ON PROFITEERING.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—May I be allowed to express my gratitude to your correspondent in Teneriffe for his very remarkable letter revealing the fantastic difference between the price of bananas sold wholesale in Santa Cruz and those sold retail in London.
One of your correspondents accused me of gross ignorance of the clothing industry, but I would draw his attention to the remarks of Mr. J. C. Pine, Secretary of the United Ladies' Tailors' Union, at the Conference of the General Federation of Trade Unions at Bournemouth. He declared that a lady's costume marked " Reduced from fifteen to eight or nine guineas " would cost only twelye or fifteen shillings to produce, while a costume sold for four or five guineas would actually cost in production only seven or eight shillings. The whole question of " profiteering " does indeed treat of a phase of modern life which is as serious as it is mysterious, and my submission is that enough evidence has now been given to justify the investigation proposed by the Leader of the Opposition.
When that investigation is held, some of the wholesale dealers in the markets and also certain of the larger retailers will have to put forward something more than vague generalities if they are to justify their prices.—I am, Sir, &c.,
YOUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT.
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