Itinerant Traders

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 159, 21 June 1935, Page 6

Itinerant Traders

(To the Editor.) Sir, —On looking through Kha columns of the Press, 1 notice tfhat there is what appears to be a move by the Chamber of Commerce throughout Hawke's Bay to stamp out hawking goods for sale from door to door throughout the district. It is stated that all borough councils have been communicated with seeking their support and suggesting that the license iee should be increased to £25 per annum. However, it is pleasing to hear the councils are not unanimous on the matter, as thig extraordinary demand should not be tolerated gy any right-thinking person, which would mean robbing many decent citizens of their livelihood, when they would; become burdens on the community. It is high time that we adopted a live and let live policy, instead of a cut-throat policy, that has to a great extent been responsible for the plight we are pu to-day. With reference to a certain oouncillor’s remarks about a Lawkej charging £l5 for some cutlery if it can be proved that this is a cate of exploitation then I would suggest taking the license from this profiteer. However, as the writer is aware of a large business firm in Hastings (the name of which would make interesting reading for the Chamber of Commerce) charging £8 8/- for a £4 4/- article, it is quite evident that we need not travel the country roads to find the evil-doer; in fact, I find the hawker more satisfactory to trade with than many of the tradespeople, so let us be careful and weigh the scales of justice evenly in the balance when dealing with this matter. Tn Waipukurau recently the council was asked to take steps to prevent a fishmonger from hawking fish for sale. The Mayor refused to consider it, stating that if he was out of work he would hawk fish or anything else in order to live.—Yours, etc., “LIVE AND LET LIVE.” June 21, 1935.