ORGY OF SPENDING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26559, 6 September 1947, Page 7

ORGY OF SPENDING

SYDNEY BLACK MARKETEERS BANKNOTE HOARDS RELEASED Rec. 9 p.m. SYDNEY, Sept. 5. Proposals for the recall of the note issue have scared Sydney black marketeers into frantic attempts in the past week to get rid of hidden hoards of bank notes. There are ample signs of a wild spending orgy which has caused a boom in the sales of luxury goods’, expensive clothing, jewellery, furniture, and antiques. Others have been doing the rounds of banks with big rolls of notes in canvas bags buying at each the maximum number of savings certificates allowed to one person. This is £250 worth. Some banks report that sales of certificates have been as much as five times greater than normal. The proposal to replace the, present note issue will come before the Federal caucus on September 16. It is estimated that if the Government agrees to the idea up to £150,000,000 in notes, now hidden, would be recovered. Store salesmen report that people are eagerly buying highly-priced furniture and furs, while one jewellery salesman said that the demand was so heavy that “it looked like a run on the bank.”