BIG BUSINESS

Evening Post, Issue 19, 23 July 1934, Page 9

BIG BUSINESS

HOW CUSTOMERS ARE DUPED

(From "The Post's" Representative.) VANCOUVER, Juno SO.

Profits ranging to 300 por tout. liavo been made by tho big department stores of Canada, through massed buying and pooling of their resources. Sensational disclosures havo boon mado to a legislative committee that has boon Investigating prico sproads at Ottawa since tho House of Commons oponod.Tho revelations have entirely dimmed interest in tho doings of Parliament. Smaller storekeepers wero forced to tho wall in their offorts to compoto. Sweat-shop conditions of tho worst kind have been revealed. The sales of one of these stores in Toronto totalled .€42,000,000 in one year. This firm operates thirteen largo department Ptores from the Atlantic to the Eockios, 32 smaller stores, live mail order nouses, 72 groceterias, three creameries, seven factories, four warohouses, and ton merchandising companies, such as insurance, finance, and real ostatc. Tho old proverb, "Lot us have n, business man's Government," has been (jotting rude shocks from the unorthodox Minister of Comwcixo, the Hon. H. 11. Stevens, at whose instigation the massed buying investigation has been camoa on. Exposing rampant, unethical practices in big business, Mr, Stevens has gone further and told business men that they are responsible for the heavy Government expenditure of the post-war years. Thoy exorcised, he said, the greatest degree of pressure until the Government built up the Canadian Government Merchant Marine, which is now bankrupt and has cost the country immense sums of money, "What have they done in their own behalf?" he asked,. "They have increased tho mortgage bonded indebtedness of industries and corporations in Canada by 500 per cout. in tho past seventeon years during which business expansion and output liavc increased by only 50 per cent."