The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1918. THE COST OF LIVING.

Taihape Daily Times, 14 June 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1918. THE COST OF LIVING.

(With which is Incorporated The T.edi hape Post and IValummd News).

The cost of living question is, very naturally, causing people in this district cansideraßle concern. A correspondent wants to know why Taihape was the cheapest centre in New Zealand a year or more ago for dairy produce and groceries, and why it is now the dearest excepting Wellington, but well above all other places. The solution of our correspondents' questions obviously lies in the fact that when prices were lowest ■ in the Dominion in a place so far removed from seaports the storekeeper was bearing the greater part of the price burden. He had to increase his demands upon his customers or eventually close his business. The demands of the associated merchants were rapidly becoming more pressing; he did not know from week to week what the merchants were going to ask for the essential commodities and several losses were suffered on that account. It was quite reasonable to expect at that time that prices would increase to some" extent. Whether storekeepers have overstepped what is reasonable, as our correspondent suggests, it would be very difficult to ascertain. In the above remarks we have referred to groceries. Taihape has contributed to the increase of dairy products in the price of milk only. It will be remembered that milk was being retailed" at from threepence to f ourpence, while in most other parts it was selling at from fivepence to sixpence a quart. It was evident that something was radically wrong, and it was not long before milk purveyors began giving up the milk business until this town suffered from a milk famine. What took place seems to indicate very clearly that milk prices were too low, so unprofitable that milkmen would rather go out of the business than continue to produce at/the price; it became a question of higher prices or no milk. With all other dairy products prices this district has no part in making them, its only privilege is to pay them or go without them; but they should certainly be as cheap here as they are in other towns similarly situated. The increase of about thirty per cent, in milk goes a long way towards the position, referred to' by our correspondent, in the monthly abstract of statistics, but not all the way. It must he remembered that eggs fluctuate very much, one month they are more than double the price than in another, but even this added does not account for what seems unreasonably highTcharges for bacon and some other articles, the prices of which are fixed by the merchants and factories who control the output. A recently-issued price list of groceries has had some attention from us; we have compared the pricesgiven therein with price lists from other centres and in almost every case the comparison has been favourable to Taihape. We advise our correspondent to keep this price list by him and when he finds its figures fluctuating in the wrong direction to write to us and we will discuss the question with him again,: for we realise that to very many people m~our territory the living question is a most real one. While Taihape is gaining a little notoriety for,high prices for some commodities and*for house Tents, it is certainly entitled to some fame for the cheapness of!'its general drapery. We believe >we are perfectly correct in saying that Taihape, despite its distance from seaports, is the cheapest place in New Zealand for drapery. Men and women high up in the trade in Wellington have expressed their surprise to us about the low prices and high quality of almost everything sold in our drap. ery establishments, and it will be almost I unbelievable to some when we state'that we have been present and havenseen city people in the drapery business go into a Taihape drapery house,- buy goods at Taihape retail prices, take them to Wellington, retail them there and make a good profit on them' There is.no doubt whatever about Taihape Being the best place in ih& Dominion in which to buy drapery, taking both price and quality into consideration. It is not incumbent upon us to say how local drapers manage this, that is their business, we only know it is so. If drapers' prices were i high .%, than in other towns we should probably want to know why, but as they, are considerably lower we can only infejr that the drapers in Taihape are giying. a remarkably "square deal." Our corespondent will probably find

that if the latest price list of groceries is adhered to future monthly statistics will soon note the change, and the price thermometer will recede accordingly. There is* some gratification in knowing that what little extra is demanded for dairy produce and groceries is well compensated for by low prices of drapery. High rents are the result of mistaken notions about systems of rating, which our correspondent has it in his power to help to remedy. We welcome short letters on cost o* living, subjects, that keep well to the points discussed, for they are helpful \t only in removing misunderstandings.