There has been general recognition in principle of the need for maintaining home and export markets to the greatest extent consonant with the requirements of the actual prosecution of the war, yet in practice restriction has taken its toll of trade and industry before the labour and plant displaced are needed for work directly concerned with the fighting Service and the national war effort. moreover, the injuries the commercial community has suffered, whether of necessity or not, have in too many instances been exacerbated by the impossibility of getting rapid decisions on matters of vital importance, and by the nature of the decisions received, even when the case has been put forward by responsible bodies such as the Chambers of Commerce. There has been evident a complete lack of any sense of urgency.
"In such circumstances, where business is being lost and traders harassed every day that passes, a decision ought to be available within twenty-four hours. Now that the Government is in business, it is essential that it should adopt business methods. While a month may in peace time be regarded as a reasonable period for a reply on an administrative question, twenty-four hours is a long time to wait for a decision in business.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.