COST OF LIVING.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 March 1920, Page 5

COST OF LIVING.

STATEMENT BY PREMIER. PROFITEERING NOT THE CAUSE. That profiteering is the cause of the increased cost of living was denied by the Prime Minister, the Hon. W. ¥. Massey, at the conference of the Association of New Zealand Chambers of Commerce. He said he would like the question discussed at a greater length than it had yet received so that the cause of the increase might be discovered. With that accomplished much could be done towards remedying the trouble- "Many people think the main cause is profiteering, but it is not," continued Mr. Massey. "The most important cause is the lessening of production through the loss of labor in the war, which is also responsible for the increased cost of production, not so much here as in the great manufacturing countries of the world. In consequonee, we cannot get our requirements in manufactured articles fulfilled- There are other commodities we cannot produce ourselves, such as rice, sugar, tobacco and tropical fruits. This country is powerless to deal with these tilings. We can either take them or leave them. After the lessening of production and the increased cost of production comes the inflation of the currency." Here the Prime Minister expressed approval of the policy of withdrawing paper from circulation, and said that the more money in circulation, the less tha value of the currency. The sovereign was worth more than 20s in its gold, the precious metal having appreciated, and sovereigns were going out of SSew Zealand which were not likely to come back. The position was admittedly a difficult one. but he thought they would get over it in time. He would not suggest they would ever got back to the conditions prevailing before the war. A higher standard had been iset, and they must accept it. With all its drawbacks, he thought it would be an improvement on the state of things five or six years ago.