THE STRUGGLE TO LITE

Evening Star, Issue 17323, 10 April 1920, Page 5

THE STRUGGLE TO LITE

A COMPARATIVE STATEMENT. DOMINION'S FAVORED POSITION. EXCESSIVE CONTROL ME FAMINE. nt T \Vpir rl f fl ° Min , isle i r mad <-> a statement at Wellington yesterday in which ho compared Now Zealand’s position in regard to Lost of Living with the conditions obtaining in other countries, expressino- the view that in New Zealand the people°\v e re infinitely better off than were the populations of other countries. The percentage of increase in New Zealand between July, 1914, and December, 1919, was 55 rer cent, placing the Dominion second lowest on the list up to that period. The posi°n u l i Sc ' V . Ze:ilanci ’ s ‘“ d > undoubtedly called for close watching, but the forces affecting prices wore often beyond effective control here, and control unless properly exercised might mean famine in future" ihe lollowmg table showed that we, still held a most favorable position with respect to food pncc-s as compared with other countries, tho table showing the percentage of increases in the Cost of Livinf between July, lui4, and the months shown in respect of tno various countries :

per cent. T . Increase Inaia (Calcutta), Nov., 1919 ... 51 opß-iUj INlsr.j 1919 57 Australia, Dee.’’ 1919 Z 58 New Zealand, Mar. 1920 (P South Africa, Nov.’’l9l9 67 united States, \ ov iqiq p-> Canada Nov!; 1919 I’ 92 Holland (Amsterdam), Nov IM9 ino Denmarlf, '' 1919 Z. 112 United Kingdom, ’ Jan., 1920 ... 135 Switzerland, Sep.,’ 1819 ... 141 France (Paris), Dee.’. 1919 185 Norway, Nov., 1919 ... 197 Sweden, Dec., 1919 ... 207 Belgium (Brussels), Oct., 1919 ... 245 Italy (Rome), Nov., 1919 ... 246 . Everyone in commerce, Mr Massey continued, knew the extreme difficulty it. securing supplies, and at no time in the history of tho Dominion had the demand for imported goods been so great and the shelves so bare. The Government would do their duty in facing the position fearlessly, but had to be careful and just. He would again stress that the Government had given every opportunity to the public of having a full investigation made . into all cases in which they considered unreasonable profits were being made, and the Government looked to them to exercise their powers in this direction, as without the assistance of the public the full benefit of the legislation recently passed could not he realised.