COST OF LIVING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1702, 16 December 1919, Page 5

COST OF LIVING.

TO 188 CDITOB.

Sir,—The above subject is tho favourit. topic of the average Labour candidate. Each Labour candidato is supposed to have studied this subject properly, but sccminglj puts the extra cost of living down to pro Steering, which is wrong. In reference tc food,- say wheat and meat, the price will always be" regulated^according to cost o! production, and the working man has beer the sole cause of the high cost of Wheat and meat. Perhaps this is putting it rathei blunt for those who do not understand tliir matter fully, and probably a little explana tion may bo necessary. The writer hat thousands of acres of land ploughed b; contract for wheat growing at 5s per acre Wheat was then selling at say 3s per bushel j Now contract ploughing is well over tei. shillings per acre and all other work in con nection with; wheat over double the price. Wheat growing at the present prices o! labour and machinery—at 6s per bushel —wil, not pay as well, as it did at 3s when laboui was low and the working men did quite a.' well then, as now. Of course the stump politician knows everything, or pretends to. but the contract system is not conducive ltd the "go-slow" system. Tho genera' election will be to-morrow (Wednesday, the 17th) and there will be many changes, but no oha.ngc in the Palmerston North elec-torate—-in fact it would be a slur on the electors of Palmerston North to think they would vote for any ono but our worthj Mayor, tho sitting member, a gentlemai. whose knowledge of tho requirements is fa' above that of any other who can . com< against him; also his happy and eloar way of expression make him an ideal member I of Parliament.—l am, etc., J

R. MACKAY 35 Rangitikoi streot, Palmerston North