The evening world., 1919-12-29
LAW AGAINST PROFITEER|NG
GIVES CANADIAN OFFICIALS
ALMOST ABSOLUTE POWER
Board Can Declare Any Com
modify a Necessary of Life
TO Fight High Cost,
PENALTIES ARE HEAVY.
Supplies of Food, Fuel, Cloth
ing, Etc, Are Under the
Closest Surveillance.
Especial From a stan CorTrpondent)
Second Article.)

lSecOnd AFAcle,l
OTTAWA, Dec. 29-The effort OF
the Canadian Government to reduce
the cost OF living and limit profits to
a fair return involves giving the
Board OF Commerce absolute control
over the necessaries OF life, which are
described in the Combines and Fair
Prices Act as food OF any character,
clothing and fuel and any products,
material or ingredients entering into
them, and such other articles Of any
description as the board may. from
time to time, by special legislation,
prescribe"
This means that it is in the power
of the Board OF Commerce, for the
purposes OF the law, 10 declare any
commodity a necessary OF life. II
complaint is made Of profiteering in
something which would ordinarily be
called a luxury, and the board or any
of the three commissioners decides
that the complaint is well founded,
all the board has to do in the direction
OF starting relief is to declare that the
commodity which is the basis Of COM
plant is a necessary Of life.
The board has given power to for
bid unreasonable accumulation or the
withholding o. products from the
market and to enforce the sale at
reasonable and Just prices Of eNcesscs
of products held for the purpose OF
sale in a higher market. The power
of the board to fix prices is absolute.
On this point the law provides:
AIR TIGHT CONTROL OF COLD
STORAGE WAREHOUSES
IAN unfair profit shall be deemed
TO have been made when the
board shall declare an unfair profit
to have been made and an unfair
enhancement of cost or price shall be
such enhancement as has resulted
from the making OF an unfair profit"
The board has the power to require
any person or corporation owning,
operating or controlling any cold
storage plant, packing house. can
.nery, factory, mine, warehouse or any
other premises in which any necessary
Of life is prepared, manufactured, pro-
duced or stored, TO furnish, under oath
or affirmation, a complete statement
of the business at any time Cold
storage managers are required TO tell
lust what they have on hand, whether
they own all or any part of it, or are
holding It for others, how, long they
have had It, how much it cost origi-
nally and at what price 1t Is held
for sale. The law gives the board
authority to inquire into any other
matter It may be curious about with
relation to the business of any cold
storage or warehouse company, and if
the information called for is not
forthcoming the board Is empowered
to send it's own examiner or examin-
'ers into any plant for the purposes OF
investigation.
In the course Of time the board will
have in its records a complete list Of
every pound of food every suit OF
clothes, every pair Of shoes-every-
thing subject to barter and sale in the
Dominion Of Canada. BY that time
the board will have become the sales
manager of the Dominion, controlling
the output Of every manufacturer,
Warehouseman. wholesaler, middle
man and retailer.
The board is also granted control
Of patents. II a complaint is made
that the owner or holder Of any
patent issued under the Canadian
Patent Act Is using his exclusive
CConunued on Fourth PageD