To the Editor of the "Nonrt-Cutna Dart 'News'
'Sim—In the absence of any response to the request of Discusrro, for' an {Indication of a fair price to be paid {for tobacco by. the distributors. [Capstan in your issue:-for June. 27, tis fair to assume, that the: prices asked by the four "Chinese dealers Jare more or less in Keeping with the 50 per cent, depreciation of the Chinese dollars in terms of Sterling' and JUS. dollars, No, evidence of -pro-Jaieering has been found." T, hope my poor country. will. hot be deprived of the sympathy of Duscusrep at a tine when a fellow needs-a friend, 'Our correspondent" apparently. bookish and' not. conversant, with Jcommercial practices, else he: would know' that one can usually buy. any given imported article cheapen at the Jcompradore. shops, than one. could possibly buy. It. at. the distributors Jown sales department, but never the vice vorsa,.A, distributor must protec his dealers and maintain the price of his products at a certain level. The dealers on their part are not supposed sell below the' fixed level but they frequently -do this for the sake of selling more and' their infractions in this respect sire usually tolerated by the distributor, who, however, never lowers his own fetail selling' price because if he docs that, he would be Aghting' his. own dealers and killing his selling organizations, 'That would a suicidal policy for the success: ful exploitation of a market {s-do-pendent upon the sales of numerous Jagents and agencies scattered all over the country rather. than upon' the little" retail business done at. the lamees of the distributor. Tf sympathy jean be secured by supplying goods at cheap price, China certainly deserves all the. sympathy Duscusres and his. friends, for the Chinese dealers have been selling foreign goods at a price quite a bit below that fixed by' the foreign" tin: porters, 'But is tt fate to withhold sympathy from. 400. million "Chinese just, befeause four Chinese tobacconists, have been suspected of trying to make a extra' dollar out of our correspon fent? When a people have. been 30 fusused by another people. like. the Chinese are suffering at the hands of the apanese, It 1s only. decent for fall. bystanders to be: outspoken their disapproval -instead. of 1ookint fon unconcerned, much less. to. Imply the the treatment.
Grant that the four Chinese have been guilty of profiteering. [they do not deserve to be. mayhemed Jor murdered, To rejoice atthe suffer-jing. of 400° million innocent. com patriots of these four men Is unjust to the extreme—it is disgusting and If Discusreo allows the dispute over the djflerence of the insignificant sum of $1—to switch his sympathy from China. to Japan, he is placing mighty small value on his sympathy, Jand yet he may have been correct Jas to its real, worth at that. Nec less to say, the Chinese. shall try vers hard: to carry on-without depending upon his eke sympathy, "GE.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.