THANKLESS SERVICE

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 47, 18 November 1932, Page 10

THANKLESS SERVICE

Shopkeepers and Landlords A man whose official position enables him to speak with an intimate knowledge of the facts, remarked to a representative of “The Dominion” in an interview yesterday, that he did not think the public in general and certain members of Parliament In particular, had any idea of the present difficulties of house-owners and the retailers of domestic necessaries. “The position of the house-owner who looks to his rents for his income is especially trying,” he said. “In spite of rent reductions, he has no certainty that he will receive what is due to him. Nothwithstanding this, he has to make provision for interest, rates, and taxes, and repairs. I know of my own personal knowledge that some of these people are actually worse off than men in receipt of unemployment relief. If they do not meet their commitments they stand to lose everything.” “In the case of the shopkeepers, here again there is no certainty of income. I know of many cases where they have continued to supply necessitous people with commodities while knowing that they will never be paid. Yet they have to pay rent and other overhead charges, taxes, and so forth, just the same. I think these people show a very fine spirit in carrying on as they do. But what thanks do they get? More often they get abuse.”