Sky-Rocketing Prices for the Indian Variety but the China Leaf Stagnant: Position of the British Consumer Faom Ove Own Conuesronvenr, London, Jan. 16, China merchants cannot _understand the strange plight of China tea—of all grades and of excellent quality. Nor can we.
Here you have Indian sky-high and only falling—so 1 honestly believe—because of bitter public resentment. It is down by Lid. a 1b. since Christmas and we fare told there may be a further drop though in the next breath we fare assured that later in the year supplies will run short and then there will be an upward moxoment of at least 2d. Personally 1 think the whole business is a ramp. on the part of the producing companjes the more so as they are roll ing in wealth and paying dividends which amount to" about—on the average—some 40 per cent. to 50 per cent. I note that a critic in the "Times" takes the dividends of a few chief companies and here they are—40, 35. 60, 35. 40, 65. 40, 40, 45, 50, 60, 40, 30, 30, 45, 40. Not bad even that lot and T have seen some 70 and over.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.