7938. By Hon. J. F. ALLEN: What is the capacity of your mill? — In addition to being chairman of directors of Thomas & Co. I am chairman of directors of Harrison, Ltd. The mills are back to back. Harrison's do up to three tons an hour. Our port mill does two tons an hour. At Port Augusta we have a mill which does 1½ tons an hour. I am now acquiring another mill which, when completed, will do another ton. I calculate to do 7½ tons per hour in South Australia when all the mills are working.

7939. By the CHAIRMAN: We understand an offer was made to the millers by the Scheme in which they differentiate a price as to the size of the mill. Is that a good system? — It is done for one reason — I think a valid reason. I claim that in consequence of the war bearing heavily, as it does, on many people, it is not fair that a man with a mill should be legislated out of the business. There are economics in a large mill which the small mill does not possess. I protested in South Australia and here against the small miller being put on the same basis as the large mill. It is his livelihood and it is more important to the small miller than to the large miller.

7940. Do you think his payments, rather than according to the size of the mill, should be accordance with the flour turned out? — I have taken the broad issue.

7941. Suppose I had a mill turning out 38lbs, of flour to the bushel and you are turning out 40lbs., my mill being smaller than yours; it is a loss to the Scheme at both ends? — I should be sorry to think that any miller who got his livelihood out of a mill should be deprived of it — he got it before the war, why should he be pitchforked out and not be able to get a living now? It is sentimental, I quite understand but I have said it in South Australia and it is seems to me a fair thing. A man should not be squeezed out of a thing that gave him his livelihood before the war.

7942. Owing to war conditions leniency should be shown to him? — Yes.

7943. In regard to bulk handling of wheat, have you had any experience in South Australia? — Beyond small blending tanks that we have in our mills, I have had no experience with silos. They do not appeal to me. The cost of erection is so high and the possibilities of the stacking of wheat in cheap galvanized iron sheds on cheap land does not appeal to me as a business man, and I prefer to acting the way I am doing. I know that the silo cost is tremendous.

7944. Do you think it will affect the quality of flour to any extent, that is the standardised quality of flour, if the wheat is thrown into a big silo instead of being kept separate? — The miller's first effort is to maintain an equal standard of flour; to get that equal standard of flour you have to blend your wheats from varying districts. The result is that at our mills, especially those situated at ports, we draw our wheat from the various centres and as far as possible blend the wheats into the mixing tanks I have referred to.

7945. If very large silos were erected as anticipated throughout Australia, for the storage of wheat, it will prohibit you from blending your wheat in the manner desired? — I cannot say. If the silos are erected in the country we should do the blending still, because the wheat in the various parts of the country vary. We want a regular flour. We would still have our blending tanks, I take it. Unless the silos were erected in Port Adelaide at a central depot and the wheats mixed there you could not do that. You would have to run the wheat into a silo from a rake of trucks from one district and it would all go in together. I do not think the millers would care to entrust to the master of the silos the mixing of their wheats. The pipe stem and longer feeds all go in together at one spot. The wheats are mixed up in a manner that no silo could mix them.

7946. The miller to-day puts a certain quantity of wheat from each district in to make the flour of the standard required? — Yes.

7947. The wheat from various districts will be mixed before it reaches the miller? — I can imagine a train load of wheat coming in from our northern country and a ship load coming in from a coast. The train load will go into one place and the west coast load will go on top of it. That is not mixing and is certainly not blending.

7948. Possibly the mixture will be spoilt so far as your standard of flour is concerned? — I should say it would be objectionable.

7949. By Hon. J. F. ALLEN: It is necessary that the wheat from each district should be kept separate? — It is necessary that we should do the blending.

7950. By the CHAIRMAN: Have you seen the shed that has been erected for the killing of weevil in South Australia? — No, but I know a great deal about it. Mr. Sibbald came over last Sunday week and inspected it with Mr. Baker of the Victorian Scheme. Mr. Love has also been over. All these gentlemen, including Mr. Nicholls of the South Australian Scheme, expressed themselves of opinion that this was giving highly satisfactory results. The carbon dioxide gas is produced by means of an ordinary gas producer engine. The gas is put through the scrubber and blown into the hermetically sealed stack. It enters at the bottom and forces the air out through the top ventilators. I was assured by Mr. Sibbald that they could not find a live weevil in the stack.

7951. Is Mr. Sibbald with you in Adelaide? — No, I think his title is that of Chief Inspector for Victoria under the wheat Scheme.

7951a. It is much cheaper than erecting silos for storage? — The economics are very great. I have yet to learn of any gas that will kill the egg which is the source of life of the weevil. I think they will have to go to round from time to time and blow this gas in again. The one treatment is not final.

7952. We have evidence from Mr.Piesse at Katanning, who has silos and who says that he has found weevil 15 feet down?— I am surprised.

7953. The foreman has also said so?— My experience is that the weevil wants air and he gets it on the outside of stack. In South Australia I have been wonderfully surprised to find the interior of a stack so much better than the exterior, and as the millers are buying on the exterior appearance you can understand where some of the troubles have arisen in regard to selling wheat in South Australia. I am satisfied that no imputations can be made against the millers who bought that wheat. I bought one stack myself which would have resulted in big profit, for the reason that the exterior appearance was so much worse than the interior. You cannot blame the miller for buying as cheaply as possible from the Scheme.

7954. Do you think that the building of large storage bins of 40,000 bushels capacity will be the means of keeping away the weevil?— I do not think so. I am not in favour of it. At our mills we have tremendous stacking accommodation and we have no silos.

7955. By Mr BROWN: Are the South Australian mills all closed down except for local supplies?— The other mills are buying their supplies from the Scheme in the manner I have indicated.

7956. To whom are they disposing all their flour?— They have all contracts for Allied flour from the Scheme over and above Home trade requirements.

7957. All the millers with the exception of yourself prefer to buy wheat direct and sell to the Allies?—Yes.

7958. By Mr. HARRISON: There are speculative buyers. They do not buy at per bushel after receiving the wheat, but buy it at the stack. They sight a stack and speculate as to how much flour it contains and purchase accordingly?— That is largely the way it is done.

7959. By Mr. BROWN: But it is sold on a bushels basis?—Yes.

7960. By Mr. HARRISON: It is not valued by the miller after it has been received?— In my position the value of wheat does not enter into the matter. The Scheme sends me the wheat I am to grind. Therefore I am not in touch with their methods, but I know it is often the case that a miller will inspect a stack of wheat and agree with the board's officer as to the price.

7961. By Mr. BROWN: Have you to put out a certain flour extract from the wheat supplied to you?— I could not undertake that seeing that the quality of the wheat sent to me varies so much. We have the very best milling machinery, and have a man to operate it, and we have an expert representative of the Government on our premises and he is there to see that the interests of the Scheme are duly protected.

7962. By Mr. HARRISON: Have you any averages of what the yield is?— I did not anticipate being called and therefore I did not bring the information with me. I cannot tell you off-hand.

7963. Do you think you get over 40lbs.? — Yes. The average per bushel on output is made up on the quantity of the wheat that goes over my first break into the mill. The quantity of wheat which goes into the first break might bear a lower percentage than the might bear a lower percentage than the wheat I receive.

7964. It depends on the blast?— Exactly. The percentages given by our mill are not necessarily the percentages of the whole intake of wheat from the Scheme.

7965. By Mr BROWN: Do your local buyers get only the same quality of flour as the Imperial order?— I have my name on the bag and I must keep up my reputation in South Australia. Therefore, when I am grinding I ask for the best wheat to be sent along.