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Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IX, Issue 81, 20 March 1919, Page 4

There need be very little doubt ■but that a great deal of the discontent and agitation in Labour circles in the Old Country has been considerably aggravated, by the sight of the heavy war profits which have been made by traders during the war. For instance, the London papers contain details of the profits made by wholesale drapery houses, a few of which may be quoted. The first, which made a profit of £25,000 in 1913, shows for 1918 one of £56,000. Another’s net . profit has more than quadrupled in five years, the figures being £lB.OOO in 1013 as against £76.000 in 1918. Yet an-

other shows a nine-fold advance, from £10,500 to £96,000, while «■ fourth has transformed a loss ol £6,000 five years ago into a profit of nearly £50,000 last year. All these 1918 amounts, it is to be noted, are after making allowance for the 80 per cent “’excess profits duty. On the publication of these figures in the ‘"Times.” exnlanatlon* were vouchsafed by the heads of some big drapery concerns—not necessarily those upon whose balance sheets comment had been made. One of these contended that in 1913 they had a bad year, and reorganized their board of directors, strengthening it by the introduction of a man of great organizing ability. In 1914 they had the best spring they had had for years, and this progress would have gone on under normal conditions. Their traders had since penetrated into all comers of the world buying and selling. They have seized may fields formerly harvested by the German “drummer,” and the volume of trade done was enormously increased. “The great increase in our profits,” he continued, "is due to the increase in our world customers, and the proof lies in the number of new warehouses we have l|ad to acquire to house our goods. Another point which must not be forgotten is that in our dealings with retail houses be. fore the war we did a lot of ‘jobLing’ for their benefit. We wad to make up a number of sale lines constantly for them to satisfy their customers. Since the war we have not been able to do this, and the retailer has had to pay us the full price for what he h»c We have not had anything to give away.” As regards retail prices not going down It is obvious, says this same authority. that this must be th* case for some time. Many of the goods that are being delivered to warehousemen now were ordered in 1915 at prices then nrevailinsr, and even ’f raw materials were to cost less this would have but a, small effect unless there was an enormous fall, for maunfacturers would still have to nav hisrb nripeq foy -r-atreq and for rlx-mne- and firifiWn«r. So that in aP ftnrp ig hut seanv comfort for vl+imete ”Mr»’ of th“ <roods who Ims. in the end. to pay for a ll nnrinal and incidental costq and nrofifs, and who fo he the lasi one to he conquered when these ennm n p for adjustment or assessment.