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Taranaki Daily News, 24 October 1917, Page 4

AMALGAMATION OF BUSINESSES. The arrangement come to in Hamilton for the amalgamation of chemists' businesses, conserving the interests of members who are ballotted in the Second ■Division, is capable of a more general application. The Hamilton scheme is to co-operate the businesses, pool the takings, and divide the profits proportionately between the men balloted and those remaining. The agreement lias been approved by the Military Board and the Efficiency Board, and is to remain in force until three month® after the war. 1 Had an attempt been made by the Government earlier in the dily to organise the industries and businesses of the country in order to put thein on a war footing, many soldiers would have been spared great financial loss through the wrecking of their business interests, and the Dominion would to-day have .been better off. But nothing was done, except to appoint the Efficiency Board, with whose principal recommendations Cabinet has quarrelled. * The Hamilton scheme shows what can be done by a little organisation, and affords an object lesson to the Government. Under it those who are being called upon to serve in the field will not only share in whatever profits are made by the remaining chemists, but their interests will be so conserved that when they return—if they are spared to—they will be able to resume their businesses that no doubt they have been building up for ypars. But an arrangement of the kind would not be effective unless others were prevented from coming in and usurping the soldiers' business connections. The Efficiency Board does not possess any plenary power. It can only make suggestions and recommendations, all power being zealously guarded by Cabinet. It is probably not too much to say that fully half the businesses of the Dominion are being conducted or directed by men belonging to the Second Division, and when they are called up many of them will have to sacrifice their businesses unless some pooling scheme can be arranged, as in Hamilton, 'with effective Government protection. We will take, as an example, the drapery trade. There may be six drapery businesses in a town. Two of the drapers are fit and pass for military service. The chances are they will be unable to find experienced and reliable managers. Is it fair that they should be compelled to close up and the others benefit by their closing' Is it not only fair and reasonable that the remaining four should pool their net profits and allocate them 011 a basis of business done by the six traders before the two were called up? Then the interests of the latter would not suffer unduly, and when they returned they would have a chance of re-establishing their businesses. In some industries and businesses it would, of course, not be all plain sailing, but the principle of the scheme is sound, and could be advantageously applied in many towns'and districts where heads of businesses ara being called up for military service. It. i s to be hoped the Efficiency Board will obtain OnVi.et endorsement of the scheme and extend it \ generally.