The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-11-18

War Level.
LONDON. Oct. IS (By Associated
pressl.-Great Britain s stupendous et-
fort to grapplc with profteering is just
disclosed by the work Of 1900 tribunals
which have prosecuted 1850 offenders
and secured ,320 convictions. with fines
aggregating $4,000.
Besides setting up these local trlbun-
ais TO which complaints against deal
ers are submitted, appeal tribunals have
been established in specific areas OF
ENGLAND. Scotland and Wales. In adj |
dition central committees also have
been formed to investigate supposed
trusts or monopohes which may be |
manipulating wholesale prices. This
has been done under the protiteennS
act.
Apart from the prosecution of com
plaints. the board of trade, which Is
charged with the administration of the
anti-profiteering law, is Independently
investigating prices, costs and profits OF
a LARGE number of articles in common
use. 1t has formed a costing commit
tee. composed of distinguished account
ants. which is assisting the central com
mittee in its task 4 sub committee on
trusts has been empowered to obtain
whatever technical and expert assist
ance 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
lie or to any 'material, machinery or
accessories used in the production of
such articles" The act does not apply
to controlled = articles, such as but
ter, lgat. beer -four. iquors-commod-
Il !ur vA.l' maximum prices were
fl q bN wartime legislation.
i clear-cut definition of the term
"profiteering' has been a point which
has given local tribunals much diff
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 a
basis for prosecution. 1t follows:
''The making of an unreasonably large
profit, all the circumstances being
known. by the sale to one s fellow cit
liens of an article which is one, or one
of a kind, in common use
On the moot question of what eonsti-
tutcs an unreasonable profit G.. A.
MCCulugs Parliamentary SSCltbdig W
the minister of food, recently declared
Zone Of the causes Of profteering is
the fact that the public seems to have
lost all sense of what is reasonable
profit. A good principle for tribunals
TO work upon is not to ask themselves
whether the profit is higher than some
one else IS charging, but is the profit ar
rived at on any reasonable business
principles or is it merely indicated by
avariee and greed?'
Critics Of the government S anti
profiteering machinery point to officia
figures just published in the board OF
trade IS Labor Gazette showing that
despite efforts to beat down living costs
the general level of retail prices on De
tober ! was about 120 per cent above
prc-war figures, or an increase of five
per cent As compared with the level OF
September last when the local tr
bunals were just getting under way
But it is not intended. even by thest
fault finders, that the increase would
not have been larger had the govern
ment made no effort to bring the pro
fteers TO book.
Against such objections may be Sc
such testimonials as that of the Var
mouth profiteering committee whjcl
claims that a reduction in WHOLESALE
prices by as much as 35 per cent ha
been noticeable in that locality.
Membership Of the local tribunals i
fixed at from seven TO %, two of whom