Evening journal., 1919-11-18
GREAT BRITAIN IS
AFTER PR0FITEER5
More Than Sixteen Thousand
Tribunals Engaged in
the Work
FINES OF $35,OO0
ALREADY COLLECTED

LONDON. Nov. is.-Great Britain's
,tupcndous effort TO grapple with
pronicoring is just disclosed by the
nork OF 1000 tribunals which have
prosecuted 1850 offenders and secured
l.390 convictions, with fines aggregat-
ng $4,000.
Besides setting up these local trl-
bunals 10 which complaints against
dealers are submitted, appeal tribunals
have been established In specified areas
on England Scotlnnd and Wales. In
addition central committees also have
been formed to investigate supposed
trusts or monopolios which may be
manipulating wholesale prices This
has been done under the pr0flieering
act
Apart from the proAteerlng OF COM
plants the Board Of Trade, which is
charged with the administration OF
the anti-profteoring law, is independ-
entity investigating prices, costs and
prOnfs Of a large number Of articles IN
common use. lt has formed a cOstings
committee composed OF distinguished
accountants, which is assisting the
central committee i'm It's task. A sub
committee on trusts has been empow-
ered 10 obtain whatever technical and
expert assistance may be required.
In scope. the act applies TO "any
article or class OF articles which is one
Of kind in common use by the pub
lic." or 10 any material. machinery
or accessories used in The production
OF such articles" The act does not
apply 90 controlled" articles, such as
butter sugar. beer, flour, liquors
commodities for which maximum
prices were fixed by wartime legisla-
,i0n.
A cloar-cut definition Of the term
''pr0nieerlng has been a point which
has given local tribunals much dim
Guilty in the prosecution OF their tasks.
So far the definition laid down by Sir
Auckland Geddes, president OF the Board
of Trade, has been accepted as basis
for prosecution. 10 follows: The maxi
ing Of an unreasnDably large profit, all
the circumstances being known, by the
sale 10 ones fellow-citizens 0f an arti-
Gle which Is one, or one Of kind, IN
cJmm1n use.
0n the moot question OF What con-
siitutes an unreasonable profit c. A.
NcCurdy. parliamentary secretary TO
the Ministry Of Food, recently declared
"eae Of the causes Of pr0ilteering is the
fact that the public seems to have lost
an sense Of what is a reasonable profit.
a good principle for tribunals to work
upon is not 10 ask themselves whether
the profit is higher than someone else
is charging, but is the profit arrived at
on any reasonable business principles
or is it merely dictated by avarice and
greed?'
Mr.. McCurdy has characterized the
pronteering act as IAN abnormal rem
.edy for an abnormal stale OF public
feeling-an act not intended TO harass
British trade, but TO help IL restore II
10 normal and healthy conditions
Critics OF the governments anti
pronieering machinery point to official
figures Just published I'm the Board of
Trades Labor Gazette showing that !
despite efforts 10 beat down living costs |
the general level OF retail prices on |
October 1 was about i20 per cent. above |
pre-war figures, or an increase OF per |
cent. as compared with the level OF
September 4 last, when the local tri-
0unals were just getting under way.
But it IS not contended, even by these
'aultnnders. that the increase would
rot have been larger had the govern
nent made no effort TO bring the
pro1teers TO book.
AGAINST such objections may be set
such testimonials as that OF the Var
mouth pronteering Committee. which
claims that a reduction in wholesale /
nrices by as much as 80 per cent. has
been noticeable Ia that locality.
Membership of the local tribunals is
dxed at from Z to %, two Of whom
must be women. All complaints are
heard in public except IN special cases,
when. under authority Of the Board OF
Trade. proceedings may be In private.
Books OF documents produced at pri-
iaie hearings are TO be treated as con-
dential II the person producing them
So desires. Labor is represented on
The local tribunals and on the central
eommuieo among the members OF the
ommitlee being J. II. Thomas, executive
le41 OBJ ihc ANYWAY men during the
recent strik, and G.. H. Stuart-Bunning.
president OF the British Trades Union
Congress.
Local tribunals have been empOw-
cred to investigate all claims brought
before them and. II the allegations Of
EXCESSIVE, charges are established, 90
institute proceedings against the seller
before a court OF summary jurisdiction,
where, upon conviction, fines Of not
ro. = fhan "a OUu or fronrfeauunouf for