COST OF LIVING

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 November 1918, Page 3

COST OF LIVING

INTERESTING COMPARISON S (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, October 30. “The increase in prices from which ive are suffering are world-wide,” the Hon. G. W. Russell, m replying to criticism of the Labour members in the House of Representatives Diis evening. “1 have here official figures, Avhich reached me yesterday, showing the increase in the cost of living since the outbreak of war in various parts of the world. They are as follows: Per cent. Australia, to July, 1918 . . 31 New Zealand, to July. 1918 . . 39 America, to April, 1918 . . 50 Japan, to July, 1917 . ■ • • 66 Canada, to July, 1918 . . • • 75 Netherlands, to July, 1917 . . 81 Italy, to September, 1917 . . 88 France, to January, 1918 . . 91 Switzerland, to March, 1918 . 96 United Kingdom, to- July, 191fe HO Germany, to October, 1916 .. 109 Sweden, to April, 1918 • • Austria., to August, 1917 .. H 3 Norway, to March, 1918 .. 195 “Therefore, I ask members to hear in mind that, considering the upheaval in trade and economic conditions, we cannot expect to escape one of the certain and inevitable effects of the war by holding down prices to the normal level at which they were situated before the warHow could. Mr. Russell added, it be expected that prices here would be kept down when all the other markets of the world had risen.