PRICES, PROFITS AND PLUNDER

NZ Truth, Issue 818, 16 July 1921, Page 1

PRICES, PROFITS AND PLUNDER

If the Government does not make its usual meddlesome interference, the price off butter should come down shortly. "When the new season's make comes on the market there must be a reduction, but what this reduction will be it is yet too soon to prognosticate.

"A Small Drop" is how the " 'Split' - Post" heralded the latest, abstract of statistics, m which Statistician Malcolm Fraser announced a decrease m the figures. It was a small drop, yet it glistened brightly for the struggling plug, who hopes that by the end of the year there may be quite a dipper full of larger drop 3. To the profiteer the "small drop" — well — Little drops of food and beer, Little drops m clothes, Make the bloated profiteer Look »very lachrymose. Whicht if it isn't good rhyming, is, nevertheless, true. The lf wee drappie," according to the Statistician, amounteel to thirteen points, that v is, the index number of the three food groups was, &t May 3.5 (pqminion weighted average), 1792, as compared with the previous imonth's figure, JBOS.

A real blessing for the housekeeper is the ban- on the "exporting of potatoes to Australia. It has meant that ' this much relied on vegetable has been considerably cheaper during the win- ; ter months. The best of spuds can be; had at Wellington at the present time ' at fourteen pounds for a shilling. Many of the white and. the yellow fruiterers are not selling spuds at 'this price — some are selling at eight pounds to the shilling, but the thrifty buyer looks around and soon finds the cheapest shop. Onions, too, are fairly cheap m Wellington just now, and a good grade can be purchased for ten pounds a shilling. Those, with an eye to the /future are now laying m stocks of the eye-waterers and stringing them up m preparation for the time, a few, months hence, when they will be twopence and threepence per pound. Vegetables, other than spuds and onions, are rather d>ear, and the profits of the little yellow men must be handsome accordingly. x Insignificant decreases m the cost of food and groceries are disclosed m the latest figures published by the Domin- ; lon Statistician. Seizing 1 upon this bare bone of facts, the "day-lie" press proceed to make a most extravagant soup. This concoction is served to the public as "Reduction m Food Prices." The decrease for May is thirteen points (a drop from 1805 points of the previous month to 1792 points) or about 1.03 d m the pound with reference to food prices. The purchasing power of the sovereign is now Us lid as compared with pre-war times. In Australia It is remarkable that the decreases Bince May, 1920, have been greater, m Queensland and. New South Wales, where there are Labor Governments m power. If there 1b anything at all m the cry of sane, sound- Government, it ought to be reflected m better living conditions: but the figures show otherwise. There is no justification wh.at> '

ever for the "day-lie" press here crowing over the slight reduction m food, for prices are still high above pre-war rates. As compared with July, 1914, the percentage increase m New Zealand is 67-48. As wages on tlie average have not increased fifty per cent., the workers are approximately twen-ty-five tto thirty per cent, worse off than they were seven years ago. Who said this is a progressive,, age? x lt seems that as far as the wage-earners are concerned, they are progressing backwards, m crab fashion. The /slight decreases m the cost of living certainly give no justification for the wholesale reduction m wages proposed by plute politicians who are good only to their friends, the profiteers and exploiters.

Here is the wool problem as it appeals to Westralian 7 "Truth": At present there are two and a^half million bales of wool stored m Britain, and another million or so m Australia and New Zealand. Squatters refuse to shear any sheep this year because the shearers •wnVtt 33s 8d a hundred. Wool Is lOd a half-ounce skein m Perth— 26s Bfl a pound. That is all the "problem" there is attached tp the wpol question.

Like the rest of the worjd, the natives living on the borders of Uganda and the Congo have had their cost of living troubles. In pre-war days the gentlemen natives living m these districts had to pay only four spearheads for a wife; now, a new missus costs, them eight spear-heads. In the cattle districts of the same territories the pre-war cost of a new spouse (first grade) was four cows, now it takes eight milkers to get the first necessity m setting up a new home. The cost of getting rid of mothers-in-law has, so writer understands, increased relatively.

. Formerly the consumer was courted. The producer or his representative did everything that would induce the consumer to buy his commodities. Why? Because the producers "were unorganised and the distributors were unorganised-, and had to compete m markets for the fayor of the consumer. To-day all branches of producers are organised, ' while the consumers remain unorganised. The workers first saw the value of organisation. They fought m bodies against individual employers, and obtained substantial concessions. Then came industrial legislation, which dealt not with individuals., but with organisations. The employers, by force of law, were drawn more closely together. The primary producers were the last to organise; but their organisations are now strong enough to dictate prices. HVhat of the consumer, without whom none of those allegedly, working m his interests could exist? To a large extent, however, consumers are also producers. Many, as producers, are organised to fight the consumers as a whole. A man will not organise to fight himself; but tf there were ot&anisations of consumers established on a firm basis the R?6datory. profiteering raids might foe considerably checked..