THE COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2836, 29 July 1916, Page 3

THE COST OF LIVING

Sir,—Various opinions have been expressed in your columns with regard to the cost ot living. One statement has obtained currency to the effect that the purchasing power ol' the sovereign has greatly diminished. It dees not appear t.i t'lio writer that the data upon wnicli this opinion has been based is quite clear, or that it can be justiiicd. To arbitrarily lis upon a short and limited period, when commodities were at their lowest, and from that standard argue, and endeavour to prove, this lack of purchasing power, without at the same tinio taking into consideration the increased amount of wages, whether given Ly award of the Arbitration Court or voluntarily by employers, is, to' say tho least, absolutely unfair, as well as unsound and indefensible. This question was recently brought prominently before tlio public, when a Mr. Hunter vainly endeavoured to prove that the parties lor whom he appeared/•without an additional increase of incoinc (at the public expense) ''could not go oil." His Honour very properly told this advocate that increase of wago was no panacea, but that a reduction of the cost of living was. Quite right! One matter about which there is grave dissatisfaction is the high rents. ..Now, sir, who are to blame for this? Simply all those who demanded and obtained those higher wages per medium c;f tho Arbitration Court, or otherwise. It' sawmill hands, carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, painters, paperhaugers, all obtain an increase of 10 per cent*., then the cost of a house built under such conditions must necessarily have the rent increased proportionately. Add <o tlio cost the usual addition for risk of investment and depredation. Workers houses built by the Slate cannot escape the inevitable consequences. AMien this kind of increase permeates all classes the merchants ami retailers protect themselves by a universal rise in the cost or' all commodities, and hence arises tho higher cost of living. This cost is often unnecessarily aggravated in times ol ivnr. Having occasion to look up sonic rather ancient documents, I came across n storekeeper's bill of just on 'half a century ago. in which the following items appeal" Flour 20s. per 10l)ll>., to-day about 155.; bo;; of ten, 1011)., ,£1 His., over lis. 3d. per lb., to-day Is. 10d.; sugar, 07ll>. hag, ■til 10s. Klid.. Gid. per lb., to-day it costs half; boots, 285.", to-day ISs. (id.; rice t.UI.; nails, Gd. per lb. Now, what about tho purchasing power .of the sovereign ii( those days? Add those prices to the

prices later referred to and take the average. J. defy any person with auy brains and common honesty to deduce the proof that tho purchasing power has been diminished by a single farthing. Tho fact is, the peoplo of New Zealand aro well oif, and apparently don't know it. But some will ask, what about the pricc of meat? Well, bacon at tho time 1 refer to was Is. per lb., hams Is, 'Id., and to show our superior general position as regards meat, I received from England two or three days ago a letter containing the prices there current—beef Is. 2d. and mutton Is. Gd. per lb; here about half. These people Have to economise to live on very much less than those in New Zealand. Tho truth of the matter is that extravagance of all kinds is rampant throughout tho land; every woman must dress in the height of fashion; every man spend like a lord. They must have increased wages, or "they can't go on." Well, let them go off, and make way for better men! A friend of mine on' a business visit to Auckland quite recently told me that having no personal friends he thought •to spend the evening at a picture show. There were 110 seats, not even standing room. He tried another place, with the same result. In my pioneer days there were no picture shows, tan boots, cigat* uttes, bicycles, prams, gigs, motor-bikes, cars etc.; they were not even thought of. In those trying times we did not expect to call down Jupiter to bear our burdens nor yet dream of citing, or being cited, by anyone to any Court to obtain or -to pay any higher wages. Each man, and I must not forget to say that each woman, bore their individual burdens, fought life's battles as only true men and women can do, without a single whimper. Yet those were tho people who with their descendants mado New Zealand what it is to-day. The dissatisfied creatures of the type I have referred to either should be put on an island and left to hew out their own positions, instead of being allowed as loafers and parasites to exploit the conditions of life built up by others—l am, etc., PIONEEE.