WHAT IS PROFITEERING?

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 19, 23 July 1919, Page 8

WHAT IS PROFITEERING?

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Your Teport in a recent issue of The Post of a speech delivered by the 'Rev. J. G. Chapman, of Taranaki-strect Methodist Church, must have come as a bomb-Bhell to the honest traders of Welj lington. The reverend gentleman's sweeping charges and insinuations would convey the impression (although he does not actually say so) that there is scarcely an honest trader in the city. lam quite prepared to admit that profiteering has been indulged in, but not to any great extent, and where the Rev. Mr. Chapman discovers one profiteer I will find him at least twenty honest business men. I hold no brief for Wellington traders, and do not even reside in the city, but his wholesale condemnation of commercial and business firms is unjuet, unfair, and unwarranted. If t the reverend gentleman knows of firms who are fleecing the public, why does he not get down to concrete facts and publicly denounce them? Generalities, such as he indulges in, are useless, and condemn alike the innocent with the guilty. Such speeches coming from a man in his position only serve to increase the alarming and widespread discontent this country is now suffering from^ and, although I must admit that there is some cause for tho unrest, the remedy is a problem certainly beyond the power of parson, politician, importer, or anyone in New Zealand. The question arises: Has the Rev. J. G. Chapman sufficient, expert knowledge of the subject to warrant his attempt 'to enlighten others? The answer must emphatically be "No." Does he know that the .greater proportion of goods sold by drapers are imported from other countries? Does he know that the landed cost of imported goods has advanced 100, 200, and in some cases even up 'to 400 per cent, during the pact four years? Again, does he know that the retail price of an article must ,be governed by the cost to the retailer? Judging from his speech, he has no such knowledge. He is also probably ignorant of the' fact that "essential" drapery' goods, such as calicoes, sheetings, flannelettes, towels, quilts, prints, cashmere hosiery, and many such lines, are being retailed today in Wellington, and other parts of New Zealand, at the present landed cost of such goods. Why? Because they were bought before the more recent heavy rises, and in practically no instance is advantage being taken. Again, I doubt if the reverend gentlemen knows that the black cloth from which his coat is cut, and which probably cost the local tailor 12s 6d per yard, before the war, now costs at lea6t 37s 6d per yard. As this cloth is not made in New Zealand, how is it possible for the tailor to sell except at a big increase .on pre-war prices? Another instance: Christy's clerical hats, the landed co6t of which wag about Ms per dozen four years ago, cannot now be landed under 200s per dozen. The remedy for high price of drapery •is not to be found in New Zealand. I would suggest that the Rev. Mr. Chapman -should get into communication with some of the leading manufacturers of the world. The replies would doubtless be interesting, even if unsatisfactory. What is the position? Are New Zealand traders to go out of business, or are they to continue trying to meet the demands of their customers? I would venture the opinionl that, irrespective of price, essential drapery goods will still be required.—l am, etc., ANTI-REVOLUTION.

Another correspondent — Harold Sweeney—writes, stating that the remarks of the Rev. J. G. Chapman are interesting from many points of view. "It is," he says, '"refreshing to find at least one clergyman, who, whether right or .wrong in his views, shows that he is not gagged by expediency, and is not afraid to depart' from the orthodox in attempting to get at what is really the root cause of a huge amount of the sin and crime, which is loudly bewailed,' but not seriously combatted, by the clergy as a class. What causes crime and sin more quickly than poverty?" The correspondent adds:—"Recently the clergy were loud in their denunciation of the use of bad language, which, after all, is only the result of lack of education, which is mainly the fault of our economic system, .and it behoves the clergy to desist from trifling with the small issues, seriously consider the economic position, and then throw their weight whole-heartedly into an effort to reform.." < ■ ' • :