PRICES AND PROFITS

Evening Star, Issue 17368, 2 June 1920, Page 7

PRICES AND PROFITS

CHARGE AGAINST A CHEMIST. [Pcr Uxited Press Association.3 HAWE.RA, Juuo 1. A charge, of having sold a pot of vaseline at a price? that is unreasonably high was brought against George C. Tait, chemist, before Mr T. A. B. Bailev, y.M. It is alleged that the offeiicv consisted in Rslling"* pot of Cheeseboroush vaseline at Is 3d. Defendant pleaded not •jnilty. Mr Billings, who prosecuted, contended tliat the price of an article must not only net produce a profit that was unreasonably high, but must not be calculated to produce more than a rea-son-j able rate of commercial profit. He asked j that tlis article be considered, alone, not j wifi what merchants or vendors were I making on other articles. Counsel contended that it was not a. question under the Act of what profit was made, in the business as a whole, but what the £eller I v.-iis making on that particular article. | That position was supported bv the purj poses of the Act, which rasulatpd and j controlled the Cost of Living- Each j particular line should he considered bv litsdf. The Magistrate stated that in trade j prices cannot be definitely fixed. Some articles were turned over rapidly, in other cases an article in a lino was not sold once indx months. Five per cent, miaht be a fair profit on a line turned over evenday and 20 per cent, mi.aht not be a big profit on other lines which were rarelv demanded. Mr Eii lings agreed that a uniform profit could not be fixed. Referring- to this case, ho said the wholesale cost of vaseline differed with various merchants apparently at the time of purchase. Soma purchased the line at 8d wholesale while others perhaps paid a little more He suggested that §7 per cent, was an unreasonably high profit. He could ehew other chemists .soiling the line at U, a grocer at Is, and another grocer at 10d. Charles Chappie, oheew factory manager at Whareroa, gave evidence that ho purchased a pot containing four ounces of vaseline at Tait's shop for Is 3d Later Ke found that he could have bought the same at a grocers for 10d and at another chemists for Is. H e .j lad foeix inquiring because he thought Tsii's price particularly high. .i Jlr „2 ich » r < l son.- chemist ia diaree of the Friendly Society's shop, said, he • charged Is for a similar pot. For tho past 6ix months tho cost had been 7* 2d to 8b a dozen in Wellington, He had to pay freight. He was satisfied with the profit made in sellin» at 1= ■ There was no recognised wav Sf fixhv'1 prices among business people. Cross-examined, witness said Ids dispensary claimed to be a Jioa-prtffit-niakiiM' concern. It was run for the benefit of , the United Friendly Society. Ho sold , to the general public, but did not cater for them primarily. He would not necessarily bs, satisfied if he was .in ■ business on his own account -with the - same profits as the society were satisfied with. _ln chemists' s£ops they did not split 3d. This was the universal practice. Before the war a four-ounce pot was sold at Auckland for Is and two*

ounce pots for 6d, Since then two-ounoe pots have risen nearby 2 per cent., while four-ounce pots had remained stationary. The two-ounce pot was now Sd. He knew that Cheeseborough vaseline before the war could bo bought at 5s 6d a dozen. It was then soiling at Is. Generally a chemist did not compete in the same lines with grocers. Witness gave evidence further of the comparative cost of running chemists' and graoeTs' businesses. A chemist's assistant, owing to his professional qualifications, needed higher pay than a grocer's assistant. He could not express an opinion whether or not other chemists were charging too much for- vaseline at Is 3d. If it was costing them 9a 6d per dozen Is 5d a pot would be- fair.. He could not say whether his society made a profit. The greatest profit was made in* dispensinc. Mr BiTiugs said there may be "too many chemists at Hawera to sell the lines required. It was not a justification I tor high prices if five were trvdng to make- a profit by handling what required only tinea men. 1 At this stage the court- adjourned.