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Continued from Ist page. Ist Member for Christiansted Country Distriet (Stakemann) remarked: Mr. | Chairman. A committec was appointed on - this matter and inquiries were made in | the Bookkeeper’s Office and it was found that all money has been credited to the Teachers Supporting Fund. The amount. stated to be due to the individual Teach- | es should be paid to them with the ac- crued interest. We find that interest has peen paid up to Mar~h 1, 1918, and the Committee recommends that interest be paid to them from Mareh 1, 1918 up to | the time the amout is paid. [ believe that will be fair to the Teachers and all ‘ others concerned. | Ist Member for Frederiksted Town (Coulter) remarked: Mr. Chairman. I am in favor of the Teachers ge:ting | all that is coming to them.~ A Committee nas been appuinied at the last meeting to report on this irnatter and only now, - while the Council is in session, the Com- l mittee Report is handed to us. The custom was that a committee report is ‘ forwarded to members, at least twenty- four hours before the Meeting of the | Council. [ hope this procedure wiil not | establish a precedent in the Council. | It was put to the vote and carried that | the Committee Report be adopted. | Ist Member for Christiansted Couniry | District [S:akemann] remarked: Mr. | Chairman. I ackrowledged our fault | and admit that we are late with the re- | port, but it is not our fault; this isa small | matter and I don’t think it ils wise ‘o keep the Teachers waiting any longer | tor their money. There are plenty | chances yet for members to give their opinion on tne matter. 7 Ist Member for Frederiksted Town | [Coulter] remarked: Mr. Chairman. When 1 made the remark I did not | know at whose door it would fall, | whether at the door of the Chair- | man of the Committee or the Chair- | man of the _ounecil. I only rem:srked | that [ bope that this procedure is not going to be'a precedent in the Counecil ! h\,‘l'L‘lUl(Lfi'. I The Chairman remarked: It is true | that the repcrt should be forwarded to | members before today, but we had but | little time and the Teachers have been | without their money for some time, with | that in view I do not think members will | nave any objection to forward the mat- | ter today. Ilst Member for Frederiksted Town | (Coulter) remarked: Mr Chairman. It | is not my intention to lay any block in | the way of expediting this matter. ‘I | agree that the Teachers bave been wait- | ing a long time for their money. [t is | only the modus operandi lam objecting : 10 | It was put to tke vote and unanimous- ly carried that the Oommittee Report be | adopted and furthured today. ! Nn one requesting the word further N el X AN % the discussion closed and the Secretary (Canegata) read the bill as amended and . the Chairman put came to the vote. It was unaniniously adopted. | The Chairman remarked: The bill is | adopted and goes to Government. Jtem 3. g Colonial Council Bili No. 35. | Jdntroduction of and Ist Disgussjon | on Colonial Council Bill No. 35, 2nd | Council, 2nd Session 1920 —2l, Draft | of Ordinance, introduced by Govern- -1 mente rerealing Ordinavce creating . the rood Commission. ? The hill reads as follows: | Colonial Council Bill No. 35. . 2nd Council 2nd Sesston 1920--1921. | DRAFT OF ORDINANCE " Repealing An Ordinance Providing A Food Commission. | Be it enacted by the Colomal | Council of St. Croix in Sesswon as- . sembled: l 1. An Ordinance entitled, “An | Ordinance creating a commission to regulate and control the prices of foodstuffs in the island of St. ¢'roix and for other purposes,’”’ passed by | Colonial -Counoil of s et Sk meuteits " third ordinary meeting held on the - 20 October 1919 and sanctioned and approved on the twenty-seventh day of October 1919, is hereby repealed. J. W. OMAN., | REMARKS. | It is considered by the Govern- ~ ment that the ordinance creating a ~ Food ¢ ommission for st. Croix is in ~ many respects an effective ordi- nance. 1n practice, however, the - said ordinance has not, in the opin- . jon of the Government, been pro- ductive of satisfactory results and it is believed that, if the said or- dinance is continued in force, the ~ result of its operation will be to ~ work more hardship than benefit to ' the community, Despatehing Secretary (Colby) intro- ' duced the Draft of Ordinance and said, - ~ Mr. Chairman: The Ordinance ecreating " the Food Cnmmission of St. Croix has | been in force since October 27, 1919. . The cnly effective power which is grant- ed to this commission, is to regulate the ~ retail and wholesale prices on articles of food imported into St. Croix, and this ~ power must be so exercised as to allow ~a reasonable margin of profit. ' | In order to fix a price, whether for ~ wholesale or retail, it must be sufficiently high to allow a profit upon the highest priced imvortation, in other words, it can only be a maximum price. {bserva- tion has shown that rhe prices are tixed by the Commission, insteal of being considerad and treated by the meveh'nis as maximur prices have been taken for selling prices, and the result has been that competition between the various merchants has been stifled. It is well known that some mervchants can and do import at mueh lower nrices than others, and it should logicaily fol low that their prices, should be less to the ultimate consumer: this cooditivn was true before there was a Food Com- miss’on. It has not been true since. - If .the Food (ommission could pur- chase and sell, it would then be an el- fective agenev in insuring to the consu- mer a non-profiteering price. A comparison of the prices in foree today -hows a marked increase since the creation of the Food Cemmission, and probably the increase in the markoer cost of the articles ¢f food. I will now make a com rarison o* the last price iists for St. Croix and for St. Thomas: St. Croix St. Thomas Corn Meal 9c¢. per |b. Bc. per lb. Wheat Flour 12¢. ** * Woe: "t Sugar(Brown)l6e. *©© e St. Croix Lard (Com- pound) e 4 i Rice e ple. Beef 200 R 19 ¢ Veal o oe Mutton gie aoes Live Cattle (old and young) U.S.C.T we Hogs e = e The speaker continuinge—The Govern- ment can see no good reason why me;- chants here cannot sell at the same priees as merchants in St. Thomas when it is considered that each purchases on the same market and each has the same freigh. rate. It is the intention of the Governmen: to introduce in this Council, in the near future, a Draft of Ordinance which will, if adopted, cffectively requlate prices and insure 1o the ultimate consumer a price free from unearned and undue profit. The repealing of the prosent Ordin- ance first, is considered a necessary condition precedent, in view of the faef that this Council has only recently re- fused to pass 'an amendment ihereto which would have granted to the present Comumission scme of the power aensider- ed essential. To be continued. For good appetiteand * : . good digestion use ’ ° @ Dr. Ross’ Life Pills. .Readers, No. 30-17.