PATRIOTISM AND MR. POLAND

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3178, 31 August 1917, Page 6

PATRIOTISM AND MR. POLAND

Sir,—lt is difficult to refrain from laughing at the scretd in this morning's paper in reference to Mr. Polatid and his well-known business man. whoso efforts to' transform by a stroke of the pen his .£3OOO at 3£ per cent.,, subject to tax, into .£3OOO at 4J per cent, free of tax, were frustrated by' the greedy bank and the naughty sharebroker. But let. us take his own suppositious case and see how it works out. Presumably his well-known man is one of those who drops in for the 7s. 6d. rate of taxation. Then his position is as follows :— £ s.d. He has ,£3OOO fixed deposit at 3- per cent., per annum... 105 0 0 Hts War Loan, .£3OOO at per cent, freo of tax, is equal to over G\ per cent., per 'annum IS7 10 0 Gross income 292 10 0 His advance from'the bank is .£2IOO at per cent 132 0 0 Not. income JCIGO 10 0 This makes his net iucomo ,£IGO, less tax on <£105, .£39 7s. (id.- Say, i per cent, dear for the lirst year. At the end of that' time he collects his ,£3OOO on fixed deposit and stands pat at 0J per cent, on his money for, the s remaining 20 years, or until the taxation is reduced. Surely a business deal, not a philanthropic one. Next take th<j case of the bank and tho sharebroker. The floating of loans is their daily business. Probably no business has boon hit- so hard by tho, war conditions as that of the sharebroker owing to the hoarding of capital due to the general uncertainty of things. Now, tho tying up of large quantities of this hoarded capital is going to further accentuate tho position. That some few brokers feel themselves in a position to secure applications freo of commission (ss. per cent., not 10s. per cent., as set out in your report) only makes the position of those who are not so happily situated invidious: it does not at all strike at the. principle of the matter, which is that the labourer is worthy of his hire. A little personal kudos gained at the expense of one's brethren is not greatly to be desired. No do.ubt many brokers who can afford to do so will invest in the loan to an extent far greater than their commission. The Wnr Loan is surely a business transaction—not a charitable one, or a philanthropic one like the Red Cross effortsall honour to the noble band of workers in that, cause, including the commercial travellers. But when the warships want victualling, and the troops want clothing, do the commercial travellers and their firms do the bufiinase on other 'than business terms? Most certainly not. And when the Imperial Government wants our meat and our wool and our cheese, do the suppliers supply it on other than business terms? Certainly not. And when Mr. Poland lines up for his honorarium at the end of the month does he expect to find some of it docked for patriotic purposes? Certainly not.

Then -why in heaven's name should he u or a merchant or a commercial traveller nr a woolsrower. or any of their kind, hold up their hands in holy horror or mnUo wotfld-bc satirical TO-marks about the bank and the sharebroker who deal, and quito risrhtly too, in a wholly' business way with what to theni is an en-

tirely business transaction. Let the shoemaker stick to his last.—l am, etc. a C. 1). MORPETH. August 30. 1917. Sir,—ln this morning's issue I noticed a very pathetic story told by Mr. Poland in the House in connection with "the patriotic banker and the patriotio sharebroker." Mr. Poland's correspondent, apparently as the result of his experiences, decided not to lend his money to the coumtry to assist the War Loan. This action on his part makes me feel inclined to put tho wliolo incident in tho form of a fable as follows:— A certain group of people were onco in great straits for food, were appealing to everyone to send in what fowl they could possibly afford. Tho Patriotio Lender comes along with a certain amount of food, intending to take it to tho people in want, but on the road ha mot a Beast, and this Beast said, "I will take the food across for jou but you must give me a bite." This did not suit the Patriotic Lender, so he tried -another road, and there again be met another Beast, certainly smaller 111 size, but one which also asked for a bite as a condition for convoking_thq food to the starving people. The Patriotic Lender, however, did not teel disposed to "rant (he Beast's request, and to, Ma the patriotic man thnt he was, lie ram, ,r No, I will cat all the food myself. — I am, etc., AESOP.'