BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S WOOL PROFITS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16036, 29 January 1920, Page 4

BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S WOOL PROFITS.

Wool growers will be interested in the cable message stating that half the British Government’s wool profits are, after, all, to be returned to the oversea producers. The statement is unofficial, emanating, not fi’om the Government itself, but from the committee of investigation which has been going into the

matter of textile profits in. Britain. We notice, however, that Mr Massey, our own Prime Minister, when dealing the other day with the matter of the commandeer, stated that a communication was received from the British Government last month to the effect that “the amount of fifty per cent, of profits to March 31st, 1018, would probably be finally determined and available about the end of the present month, and steps were being taken to expedite the completion of the returns to March 31st, 1919.” There is a certain vagueness about this so far as the producer himself is concerned, but, on the face of it, it Avould appear to be a confirmation of the cabled statement. Assuming, therefore, that the cable is correct, and that the British Government is dividing the profits, keeping half for itself, one can only feel that it has very large ideas of what is due to it for. its work of marketing, distributing, etc.. A five or ten per cent, remuneration on such work no one would grudge giving the British Government; at those rates the return would still run into millions. But a fifty per cent, commission strikes one as being fairly “steep.” We have read in the cables recently that the Profiteering Act has not succeeded in checking' profiteering in Britain. Small wonder, when the British Government shows itself one of the worst offenders of the lot! It can hardly conduce to activity on the part of the profiteering tribunals, when they have the example of their own Government in grabbing for itself all that it can lay its hands on.