THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 1915. POLITICS AND BREAD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16288, 22 January 1915, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 1915. POLITICS AND BREAD.

It was asserted in almost so many words by Mr Munro, in the course of his electioneering speech last night, that, whatever other claims the Government has upon the confidence of the community, its " weakness" in dealing with the prices of commodities—particularly with those of wheat and flour—at the present time constitutes a sufficient reason why is should be removed from office. The line of argument pursued by Mr Munro in his references to this point, to which he devoted a great deal of attention, betrayed a lamentable failure on his part to grasp the essential factors that control the situation. The assumption upon which he bases the whole of the case that was laboriously constructed by him is that the price of wheat should not be affected by the considerations that inevitably govern the prices of commodities. The cost of production of wheat has not gone up; therefore, according to his reasoning, the price of wheat should not have gone up, even although the supplies produced in New Zealand last season were considerably less than sufficient to meet the requirements of the people. The conditions that have arisen in the dominion are, of course, not singular to it. There is a world-wide shortage of wheat. The consequence is that the price of wheat and the price of bread have everywhere been increased. A shortage of wheat is not a new experience in the dominion. So recently as in 1907 the price of bread in some parts of New Zealand was, in consequence of a shortage of wheat, at least as high as, if not actually higher than, the price to-day. Mr A. W. Hogg is an authority whose word on the point Mr Munro may probably be prepared to accept. Speaking in the House of Representatives on October 25, 1907, Mr Hogg complained of the "excessive price" of bread, which, he said, had been raised to about double the price charged for it in the earlier part of the year. "In my own district, at Masterton," Mr Hogg said, "bread was only 2jd the 2lb loaf some months ago, and now it is raised to 5d and If these figures are accurate, the price of bread at that time was in excess of its price to-day. At any rate, we may take it that the price of bread at that time was not less in different parts of New Zealand than it is to day, and the price would not vary greatly throughout the dominion. Moreover, it is certain that it was not because the cost of production of wheat had gone up that the price of bread was so high. The conditions were in reality

~i, identical with those which obtain t ■■!We are not aware that the Government in power in 1907 was alleged to be one which was chiefly concerned to protect the individuals who, in Mr Munro's words, '' controlled the markets," who

" were carrying on a nefarious exploitation," ami who "were taking toll from the people to their heart's content." But we do know that the- head of the Government :it that time is the present Leader of the Opposition, and consequently the leader of the party that v.wuld come into power if the Reform Government were, as .Mr Munro desires, ousted from office. It may interest Mr .Munro, therefore, to know the steps which the Government, in 1907 considered adequate to meet the emergency that then existed. It did not suspend the duty on wheat, as the "spineless and useless Government" which is now in power did last year in the hope that wheat might be imported and the men engaged in the milling industry might bo retained in their employment. Nor did it suspend the duty on flour. What it did was to secure the enactment of a, measure that provided for a. conditional suspension of the duty in each case.. 'JTiis duty was to be suspended only if the Arbitration Court found that the prices of wheat and flour were unreasonably high in New Zealand and if it recommended the temporary removal of the duties. Further, the Government at that time took no steps to regulate the prices of wheat and flour by the importation of these commodities. It has been left for the " spineless, useless Government" which Mr Munro opposes to-day to import wheat in order that the people of the dominion may be ensured a continued supply of bread, and be protected against. the risk of exploitation. We may be told, however, that the Government possesses the power under its own legislation to pTevent the exploitation of the people in respect of the price of bTeadstuffs. Mr Munro is forced to admit that the legislation that was passed by the Government as soon as war was declared was beneficial in its terms, but he alleges that it is not being enforced—that, in short, the Government is afraid to enforce it. He professes to believe that a great quantity of wheat is stored in the dominion. One of the Christchurch members has been told by somebody who heard it from somebody else that one or more individuals are withholding wheat from the market in the hope that eventually they may obtain higher prices. This exceedingly important evidence seems to be the foundation for Mr Munro's belief. It is quite possible that these alleged stores of wheat exist only in the imagination of a few opponents of the Government. The Prime Minister has, indeed, apparently satisfied himself that they are mythical. If they are not, then the action of the Government in importing is preventing the holders from exploiting the public, and the prohibition upon the export of wheat of course prevents the holders from obtaining increased prices elsewhere. As a matter of fact, the mere passage of the Regulation of Trade and Commerce Act had the valuable effect of preventing speculation in foodstuffs in the dominion, and consequently of protecting the public against the risk of exploitation. In the circumstances those people who charge tho Government with protecting the exploiters betray their ingratitude. But we come back to Mr Munro's fundamental proposition that as the cost of production of wheat has not increased there is no excuse for the increase in the price of bread. This simply means that the ordinary economic laws should not apply to the price of wheat. It is just because they do apply that there is a shortage of wheat to-day. And it is impossible to prevent them from applying. Mr Munro has, of course, his sovereign remedy in the nationalisation of the wheat lands of the country. He is faithful to his creed of Socialism in propounding this remedy. But between the mere assertion that the Government could grow all the wheat which the people of the country requires and the demonstration of the means whereby this remedy is practicable there is a gaip that Mr Munro has not bridged.