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Wheat (1) - Part 2
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Wheat (1) - Part 2
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Who reported it would probably be able to tell you where he got his information from. 4145. So you see there is a possibility of delay in loading the trucks through not employing sufficient men on large stacks? — In that case the agent was getting a halfpenny a bushel as extra remuneration for taking it out of the stacks, and if he was asking the contractor to take it out for three-farthings he wanted to make as much as the contractor and do nothing himself. 4146. So after careful consideration you formed the opinion that in regard to the shortage of trucks the Westralian Farmers were more to blame than the Railway Department? — At the tail end of the season of course, not at the beginning. If the railways were able to supply the number of trucks required during January and February we certainly could never get them off at the depots, could not unload. 4147. By Mr HARRISON: Is that one reason why the wheat was left in the trucks so long? — There have been times when I have had to ask the railways not to pull the wheat into the depots for a few days. 4148. Does that burden the Scheme with demurrage? — Not if I stop the trucks from going in. 4149. The demurrage commences as soon as they are shunted into the depot yards? — No, we have a fixed time. Account is taken at five p.m. on, say, Tuesday, and those trucks have to be discharged on the Wednesday otherwise demurrage is charged. 4150. The time really is taken from their being shunted into the yard at Spencer's Brook? — No. The time does not begin to count until five o'clock. 4151. By Mr BROWN: And you were given 24 hours in which to unload the truck? — More than 24 hours, nearly 48 hours on some. 4152. By the CHAIRMAN: Mr McGibbon referred to a charge of £48 for demurrage at Kellerberrin? — He said that 40 truck of wheat had been put into Kellerberrin. I presume he meant in one day. So a large quantity of wheat was never put there in one day. 4153. Have you been charged £48 for demurrage there? — Yes, it was spread over a period of 12 or 13 days. The 40 trucks referred to by Mr McGibbon were put in there in four days with a Sunday in between. The reason of the rush was that the contractors at one siding had got more trucks than we expected them to get. As soon as we were advised of the rush we diverted the traffic elsewhere. 4154. So really the trucks were only there for four days? — No, their arrival was spread over that period, but more time might have elapsed before they were discharged. I sent up an inspector and he reported that whilst perhaps we had given Ockerby a little more wheat than we should have, Ockerby, on his part, had not taken off the wheat as expeditiously as he should have done, and that therefore a portion of the demurrage should be charged to Ockerby. 4155. By Mr HARRISON: Is not the storage stacked in Ockerby's yard somewhere there this year? — Yes. 4156. It would not be for the both positions? — No, this was 1916-17 wheat going there to be gristed. Ockerby's men took it off the truck. 4157. Would the demurrage then be on Ockerby's shoulders? — If he did not use all reasonable expedition in unloading, and if we did not give him too much wheat. Apparently both things happened. We gave him a little too much and he failed to use expedition in unloading. 4158. By Hon. J. F. ALLEN: Who paid the demurrage? — It has not yet been paid. It is in dispute. 4159. By the CHAIRMAN: Do you think the Wheat Scheme has been acting fairly to the Railway Department in regard to demurrage? — I think the Scheme has been acting more than fairly. Personally, I would not pay any demurrage at all. 4160. Why? — Many things may lead to demurrage. You are working at the depot and keeping up with your work. Then you get one wet day, during which you cannot work, but the railways can. Next day you have two day's wheat on hand. Perhaps you have to wait half a day for the wheat to dry. After this it might take you a fortnight to get clear. All because of an act of Providence for which you are not responsible. A fortnight ago we were getting six and seven trucks of wheat per day at Midland Junction. Then suddenly we got 40 odd trucks in one day. That depot was being supplied day after day from the same siding during the whole of the period. But the railways instead of bringing the wheat along in full everyday, allowed it to accumulate, and then put the whole of the accumulation into our depot in one day and said to us, " Get it off." We have not the floating labour waiting around for such an emergency and consequently it leads to demurrage. Again, demurrage may be set up through conditions previously arranged for some time ago I wanted to shift a stack from Kondinin to Narrogin. There was only one train a week, so I arranged for a special train of 22 trucks, which would be put into Narrogin in one day. It is hardly a fair thing for the railways to charge us demurrage on trucks which are allowed to accumulate at Kondinin until there is sufficient for a special train. 4161. Have not the Railway Department made large deductions on their demurrage bill? — The only deduction I know of was for the period of the strike. 4162. And for wet weather? — Perhaps some small allowance. 4163. I notice that the Scheme has based requests to the Railway Department on the statement that " They are doing such and such in the Eastern States," when as a matter of fact nothing of the sort has been done in the Eastern States? — I must agree to differ with you there. 4164. I thought the railways had knocked off one-half the charge for wet weather? — They should knock off the lot. In normal times in Victoria the railways charge only half a day's demurrage on anything left over on the Monday, on the princible that the agents work only half a day on the Saturday, whereas the railways work a full day. 4165. You say that so long as every endeavour is made to get the wheat off no demurrage should be charged? — That is right. We were discussing the question of sub-letting in the country. It is a very general practice. Perhaps one-half the co-operative societies with agencies have sub-let them either in whole or in part. 4166. Did not the private agents do the same? — They did not exactly sub-let. They used to have one of there own men to check the work and they paid the lumpers so much for handling. But they looked after the weighing and the sampling themselves. 4167. The sub-agent was paid officer? — There was a paid officer of the sub-agents on the spot. 4168. And he did not sub-let to someone else? — No, the sub-agent got a fixed rate for his work and if he had two or three sidings to look after he would put a clerk in charge and pay the lumpers for doing the work. I have not known of the case of a man completely sub-letting a site. If he did so we would immediately let contracts ourselves. 4169. There is evidence that this system has been adopted? — If it was done, it was done without my knowledge so far as Dreyfus & Co. were concerned. The more men you have as direct agents the more men you have working for you. 4170. The system adopted this year is different from that adopted previously? Yes; I have seen advertisements in the papers calling for tenders for handling the work. Mr Solomon gave evidence before the Commission. According to the paper he stated that he had 800 bags of wheat which he kept back. 4171. He said that? — He kept it back because it was not being handled by a co-operative company. 4172. He said he had kept it back to feed his pigs, because he could not purchase damaged wheat? — The press version was slightly different. The interference to be drawn there was that the wheat was kept back because there was no co-operative company there to deal with it. At Quairading there is a co-operative company receiving the wheat, but at Badjaling the work has been sub-let. 4173. By Mr BROWN: It would be wise, in the new agreement, to insist that there should be no sub-letting? Yes.
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