ON THE TRAIL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2848, 12 August 1916, Page 10

ON THE TRAIL

PRIME MINISTER AND BUTTER RISE

COMMERCIAL TRUSTS ACT

In these days of high food prices and stiirll margins of cash whereon to live, little can touch the spring of the public feeling so effectively as another increase in the cost of some article of daiiv table use. An instance is the considerable .volume of comment provoked by the latest rise of Id. per lb. in the price of butter. Butter is now Is. Bd. per lb. Prior to that it was up to Is. 7d. llctailcrs stato that it has been risen on 1 them, and they have passed on the penny increase to the public. The retailers now pay Is. (id. for the butter they trade over the counter foils. Sd. Tile manager of a big city business says that on these figures the concern is losing by handling butter. There is, ho argues, a nominal margin of 2d. for the retailor to .work on, but the-.discount 011 monthly accounts reduces the margin to lid., and the discount for cash reduces it to one penny. One penny, ho declares, represents; a rate of surplus which is so small that it does not cover expenses, and is in fact a dead loss.

Tho Prime Minister (the Eight Hon. \Y. F. Massev) stated yesterday that ho had instructed the Board of Trade to deal with the. question immediately.

The board will investigate afT to whether the recent rise ivas justified, and whether a breach of the Commercial Trust Act has been committed.