We all sympathise with the great difficulty Johnny Walker have at the present time in selling their products in the shoddy surroundings of stucco walls and the like. But however that may be, we think it is a somewhat excessive amount in the circumstances. Messrs. Thomas Cook, to enable them more efficiently to organise an exodus for holidays abroad, were allowed a licence of nearly £9,000 for premises in Berkeley Street. An interesting licence, which will give the House some idea of the principles which seem to operate in the granting of the licences, is the licence granted to Devonshire House, Piccadilly, the office premises of Odeon Cinemas.

If the House will bear with me it will receive instruction from the details of this licence. It appears there is a showroom in Devonshire House, and our cinema chiefs find the mirror glass round it imperfectly reflects their countenances; and, consequently, that has had to be repaired and reglazed at a cost of £2,160. Whether the masonry of the building was dilapidated or damaged, whether it was bomb damaged or not, the purpose for which the building was used would make it seem surprising that a licence of £3,000 was granted for masonry repairs. Most astonishing of all is the figure of £2,000 to put in new glass in the sixth and seventh floor windows. I am tempted to imagine they must have replaced those windows with Venetian glass taken from the most extravagant Hollywood set. The same building while the job was on, received a licence for £420 for interior decorations of a general nature, and, while at it, to make sure no extravagance of the interior decorator's art should be strait-jacketed by rising costs, a further £350 was granted to cover that little matter. That is a total on the building of nearly £8,000 I could go on taking examples from the list I have—