THE COST OF LIVING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 401, 23 June 1908, Page 3

THE COST OF LIVING.

Speaking in Wellington the other evening, Dr. Findlay said that the city clothing firms had furnished him with statements of items and prices of all clothing and boots required for a worker ol say 50s a week, his wife and three or four children. Messrs Smith and Sons fix the total cost of clothing without boots at 17s 2d per annum, and think that difference in prices (allowing for value) between 1894 and 1908 is about £4. Messrs Veiteb and Allan show that bools and slippers cost no more now than in 1894 since improved' machinery has counter ( balanced any advance in the price lof material and labour. As regards the annual cost of clothing of a worker and his family, Messrs Veitch and Allan giving- full details, fix it at £22 17s 8d now, as against ,£lB 16s 7d in 1894. Another firm, Messrs Warnock and Adkin, stales that there is not much difference between the price of ready-made goods now and 14 years ago, but perhaps it would average a little more now. All classes are, they say, wearing a better class of goods than formerly. This firm has also supplied an interesting table of a married worker’s clothing expenses. How much of the differences of price between 1594 and 1908 is due to increased wages, and how much to other causes has not been and probably could not be stated. Both firms, agree in fixing the whole increase at something over £4 per annum, equal to about 3 per cent of the workers’ wages, and a little over 6d in the £ even if the whole were due to increased wages. Dr. Findlay, continued “ I have thus dealt with the principal items of outlay by a worker.' If you will peruse the list of other items you will see that they have been practically unaffected in price by the Act. My conclusion, therefore, is that while the workers’ cost of living is increased probably 20 per cent since the Act came into force, this increase has been only in very small part due to the operations of the Arbitration Act, or in other words, is due not appreciably to the all round increase in wages, 37.9 per cent, which the Court has given in the trades it has dealt with.”