MINISTER'S REPLY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 109, 12 January 1940, Page 5

MINISTER'S REPLY

DEADLOCK At PAPER MILLS CHARGES OF EXTRAVAGANCE AND INEFFICIENCY PROTECTION FOR PUBLIC "I have had Mr Horrocks' proposed price list for the products of his mill exhaustively examined by the Price Investigation Tribunal, the Factory Controller and the State Forest Service, and my own Department of Indus- 1 tries and Commerce, and without exception they have been definite against granting increases to the extent asked for, by Whakatane Paper Mills, Ltd, through Mr Horrocks," said the Minister of Supply, lion. 1). G. Sullivan, in a statement last Wednesday evening. "We wish to lie absolutely fair to Mr Horrocks, to the cardboard and box-making industry, and to the public," continued the Minister, "and I am advised that the price increases authorised are such as should be satisfactory and profitable if the industry were conducted with suitable efficiency and not overloaded with unnecessary prices. We are not, however, prepared to allow Mr Horrocks to pass on to the industry and the community the cost of inefficiency and certain excessive high salaries, and the adverse eject of only partial production. "A reserve market will permit of greater production with consequential lower unit costs. For Mr Horrocks bo suggest that the Government is attempting to dicate to the Whakatane Company is typical of his peculiar mentality as revealed by the fact that he has on othe;r previous occasions endeavoured to force financial assistance from Hie Government by threats of dismissing his workers. '"The public will be ablp to guess the value of his statement that he is prepared to permit the cardboard box-makers to inspect the company's costing records, when I say that an examination of these records indicated that little attention has. in the past, been devoted >to >such vital matters. "Since the outbreak of war, especially in Scandinavian countries. it has been increasingly difficult to obtain supplies of cardboard, which is a very essential commodity in manu facture and trade to-day. "The management of the Whakatane company, is, of course, fully aware of this, and no doubt considers that these war conditions place it in such a strong position that it can force the public to pay for its extravagance and mistakes, and a substantial premium in addition. I can assure Mr Horrocks and the Whakatane company, and the public ,too, that this will not be permitted. The price increases allowed by the Price Investigation Tribunal must be related to legitimate incx-eases in costs."