Note 150 — Chapter XII · —THE REGULATION OF WAGE LEVELS (Continued)—WAGES AND PROFITS

W. J. Ashley, in an article in the Economic Journal, December, 1910, entitled "The Statistical Measurement of Profit," reveals the many serious problems involved in the measurement of profit—when no prior preparation (such as the compulsory standardization of methods of accountancy) has been undertaken. The question of profit measurement he aptly states as that of finding out "what the suppliers of capital to business concerns get in the long run over and above the capital they actually put in them" (page 549). Unless prior preparation is undertaken for the purpose in hand, it is probable that his conclusion does not overstate the difficulties much, if at all. He writes, "Modern 'trust finance'—the finance of great new industrial combinations, creates difficulties in the way of gain statistics that will tax the highest skill of the economist and accountant—if, indeed, they are not insuperable" (page 549). There would appear to be no good reason, however, why prior preparation, such as is suggested, could not be undertaken; nor would that task be one of extreme difficulty.