THE PRICE OF BREAD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16833, 8 September 1922, Page 4

THE PRICE OF BREAD.

j|| CHARGE AGAINST PRIME g MINISTER.

MR MASSEY INDIGNANT. (Special to the “ Star.” ) \\ FJ J.INOTO.Y. September 7. , . Parliament reflected the coming eleci tioneermg excitement this nftei-noon | non Ministerialists took the opportun ■ j 1 L . v - hy u;i\ of a question to a .Minister to answer a Liberal candidate whu made reflections on [he Govern- | meat at a recent meeting. As the canj didate. Mr Cobb, oi Gilding,’ is an j opponent ot the Minister ot Lands ; the House witnessed the unusual speeI taole of this Minister formally ques- ! turning a Ministerial colleague Vo that lie eouhl dispose jji a statement he regarded as wholly inaccurate. Incidentaiiv the House heard something of the recent flour tutting movement. The attention of the Prime Minister wa P drawn by the member for 'Patea, M Dixon, to the report of a meeting at Foil ding addressed Im Mr Cobb, who had declared that th.* Prime Minister instructed the Board of Trade to issue a statement that bread must not be sold below cbo price fixed by the board. He wished Mr Massey to state if this Air Aiassey replied that when persons j , made such obviously incorrect state- J | ments one never knew whether to take them seriously or to treat them with ! contempt. Mr Masters: You must treat this ( ! seriously. Air Aiassey: ! give it an emphatic denial, and I will repeat that state - j ment on every platform where the honourable member and his colleagues have spoken. It is the sort of thing we have | heard a good deal of this session. It is [ an unmitigated falsehood. Air Howard : Don’t get excited. Mr Aiassey. No. not for the world, j (Laughter.) Afr Howard ; Keep on the bread | line. The Prime Minister declared that he | would like to use a good old AngloSaxon expression about people who I made svlch statements as Mr Cobb had I made, but lie knew the Standing Orders | would not allow it. Air Howard; Sav it’s disloval. that is enough. ‘ / Mr Aiassey : 1 will have something i to say about that at the first- oppor- J t unity, hut I am not going to run a wav i from this point. Die Prime Al mister added that h 3 j had always endeavoured to reduce the j cost of living; and when a candidate i suggested that Tie had instructed the j Hoard ot Trade to make bakers charge ; a certain minimum price for bread it: i was a falsehood. He knew that Air i Forbes and Air Masters were at this j meeting, and lie could assure them that J it any such inaccurate statements were \ made about the other side at any meet- ; ing he attended ho would put it right. (Opposition fangh ter.) Air Forbes: Aou have left behind some pretty good insinuations from your platform. VISITS AYTLL BE RJCTTRNED. Mr Aiassey: I am going to see that thewe visits are returned, and there are many jolly evenings in front of me. Air Nash: Join the flying squadron. Air Al Nicol ; The. lying squadron. Ihe Prime Minister also denied a suggestion, made at the same meeting that the chairman of the Board of Trade had taken a position under the flourmillers' combine. He had not ' given the Government any notice of liis • intention to resign. Air Al f ombs: Why don’t you prose- j cute them for sedition and finish it? | Air Aiassey assured the House that • the Board of Trade fixed a maximum i price for flour but not a minimum. I Air Witty: No. they fixed a mini- 1 mum also and surcharged anyone who j sold lower. Air Witch : Air Cobb will bo here to j speak for himself next session. Air Aiassey: No. he will be in the

J company of the honourable gentleman | and the place which knows him now. ; will know him no more, i The Hon E. P. Lee, president of the Board of Trade, gave a categorical denial of Mr ( obh’s charge - The board never fixed a minimum price either for flour or sugar, and New Zealand had the distinction of getting the cheapest i sugui in the w-rld. 1 Mr Masters returno,. to the attack ’by quoting the advertisement of a j Feilding baker who had been selling j bread at « loaf but had to inform j his customers that he could only sell broad at the price fixed bv the Board of Trade, and that there was no alternative. This advertisement was signed by the Manawatu Mnstei Bakers’ Association, and had been published for some time. If it was incorrect- why did the board not contradict it? The baker sold bread at s£d per loaf and was quite satisfied, but he was forced to increase the price to G-jd. The Hon FT. P. Lee repeated that the board fixed no minimum. If ihe baker could get cheap flour while millers were cutting prices he could sell at what he pleased, but evidently when he failed to ge*t further supplies when cut rates censed ho was obliged to raise the price ,of bread. STORY OF THE FLOUR CUT. Mr Masters: He was blocked from getting flour. _ The Hon W. Nosworthy. .Minister of Agriculture, declared he would like a word on this subject. A maximum price for Hour was fixed on the basis ot wheat prices, but a certain number of millers possessing large capital decided to make a bid for their competitors’ trade by selling below cost. So long acertain millers were prepared to lose money by selling at less than £'lß per ton any baker who wished could sell bread at lees than the Board of Trade, maxim um. Air Witty declared that £TB was the maximum and also the minimum price of flour. (Members; “No.”) Ho drew the Government’s attention to the fact that some millers were selling at £l6 10s, and immediately afterwards notification was given by the Board of 'Trade that they must not sell at less than £lB. Hon W. Nosworthy: No. Air "Witty: Pardon me- We have it from the chairman of the board that the position would have to be met byaction if flour uas sold too low. Mr Nosworthy declared that ho wanted to have another word. There was under-selling of flour, and so long as it went on it was the millers’ lookout. and nobody interfered. Mr AYittv : They M ere told they should not do it. Mr Nosworthy : Their own copimon sense told them they could not do it. and they had a conference and decided to stop* ’ cutting. Mr Holland asked why the Board of Trade sat quietly looking on when competitive bakers stopped the credit of a baker who was selling bread below GJd. It was clearly a combination in restraint of trade. The Hon E. P. Lee suggested that there was not evidence of a combination in restraint, of trade. The Board of Trade had inquired into this complaint. The board was quite satisfied if ]>crsons sold as low as they liked. It held the scales of justice evenly between pro* ducers and consumers. Mr AULeod suggested that the Minister in charge of the Board of Trade ought to investigate the definite charges which had been made, and if they were true the sooner the board was wiped out the better. The Hon FT. P. Lee replied that he would take members’ Hansard statements as the basis of a charge and have it investigated. The Hon I>. H. Guthrie announced that he also wished to ask a question of the president of the Board of Trade on behalf of those people who had been maligned by irresponsible insinuations. He wished his colleague to make inquiry into the charges and bring to light, really what had taken place. Air Sullivan : Tell him to put ii on the Older Paper. Hon E. P. Lee: T shall be quite prepared to have inquiry made into the al. legations.