BAD DAYS IN SYDNEY.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20171, 25 February 1931, Page 15

BAD DAYS IN SYDNEY.

RICHES TO POVERTY. POSITION OF RETAILERS. (nox oub ovnt cobbxspohdsst.) SYDNEY, February 19. The question which class has suffered most during the current depression is ] often discussed. Accumulated evi- . denoe points to the fact that the . sacrifice has been fairly general. There ( are many who plump for motor salesmen and garage proprietors, and it j must be admitted that an extraordinary proportion of the unemployed made ' good incomes out of cars one way or another when times were prosifcrous. Others award the grim prize to the Sydney publicans. They immense losses mainly owing to the fact that their leases were arranged • in boom times. The licensee of the i York Hotel, who previously toasted one of the biggest bar trades in the City, recently iiad occasion to make a certain application to the ■Court i under the Moratorium Act. Outlining i his position he said that "owing to i the prevailing economic depression he was m debt to the extent of £4500." Yet fifteen months ago "his business was so strong that he was offered £75,000 for it." Bookmakers are running well in the hard luck race. It is said that wagering has dropped 76 per cent., due first to the depression and then to the bet- 1 . ting tax. And now it would seem that j some of the clubs are going to stride the bookmakers while they are down. One .small club haa already held a ■ meeting at which bookmakers were 1 prohibited from operating, and because of the increased amount of money pub through the totalisator the. club showed a substantial profit—the first rirofit for some months. Bookmakers fear- that ; other clubs will follow suit. They also , foar the result of the Randwick ex- . periment of a straight-out machine^ Facing Ruin. Now, what of Sydney and suburban shopkeepers? Scores »and scores ot ( them are facing absolute rum. In recent months hundreds of men an<» , women'who have lost their jobs have become shopkeepers, but the purchasing powers of the .community have been so reduced that their ventures hare failed and they have lost all their savings. A suburban - hairdresser reported the other day that his turnover last week was Is. JFlome haircutting has robbed him of all his trade. In another suburb the proprietor, of ,a small drapery establishment said that' last week his takings amounted to w 9d, and his rent to 255. .A tobacconist, who in 1929 showed a clear profit ot £lO a week cannot now pay ms rent and his book debts have mounted to £3OO. "Small bakery establishments, have been badly hit, and one . concern haa £SOOO on its books. These figures. , reflect the "state of business in the sub* burbs only. In the city proper it ts probably worse. There are empty shops everywhere, despite the fact that rents have been reduced. It' is quite common to*see the notice, "Depression rent.'.'" . - - t Amid all the gloom of unemployment and shortage of cash the lawyers stand out as exceptions. There are more litigants now than ever betore, and when the Law Term opened on Monday a record number of cases awaited the attention ,o£ all the jurisdictions. ,