THE PRICE OF BREAD.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14009, 13 March 1920, Page 4

THE PRICE OF BREAD.

Our correspondent, "Cheaper Bread, whose letter appears elsewhere, fails entirely <to. grasp the situation with which he deals'. He says that he and a good many, more-would like to know where the difference is going to come in if an increased subsidy is given to millers in order to keep down the price of flour- and, as a result, also keep down the price of bread, instead of the increased price; of bread falling directly UDon the consumer: Having made that admission of lack of comprehension of the position he forthwith lays down the dictum that "those who eat the most bread and generally speaking are least able to afford it contribute the most of the millers' subsidy." That is a common fallacy that is capable of ready exposure. ■ If the whole increase in the price of bread were paid by the consumers then-' the greatest of the burden would undoubtedly fall upon those who ate most bread, and the greatest sufferers would be those with large families to maintain. That is perfectly obvious. But it does not follow that the same thing would happen if the State by subsidising millers according ta their output of flour at a fixed price maintained bread at its previous level. The converse 6f the case holds eood. Of course any such subsidy paid by the Government would come out of taxation, but any extra taxation that might become necessary would not fall upon the head of a large family with a modest income unless that taxation were levied unon necessaries—the essential commodities of life?---and no Government or Parliament would contemplate raising. additional revenue by such a process, for it would x menri .increasing, still further the cost of living, In that way it would entirely frustrate the purpose of, aggi»vate thp existing condition of ./things, andr give rise to" intensified discontent with respect to. the' cost of livjhe which j the subsidy is ■ designed .to, avoid. .If any increases ' were' made' rri the Customs tariff the fresh imposts would have I to ho levied on importations that involve

waste or extravagance, and would not I become by people, modest meansjui- « le&'.-they were given' to wasting moneyj i on'Jiquor or indulging in costly, luxu., rie% which no man of, modest income can'afford. The additional imposts w v ould be borne by the v opulent rich, who can alford to spend money upon things thai: are unnecessary, for the" mainteifr- . ance of life on a rational scale". Morei - over they would catch, bachelors and others with gbod incomes and no families to maintain. The same thing would happen if'an increase in the In.eome.Tax became necessary in order to meet,a subsidy designed to effectively nfjeck'-.a further rise in the cost of living. .<To put; it'Jn ; another way,";,the ;payinerit of a State subsidy in preserve a cheap/loaf •is in the rtararev of a.tonus to.\thbse:who accept the re-:; spohsibility of:giving strength ito thet nation by rearing families, and oh" that" ground becomes justifiable. The man with a family to support and only his weekly earnings to is the man who is hardest hit by a high cost of living, and to ask him to bear an increase' in the" price of such an. indispensable article of food as...bread is_;to add his present perplexities. Again, ;if) ; ihe:-cost of living ;is further advanced- by consumers being called upon to pay ,a~ higher price for bread, there must inevitably follow a universal and an irrestible demand for an increase of wages, with the natural result that I there would be a general increase in the ■cost of production and a further rise in the cost of-living, and so the thing wqjildfigo on indefinitely until production would he arrested and a general

collapse /of the whole economic system ensue. There must be -finality tO'tb<* constant increase in. the cost of The' first step to ensure, this is an expansion of the of the things that are essential to the mainten- "j ance of life on a rational basis, and ti> that end the whole-energies of the people should be devoted with determination. A constant increase in wages to meet an increased cost of living is merely a palliative measure that has a knack of destroying itself. In the end it does little good for those who most need and deserve consideration. On the other hand it enriches those who command the supplies of essentials, for it-enables, ■them to advance- prices and secure greater profits. ' Moreover every advance in wages is shared equally by those'who have no family responsibilities with thdse who have large- families, to maintain. The family man gains nothing, and the single man gains much. Therein, lies the justice of the State intervening with a subsidy to preserve a. cheap loaf. Its advantage to the Stnto is that it does a good deal to arrest the constant advance in the cost of hiring, which' is fraught with mischief to the nation as well as hardship to the individual. • ..

Owing to pressure o\ our space a number of auction sales and other new advertising matter will be found on pages three and six of this issue.

The clearing sale at Hillsprings, near Roxburgh, on Thursday, 25th March, will constitute a most important eveiit. Mr T. A. Pannett has long been recognised as a foremost breeder of Corriedale sheep and his flock, numbering nearly 24,000, is accepted as being one of the best flocks of Corriedales in. Otago. Frequently the clip has topped the Dominion market. The National Mortgage and Agency Co., Ltd., are the auctioneers. Further particulars are advertised. The National Mortgage and Agency Co., Ltd., draw attention to the alteration in the date of the clearing sfle to be held on account of Mr F. Kelcher, Waianakarua. This will now take place on Wednesday, the 7th April. The Rt. Rev. I. Richards, M.A., Bishop of Dunedin, left Oamaru-to-dav for the "VYaitaki parish. The following arrangements nave been made: Monday, vestry meeting, at 8 P-P 1 -: Kurow; Tuesday, reception at Belfield, 3 p.m. (kind invitation -ot Mr and Mrs R. C. Gillies) ; Wednesday, reception at Fleetwood, Ngapara,- p.m. (kind permission of Mr and Mrs Y. T. Shand) ; Thursday service and social at Tokarann 730 p.m. Durins the Bishop's stay in the district he will be the guest of - the Vicar and Mrs Willis. Dancing was much in evidence, at the' Gardens last night, when the following programme was submitted by the 10th Regiment Band:—March, "Light Dragoon" ; waltz, "Thoughts ; selection, "A Darkey's Dreamland": waltz, "The Dream Princess"; Tone Poem, "Norwegian Cradle Song ; waltz, "Red Poppies"; march, "On the Alert"; "God Save the King. collection totalling £3 10s was taken up on the grounds. . . Business and professional men and women will be interested in a lecture to be given at the Druids' Hall on Friday evening next by Mr W. Hudson, official organiser of the Business Science' Circle Movement. The subject, "Training for Mastership in Business," is one of particular interest in these days of reconstruction. Mr Huson's lecture should attract a large audience. Referring to the high prices charged, for meat locally. .Major Whyte, at a meeting, of the Hamilton branch of the Farmers' Union, expressed the opinion, that the farmers should open their own meat, shops and let the general public have it at a reasonable price. This, he said, would tend to draw the farmer and the working man closer together —a very desirable consummation. He believed the farmers should also have their own woollen mills and soap and candle factories. The meeting decided to ask'the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company to start soap an<r candle_ works as soon as possible. It was pointed out by Mr Ellicott that while there was a. large increase in the price of soap and candles, the farmers got no niore for their fat.

The' South Canterbury Stock Auctioneers' Association are hold a large sale of live stock at Glenayy Saleyards on Monday next. Further particulars appear elsewhere, in this issue. - Tie usual Public Service entrance examinations for shorthand writers andi typists will be. held'towards, the end of May. 1920. \ The North Otago Farmers' Co-op. will sell, at Glenavy on Monday, on account of various clients, 200 fat sheep and 400 store sheep.... Mr J. B~ Reid, of Elderslie,. is selling at the Waiareka yards. r 6n Tuesday next, the 16th March, through Messrs Bruce Christie' and Co., ,20 two. and' foiir-tooth Southdown fains, all by im'pofted rams. For breeding early'lambs it lis recognised in. England;, arid all. parts of the world that tha:Sbutihdown rams are thebest, as the lambs, mature, •earlier than any other breed; they; fatten quickly, and command; the highest prices in the London and| other markets. Farmers who go ih: for breeding for the early market should.not Tniss. the chance of securing wm^, of,these rams. The inadequacy of the Government s. policy of land for returned soldiers, has been recently felt by the'large body of returned soldiers who through various reasons have been left out of the present scheme.'. But, instead.of accepting' this''state of affairs, with a _ British growl, each such soldier is. advised,, for the sake of the principle involved, as well, as for his own -good;' tohave his nanie.placed on the Land Roll. This can be done through county, secretaries or at the club j-ooms./Itchen, stregt. The painting of wooden buildings bids fair to be a luxury.in the future, lead' still rules high in. price, and' linseed oil continues to advance^., .Recent English quotations reached 10s'pei; gallon. Orders cabled did -not secure, the : supply, fbr.the reply.feceiyed Iwas that the price 'had. again te-lis 6d per gallon in bulk, and as: the drums cost another 7s 6d, when profits; a* this; end are added, very high figures must; rule. An-"advance from: 5s a gallon to about T6's; during the,last."five years .is a very serious matter for a> town like Auckland, wher.e the majority of; dwellings, are constructed of wood. ' Jt was'stated bv the' Mayor, at last night's" Council meeting, that Councillor Forrester ':. was 'j fast gaining liis strength, after his operation.and would 1 shortly take a holiday trip to tho- ' roughly, Teeuperate. \ . ; . One of the most and artistic programmes, ever nresented to an OarhUriV.: audience 1 : will be riven nt the Tuesday night. Every performer ; is an artist, and _ thoße who appreciate what is best in sinainc. daricinpir , 'elocutfbh, music a spebinlefFort'tobe; present.' 1 Detailed arcourits''.of. th» tist will appeir oh Monday jlay. when readers of tile Mail will see >hat the preliminary announpements have not been exaggerated. The box

3lan is at The Bristol, where dress cir:le seats-may be reserved without add}- J tiofiarchafge.' ' ""--„, ~- , - Our advertising columns contain par- - ticulars 61" the train;. arrangements tor Thursday, -next in connection with the Waimate Races. The r Radway Depart- ' ment also' nouty that holiday excursion tickets to M'aimate will be issued *on ThuisOay, 18th inst, available - tor return until Friday, 19th mst. The Canterbury- Auctioned s Association purpose inaugurating a series ot stock sales «it flaataramea. Should the amount ot stock ottering warrant, the initial sale wiU be held on Fuday. i6th Maich, at Delargy s salevaids. Entries are now being received and may be lelt with Messis Barclaj Bios., Makataramea. ' The rainfall this year has begun weJL the total for the two months completed having reached 4.26 in., but this falls short of the total for the same period of last, when o.sin. was recorded, due , to an extremely heavy rainfall m January.' For February of this year the total registered in Oamaru by Mr *. C. Ferris was 2.54 in., as against 0.26 in. for February of last year, .Rain fell on.. eight; days, with a ..maximum ot 1 .Uoin. The death is announced of Sir Richard Watkins Richards, Lord Mayor ot Svdney. Sir Richard Richards, had been ailing for the past 12 months. The by<tnev papers euj»gise his< popularity, • *np3 refer to hie term .of office as-town clerk, and city engineer in Duiiedin from .9UO

to 1911. ~< ! : :■- : ,'■'"': , fforc If sufficient inducement otters, Speid's"'bus will run to Wavmate races. Particulars raav be obtained from U R. Speid, Coquet street: ... .. The ; services in : connection ,wrcn Kutow Presbyterian : parish tp-morrow will be at Otiake in the morning and at Kurow in the afternoon an* evenins:. The evening service will take the form of a Bible class. The Rev. John Craig will conduct all the■ services.. Owing to a number of additional items coming forward, the sale at lilverstowe, Ngapara, on account ot iVr -fm "Wright, will commence at 10 a.m. sharp". In' to-day's advertising columns will be found an extended, announcement enumerating the principal lots to be offered. The sale is an important one both as regards quantity and quality of stock, which will.be brought tor-, ward in splendid condition. Messrs Dalgety and Co., in conjunotaon. . with Messrs Darling and McDowell, will be the auctioneers. , The public, yaguely aware that ."boots .are going up," may as well know the facts. The warehouses are practically empty, orders are accepted without much encouragement as to date of delivery, and such trifles .as prices do not* enter into the question. -J he Woolston Tannery lias announced, that for medium quality sole leather suitable for repairing 6s a pound is -n&w_ tto - price. A lighter grade is offered al 5s 9d. Suckling's has. cancelled al 'orders. Factory leather is. now 2s 9d tc os and 5s 6d a pound. This means chai a pair of workmen's boots weighing..-/It will cost 25s more to make, without retail profits, and that the cost of pro duction of lighter boots will be lncreasw by from 8s to £l. Dun£^S£ an *; alone have had to spend £25,000 fa material that before the lifting of th< 1 embargo could have been purchased to £l3 000. Boots in retail establishment i. will all go up by from IPs to ,16s i pair, and credit for repairs will be ■< . thing of the past. . . • At last night's Council meeting th Mavor stated that the reception to th Prince of Wales would be held m Kin; George's Park, where some improve . mento would be' needed. These woul< be of a permanent nature, and woun i be monev/well spent...' Councillor Cooney, Rodman, Swinard, Sinclair,, am the Mayor were appointed a.committe to make the necessary arrangements. The adverse rate of exchange wit the high price of silver is causing •Teat disturbance at present in th : financial sphere of all Mission wort I For -every £IOO received in China £27 . has to be sent from here, and to Inch £l7O is required. To try and mab [ good the deficiency the members c - St. Paul's P.W.M.U.- are holding . market next Saturday and hope to gc - a "enerous measure of support troi f all "sympathisers. Full particulars wi be found in our advertising columns t Mr H. Ross, the borough foremai - said the Mayor at last night's Counc ,- meeting, was making excellent pr( , gress after the operation he recentl ; underwent. • '

At a meeting of the North Otago Men's Hockey Club' last night, presided over by Mr W. O. Gibb, it was decided to reply to a challenge by.a Dunedin team to play here at Easter,, promising a game, but fixing no. date. The athletic sports to. be. held in Kino- George's Park next Thursday, in aid of the 10th Regiment Baby, comprise a list of events of considerable extent and undoubted attraction. There are a backward race, 100 yards handicaps for youths under 16 v and under 18, obstacle rate, tug of war, quar-ter-mile handicaps, and relay races, open variously to members of ,32: Co. S.CV and the Waitaki High School Cadets and to members of the 10th Regiment, sth Regiment, and Signal Troop, and also a 220 yards champion--ship, open to all-comers (post entry). Entries, which closed on Wednesday, show no less than 240. contestants for various events. •