The reply of Messrs. Coats to the strictures of the
Standing Committee on Trusts deserves consideration. They In effect accuse the Committee of making a mistake in the figures dealing with the firm's Income Tax. They say that their net profits for 1919 were less by some £600,000 than was stated by the Committee. The rate of profit was 12 per cent., and not 16 per cent. as stated by the Committee. There had, in -fact, been a fail from the profits of 1914 and not an increase. Messrs. Coats also point out that their profits are made chiefly by foreign sales, and as four-fifths of their output goes abroad the home market benefits by the reduced cost of production on a very large scale. Probably if Messrs. Coats used part of their profits to reduce the price of the reel of cotton at home they would be charged more than ever with killing their competitors by underselling. The accusation made by Messrs. Coats against the Committee of blundering to the extent of over half-a-million in their figures is a serious one. One's judgment on the affairs of Messrs. Coats must depend upon the figures. Let us at all events know beyond dispute what the figures are.
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