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Evening Star, Issue 15929, 8 October 1915, Page 4

Aithdlmi the public will not be disposed to accept the National The Cost Of G wennuent’s scheme for Living. preventing exploitation in

foodstuffs as a measure that shall work wonder.-, in reducing the cost of Jiving in Yew Zealand, they will s.:a.rcely go the. length of concurring with the rather sarcastic opinion of Dr Yewman Dial the Bill introduced by the Bight Hon. Sir J. (1. Ward is “pitlle.’’ The measure is not quite so useless as the “ )hflie ’’ of politicians. The Cost of Living Bill if certainly a legislative step in the right direction, and would have been A notable step if the Government had had the courage to make some provision at least for the regulation of prices at a. reasonably fair standard. The standardisation of commercial profits is apparently beyond the compass of ordinary politicians. Tite Bill proposes to set up a. Board of Trade to investigate, cases of alleged exploitation, to amend the Commercial Trusts Act by extending the scope of that rather futile enactment to include any, article of food, and to give local bodies power to become milkmen, bakers, owners of felling trawlers (added to the Bill in committee this morning), and brickmakers. and to provide cool storage. If the cost of living could by any stretch of the imagination be materially reduced by the municipal manufacture of bricks, why did the National Government in their wisdom, which represents the best ideas of Kdormers and Liberals, hesitate to give municipalities an opportunity to become tinkers, tailors, and lots of other useful suppliers besides? There is surely a touch of irony in - the provisions for the extension of the entetprise, of municipalities. If one notes that the scope of local bodies to borrowed money- is limited to works of urgent importance, . perhaps it could be argued effectively tiiat in some popu-

lons centres a municipal brick kiln might muiee the cost- of house construction to an appreciable extent. It may be said at once that tho legislative proposals as to extending municipal enterprise in the Commonwealth are moie pretentious than practicable. Tire piojccted Board of Trade .Will be nothing more than an expensive commercial commission pcregi mating the land in a somewhat hopeless hunt of the elusive exploiter. Unquestionably the Government will secure valuable information from the proposed Board of Trade, and may receive much-needed, inspiration for constructing an attractive political programme of democratic legislation. The weakness of the National Government’s .scheme for the prevention of exploitation is that the nroposed Board of Trade will have no statutory power at all directly to effect a remedy. All that can be said of the Gost of Living Bill is that it- represents Fie National Government's recognition of the need, of a check on commercial exploiters. H also demonstrates their inability to control trade by legislation. I he cost of food supplies in New Zealand is admitted by the Treasurer to have increased by 54 per cent.—a serious matter lor the wage-earner—but the only set-off to that frank admission is an asseition that conditions are worse in other countries. The public, we suspect, will not accept that as adequate compensation for tlie irritating strain placed upon (heir financial resources by greedy exploiters. The National Government will not make a great reputation by their efforts to reduce the C'o-it of Living.