The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-03-09
SUPERVISION Of 4
!. 'Wl \ 90 ENDED.
-Four OF Five Steps Necessary to
!. Finish Work Of War Indus
tries Board.
SETTLE WTH 1856 DEALERS
? Neperts Must Be Audited, AnaIy1sd
and Excess Profits Determined and
pjsburoSd-Rsfund In Many
Cases Will 30 Small.

pisbursDsd-Rsfunds In Many
Cases Will 30 Small.
Washington.-The department Of
agriculture IL winding up the affairs
~ tho domestic wool section Of the
VII industries board. This work in
Tesvss four distinct steps, and it seems
irobable that 4 nth WI be necessary.
The first step 10 to secure. on forms
1srnished BY the department. sworn
jjipoffs from TIE $685. country deal
~ and TIM 10 distributing dealers
b whom the war industries board H.
sued permits to deal in wool OF the
1o1o clip.
The second involves the auditing Of
'-t1eSg reports III detail to determine
whether the methods pursued and the
i6o6ts made are III accordance with
t1e regulations.
The third II the collection Of excess
alsate from those persons Or hrnds
vAeee ,reportA after enditing sho~
an iSt1ch excess prronn were made.
4, rapidlyy,a1; they ars- received b
the department, all remittances 1oe
excess profits are Being deposited %
q specfai fuinSd in the treasury o6 he
USit6d Stsltes.' = 10
"a otss,ds1Ataae Exesee pren.
No fUrInrt& Il Il Careful analysis q
4aeh rseport which shows excess pro6tsl
w1th 4 Wv to working ont the fail.
at possible method Of distributing
e1ch prolts. After this Is done. the
department proposes to disburee TIE
'>1cess profits ~ check Of its own DID.
|bVrsine officer drawn on the treasury
|of the United States.
The nth step will be an audit, In
the field, Of the books and records OF
dealers whose reports for any reason
seem to make this course advisable.
The first division OF the work has
been very nearly completed. A rela-
lively small number Of approved deal
ers have failed to make reports. and
1T Is believed that the transactions OF
many Of these were 50 small as to be
practically negligible.
It has been discovered that several
hundred wool dealers carried on their
business as usual during 1918 without
Iobtaining permits. As the names, OF
these dealers have been ascertained
they have been required to furnish re.
ports similar in respect TO those re-
1uired from permit holders and to pay
over their excess profits whenever 1t
appears that they have made more
than the regulations allowed. In 9TH
er words, they are not allowed to de-
rive any advantage from having oper-
ated in ignorance or violation Of the
regulations. The discovery of many
81 these unauthorized dealers was i'm
possible until the reports Of the 179
den,ors In distributing centers were
audited, since the entire wool clip of
the country eventually passed through
their books either as purchases or
tonsignments.
The second division of the work.
that Of auditing the reports received.
Is progressing rapidly as the force
available will permit. and the coll6c-
tion Of excess profits proceeds as the
audit Of zach separate case Is COM
pleted.
Pay Al at Same Time.
As raDidly rs excess profits are re-
ceived from any dealer they are ap-
portioned To the individual growers
to the extent to which their identity
is disclosed. hut the actual payments
are heing withheld until the collec.
tion Of excess profits Is more nearly
completed. in order that practically
all the growers may receive their
checks at approximately the same
time.
The reports Of many country deal
FRS show no excess profits. Relat. ?ely
small amounts Of excess were nade
by most of the others. and the refunds
to individual growers In many cases
will he very snail. In other words.
the refunds will amount in the aggre-
gate to several cents per pound upon
all the wool which the dealer handled.
"The greater part Of all excess p:of-
it's" according to report Of the de-
pnrtment. "nppearS to have accur,n-
lated in the hands of certain diStritut.
ing center dealers who purchased
largely through direct agencies in pro-
ducing sections. Many Of the distrib-
uting center dealers. who handled
woods on consignment only and whose
profits were necessarily limited to the
commissions paid by the government.
appear to have no excess. In the dis
cussion Of this subject in press. the
fact that nearly two-thirds of the wool
clip Of the country Is so-called ter
ritory wool from the Western and Pa
cific coast states. which was handled
almost exclusively on consignments,
and therefore furnished on opportuni-
ty for the accumulation of excess
profits, has. to some extent at least.
been overlooked"
Gift Costly to Giver.