PRICE OF VASELINE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16851, 3 June 1920, Page 8

PRICE OF VASELINE.

ALLEGED PSOriTBESnra.

(rttiias ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) HAWERA, June 2 Tho case against George Tait, chemist, charged with making an un-' reasonable profit on the sale of a fourounce pot of Cheeseborough vaseline at lod, was continued to-day. Evidence was given by the soeretary of the i ,; riendjj- Society's dispensary, who stated tiiat last year's returns were imsatisiaeiorv. Two gioLcrs also gave evidence regarding their in vaseline. The J3u.ii a or Trade's local representative stal.L\. rirat a fortnight ago one chemist reaiued the price of vaseline to Is. Previously all were selling at 15d. Hubert Starlc, accountant, said ho had made up Tait's prolit and loss trad, ing account. The return on tho capital invested was not, in his opinion,, unreasonably high. The return was low taking all tho circumstances into consideration. George Tait, defendant, said the business wa9 carricd on by his father for 29 years. He went to camp in January, 1917, and in February, 1919, ho returned. When he returned he found that his father was carrying on in temporary premises, and doing the dispensing alone. Later they rebuilt. Three brothers were in the business. In November, 1919, he and his brothers took over from their_ father. A lump sum of £SOO was paid for the fittings and goodwill of the lease. The book debts and goodwill of the business were a present from their father. Ho valued the goodwill at £-100. When taking over there were one and a hid? dozen pots of vaseline. Half a dozen of these were left now. The output would be about tivo dozen per year. The bottlo ; produced was from the stock taken j over. There was every possibility tliafc the bottlo sold to Chapplo had been through the fire. He could g-ive absolutely, no idea what was paid for the vaseline. Before the war' a four-ounco pot cost Is. Tho tfost to the chemist could nob be lower than Cs 6d per dozen. He was not overcharging, and it would not he too much to ask Is 6d per pot. Robert Tait, father of tho defendant,' said he could not tell what price was

paid for the vaseline. In selling to his sons he had roughly estimated tho value of the .-tack. 'No stcck lists were inado out. The estimate would bo correct within £50.

George Duncan Law, another chemist, stated that ho had previously worked for a chemist in Lyttelten. Witness had sold large pots of vaseline there at Is 3d, and considered it was quite a fair price. That v.-as the general opinion. In saving this he had regard to the primary law of chemists not to spl't threepenny bits. The Magistrate intimated that he would give his decision in writing.