COST OF LIVING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1708, 24 December 1919, Page 7

COST OF LIVING.

At the mooting of the Palmerston North Luncheon CJlub yesterday Mr M. H. Oram gave an interesting address on ilio Cost of Living," basing his remarks on the theory oi Professor Irving i'ishor that a largo amount ot tlxe industrial unrest now prevalent throughout the world could bo removed if the monetary unit was stabilised instead of trying to stabilise tho prices ot commodities, lie said that the scheme suggested was that the unit of exchange shouid 00 fixed from the index number on u certain definite purchasing power. This would be redeemable by a certain weight m gold, jf required. If then, the cost of living wont up TO per cent, of the index number the £1 note would still purchase the same amount of commodities by the 10 per cent, being added to, the gold, ol which the £1 uoto would Ire the exchange. The position, ho maintained, was that at present the value of commoditidb varied, while the value of an ounce of gold remained fixed at £3 17s 10d per ounce. Tho scheme, briefly, was to fix the cost of the commodities and let the value of tho ounce of gold vary accordingly. If this scheme couid'-bc adopted tho given wago or given income would always purchase exactly the same quantity of commodities and the wage oamor would never be penalised by the rise, us the valuo of the sovereign would vary, accordingly, Messrs E. H. Crabb, M. Ayrton, R. Ross and others also spoke and there was an interesting debate.