THE PROFITEERING BOARD

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 149, 19 March 1920, Page 7

THE PROFITEERING BOARD

Sir,—lf the Profiteering Board is to do its work thoroughly it must begin at the top and not at the bottom. The efforts so far to stop profiteering both in the Old Country and here have been directed against the retailer, and the results have-been paltry and ridiculousWhilst the small trader has been harried, the big manufacturer, the merchant, and the shipowner have been allowed to line their pockets with impunity. Rings and-tombines to'bleed the public have been formed, and enormous profits have been made. If the New Zealand boards . are to do any good other than to hum-' bug the public, they should inquire first into the reason for the merchant rings in our bigger cities, what purnose they . are" intended to. serve, what effect the'v have in stopping competition.' • Thev should inquire why goods are not obtainable when large stocks are held by 'I ho wholesalers. They should follow tho goods from the manufacturer and importer to the. consumer. Find out tho reason for all the 'commissions and profits and handlings, and report on which or any of these that can be dispensed with. Do the Government or the boards really mean, business,. or is the whole thing to be' a farce and a means io 1 hoodwink the public? What the public to know is how to break tin the combines which control prices. How to get the goods from the manufacturer to the consumer at the least, expense. Will' the boards touch these matters, or will they content themselves with prosecuting ft few milkmen or fishmonger ? Probably the latter—l am, etc.. W. J. TENNENT.