FRIDAY, 28th JUNE, 1918. Present: Hon.W. C. Angwin, M. L. A. , Chairman. Hon. J. F. Allen, M.L.C., Hon. R.G. Ardagh, M.L.C. S. M. Brown, Esq., M.L.A., T. H. Harrison, Esq., M.L.A.

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JOHN DEANE HAMMOND, Farmer, Cuttening, Kellerberrin, sworn:

84. By the CHAIRMAN: We shall be pleased to hear any statement you may wish to make regarding the subject of this inquiry? — I shall speak from a farmer's aspect. In the first place, the adoption of the principle of pools was a very important step for the agricultural industry. It is necessary for me to mention that in order to show you how intensely earnest I was that the thing should be conducted properly. The pool system was quite a new step in the marketing of farmers' products, and I believe it was one of the best steps ever taken in the interest of the farmer. Under the old system the man who was strongest, who had enough teams, got the best price, because he could have some of his team harvesting while other teams were carting his wheat. As a result he got into the early market, and the early market was filled with the wealthy man's wheat to the detriment of the poor man, who had only enough strength to carry on his harvesting, and then had to cart his wheat afterwards, with the result that probably he was carting most of the summer. Under the pool system it was not a case of the survival of the fittest, as under the old system; but the farmers were placed on a equal footing and all had a chance to get the best average price possible. It is the most equitable system I have come across in over 20 years' farming in this country. At the beginning of the scheme the Minister stated to us very clearly that politics would not enter into it. We had a definite undertaking that there would be no politics, and I must say the Minister honourably carried out that undertaking. Politics never entered into any of our committee meetings, and everything was conducted with the most perfect harmony. At this juncture I wish to mention a point which farmers have not always appreciated, and that is the enormous debt they and I are under to Mr. Field and Mr. Goss for the immense help those gentlemen rendered in the early days of the scheme. Here were two men right at the head of the commercial life of this city giving their time willingly whenever they were wanted to help forward this scheme. Their ability, of course, is beyond question. To the farming industry the value of their work was enormous. If I could induce the Press to lay special stress on that point I should be very grateful. In starting the work the question arose whether we should conduct the accountancy part, the general running of the scheme from the financial aspect, departmentally or from an office in the city. That question was discussed for some time, and we finally decided to run the thing departmentally. Looking back, with the experience I have had, I think we made a mistake there. I now think it would have been better if we had had an outside house to carry on the accountancy part of the work, because Government-appointed men, I find, are very hard to move, and one does not get the same efficiency from them. They cannot be dismissed without no end of trouble and Parliamentary inquiries, and one thing and another. I think the Minister attended every meeting of the committee; certainly he was present at every meeting it was possible for him to attend. He sat as one of the committee, and everything was finalised at the committee meetings. I wish to lay stress on that point, because unless finality is reached at the committee meetings, such a thing as the Wheat Pool cannot be run with success. Anything that was decided in the committee room was final, and was acted upon; and the Minister backed us up to the hilt in every decision. The work was very pleasant and as far as possible it was expeditious. I say as far as possible, because where Government matters are concerned, Government policy comes in.That is why I make that limitation.In view of the experience that obtained with some Government departments, the decision of the committee in the early days was to keep as close a grip as possible on the financial aspect; and with that end in view we initiated a system of weekly returns. The object of those returns was to keep under our notice how every pound was spent and where every bushel of wheat was throughout the country, whether at the sidings or at Fremantle, or elsewhere. Notwithstanding the remarks I made at the beginning about pools, the opposition to this Pool came from an unexpected quarter — from the farmers. I think probably the reason was that the farmers were a little suspicious of the Government. Certainly, the Pool was something new, and farmers perhaps do not move quickly as other people would like them to move. Undoubtedly, however, in the early stages this opposition of the farmers did harm, because we did not get away the shipments of wheat in that December which we wanted to get away, and for which the ships were available. That was a serious matter. Moreover, the Railway Department had made provision for lifting that wheat. So that we lost an opportunity. We had made arrangements with the Railway Department, and we had the ships, and we could have got the wheat away. I determined to go on with the thing with all my force, and notwithstanding the opposition I hung to it. I had the opportunity of saying a few words at Geraldton, for I went there with the Minister, and I let the farmers know something about the scheme, and I was told afterwards, after they had understood and heard what I had said at Geraldton, that they were satisfied, and they delivered the wheat without question. This opposition was very disappointing and disheartening in the early days of the scheme. In those early weeks we