PROFITS LIMITATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8216, 13 August 1915, Page 3

PROFITS LIMITATION.

In the House of Commons on May 12 (when the Liberal Government was in office).'Mr Pcto asked if any system had yet been arranged for a division of war profits between armament firms and workmen. Lord Kitchener two months before had said some such system was being arranged. Mr Runciman replied, on behalf of the Government, that Lord Kitchener never advocated profit-sharing in armament firms. The Government had no power to impose such a condition on the firms. Moreover, the labour organisa-' tionsdid not regard profit-sharing as a solution of, the problem. What they: asked for was a limitation of profits of the firms engaged in Government work. Mr Theodore Taylor: Are we to understand that the., employees distinctly, declined, to- ■ have' I*"share of the: profits in addition to other -advantages ? Mr Runciman said he was not in a position to sny that, nor had he said it. What he said was that no such request was made by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. Limitation of profits meant that if there was any surplus after the limit was reached it must be used in reduction of the price of arm-' maments, or be returned to the Ex-, chequer. They could not apply this principle to all firms doing Government work, but it would be applied to all important firms doing engineering and shipbuilding work for the War Office and Admiralty.