general conditions of the trade and of the market are given, the two factors which determine the status and value of a given sound concern, as seen from the business man's standpoint, are the magnitude of the turnover and the length of time it occupies.
The business man's object is to get the largest aggregate gain from his business. It is manifestly for his interest, as far as may be, to shorten the , process out of which his earnings are drawn,' or, | in other words, to shorten the period in which he turns over his capital. If the turnover consumes less than the time ordinarily allowed in the line of
' Thig, of course, bas notbing to say to BOhm-Bawerk's theory of the enhancement of production through letigLhening the precasses o( itiduttry. His theory of the "rouudabout method" applies lo the technical, maieriiJ efficiency of the mechanica! process ; whereas the point In question here la the interval occupied in the turning over of a given bnslneas capital, Bbhm-Bairerk'a position may be qoeatlonable, hoWBTer, on othoi grounda.
industry in which he is engaged, he gains more than the current rate of profits in that line of busi* ness, other things equal; whereas he loses if the turnover takes more than the normal time. This fact is forcibly expressed in the maxim, " Small profits and quick returns." There are two chief means of shortening the interval of the turnover, currently resorted to in industrial business. The [ first is the adoption of more efficient, time-saving I industrial processes. Improvements of industrial plant and industrial processes having this in view are gaining in importance in the later developments of business, since a closer attention is now given to the time element in investments, and great advances have been made in this direction.' A second expedient for accelerating the rate of turnover is the competitive pushing of sales, through larger and more urgent