PRICE OF COMMODITIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 June 1918, Page 7

PRICE OF COMMODITIES.

THE WAR RISE EXPLAINER' In the course of his annual address to the shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand, Mr. Beauehamp said: — "I have had prepared a table showing the rise which has taken place in the priceß of the leading merchantable commodities between July, 1914, and April, 1918. A consideration of this table is very instructive. It shows large increases in practically all lines. Thus we find fencing wire has risen from £9 10s to £55, or 479 per cent., ana difficult to import even at the higher rate. Wire naila are 329 per cent, higher, tinplates 268 per cent., linseed oil 279 per cent., currants 146 per cent., fine salt 313 per cent., carbonate of soda 416 per cent., soda crystals 300 per cent., alum 400 per cent., cotton ticking 256 per cent., grey sheeting 250 per cent., and so on. There is a disposition an some quarters to regard these increases as preventable by local remedies, and to bar the responsibility for the present high prices on the shoulders of the merchants and middlemen. . Closer investigation, however, serves to show that this is a delusion, at any rate as far as imported goods are concerned. The demand for goods, and the deficiency of the supply owing to the diversion of labor to the production of war necessaries, have led to hgiher prices being offered in order to obtain what is required. The larger wages which have to be paid for expert service and because of the increased cost of living, the higher transit charges both by land and sea, increased insurance premiums, the delays in getting merchandise forwarded owing to the difficulty of obtaining tonnage—all have contributed to the forcing up of prices; and it is impracticable, in the circumstances, to devise any method by which enhancement of prices can be prevented. Such enhancement follows as a natural consequence of the general rise in the cost of every department of service in industry, trade, commerce, and government; and the cost of living here, as ','lsewhere, must necessarily increase because many of the imported articles are included in the list of essentials of life. The Commonwealth average of increase in prices since July, 1914, in groceries, dairy produce and meat, is 305 per cent., and the New Zealand average is 34.02 per cent. The conditions are of course difficult for those with fixed salaries, because tht purchasing power of the sovereign has depreciated. The Government Statistician estimates it will purchase now only as much foodstuffs as, before the war, ■'.ould have been purchased with 13s Hfd. Employers of salaried clerks and ifficials are in most cases taking this into account; and affording relief to some extent by way of temporary bonus or other allowance whilst these ab- | normal conditions continue.