The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-16
BRITAIN IS
 !N TIE GRIP
 OF PROFITEERS Long Prison Terms Are
 Advocated. WOULD NOT
 ALLOW FINES Labor Leader Has Firm Policy to Stop Scandal.

London. August 16.-Prison is the only adequate punishment for the pro- flteer-and even that is too mild. It Is useless to impose a fine-a fine which Is paid out of the profits which have been extorted from the public The profiteer can afford to pay, with a sardonic grin, any money penalty that may be inflicted upon him; and he straighaway goes and exacts high CT profits as interest on the fine.
 Prison. and d long term of it, with out option or fine, may succeed as deterrent; and the necessary steps must be taken at once if serious trou- ble is to be averted in this country.
 Much has been said and written about the profIteering problem, but very few peoples fully realize the dimensions or the gravity of the question.
 Profiteering has assumed the pro portions of a national scandal, and the profiteer must be regarded as the enemy of the community and a trait or to his country.
 He must be dealt with promptly and severely, for he has forfeited the right to consideration or mercy. In- deed, I am not sure that he has not forfeited, by his nefarious practices, the right to justice.
 But let us give him justice, having strengthened the arm of the law to lash him as he deserves to be lash ed
 Looked at now with as calm a mind as possible, the problem is be- wilderinE, overwhelming, inexplicable no. not SO much 'Inexplicable'' as incomprehensible. am asked to solve a situation which has puzzled tho united intelligence and the ac- cumuIated wisdom of all the Govern ment Departments. Where angels fear to tread-weIl, others rush in!
 Before I deal with tho most press ing question of the food problem, let me ask why the enormous stocks of wcoiens and leather. and other much wanted commodities which were known to be in the country, are being held up7
 If these stocks were released at once, even if they were thrown on the market with certain restrictions imposed as regards the retail prices that might be charged, the situation would be relieved. But these stocks, which are national property, must not be disposed of in such a way that wholesale speculation will be possi- ble.
 Immense quantities of cloth are in stock-Eniles and miles and countless miles of it. It Is being reserved for heaven knows what reason or for what earthly possible contingency. And while this 'hoarding'' is being pracdced the prices of clothes are mounting and mounting. and will continue to mount until the poor men or men of moderate means, with their heavy responsibilities, will be unable to afford a decent covering for themselve and their families. And when they are obliged to go about in shabby garments their value will decrease in the market, and their troubles will be aggravated.
 Exactly the same may be said of leather. There is a vast stock of lea ther in the dockside warehouses, and that is why boots and shoes are so dear.
 ChiIdren's boots are at Q fabulous price. Men and women can hardly afford & weather-proof covering for their feet Why is the leather which would enable them to be properly ehod at a reasonable price being with held? Both the cloth and the leather which Is in stock-in tho hands of the Governm ent-should be released at once; and it should be sold subject to 0 specified percentage of profit, being the legal maximum.
 The only solution of the high-price problem is the fixing at a profit max imum. This is a sounder and more equitable policy than the adoption of Q f1at-rate maximum price, for 1! enables distinctions to be made be- tween the qualities of the commodi- ! ties.
 Those who can afford to pay the price will have the articles of the best quality, and so the lower grades | will be left for the poorer members of the community. It makes no diff ference to the sellers, for they will get ! their fixed percentage of profit ire | spcctive of quality.
 i Only legislation which can be ra- ! pidly carried through will be neces- ! sary to enable the courts to deal | dro stically with those traders who 1 make a profit in excess of the legal l maximum or who sell fraudulently | whether as regards weight or quanti- | ty.
 ACtiOn-Or Serious Trouble. Turning to the alI-important ques- | tion of food we are confronted by l an acute crisis. Unless something is 1 done at once, there will be serious | trouble in this country during the | coming winter.
 Supplies will be very short and | prices will be very high, and witf | another six shillings a ton added tC l tho price of coal even firing will bC l difficult to obtain. Without food | without warmth, and III clad. the | condition of the people, particularly | the condition of the poor, will bt pitiable. People will be starving with in and starved wtthout-men, women | and children will be hungry and cold l And there we have all the factors o | serious trouble.
 What is to be done? It is useless | to cry aloud and say how terrible | 1t all is, and how very wicked every l body else is. Words will not fill tn, | empty stomachs of the hungry; no1 l will they cover the threadbare back
 of the cold. Action-immediate ac | tion-not words, will alone avert dis | aster.
 | There are thousands of tons ot | meat lying in the cold storage ware
 houses of Australia and New Zea l land waiting for ships. We can finC
 the ships to bring over theses upplie we rnust find then-and we mu~