SHORTAGE OF PAPER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 257, 24 July 1920, Page 8

SHORTAGE OF PAPER

THE "COMMANDEER" SCHEME. Mr. llolLind had another opportunity yesterday of referring in ihe House to his plan for getting paper for the Government printing house by taking it from tho newspapers. He declared, it will bo remembered, that there wero 6l.ocks of paper hoarded by newspapers in tho Dominion, and that the Government should give attention to the waste of paper in display advertising, and commandeer soino of the stocks. The Minister ill charge, of the Printing House ut the'present moment is Mr. Anderson, himself a. printer, who lias all l.is life had something to do with newspaper production, and in his reply to the demand the Leader of tho 1/aboar Party 110 said that the Government had :io intention of 'doing what Mr. Holland suggested. Mr. Holland 1 , repeated his demand yesterday, saying that he had 110 idea of attacking the necessary stocks but only- the hoarded stocks of paper, «ind saying also that tho big advertising space in tho newspapers should ba tut ■ down.

Mr.. A. M'Nicol, who is also a newspaper man, said that the scheme that Mr. Holland had proposed would not help |the vprliuting office, because tho paper held by the newspapers would not be suitable for the printing of. Hansard or other Government publications.. The paper was mado for use 011 a particular kind of machine, and could not be used l'or any other efficiently. lie admitted that stocks of paper wero held by some newspapers, but the prospect for newspapers would be poor indeed if some stocks were not held, and a poor prospect also for the employees of nowspapors. As to the proposal »to cut down advertising space, if Mr. Holland's plan were to be followed it mUst result in loss of employment to many worthy workiii" people, because with the present high cost of production, and tho present scale of wages, to which he took no exception, it would not 1)6 possible fov newspapers to carry on if their revenue was tp be reduced by such drnsiio methods as had been proposed. \ery many honest, hard-workmg people would be thrown out of employment if Mr. Holland had his way, and; this was surely not a verv proper proposal to be made by the Leader of a so-called Labour Party. • ■

SHORT OF POWER PLIGHT OP AVANGAN'UI. Wanganui, like several other towns m the country, is at present without sufl - cient power plant to run its olectuuil undertakings, especially . ita ranwayju Mr. Veitch spoke ot this niatlei in the House yesterday, and ho uiat.e_ it the basis of an appeal to the Minister ot Public-Works that Wanganui should have n share of tho power to be devel°?it:-» «'»< answer had been tluit it wiffj for him to hold out any hope that any of the power from Mangahaowould.be available for AVangauui. lhat was still the nosition. Thero was already a dernanif for all the power that could bo developed at Mangaifiao. When the Waischeme was develop and linked up with. Mangahao and Arapuni Ln had no doubt that it would be 1 o»6<ble to distribute the power afield. He realised how much the powei was needed at Wanganui. and how 11-cc-nveiiient it bo for tta U bo denied power, but ioi the pie*ni no. could givo no guarantee that lKroer would be available from Man*.:hao I SJmSm lo.i>■«»«' Behalf of Wanganui.

A GIFT FROM CARDIFF

GOLD CASKET FOR MR. MASSEY. The Prime Minister (Mr. Massey) has iu'st received a very handsome trophy l?omS Cardiff." Whenhowasm Britain a year ago he «< 1 ■umHi thn freedom of tho City ot nn/i iriven the parchment scroll eptting SSI thTfactVat he was free to pass •the (rates of tlio city at any time. It is honour to totag ""J™,, »„{„« "ofX ssssgslss This Srse^nth I trophy of this kind in Mr. Massey's collection. INTEREST RATES

EOCAL BODIES' TROUBLESTho difficulties being met with by local -bodies in borrowing ait ft© maximum into fixed by tho Finance Act ot last cession wore brought to tho notice of the Prime Mnister in the House yesterday. Mi. J. A. Nash' said that local bofl.w*j»» uroliibited from borrowing at a -lugliei rate than 5i per cent Since ttmTint had ended. there had been need for a t;refit deal'of reconstruction work, and tho local bodies had had '°;S ot itv from ratepayers .for loans. But the Sal bodies were still tied, to -the magjmim rate of 5} per cent, intci est. Ho was sure he was safe. In saying that l was impossible to raise money, at tho nrico of 5\ per cent., and he wished to know whether the. Minister of I'lmmce would a«ree 'to assist local bodies'bj allmvimr them to borrow at a lusher ratw. ' Mr. Jlassey said that fche Government had been anxious to keep down the rato of interest in this country, and they weio still anxious to keep down, the late. There had been an increaso in tha rato in other countries-rin Britain «nd Australia—and> New Zealand was feeling the effects of this increase. Up till the pro-eti't the Government had been successful in keeping the. rates for local bodies down to 51 per cent., but in the case of somo local bodies vctjuinng. to renew loans they had found it impossible to »et the money at S{ per cent and the Government hid had to grant them permission to raise the money at 5S- per cent This liad been done m several cases ■ Wherever tlicra was hardship, it tho local body would communicate with the Government he would do his best to assist However, he could see plainly ■ that there was going, to be an increaso m the price of money in this country. Ho hoped it would not Be a big mcrcase.

ADVANCES FOR PRODUCERS Tho Hon. G. J. Smith has given notice in"lhe Upper House that ho will ask the following question: Will the .Government in tho interests of flio producers and_ in order to maintain a strong financial position, within fffo '-Dominion consider the advisability of entering into an arrangement with the banks whereby producers may rely upon being granted an advunco against their produco (to be valued on the same Bystem as under tho Imperial purchaso arrangement) of, say, 75 per cent, of its value, shipments to bo controlled and realised by the Government and banks join Ely on account of owners taking such advances? OUR RAPACIOUS TAX-GATHERERS A complaint against alleged rapacity on the paril of the New Zealand Customs Department was made in tne House yesterday by Mr. L. 51. Tsitt. ■ Re said that there wis an assocfation in Britan—the British Trading Association—Which existed for tho purpose of developing the overseas irado of Britain. They were issuing a prospectus to cost about a quarter of a million, and copies wero being sent to Now Zealand and other dominions for tho purpose of encouraging trade with tho Motherland. He knew that tho Customs were in the habit of charging duty on tracts as advertising matter, tracts bearing nuch titles as "Aro yon going to Heaven ?" but they were also taxing this prospectus as advertising matter at the rate of lis. a pound. Mr. Isitt said that the prospectus, in his opinion, ought not to be dutiable as advertising ma'ttei. Sir William Herries was not prepared to answer the question out of hand, and he asked that notice be given of it.