The Tax Committee:
Professions and Businessmen To the Editor of the "Nonri-Cinwa Daty News"
Sim—Perusing your issue of this morning one notes that the worthy City Fathers have been asked for an explanation of another, of their do-Ings, Says Rareraven: "Exactly why Aid the Council consider that mem= vers of the legal profession were specially sulted for such a committee vi:... Surely the qucetion of what Additional sources "of taxation any) are avallable is eminently one for business men to tackle, and not Inwyers, who in common with.other professional men, are generally considered to be unbusinessilie."
'Now your correspondent Rareraven is assuming that being businesslike is quality generally found in business tien, Isn't he alittle hasty in'so doing? One' had always compared businesses to shrubs in a forest, of which but a few can get a holding. More business men have taited than have succeeded, Over a period of time the concerts that write their accounts in red are ten times more numerous than those that elope: in the black, Presumably then Ratepaven must confine his description to successful business men. Now isn't it strange that a body of successful "business men, to which class the onerous task of councillor is rightly conferred as distinguished in that world as Rarr~ rayon's quintuplets, should be un Dusinesslike to the degree of appoint-ug a committee, four of which are "professional" men'
Let us scan lightly the gamut of professional men, putting them as near og possible' in their order" of merit—the curate, the physician, the aeeéuntant and the economist," the engineer, the architect, the Journalist and the' lawyer, The priest will tol you how few of them are possessed of more than hollow piety, how few have faith in eternal things, in the spirit. How fow slond clear-ayed seeing distantly through clouds and storm 'The physician will tell you how incredibly unbusinesslike is the busi hess man stuffing down his gullet daily appalling mixtures and quantities of food, mixing into abominable concoctions,' wines. and spirits, dub-Dini the same cocktails, The accountant wi tell you of his daily experience of the "hallueina~ tions of business men as to what are assets and what abilities, as to what are profits and what not," He 4s Kept busy transferring to the right side the items the business-man has put on the eft, restrilding In ved what wag put in black.
The economist will tell you of the appalling inattention of the business man to all warnings of overtrading, who in booming times is all optimism, in bad times. pessimism. personified, Of business men who move in herds producing such unbalancing that their Meanderings in business occur with such regularity as to be dubbed "economic cycles." OF bankers who are carried off their feet in the crea tion of currency and the extension of credit and thus brought about in century half a dozen major crisis.
The enginesr will tell you of the fatuous tasks thay business mon design their machines as though they were hiog things of art, not subject to wear and tear like beings, The architect will tell you of the incredible cities that business men will herd into for the carrying on of their activities, Keeping. thinas like garden eitfes for the time when they "come to wheel themselves in chairs around them.
The Journalist, when he has not his tongue in his check, will tell you how he can make the business: man believe anything of his fellow beings if he but put it in print twice and whether it pertain to anything on earth or beyond, The Iawyer could tell you much but If he be wise he will tell you nothing ut, all Which is not ~to condemn the business man, For we are all business and all in professions, And the man who has taken to the profession of merchandising in textiles is as much out of his depth when werehandising in ships as the lnvser.
out of his depth when attempting to attend to the spiritual needs. of hhis neighbour of the physiological irregularities of his brothers, We be all in business, And success business comes not because any extraordinary talents but be. cause the person' is possessed of a capacity on a level for business and not above it 'As Lord Bacon said: "There be three ports of business—the pre-ration; the debate or examination and the' perfection. Let the middle oily be the work of many, and the first and the last the work of few."
And what: does the successful merebiant do? He regularly consults those who have ade it their business to specialize in certain lines: of study, He is not thus deprived of EDITOR (continued)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.