GOING UP: PRICES AND PROFITS

NZ Truth, Issue 771, 14 August 1920, Page 1

GOING UP: PRICES AND PROFITS

, To the list of foodstuffs showing a tendency to decrease In prica haa to be added cocoa. The effect ia not yet visible m the retail shops, but will come within a few weeks. Meanwhile, coffe© is taking a directly opposite course. For some weeks past the price has gradually hardened, till today many shops are charging 3s and 3s 2d for coffee formerly sold at 2s 8d per lb. "We understand that the Food Ministry ia keeping an eye on this increase, and is inquiring into the matter of justification. ii n i: I^ondon exchanges tell us that although the original "Mallaby Deeley" rush, to which we referered m this column some- weeks ago, has subsided, there is Btill considerabfc activity among the anti-profiteering tailors, of whom there is quite a cluster m the Strand. More recently m this bargain region the main pressure of business is not now" on the tailoring establishments, but on a boot shop, which is crowded all day long, by eager buyers collecting footwear' at £1 a pair. When is som© enterprising New Zealander going to get a shipload of those £1 per pair "plates" out here? Gee, would the hours restriction of the Shops and Offices Act go by the board, one« the doors were opened unless the stock gave out before closing time? It »! . «5 Everything is going u<p— except the price of "Truth," The Increased cost of paper baa caused many newspapers to double and treble their prices and also reduc© the size or number of their sheets per issue. "Truth," which increased to size Just at the outbreak of the war, waa forced, because of limited supplies, to revert to ita pre-war nlze. but no increase has been made to the price, W* believe that there Is to the price. But if iprices do not fall soon, the ever-soaring oost of caper may indue* Edison to experiment further with an invention be spoke of some yeara ago. Nickel absorbs printer's ink as well as paper, he found; and he said it would b© possible at a cost o* 6s, to produce from one pound of nickel 40,000 quarto pages, l-20,000th of an inch thick. Meantime Edison, or another, had better get a riffgle on. si ss :: "Britisher" (Featherston) asks, are the members of the Board, of Trade figureheads, dunderheads, or what? He states that he has made complaints to the Board on two or three occasions, but has always received unsatisfactory replies. The Board, he alleges, inquired into a case where It was ©roved that a local dealer, had been charging 3d per jar too much for a certain Infants' food. This had been going on for three years, but Instead of being proceeded against, the dealer was ordered to refund the overcharge and the matter was kept quiet. "Britisher" also alleges that Featherston retailers are Belling "Plume" benzine at £ 2 Is per case. He states that this benzine costs 27s 6d nett at Wellington, and with 2s freight U therefore landed and sold at Featherston at a profit of Us 6d per case. Still another correspondent, "Mother of Six," comes along to add her bit to the storm of criticism aroused by "Mother of Eight," who declares she can keep her family on £4 15s a week and bank &l weekly. "Mother of Six" agrees that how and when ' you buy makes ft, big difference In the household Iflll. but she cannot agree

that ten people can live well on £4 15s a week. "I am the mother of only six," she states, "the eldest being eleven, ray Income is £4 10s and my expenses for the week are: grocer, £1 2s 6d; butcher, 10s; coal (one large sack), 7s 6d; milk. 4a 6d; unlor and saving fund. 4s; capital and Interest on our house, 8s; insurance anf rates, 2s 6d; total, £3 6s. Now I have £1 4s left, and do you think 'Mother of Eight' has a larger sum? Six shillings a week goes for boots, and tha' only allows one pair for each person. Balance left, 18s, for house linen, bedding, replacing crockery, etc., upkeej. of home, amusements, school books, daily paper, church subscriptions, chemist's, dentist's and doctor's bills, and last but not least, clothes for eight. How could we liave abundano* of clothes, and put £1 m the banlf every week? II II 14 "Mother of Six" continues: "I make all my children's clothes, my scones, cakes, jams and pickles, grow my own vegetables and keep fowls. My husband does not smoke, drink, or gamble, and has not been out of work for twelv© years. As regards sickness, I class myself a lucky mother, but not bo lucky as 'Mother of Eight,' who states she has never had a doctor m the house. She has a record that Is hard to beat; I doubt if she finds a mate m God's Own Country. 'Mother of Eight' aayß w« are the ones who put the wrong Government m power. She is right, but I think 'Truth* will agree with me when I say 'Mother of Eight' ia the best friend the Government ever had." M tt " I! Mr. Tudor, th« Australian Labor leader, quoted an election speech made by Gibson of Corangamite, one of Blllee Hughes's supporters, apparently a very candid friend, who had slipped this horseshoe into his glove for luck: "Profiteers could b 6 shot with a shortrange gun from an upstairs room m Parliament House, looking east; c but they were not likely to "shoot the goose that laid such golden eggs." How Biilee holds on to office, m spite of the execration of friend and foe, ia a miracle. There must be something unconquerable m the public apathy. Against stupidity, the gods themeev«s fight m vain. As an indication of the way prices have gone up, Tudor •übmitted the following list of prices for 1913 and 1920: — Jam, plum, 6d — 1» 3d; sugar, IA, dozen, ?.s 9d — 6s; tea, No. 3, Robur, lb., Is — 2s 4d; bread, loaf, 6d — lid; safety matches, dozen, 2y a d— 9d; flour, ton, £8 15s-— £l7; condensed milk, tin, 6d — Is 2d; Big Ben clocks, each, 12s 6d — £1 ss; men's bal. boots (pr.), 19s 6d — £2 2a; boya' bal. boots (pr.), 8s 6d — 18s 9d. :: t: t: In sympathy with the prospective increase m the salaries of M.'sP., the Wellington Gas Coy. is about to put a further tax on the price of gas. The pre-war rate of gas (that is, coal gas), was 6s per 1000 ft., and the increased rate ruling from September 1 next will b a 8s 4d, i: :: :: The ways of the profiteer are past finding out until too late. At the Alexandria yards (N.S.W.), recently, trucks of chaff might have been seen with a beautiful growth of green wheat shooting all over the bags, evidencing that the stacks stored m the bush waiting for another rise In the terribly high market were more numerous than tarpaulinS. • • ■ ■ ■