THE COST OF LIVING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 61, 2 April 1943, Page 4

THE COST OF LIVING

Sir,—A short -while ago, a letter from a "Country Mother" was published in your paper, regarding the high cost of children's clothes. I heartily agree with the writer but would like to point out that the Town Mother has an even weightier problem to tackle. There is the milk bill, the coat and firewood, bill and vegetables to buy which, (as a rule) the Country Mother has an abundance of on the l'arm. We also grow vegetables, but owing to lack of ground space, cannot grow enough lor our consumption. The children are always in and out of town doing messages, and have to wear tidy clothes continually. The prices for children's wear-> ing apparel are outrageous. Why, it costs as much for a pair of shoes for -a 12 year old child as it does for an adult. Shirts, sox and trouscrs are skimpily cut, and are of inferior quality for superior prices. On enquiring at a local shop for a boy's khaki shirt, I was shown an article that closely resembled, a dish rag, and was informed that that was all they had. The price was IQ/6 —■ half of the poor father's day's wages! After the first washing, the shirt looked as though it was to be used for camouflage purposes;, being now a green aViid khaki mixture, one calour running into the other. Also when I canvassed the town for a pair of baby's shoes, the cheapest I could procure cost 10/6. For a child under one year of age! Needless to say, I was unable to pur-» chase them, so baby will be unlucky this winter. How much longer can we keep up the pace? To buy any clothes for the children, a grocery or meat bill has to be left unpaid for a week, and then on the next pay day, it is found an impossible job to pay the double bill. Can anyone give me a solution ? Yours etc.. "TOWN MOTHER OF NINE."