In the political part of the interview Mr. Baldwin returned
to the subject of retail prices. Evidently he is giving a great deal of attention to it. He has declared that if he were returned to power he would set up a Royal Commission. He is always careful to say that he makes no accusations ; it is, as a matter of fact, in the interest of honest traders themselves that the facts should be known and unfounded suspicions allayed. Of course, prices are kept higher than they need be, as Lord Linlithgow's Committee pointed out, by expensive, because inefficient, marketing. It is useless, however, to blame middlemen for making a living when the circum- stances give them their opportunity. There is another point, however, worth mentioning. During the War wage- earners came to accept it as an axiom that their wages would be adjusted in accordance with the cost of living. Feeling that their wages would rise if prices went up, they were not careful to dispute prices in the shops. To shopkeepers it was a revelation during that period that wage-earners would pay almost any price asked without demur. A good deal of this habit has, we imagine, remained. The purchaser could himself be a moderating influence on prices if he laid out his money in the careful manner of the French housewife.
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