WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, 6 November 1917, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

NO CONTROLLER. < * IV L TOWN - PLANNING PROPOSALS. ' (Special Correspondent.) The Prime Minister says that Cabmt has not yet given formal consideration "to the report .of the Cost of Living Committees, but it is evident enough that the committee’s most important recommendation, the appointment of a Pood Controller, has not found favour in the eyes of Ministers. The reason is not far to seek. An active Food Controller, working along lines that have been blazed by the Board of Trade, would prove embarrassing to the Government unless it were prepared to assist in giving effect to its prospsals. The National ‘ Government shrinks from attempts to control prices and is rather glad, it appears, to be able to point to the comparative failure, of such attempts in Australia, where the Labour Government have found that prices re act upon production in a fashion that may

be disconcerting. STANDARD PRICES. > - The Government, although it is not disposed to adopt the more drastic remedies suggested to it, is anxious to do . something, towards keeping down the T cost •of living, and it may make an effort presently to use some of the machinery, provided by the Trade and Commerce Act of 1914. This measure has been amended slightly, by the Statute Law Amendment Act, passed during the recent session, and it empowers the Government to fix “standard prices.’ ’ The “standard price” of any article is the price at which it was sold in any particular locality on a day specified, when sold in the same quantity and on the same terms as to payment, delivery and otherwise. The Board of Trade probably could help the consumers a great deal if it ■were allowed to make full use of this power to' state prices, which the rep tailers would not be allowed to exceed without the Board’s consent, given after investigation. TOWN- PLANNING. The energetic Minister for Internal produced a Town Planning Bill in the dying hours of the session, and said he hoped members of Parliament and the general public would become acquainted with its provisions, during the recess. The Bill provides for the creation of a Town Planning. Commission, which is.to work with the local • <:, !• I."0v. .id;u .>-*L NffTno authorities .in areas that have been -f'lfto £ u v-jj fIKiJV ii •> v* - ‘ brought under the scheme by proclama-

tlon. _The fights' of the city and bonough. councils appear to be fully protected. The central idea of the Bill is «co ensure that new suburbs shall be Kid out in accordance with modern notions of town planning, New Zealand clings still to the chase-board design, except in those cases where the landowner and the builder are allowed to misuse the configuration of hills, bind sihd 'it' the Hon, G. W. Bussell can awake'public* opinion in this’respect he will have performed another very useful' service. THE C MEN.' ' A- medical man who has been visiting the C camp, at Tauherenikau, where men are being made fit for service with the Expeditionary Force, returned to Wellington, full of enthusiasm concerning what he had seen, ‘it will be a thousand pities if the camp is not continued after the war,” he said. “The Defence authorities are teaching some hunareds of men what it is to be physically fit for the first time in their lives, and I have " no here, in saying that it would be a good hesitation at all, after what I saw out thing if every unfit man in New Zealand were required to spend three months in camp, whether he was required for service with the forces or not. Fresh air, good food, regular hours and scientifically graduated exercises are doing wonders for tho and I understand that the percentage of men who will become available, for active service is substantially higher than was expected originally. ’’ It. is early days to be talking of what New Zealand will do in the matter of defence effort after the war, but one may hazard a guess that the existing, training camps will become part of the machinery of the Territorial system.