LIFE IN AMERICA "ONLY TOLERABLE"

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5310, 24 January 1947, Page 3

LIFE IN AMERICA "ONLY TOLERABLE"

LIVING COST RISEN ADVERTISED LUXUiRIES ARE NOT OBTAINABLE "Conditions here are tolerahle, although the cost of living is at least 50 per cent. above -pre-war e living," states a letter received recently by a Tokomaru Bay resident from a relative in America. "Since price controls died a Congressional death, prices have risen tremendously. The greatest rise has been the meat and dairy products. Beef is 3.s 6d to 4s 3d a pound and lamb is 2s 8d (sterling, not dollars). Sugar is the only thing1 still rationed over here, but several items are very hard to get," continues the writer. "Tapioca is impossible. We had no butter for ages, in fact, not until recently and now it's such an appalling price, J3s 6d, a pound. It is almost impossible to get margarine. Bananas, oils, shortening, refined flour, syimps — one has to remind one's grocer and be in his favour to get any of these. "-Canned crab and shrimps are such appalling prices that most grocers will not stock them, as people refuse to buy them. There has been nothing much in the shops until recently, but it seems business was waiting for price controls to 'he taken off for as soon as they were the goods arrived on the market at prices -few of us could afford to pay. In fact, prices are so high that we — -the general public — refuse to buy. "By no means does every house have every modern eonvenience, as most G.I.'s would have you believe. But practically everyone does have a washing machine and an electric iron. "Like you, v/e get very annoyed at seeing- so many advertisements for pineapple in the magazines. We don't get it very often. either. "The housing situation is extremely bad over here, although the Government is trying hard to ease matters, but the lumber shortag'e does nto make things any easier. Rents are going sky high- and some landlords have qui'te nice little rackets, charging ex-servicemen fantastic rents."