OVERHEARD IN THE TRAIN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14880, 7 April 1919, Page 9

OVERHEARD IN THE TRAIN.

(Published by Arrangement.) J

"Look here j *toe, old in_it,<tt ! liat'jß.^ll thisrjitftlk about C_mpensatioii vto the ',h69__ 'ti'a fie' f. > v .Whj should ; the blighters bft 'cdmipiilsafed-'?-. Tliey V*V- hrfdt 'oiiodgh oT ( the' country's money, 1 .'re'ekoii, and , agCddwliack of, inline- too. It's tim_ ■ wjs, : 'put 'e : ih<- out - aiid got '.'Sta*te v . Control, 'riie , wowSei'S ; -vve.n't like ■&' , but that's Uje.--thiiig.-fbF the -c-iintry. all right." .':\Ve'l, I ( don't kiioW, Bx.l'i. I used to think that,' but I was yarning to Haulstrung the other day, and Tasked mm what State Control would cost, and he said he . wasn't sure, -but he thought about ten million pounds. I asked him what m Halifax that was for, and he said Some pf it was for goodwill, and ■seffle foi* the properties. •Goodwi'l,' .says. I, 'Whiit's tiie. ditferen.ee betweo u that arid' compensation- ?' He-a id he didn't know, but. he supposed you couldn't buy a business without pay'irig goodwill; Thetl t .asks -him . whether there -was any fixed amount to he paid, and he salld,' 'Xo, ther^ was no fixed amiuntj but he thought it woiild be about the same as the* compensation the •Trade' ."will get if prohibition is carried now. But I'm iiot so sure abdut it."

"Neither am I, Joe. Hamstrung's mixed up m the blanky thing 'somehow, 'Moderate' League* or something. And I've got ..an idea, that he's being paid for boosting it.',' It's no good to me. I'll go you a 'fiver' that if they get State Control, ' the blighter's '11, get five or six, millions . instead, of four and aihalf. . You know blinkm' well what them dera valuation courts a re. Prices are always .bumped up when it's the, [country's money, and the 'Trade' don't care a. continental how much they ! claim !" [ "By Jove, Rill, there's something m that," "Yes, and nobody -.knows how much we'll have to pay for the properties. There's the pinch. What do we want all the blooming -breweries and ranj shackle old pubs for anyhow? We'll j have to pay eight or nine millions for them, and then we'll have the whole blanky job on our hands. No gamble m booze joints for me ! Let 'em sell their own pix>perties. .-fil tell you the game. | Let's try the country without any of it | — without booze at all.'""' If it 'fails we i can/ have a shot at State control then, [without paying any more. You know i what you've .got to pay now. That's fixed. But I'm hanged if you can tell the other -way. That's mine, anyhow. 1 It's time the thing was _red'--more than time. It's no good to' anybody but i 'Bung 5 himself ."