SUGAR RATIONING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25799, 21 March 1945, Page 4

SUGAR RATIONING

BLACK MARKETING CHARGE 0 GROCERS DISPUTE MINISTER’S CLAIMS (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Mar. 20. “Apparently Mr Nordmeyer wants the many to pay for the sins of the few,” said the secretary of the Master Grocers’ Federation, Mr R. M. Barker, to-day, in replying to the statement by the Acting Minister of Supply that the registration of sugar customers had been abandoned in an endeavour to reduce black marketing. “Black marketing is inevitable, and no rationing scheme yet devised will eliminate it,” said Mr Barker. “It is wrong and unfair, however, for the Minister to imply that many convictions have been recorded for this offence in regard to sugar. To my knowledge there have been only two such-- convictions, and in both instances they were taken against store managers and not against the principals of shops.” ■ Referring to Mr Nordmeyer’s statements that all aspects of the subject had been discussed with the federation, Mr Barker said the last such discussion had taken place in September when the Rationing Controller agreed that registration was the better system and had continued it accordingly. That the system had proved satisfactory was borne out by Mr Nordmeyer’s own statement in a letter to the federation on March 12, in which he said: “I, too, feel that rationing in this country has operated and, in fact, is operating in a highly satisfactory manner.” .