YOUTH AND WORK.

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 612, 14 March 1929, Page 1

YOUTH AND WORK.

LEAN YEARS AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES AUCKLAND BUSINESSMEN’S VIEWS Press Association NELSON, Wednesday. Seme interesting comment on the problem of finding occupations for youths was made by Mr. J. R. Rendell, of Auckland, in his pre-v----dential address to the New Zealand Federation of Drapers, ClorT le I s ~a nd Bo °t Retailers. Mr. KendeM also made reference to taxation and other business problems. “We find that boys and girls leaving school are experiencing some difficulty in finding suitable employment,” said Mr. Rendell. “As far as our trade is concerned if, through a dull period, there are no openings juveniles released from school during that unfortunate period may never get a chance. Two lean years may be followed by fat ones, but that is little help to those who, through unwise wage classification, have become too old to be of equal economic value with those just leaving school.

“Many a lad might like to try his hand at farming, but how could one advise him to give it a trial, knowing that if found unsuitable for the work, when he returned to the town he lld fln ? “any avenues of occupa- *, 1C \ n to him, though he might be a better boy physically and in everv trv?” ±ol ' - hiS experielK:e hi the counEXPEDIENCY IN TAXATION Under the heading of taxation, Mr. Rendell continued: “A little less worship of the goddess of expediecy and more courage should succeed in a iairer apportioning of the burden of taxation without endangering the stabtlie country. As it is, we find that Lae graduated principle, designed to meet individual incomes, as applied to companies’ incomes becomes at times a capital tax. A company’s revenue which may be insufficient to provide a bare dividend or no dividend at all is yet made to contribute large amounts in taxation under this wrong application of an otherwise sound principle.

‘On top of this phantom income tax, sometimes only an alleged income, business has to pay land tax to the revenue office. Thus the business man pays both ways. This double taxation and the . fact that approximately 50 per cent, of the total direct taxation by way of customs tax has to be collected by the retailer from the public, must have a far from negligible bearing upon the high cost of distribution.”

The fallacy that cash on delivery trading was peculiarly favourable to the British manufacturer should be exposed. said Mr. Rendell. He estimated that 90 per cent, of the stocks on drapers’ shelves was British, but English mail order houses probably sold a much larger proportion of foreign goods than the drapers. CASH-ORDER TRADING

Regarding cash order trading, Mr. Rendell said it was the duty of the federation to any system which added to the already high cost of distribution a further 20 per cent, or more on all business. It deflected from one channel to the other. They had been told that business men were encouraging Government interference withb usiness, but what they said in effect to the Government was “we will do the running:—you keep the course clear.” The election of officers resulted: President. Mr. James Wallace (Palmerston North': vice-president, Mr. D. S. Patrick (Wellington): representative on the advisory board. Mr. T. Forsyth (Wellington); auditor, Mr. AS . E. Nicholls (Wellington).