CLOTHING RATIONING,

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 March 1947, Page 4

CLOTHING RATIONING,

ypilli rationing of clothing has been described as a farce by a retailer and with this view some people will concur. Everybody expects that clothing will come down at some time in the future. They appreciate that the longer they refrain from purchasing- more than bare necessities the better they will fare. Meanwhile their wardrobes are wearing out, replacement, becomes a matter of urgency and no matter what are the current prices shirts and trousers must be purchased.’ When the ordinary purchaser is confronted with paying current prices lie is usally forced to confine his buying to the filling of his immediate and pressing needs. All others must perforce wait. One result of this scarcity is that the people of this country are as inartistieally clad as they have never been since the whaling days. They have elothb’g coupons in plenty for tile put chases that they can make and equ:...y so for those they would make if they could do so. The scarcity of supplies will, unless remedied, to enforce an unofficial rationing upon the public. Hie retailers ha ve done good work in keeping’down mass purchasing by wealthier individuals and they need rationing coupons to help them to do this. It should, nevertheless, be recalled that when first introduced the rationing coupons served a very useful purpose in protecting retailers from overbearing customers deman'ding more than they had need of on pain of withdrawing their patronage from the shops refusing their requests. The coupon system lias served a good purpose even though its retention now may be questioned. The problem, however, does not lie in the presence or the absence of coupons. Rationing in one way or another can only end when the production of clothing catches up with demand. When New Zealand was engaged in northal trading relations with the world it was not possible for the factories of this Dominion to provide all the clothing items that were needed. Importations were necessary. Unfortunately for a long time the free importation of necessities has been impeded by the import licensing system, which was made necessary by bad public financing- in the years 1935-38. The war period intervened, shortages developed here and overseas and these have aggravated an already weak local situation. Had merchants been free to comb the world and secure supplies where and when they were to be found the present situation would not, in all probability, have been cured but it might have been bettered. The best way to improve the present situation is to release a certain amount of overseas credit to importers to be used by them at their own discretion. Some mistakes would be made, some articles that are not necessities by a strict application of the definition would be imported, but Hie situation in the main would be relieved and a greater variety of supplies would soon be seen in the shops.