COST OF LIVING Sut,—I notice in your issue of last
week Flying Officer Krammer calls in question my statement that, as far as can be seen, the Cost of Living Index figure will be lower in the years after this war than it was in the years immediately after 1918, and bases his argument on a statement of Sir John Anderson's of the Government aim being that prices should rise up to 333 per cent. above 1938. The present Cost of Living Index figure has not quite risen to the percentage indicated by the Chancellor, and, as I said in my letter, is appreciably lower than it was in 1920. So far from having been guilty of a specious argument, I could have made my argument stronger by pointing out that the figure actually rose in November, 1920, to 176 points above July. 1914, i.e., 23 times the old figure. The figures I gave in my former letter were, of course, taken from the Ministry of Labour Gazette. I notice that your Correspondent is serving with the B.L.A., and therefore has not access, as I have, to the
figures concerned. '
Incidentally, it is of interest to note that between the peak of November, 1920, and the present war, in the early 30's the Cost of Living Index figure was only some 30 points above 1914, i.e., less than half the height of the inflation. It is the announced intention of the Government to avoid such inflation after the present war.—Yours faithfully, ASSHETON POWNALL
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