GOODS DEARER IN AUSTRALIA THAN IN AMERICA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22663, 14 June 1948, Page 5

GOODS DEARER IN AUSTRALIA THAN IN AMERICA

SYDNEY. May 27. Sydney women were startled when Dr. Ruth Bacon told them that Australian clothes vere very expensive compared with those in America. Dr. Bacon is a United States delegate to the South Pacific conference. She had heard much about low prices in Australia, but when she went to the shops she found, as others had found before, that frocks here often cost as many pounds as they do dollars in America. Frocks are not an exception. Stockings, whether pure silk or nylon, also cost a great deal more here. It is true that many everyday items like butter, milk, bread and meat are very dear in America, but many others are cheaper. For' instance, the best electric light bulbs can be bought in the U.S. for 10 cents, which is about the equivalent of 8d Australian, whereas in Australia bulbs of the same power cost Is 6d or more. Electrical Goods Cheaper in U.S. Practically all electrical goods in America are relatively as cheap, including phonographs, radios, and vacuum cleaners. Moreover, the average American radios are of much better tone and give better results than the dearer Australian article. Among other items that are cheap in America are fountain pens and toys. Beautifully designed toy models in plastic of cars, planes and trucks fitted with rubber wheels that work can be had for 10 cents, while well-illustrated children’s books cost as little as 25 cents. All household utensils, workmen's tools, and cotton goods are also cheap. Comparison of Wages Prices of many important items did rise steeply in the United States when the controls were removed, but any comparison must take into consideration the differences in wages in the two countries. In America 60 dollars a week is regarded as a low wage. Converted into Australian currency, this means that mechanics, clerks, salesmen, typists, etc., receive anything from £ls to £3O a week. If America is the land of high prices it is also the land of high wages. But measured in terms of what can be bought with one’s income, I should say that the American workers gets much more out of his pay envelope than his counterpart does in Australia.