WHY PRICES HAVE RISEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16498, 26 March 1917, Page 4

WHY PRICES HAVE RISEN

"GO-SLOW" TACTICS A FACTOR -'-'i LABOUR MAY BE ORGANISED. j [by TELEGRAPH.—- OWX CORRXSFOSKST.J y j CHRISTCHURCH. Saturday. ''{--"•■ [ Speaking as a member of a deputation-.^ from the Trades and Labour Council to . the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald, Minister > : for Trade and Commerce, regarding the , „ cost of living, Mr. J. McCombs, M-P-j -" • said the .workers realised that industrial ; conscription for the worker was the logical corollary of military conscription.' but 1< •■ : ■/ thought the Government mistook the fem« :. ■ ,~-J per of the people of New Zealand if '■}»..:<■• thought men could be forced to work to: : % make profits for private employers. /' ■.;;; In his reply, Mr. Mac Donald said there;. '■'•I were many factors in connection with tna ■/. :- - cost of living which had to be considered, f Ho admitted prices had risen, yet- R«,;:--- ; v thought the people* in New Zealand were:..,' very well off, much better so than in most other countries. " I have a statement;: here," said the Minister, "from a responsible officer of my Department, which wiU ;.. ; - account very well for some of the increase 1 * h_ cost of living." ■ >M Mr. E. J.' Howard : Does that refer to y = the "go slow" policy! - i: The, Minister: The statement is from-, ~ the Mines Department, and one thing « says is that 8000 tons less coal have been ;■;-;;. taken out of one mine during the last two : \•• months. That is one way to put up t&.jW. cost of living. . . : In answer to a question, the Minister •>;-.-. said that at present, the Government Md : -/.:: not the power to force men to labour w[-,u t any particular vocation. It might, how«; j. ever, becomo urgently necessary for the.;. m good of the country" that certain wtfCß :; v should be done, and he thoueht that some. : ,V arrangement could be made by which l»'y; ; ,lbour on what were called the non-essential,.. -: r industries could be diverted to the essen-,-, > tial industries. Ho fell sure that if such .-:;.£ necessity arose ho could depend on tndj.--y----good sense of the trades unions to help :>\ the Government to organiso such neces* sary labour.