attractive 'conditions offered by the various war loans failed to reach anything like the bottom of the famous bas de laine of French peasant and that untold millions in gold still remain hidden away throughout the country. The real accumulated wealth of France has scarcely been touched by the war, for it lias been placed beyond the reach of either. , taxation or the enemy. . High Price of Metals. Tho other reason for the present scarcity of coined money is found in the enormously high current prices of motal of all kinds. Some time beforo the war there was a sudden deluge of bogus fivefranc pieces hero. These coins were excellently finished and actually of a higher intrinsic value than the national money; yet it was stated officially that tho coiners were securing a profit of nearly three francs on each picc "hey issued. Today, according to official statements, tho price of silver has increased to such an ext'mt that a fivc-frane piece, if melted down, is now worth if. Mc., as crude •metal. The amount of coinage that has been withdrawn from circulation in this way is believed to.be so large that Parliament, . before rising, passed a ' special law substantially increasing tho penalties for this kind of 'breach of the law. Tho theory, held in some quarters that the French currency is being bought up wholesnlo by enemy agents'in order to depreciate the value of tho paper money, of the Republic may bo dismissed as nonsense.

One effect of the scarcity of coined money, plus the present ticklish financial situation, has been that the Government has issued strict orders against any person leaving the country with more than lOOflfr. in either coin or notes in his possession. This regulation came into forco on Wednesday, and among its first victims were a- large party of wealthy Americans leaving Cherbourg .on that day 011 their return -voyage. Before being allowed to leave the port every passenger was compelled to produce what French money he had in his possession, and htind it over to a local bank for safe keeping. To ensure strict compliance with the law, all baggage was "gone over with a emailtooth comb," as one of Hie victims remarked. Among those affected was Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had to leave behind 39,000 francs out of the '10.0G0 francs he had in his possession. 11 r. Crane, one of the members of the American. Peace Delegation, was a fcllowsufforer, although not to the same extent. —London "Morning Post."