MONEY MADE OUT OF THE WAR.
THE NATION'S RIGHT TO ITS
--RETURN.
SULGESTION "TO MEET OUR VAST EXPENDITURE.
The time of the. Budget is now proaching, and it will be awaited with lar kener interest than is usual by a public heavily hairdined by taxation and anxious over the Anitzicial future of the patina. The sept Has iwen well kept, bet certain outstamling facts dominant the primitivan
In the first place mur expenditure during the "ext year will not he than four millions a day. A large pro- portion of this amount is, of course paroly war expenditure which will not recur. On the other hand, looking at the colossal amounts of the Army, Navy,
and Civil Service estimates, it is impos Bible to avoid the conclusion that man of these charges will be permanent for at least the next decade, This, however is not the only fact which stars as the lace trom the wrong side of the Balance sheet. There are three others:-
STERS PATA,
(1) Vast and expensive promises of social intern inte heen,mage and st be, Caridit, and the demands of the Triple Adhuc must be added to en supra dar improved healthy, hotsug and Brauspurtąja 922.
a
PARLIAMENT.
PERSPECTIVE:
IN
THE HONGKONG DAILI PRESE, TUESDAY, MAY 13TH, 1919.
SLIPPERY SLOPE OF
EXTRAVAGANCE, ·,
B4142,832
Authority to dip hands in the coffers of the State and take out intel was obtained by the Government in the House of Coinmon's on March 19th after and debate an expenditure,” waste. xtravagance.
It STUM a shackled, belpless House, say the Parliaiusntary Representative of the Daily Telegraph that sat down to the sevend reading of the Consolidated and Bill, which gives the force of law to a mighty hundile festimates for this amount. Monbers parlised that we are living on a hollow pin-crust of unsound finance or horrowed money: that these
Valst
Mitus,*
in that
1914
would
have driven the Chancellor of the Ex fchequer mad, must be granted at pre- sent; and that nothing bat production, unshackled British eqimeges, and the removal of the blockade both on the se and on the free arteries of capital can. lift me out.
OUTTING LOSSES,
One thing stood out in the speech by Austen Chamberlain the grave, Mr.
nonocled Chancellor in reply to the sarly part of the debate: the Govern 13 are ready to eat losses or #igantic war-time purchases of food stocks, Further, they long to drop
raise the strictions, on trade and-"to
Bear horkade. Mr. Chamberinin came touching on the staggering Budget he is going to introduce next month, but frew-back and topped the veil. He in (8) Finally, there langs. Tike thundercloud over the whole situation,plored everybody inside and outside the
(2) The returns, fron existing insution sollen by war expenditure and will drop with that expenditure. Yet to raise the Income-tax beyond its present limit will break the back of the ordinary
tax-payer.
3
AIR LINERS OF THE FUTURE BEST TYPES FOR LONG JOURNEYS OVERSEAS.
[by c. a. osex (EDITOR OF THE
AEROPLANE."}}
CUSTLY CONTROL FARCES. FIRM, MADE TO LOSE £10,000 ON
GOVERNMENT BEANS.
Astonishing instances of the working of control by Government departments, were Although public interest in the Trans-cited treatly at a crowded weeting of atlantic fight centres for the moment business men held at Cannon street Hotel, chiefly on whose neroplane shall get across at which a resolution was passed urging first, actually the greater intepret the Transatlantic Hying Fies in what type of aircraft shall in future he the regular standard method of conveyance across the Atlautic
mediate removal of all D.0.R.A. controls op trade"
The meeting was called by the National Produce Traders League. Free Traders and Tariff Reformers sat side by side, and the chief speakers were Sir Frederick Banbury, Unionist M.P. for the City; and Mr. Walter Runciman, Liberal ex-Cabinet Minister,
trol
Here are some of the examples of "con. which were mentioned by Mr. Arthur Damsell, of Liverpool, who pre sided
Early in the war the Government con mandeured all süpplies of beans and peas, at once raised the price, and made a con siderable proft. Now they are overload. ed with thir purchases. Recently they
Elled up
The S.S.. R
STEAM TO SINGAPORE DIRECT.
SUN TAK” will be despatched ou
Wednesday, May 14th. For freight and other particulars apply to-
J. R. BRAGA, -
61, Connaught Road Central, Telephone 1978.
[743
KONINKLYKE
PAKETVAARTTM
MAATSCHAPPY. “
(ROYAL PACKET NAVIGATION CO. OF BATAVIA),
*HE STEAMSHIP
THE
VAN
WAERWYCK"
every buyer of beans and will be despatched on May 14th, to, peas and then dropped the price by £18 to 50 per ton. One frm alene lest
SINGAPORE, PENANG AND BELAWAN. DELIS
The same thing has been done with oil This vessel offers excellent cabin-accommodation for 'saloon passengers,
seetis.
Ceylan lemons are offered in open market at 11s, per case. If a jam maker wants to buy lemons he has to buy them from the Government at 15, a case.
One has, at any rate, sufficient faith in the development of aiterait to believe Brmly that in years to come anybody who wants to travel between Europe and Ape rica in anything of a hurry will travel by air, though one would hate to attempt a prophecy whether that state of affairs
So far as the immediate competition is will arrive in ew years' time or twenty.
concerned, there sects.overy prospect of one of the single engined machines which have already been entered getting across, The Sopwith. the, Short, the Martinsyde,210,000 in conservener, or the Fairey machine should do it, un- less they are, the victims of sheer had dark, for all of them, have proved that they have sufficient speed to dy from Newfoundland to freand, carrying the load of petrol which they are designed to
The Government commandeered frozen arry, and all of them have prayed that they can lift that load of petrol.
rabbits at '19s." a case, kept them in cold Therefore, the only thing that can pos-storage for eighteen months, and tben sibly stop them is either engine break asked the original merebant to buy them down, some defect in the aeroplane itself back at 45. When the merchant refund which develops in the course of the flight, he was told that he should have no freight or some sudden change in the weather for his next lat.
The Government have beld up naize which blows them right out of their course and results in their being lost at sea,
Either of the three causes would bed now demand 40 per cent. more than
maite can
be bought for in the open sheer bad luck, for
Rolls Royce market. which all of them a are
have Sir Frederick Bunbury, M.P., mention- been tested to more than twenty-four hours work at
Government at 7.754. per lh and sold by full power, and they should, therefore, the Government at 1, 5d. He stated that be capable of doing 100 hours or more between September and February the profit of £2,100,000 at, say three-quarter power, which Government made a
on cattle sald in the markets in all parts about all that any of the pilots are likely to use in the course of the flight.
of the country, The also made an enormous profit by commandeering wool at a low price and selling it to the manus facturers at a high price.
FROZEN RABBITS.
the certain knowledge that we shall House to practise economy and increase engines and up tablyedveseat instance of ten bought by tho
have to pay well over 300 million a year interest on the National, Debt. In fact, this tharge alone is so beáry-that a rapid -reduction at the capital amount of the debt is essential to our future financial prosperity.
All this ues that my must. found somehow this younless the patial is to go on with the vicious system of floating debts and living on capital. THE MEANS.
How is the money to be found? The existing system of taxation has reached its possible or profitable limit.
There remains the idea of a levy on capital. which Mr. Bonar Law and in the course of the war he would not de finity reject. But there are many ob- jects to this plan. and it could only be put forward as an ultimate resort.
We have a far better scheme. The Dady press suggests that the money "bould come from the nun who have maddy out of the war.. In using this rm we take no charge whatever again individuals. Many men have been perfectly helpiem profiteers. bappened that the circumstances of the war enormously enhanced the value of property in their possession. The value
It so
production.
The truth is that the house is much like the woman who says to her husband Buy me a fat, a new on Wednesday: dress, and a Rolls-Royce, and let us give jazz ball and on Thursday says, The one thing this household has to do is to economise"
Mr. George Lambert, Asquithian ex Civil Lord of the Admiralty, opened the lament or expenditure. He said that the Government are going along the line of least resistance down the slippery He confessed he did not know slope, month's Budget, with its call for 1,500 millions-seven and a half times the Budget of April 1914.
ENGINE BAFETY.
来
As the fight for any of these machines is not likely to take more than, twenty hours, and may in fact on take fourteen or so, it can only be bad luck if any of the engines go wrong.
Mr. Runciman said manufacturers all over the country have stocks un hand which they are not allowed to send to
how the Government would face next doubt, because we kown that in almost be greatest is the system of con-
"I wish that Mr. Chamberlain' would change places with Mr. Churchill. be cause wherever Mr. Churchill is things ham," said Mr. Lambert. We don't want the War Office to hum. but to hibernate."
PREMIUM ON IDLÈNESS.
the Great
Northern this January they carried more passengers than crer before! Yet we are living borrowed money.
ruptcy.
We
The human element is not mach in any branch of athletics a man can keep and shortly
rtly before the war various Ger- song for twenty-four hours at a stretch. man aviators competing for the duration record, flew for periods varying between twenty-four. One of righteen hours and
hours. them actually Bow for and twelve minutes without
Twenty-four DE
The chief danger on this account seems to be that as there is so little actual work to be done in flying a modern aero ulane, the pilot may suffer from what Colonel O'Gorman in one of his recent dangerous witty speeches called somnolence."
1
however, each
machine besides the regular pilot, a navigator who also an aviator, the pilot can always he takes a nap. Therefore, it seems prac hand over control to his colleague while tically certain tha: barring extraordinary bad luck, any or all of these competitors should get across the Atlantic safely.
Even it they all do so, that does not
The only two per
their customers abroad, and merchants who wish to buy from abroad are not
to do
obstacle to increased pro. trol by Government departments.
Our duction, Gat only hope lies in getting rid of the regula tione under the Defence of the Realz Act."
EVERY-POSSIBLE BAN.
In the West Riding of Yorkshire there is," Mr. Runciman declared, £10,000,000 worth of woollen goods waiting for ex- port and every conceivable clerical and legal difficulty is put in the way, at a time when the foreign exchanges are against us, and their restoration is one of the most urgent interests of industry
and commerce.'
There was another gust of laughter when Mr. Runciman quoted a letter from
the
4 volplane to earth was made by Sir Frederick Banbury, member for the City, in every sense. He saw no immediate hope of great anving on the Army and Navy. He chided the lavish" expendi of ships is a striking instance of thisture of the public. On for every ship sunk onhanced the value.
Orders are urgently required at presczt Government department saying:- of those which still Hoated. Now money
for filling offals at the London mils. made directly or indirectly out of the
I am to request you to be good enough to war ought to go to pay the expenses of
Then we were giving unemployment the war.
feed. stimulate demand for offals for horse Such has been the world-wide convul.doles" a premium on idlefiess
At the sinn that it in practically impossible to cannot go on like this except to bank in the least imply that it would be posing among the London shipowners.
Runciman, same time, added Mr. sible immediately to establish a regular
of offals to Scandinavia and export select any increment in value or wealth
The tall, dean, far-sighted Unionist Transatlantic service with machines of which is not directly due to war.. It is
member for Dewsbury, Colonel Picker-imilar type. are all specialty Holland is prohibited.
In 1918 the import of Danish bacon was hardly to be believed that any patrioting. D.S.O., in a maiden speech of built machines would really want to keep this money at value, attacked the trade restrictions SODS. Also if any of the machines (all prohibited, and bacon was imported from the expense of the ordinary tax-payer that bound our manufacturers while into the sea, it would be entirely a matter Chicago. The Danish bacon cost 91d. a
pound, or 2d. above pre-war price. Let us take the case of the munitions America is booking orders in our over.
of good luck whether the crew were manufacturer. Not only has be in many
picked up by an airship before they were seas inarkets, Mr. Chamberlain, in
drowned cases made large sums in spite of the
reply, said that the Americans are excces proats tax, but the greater past giving long credit and booking orders of the vast new plant he has in his pos for post-blockade days, with a hint that session is practically a present from the
our manufacturers might do likewise. State Will he refuse to surrender his war prosts? Let him think what it means. Millions" of our men were en- Raged in hurling bomba at the "enemy. In that very act they risked their lives! Are they, in addition, to be asked to pay for those bombs? If so, the profits would go to the stay-at-home, while the men at the front paid for their own patriotism and their own danger. The idea is mon- strous,
This doctrine need not apply to small amounts of £2.000 or £3,000, which would not be worth the price of valuation and collection to the revenue, Otherwise return ought to be compiled of the en hanced value of any man's or any com, that increment of fortune should be paid directly into the Exchequer.
TAKE OFF CONTROL!
A controller come to judgment rose in the tall, capable figure of Sir Charles Sykes from Yorkshire. He has been a controller for two years. Take off con trol, was his cry. Let workers and everybody else face facts. He quoted a touch of Yorkshire": There's no thir: for post an' very little for toop. A lack-lustre House, sensing its own
pence."
Cavious NEEDS.
+
It is perfectly obvious that for anything in the nature of a regular Transatlantic passenger service, the aircraft, employed must be of such a type that if their engines break down, or if anything else compels them to stop their journey, the surety of the crew and passengers is as
be assured by the
be
would
Chicago was given a clear run," he raid, and the pig-men of America push- ed our price up from 7d. to Is. Gd. a' pound
The menace of calamity is overhang- ing British commerce, concluded Mr. Runciman, and our instinct as well. za reason call for fresh air and freedom,
As in the case of steamships, this dan- Already Euch safety, ts, but even the bigger will disappear in time.
belium gas, whic his quite uninfammable, the United States. In that country it is pro duced from natural gas wells, and
it available in large "quantities, though is extremely expensive to produce even under those conditions.
one
cap.
107
In this country no such natural gas wells exist, and it is as yet impossible to on a commercial basis. No doubt in time produce helium by purely, chemical means that difficulty will be overcome, and the who overcomes it will do for airshipa very much what Mr. J. E. Dunlop for excling and motoring.
use of big flying gest extraordinarily, uncomfortable if compel led to alight in an ordinary Atlantic swell, and
ther they would hold The most elementary justice demands
together for more than
short & very that war prouts and war income abould helplessness in view of these bewildernes Nevertheless, it may be possible in time kima in anything like feally had weather, go to war expenses before men who have millions, dwindled away to dinner, not made money by the war or who have leaving a dozen or so to listen to Mr.
to come to build
boats ying
of such actually lost it should be compelled to Wardle on unemployment. He told of enormous size that, if bear an additional burden.
992,000 (men and women) still taking descend on the waters they would be to
able of
of riding out even an Atlantic gale. unemployment pay, and added a bright
It must, however, be spark by announcing that the labour exrate before boats of such a size can be
some years at changes are developing the domestic built, for they would cost many tons of servant side of their work. In January thousands of pounds to build, and It they placed more than 13,000 women in hardly seems likely that any of the air- domestic service. He regarded the pro craft firma of to day would be justified problem."
Vessels experimentally.
"There remains then the airship. It is tion. Such engines, known as the Diesel, fairly well-known that a German airship already exist, and are largely used for made a trip from the Balkans to Central stationary engine work, but at present Africa and back in November 1917, which they are far too heavy in their design to was equal in length to a voyage from be useful on aircraft. England to New York and back. It is Nevertheless, there seems no reason why, weather and that if it had met with severe engines of the Diesel type should not be true that it bad not to contend with bad with proper experiment and research, head winds it would have failed to reproduced for aircraft. turn, but it seems probable that even helium-filled airships fitted with engines When we have against a fairly strong bead wind the burning beavy oil, then we shall have improved airship of to-day should be achieved the safest possible form of air able to make the Transatlantic trip in ono direction.
Danger of fire from the engines will also be abolished when some clever motor engineer evolves a light engine burting oil which is non-inflammable until
pany's, property since August, 1914, and sent scarcity of servents as "a passing in going to the expense of building auch ected to a special process of carbura
OBJECTIONS MET.
"
Mr. McLaren, of North Lanark, said that the decision to allow free imports Ecfore proceeding to consider hos this of paper had caused a crisis in his dia plan should be carried out in detail il trict, and the papermakers saw their will be well to meet some of the obvious Prices being reduced by 40 and 50 per objections to it. In the first place it cent An ill vind.. will be urged that this is a confiscatory
About nine o'clock it all petered out, a few semi-recumbent members mutter tax on capital, a thing rightly decreting assent to the second, reading of the by all economists on the ground that it Bill to spend more than £40,000,000 on discourages or prevents that saving of capital without which progress in, in fighting forces and other purposes. A dustry is impossible. It is no such dull, helpless night. thing. For it is a course dictated by the apecial circumstances of the war, and
not a plan which should ever be repeat-
ed. It would not, therefore,
dis-
CAPITAL
305
The
LIKE A BALLOON.
it was proved in Germa
before the war that, in spite of gas and inflammable
fuel, air- ships could be wrecked very completely The airship also has the advantage without damaging any of the passengers, that, in the event of engine breakdown, and it was the boast of the courage saving in, the future, for there The second cbition might be that it drift like a free balloon until the Zeppelin Company that, although tens of would be no threat or probability of its the excess profits tae, rising in the end defect has been
put right." recurrence. Special financial justice to the mining indhatay, to 85. per cent... greatest objection to all airships of thousands of passengers had been carried bere simply calls for a special measure. has already met the case. But the excess to day is the constant danger of fire. and tens of thousands of miles had been
covered by their airships, they had
pad never Apart from theilt, the peautrylation of profits date to the best deals only aches acél hemmable or are given by the killed a pasenger, one's personal ang capital is due to industry foresight, income.. It leaves absolutely untouched at of
Therefore, though one's Will any one arge that those who profit great aggregations of increased capital airship itself is floated by means of the terests are considerably more concerned ed by the war foresaw it; and worked value directly due to the war, and not most inflammable of all gases.
with aeroplanes than with airships, one sund wirbed for it in order to increase necessarily represented by any increase res ou ently steamships, and even on sail cannot help believing that for regular of income on the part of the owner. It ing vessels, was always the chief dread Transatlantic passenger service, the air- is this increase of capital value which it of sailors, and fire on an airship in mid-ship will come into use some considerable should be the man object of the Treasury Atlantic seems even a worse prospect. time. before the seroplane.
Daily Es (Continued as foot of next cilumn.)
This fortunes? Well, hardly. Did certain mineowners want, the war in order to pocket 13 millions?
(Continued at foot of next column.)
to recurs
Fire at
•
press.
یر
WAL
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(198
(6
BEN
2.9
LINE OF STEAMERS..
FOR STRAITS AND LONDON.
THE STEAMSHIP
"BENCLEUCH"
will be despatched as above on or about May 20th, 1919,
For Freight apply to—
GIBB, LIVINGSTON
AGENTS:
FOR NEW YORK.
BLUE
FUNNEL LINE.
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NAV. CO., LTD.
PROPOSED BAILINGS FROM HONGKONG (SUBJECT TO ALTERATION)
FOR
HAIPHONG via FOCHOW STRAITS CALCUTTA SHANGHAI via SWATOW STRAITS & CALOUTTA.
MANILA
KOBE
MANILA
STRA MĒNES
"TAKSANG"
VTO ELL
...Wed, 14th May, BAM. "YATSHING " Wed., 14th May, 8 pm
CHOYBANG...Thurs, 15th May Dlight. "CHAKSANG...S..
17th May, 3 Faci
WINGSANG...Mon. 19th May, p
... 1++
KUMBANG YUENSANG
・Wed.
21st May, & FX. 23rd May,
pl.
gorged bed will shortly afford viaSingapore and Penang.
CALCUTTA LINE-Trisilise to Caletta
frequent and regalar sailings
Returning from Calcutta steamers proceed via Straits and Hongkong to Japan, occasionally calling at Shanghai.
All steamers have excellent
Umibed amount
ol
Light and Fans and carry a fully quali scomodation, are fitted with Electric
་ qualided Surgeon.. HANGEAL LINE:-Salifora. #prazimately Brary dye daya bahwasa Chatin and Shanghai, mimas calling Bab Steamsca on this las, kara -'m is:sumadation, and through tickets esa be obtained pinsagr for Northern and Yangtzea Porte via Shanghai. Through Bills of Lading are lisaad to all Northern and Yangtus Ports: MANILA LINE-A weekly asrvice is maintained with Manils by vossole with good
paranger accommodation, sailings from both parts every Friday. HAIPHONG LINE :-Sallings apgrozimabaly weekly for passoŭgory and cargo, calling
Holbow when fadassment offeri
+
CRNED LINE:One sailing per month between Hong kong and Sandakan” by
teamer having up-to-date accommodation for passengers.
Cargo taken on through s of Lading for Kudat, Jesselton, Labuan, TEWLO AN Lahad
Data TIENTSIN LINE-A regular service le run from March to October between Hong-
kong and Tientsin, calling at Wetbalwed and Cheloo.
An
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