Sept. 17.
Tue overwhelming character of High Cost of Living—to-day, given capital letters to show how, much a feature of life it is—has. led peoples into strange paths. Profiteering had only to be whispered to set nations on the hunt, yet when all is said and done we have captured but a few. culprits and these not particularly important. Yet the pursuit of the profiteer has not been without certain good results, for once the subject has been gone into scientifically it has shown features in the commerce of the country to which we have been blinded by the supposed magnitude of our financial transactions. We have seen our industries exporting goods of an unprecedented value, we have seen them bearing taxes on an undreamt of scale, and a few months ago we saw the public plunged in a mad fit of speculation induced by that apparently wonderful prosperity. Granted that some industries are able to pay remarkable profits even after taxation has done its worst, this speculative fever marks where the public showed itself at fault. Investigation carried out on the correct scientific lines now indicates that, in comparison with the greater sums of money at stake and the greater hazard of business, dividends are likely to be smaller than in prewar times. Not only is taxation absorbing the profits which shareholders' hands are outstretched to: grasp, but its continuance upon the present scale is even hampering the manufacturer in making his proper dispositions for reserves, depreciation and the like. We find this definitely stated in respect of one industry, and, by analogy, we may conclude that in others those who so recklessly, inflated the price of shares are going to suffer for it.
These conclusions are demonstrated in the report of a Board of Trade Committee appointed to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.