The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1915. WAR PRICES FOR FOODSTUFF.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1915. WAR PRICES FOR FOODSTUFF.

The discussion ill the House of tatives on Tuesday regarding Increase in the cost of living ea*W6 W said to have thrown any I'urtliotf S|fW on the matter. The champion df lk« farmers, Mr. Ilornsby, friends in a general way from tins imputation of lacking patriotism in taking as much as they could possibly fleft {at their produce. No sensible persoji tftV rightly blame the. growers of i'oodsiflft for the rise in prices, or for taklag advantage of the enhanced market ttiilM, j They are in the fortunato posiifen 4i having for sale goods that hav<Si.jjN(P : considerably in price on the chief mar-

kets of the world and it is only business oil their part to take and lie thankful for the increased increment. It is only where, iu the case of xliortagi! of a commodity like wheat—the staple food of tho people—the wipply is wilfully held back with the object of inflating prices that wrong is done, a. wrong that approaches very nearly In a crime. .Mr. Witty quoted the case of a miller who, by some oversight, had not been asked to send in returns, hut had 30,000 bushels of wheat on hand which lie was selling at six shillings and three pence a bushel, while the Government was offering him wheat at sixpence a bushel less. That is the sort of thing which raises the public anger; someone has blundered, and the Covernment should find out who, for Mr. Witty gave the names of nine millers who had not been asked to send returns of the stock of wheat they held. Tho vital point is that the cost of living has risen by leaps and bounds while the earnings of the masses are remaining stationary. Where there is a shortage it is inevitable) that the. cost of any commodity will increase, but the public recognise this as an inflexible law and bow to its operation with mora or lass fortituda. At the same tima there is no question that the public have been unduly exploited, but whera to place the blame is for the ■ Commission to find out. If wo take the case of sugar there is no difficulty in sheeting home the great rise in price (about six pounds per ton) to the Colonial Sugar Company, who have a mon. opoly and therefore can do as they please, and it has pleased them to swell tlioir profits inordinately. We, as a people, are finding soldiers to fight for the Sugar Company, We are taxing ourselves and being taxed in innumerable ways. Wo aro doing our utmost for the Sugar Company, and tho Sugar Company is doing its utmost to do us! The Government might well consider the question of giving a bounty for the import of other sugar. Much hai bean said about tho price of butter. It may be urged that butter (and other articles of food) costs no more to produce now than before the war. Admitting this, wo have to face the faot that the price of butter in New Zealand Is regulated by that on the Home market. At present, however, this rule doea Hiit prevail, for wo aro paying much more in the Dominion where it is produced that in London, after paying freight and .chargos. This is not right and should be remedied. Mr. Mossey'a proposal to atop further export of butter is too paltry to be worthy of consideration, for lie must know that at tliis"'time of the year stocks are at their lowest and production at zero. If it is intended that the prohibition shall extend to the coming season it will prove even more mischievous than beneficial, for butter-fat will be divorted to cheese, and there aro already indications of a considerable move in that direction, the consequence of which will bo the further inflation of the already excessive prico. Tho prospeat of cheaper wheat seems very bright just now, and for that we may be glad. The Food Prices Commission—an 'expensive luxury—failed, altogether to do justice to tho task thoy had to perforin, and until some explanation is given as to tho reason for suppressing Mr. Fairbank's evidence the faith of the public in Commissions will be a negligable quantity. The public can stoically bear war or famine prices when they aro actually justified, but they naturally resent being exploited as they have been in order that huge profits might find their way into the pockets of dealers. If one firm can truthfully assort, as was the ease with Fairbairn, Wright and Co., of C'hristclmrch, that had (hey forced up prices in the same way as their competitors in the first month of the war they wouTd have made an extra £SOOO profit, what must be tho total of the raid on purchasers throughout the Dominion for that period—and since? We are jiot complaining of legitimate profits following on dearer cost of supplies, hut in the interest of the people of New Zealand some effective action should 'jc

takwi to protect the masses from undno exploitation, or the strain will grow too heavy for them. It is gratifying know that the primary producers are enjoying prosperity, but wo are confident that they, as well as the community in general, wish for more equitable conditions with regard to the cost of living.