A COOL REQUEST.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14010, 15 March 1920, Page 4

A COOL REQUEST.

There is a spice 'of audacity about the request made to the Prime Minister on Saturday by a deputation, representing the New Zealand). Retail Drapers' Association, and tlw'i clothing wade, that "cost of living tiribimals in considering fair profit be directed to take into Recount the cost 01, replacement." That request really 'amounts, to one for official sanction to.lie given for dealers in soft goods to base-tneir prices, not wpon ~the original cost price, "but upon any advanced price that would become payable in respect- to future purchases of similar articles.'. Tn other words what is nsked for i«-tnT,tnmounl to allowing ictailers to pr':c-eF of flocks* on hand to the basis of the cost of replaring those stocks —that is to say that where

articles Jiavcr risoii in - the wholesale market by 100 per the retailers shcmld calculate their margins of profit ou. that rise or more than twice what was hi the first instance deemed a Miffifient business return. It is a matter of common' knowledge and. universal complaint*; that suqh > a method of tvpkutni&»»£ne consumers has» been persistently pursued m the by lmporfemg houses. It was. indeed, one of the processes of profiteering ih.it led ro I}b.e amended legislation of session giving the Board of Trade pow or co regulate profits and keep fhem en* a-roti&onabia basis. What is now sought i= to get behind the law and enable the process of exploitation to be plagued atrauy rate to some evtent. with the sanction of the regulating authorities. To such a request the tpnbuii'ils dealing wiph profits cannot, assent w it'.iout deliberately frustrating the purooso q! Pailiamewb in passing- the Act ct last session, and that is a thing thnb cannot be permitted. The law mu=t take its .course, or ptheiwise beco:ne a. nullity/;" - ; ':- • v.; -: ; .".'-;'-'.'

The grand harvest; weather of ylast, week enaßled good be made with the threshing of grain, from stook. • But though the mills were kept going long hours every day their owners were unable to overtake.the work awaiting ihem. and a -goods deal of the sereaJ drops' has had to ,bfe; put into stack to liwait opportunityfor threshing. That, however, is not an'unmixed evil, as the grain will be improved: in condition as f result. As matters .ire some of 'the wheat that has reached the . '-market frould have been the better for being held back, from threshing for a little time to, harden more perfectly. La tea;' fully -confirm the earlier inipressioin that the wheat? crops of North Otago are going_ to excees in the aggregate all anticipations indulged i^prior, to the commencement, of harvest operations.. Though yields in some cases are. rather disappointing, the general experience is one of pleasant surprises. One millowner' informed the writer that he.has this season put up a threshing record for his mill • for the past six years, haying threshed from the stook/an average of 40 bags of wheat per hour for a day 'of a little over 11 hours,.the total being 450 hags, while one day's return "of oats amounted to over" 500 ■ four-bushel sacks. As the straw in both cases was pretty heavy these returns" must be set down as highly- satisfactory. As to actual ie-i suits, we have heard of 62 bushels of Red Marvel wheat and nearly GO bushels of Velvet, per acre having been obtained at. Tokarahi, audi of other returns of; between 50 and 60 bushels to the acre having been recorded in several localities. Returns or between 40 and 50 bushels per acre have been met with in many instances', but as a set-off against these\ good returns there have been some cases 'where the yields have been under 3,0 bushels to th<f acre. We havei also heard of 90 bushels of oats to the acre having been threshad at Wesbon. This is the second returnof the same average reported from that locality. Every year it 'becomes more difficult to'secure a- seat- at St. Patrick's Night concert-at the Opera House, because the quality of the entertainment, offered is always of the best. Those who stand for two hours to-morrow night will believe this statement,/but they wijl need to be early at the" doors to avoid furnishing examples of. its truth, as last year's unbelievers will be. there before them. The organisers of St. Patrick's concert are fortunate in securing' the services of such a talented group of artists for to-morrow night's entertainment. An Damaru audience will have an■ opportunity of hearing for the first time 'Miss Cara Holdgate. soprano, who comes with a big reputation from Timaru. and Mr D. Whelan, winner of the tenor horn solo at the recent championship contest in Dunedin. Mr Whelan is a member of the "Kaikorai Band and a. skilled musician. Miss Flora- Shaw, and her pupils are always a delight in their- graceful dances, and Mrs Alma Andrews and Mr John Leech have already merited the high apreciation of local lovers of-song. The boxplan is filling rapidly at. The Bristol, and altogether prospects are bright- for a most successful concert to-morrow evening.

A first offender for drunkenness was fined £1 before Mr-H.-.Grenfell, .IT., at the Court this rooming-

A correspondent writes us as follows: Nearly the whole of the tweeds and worsteds used by. the tailors "have-now to be imported, mainly, becau.se of output from the woollen mills being hypothecated for the ready-made trade, and the duty on woollens is 20 per cent, ad valorem. Now that the cost at Home is-'about three times what it. was in 'pre-war .days,i it follows that the Government'gets about three times the amount of duty that it did formerly, and so by the time that the goods pass through "the importers' and i the retailers' hands the cost is still further increased. Strange-to say, we do not hear a'.word of this from Parliamentarians.. Now, if the Government is anxious to reduce the cost of suits they could make a. good deal of difference by reducing the duty by, say, 10 per cent., and that would carry with it the reduction by the importer and retailer to the extent of their profits on the smaller amount of turnover. Doe's the "public recognise the acute shortage in. 'woollen suitings throughout the'Dominioh? One of our, local tailors paid a visit to Pun-'.. edin recently with, the object of purchasing some material, if available/ and'after diligently searching every woollen warehouse: he returned with.

only, two suit lengths as the result of his endeavor. The majority of the .warehouses throughout the Dominion have not even a single yard of suitings, and the general method of distribution, when they receive any,, is to cut them up .into suit; lengths ancf send them on pro rata to their - customers, the retailer having practically no say in\ what he gets as' to pattern or quality;'■ and- tyice seldom enters into the matter at all. '■-. . '..."'.

Mr Clias. Luxon, late of the' Times. Office, Oamaru, is now_ manager of the Ohakune Times, North Island.

The - master bakers of North Otago have revised their prices for bread, and from to-day. will charge per 4-lb loaf cash or Is Id booked.

Mr RobertHarkness, late pianist o the Chapman-Alexander Mission, i:

visiting Oamaru on Thursday first for the purpose of. giving" a lantern evening ! of- sacred song . and story, round the frorld..: He has 100 lliagiiifieent slides, illustrating scenes in many lands. Mr Harkness wilL plaj and Mrs Harkness will sing:many favorite Gospel hymns. Mr Harkness: is the composer of some !of the best hymns, in the Alexander nymnbook, ■ and has written the music for over 1500-hymns. ■■';■ He is coming under the, auspices: of Ministers'. ; Association, "evening'' in St. Paul's HaU».' Wear street, at 7.4:5 p.iir. • Only Is .'is charged for admission,.children being,ha'lf-price. ■.'i A; general' meeting of the Oamaru Tennis -Club will be held at the club pavilion on FH.day next at 5.30 p.m. •

The Waima'te Racing Club's annual race„ meeting promises. to be a most snecessiul one this year. Tram arrangements, as will be seen from our advertisement, are very satisfactory. Good fields' are entered for all events, and the course has been put, in good order. Only good weather is needed to make* the meeting a most enjoyable one.

Attention is drawn to an advertisement in this issue for a. meeting of Waitaki High School Old Boys at S o'clock in the County Couhcil Chambers!. Captain Euan Dickson anived tti 9.43 a.m. to-day from, Dunedin in his Arro aeroplane, and during the afternoon a number of flights. with passengers were made from Mr Ovbell's paddock.