RISING COSTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 110, 12 May 1939, Page 10

RISING COSTS

JOB FOR HOUSEWIVES

VOICE OF THE CONSUMERS

N.Z. ORGANISATION

The belief that the housewife can play a great part in influencing a reduction of the gap between costs and prices was expressed at a meeting of citizens in Wellington last night by Colonel S. J. E. Closey, who is organising a Consumers' League in New Zealand on a national basis. The meeting was held to give a start to the movement in the city area. Branches, it was announced, had already been formed in Wadestown, Miramar, and Newtown. After hearing Colonel Closey's address, the meeting, attended by 20 people, decided to form a Wellington City branch of the league and a provisional committee was appointed to further the activities of the branch.

The provisional committee consists of Messrs. W. Appleton, George Moir, R. P. Graham. T. A. Fraser, Lady Hunter. Mesdames G. Jackman, M. Cox, E. J. Menard, George Anderson, J. Probyn, J. Jackson, P. S. Macassey, A. M. Fantham, D. K. Brodie, L. K. Francis, arjd Misses M. and F. Dix and M. Moir.

The object of the league as set out in the draft constitution is the guarding and advancing of the rights and welfare of the consumer with particular regard to the goods and services offered for sale, dealing with the aspects of price, quality, value, service, systems, and policies.

Mr. Appleton, who presided, said that many people, particularly those who were on fixed incomes, were concerned about the rising costs of living in New Zealand. He emphasised that the meeting and the movement generally were non-political. The position simply was that it was felt that the time had come when the people, particularly the housewives, should have some voice in regard to rising costs. The Consumers' League movement had been started in Palmerston North; there were now 53 branches and the movement was gradually spreading through New Zealand. THE FARMER'S POSITION. Colonel Closey referred to the position of the farmers and of the necessity of the farmers and the consumers in the cities linking up. There had been no such organisation with which the farmers could co-operate to investigate rising costs. The farmer's reward- was on a world low price level, but his requirements had to be bought on a high protective price level. New Zealand was the only civilised country which had not had a consumers' league. The movement had started in England in 1890; in 1891 the United States of America had seven consumer leagues, and other nations had adopted such organisations. . Australia had its consumers' league and he referred to the success it had achieved in causing the embargo on New Zealand potatoes to be lifted. The league in New Zealand could do good work in the direction of having the embargo on Australian oranges removed. Today the consumer was the forgotten person. - They must make the consumers the dictators of tomorrow. The business world would not resent that, fcr *»very shrewd business man was seeking to know what the public wanted. The consumers' league should keep guard in the cities against unwarranted rises in costs. Real prosperity would not be achieved until equilibrium was established between costs and prices. A PARCEL OF GROCERIES. At this point Colonel Closey unwrapped a parcel of groceries, which he said he had purchased in the city, and compared the prices paid for them with the prices at which he said these goods were sold in Belfast. He explained that he chose Belfast because it was a part of the Empire and a part of the world that was putting up a great fight without enjoying any natural advantages. A tin of salmon he had purchased, he said, for 2s 4d, and in Belfast it sold for 4_d. He quoted the following prices for other goods, the Belfast prices being in parentheses:—Packet of candles lOd (3_d), tin of Australian apricoats ls 5d (7d), packet of arrowroot biscuits 7d (3d), cream crackers 7d (3d), tin of Australian peaches Is 5d . (8d). From these prices it would be s # een, he contended, that something was wrong and was in need of overhauling. The position was not due in New Zealand to a wide margin between wholesale and retail prices. The profit was not exorbitant. Colonel Closey referred also to the high cost of housing in New Zealand, compared with housing costs in Australia and Bourneville, England.

Another function of a consumers' league was to see that the quality of goods was true to label, and in this connection he instanced exposures that had been made overseas, as a result of investigations that had been carried out, in regard to certain patent medicines and other preparations.

The consumer should also have a voice in the matter of systems and policies that were adopted. He referred to the rise that had taken place in New Zealand taxation and contended that taxation should be spread as widely and thinly as possible so that it did not become a burden. The world was rewarding New Zealand well for the goods that were produced here. All that was wanted was something like an efficient economic system, and prosperity could not be avoided.. Today New Zealand was suffering from an unbalanced relationship between costs and prices.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING THE NEED

The housewife, Colonel Closey continued, was now becoming one of the dominant personalities of the world. Civilisation had reached the stage when administrative brains were wanted. The question of production had been conquered; what were needed today were sound economics and wise administration, and in that sphere there was a part that could be played with val tie by the feminine brain. New Zealand's need was to bring good housekeeping into its economic outlook. This country could not afford to pay a high reward for unskilled work "and penalise the skilled man. There must be reward according to the degree of preparation, the degree of responsibility, and the value the country got from the work performed, and he could see no way of achieving that except by a powerful militant consumers' league.

Colonel Closey continued that there was no justification for "twisting this country out of its pastoral occupations," for which it was suited in every way. The country should regard itself as the trustee for the foodstuffs it could produce in wonderful quantities, and should be glad to trade with other nations, taking the wonderful values they had to offer in industrial products.

Mr. W. S. Wilson asked Colonel Closey if he was opposed to economic nationalism.

Colonel Closey replied that the question could not be adjudicated upon

unless there was a strong consumers' organisation. If there was an opening for a new industry it should be encouraged, but the question should not be left to the Government or industrial organisations to decide.

A lady member of the audience asked whether the present position was not due largely to the cruelty of the white race towards the coloured people.

Colonel Closey said that personally he thought there was a great deal in that, but there again the question was one which could only be judged competently by the consumers as an organisation.

On the motion of Mr. T. A. Fraser, seconded by Mr. R. P. Graham, it was decided to . form a Wellington city branch of the Consumers' League.

Mr. G. Moir moved a vote of thanks to Colonel Closey for his address, and this was carried by acclamation.