WEDNESDAY, 7th AUGUST, 1918. (At Geraldton.)

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.

JOSEPH FRANCIS SOLOMON, Officer in charge of Wheat Scheme in Geraldton, and Superintendent of the Depot, sworn and examined:

5143. By the CHAIRMAN: You know the purpose of this Commission. We shall be pleased to have any information you can give us?—I have had wheat experience for 15 or 16 years. I was inspector for James Bell & Co. during the 1915 season. I had to do the Eastern Goldfields line, the Dowerin loop, and the Bruce Rock loop to York and Merredin. My work was to superintend the stacking, to look after the sampling and to give the sub-agents every assistance. My time was very fully occupied doing this, as it was necessary to stay and watch operations. I left Bell & Co., and was to start with them again in the 1916-17 season, but in the meantime I joined the Westralian Farmers, Ltd. For my new employers I had to go up the Wongan Hills line to Geraldton, appointing sub-agents as I went. I waited on the Farmers and Settlers' Association and got the names of all their secretaries, in order to appoint them sub-agents in the various districts. Wherever I could, I did this. A great many of them were too remote from the sidings to handle the wheat, some being 14 or 15 miles away. However, they were appointed as sub-agents. I came up here from Mullewa and went out along the Ajana and Yuna lines appointing sub-agents. I then went down the Midland line as far as Three Springs appointing sub-agents, but was recalled to come and take charge in Geraldton. Here I did all the receiving, sampling, and stacking of the wheat that came in. Their organisation was so far satisfactory that we were able to work this zone without an inspector; although I had the title of inspector I stayed here receiving the wheat during the whole of the season up to May. Early in May I shifted the Perenjori and Dalwallinu stacks and went down to Northam, ostensibly to put 50,000 bags into the sheds there, but I was informed by the Westralian Farmers they could no longer profitably employ me and I was given a week's notice. Within the week I was appointed inspector for the Government on the North Wharf at Fremantle. Among my duties down there was the sampling of wheat for Padbury's mill, also the sampling of the cargo for the "Archibald Russell," which took a certificated cargo for South Africa. All South African cargoes are certified to for the quality of the wheat by the department. During this period, of course, while the wheat was coming off the stacks and off the trucks, naturally a good deal of the wheat was rejected as unfit for South Africa. Nevertheless, the rejected Westralian Farmers' trucks were pushed down the wharf and loaded on to the "Austral Dale" or the "Austral Craig"—I cannot remember the name precisely, but it can be verified. Wheat that we were rejecting from the "Archibald Russell" for South Africa was put along the wharf and loaded into the "Austral Craig." In other words, it was shipped by another steamer for some other port. In the early part of June, whilst I was down there, 200 odd trucks came down consigned to the Westralian Farmers, which was that badly damaged by rain that the lumpers had to take pieces of scantling to lever the bags apart. They stood these bags on end on the floor of the shed, where the bags drained considerably. Then they were stuck for room and so they put a second lot of wet bags on to the top of those already drained, with the result that a fearful lot of the stuff was in a shocking state. No one with any knowledge of wheat would have attempted to handle so much wheat during so wet a month as June. I was down there continuously until coming up here to take charge of this depot. My experience of the Wheat Scheme is that they have adopted a very businesslike method of doing things, and the promptness with which everything is done convinces me that we have now at the head of affairs one of the best possible men we could get. I have here a number of letters which serve to confirm this, letters which have been promptly received in answer to suggestions or complaints, letters of instructions to me and replies to letters of mine. It is hardly worth while my reading them.

5144. By Hon. J. F. ALLEN: On what date did you come to Geraldton to take up your present position?—I left Perth on the 31st December, 1917, and reached here on New Year's Day.

5145. By Hon. R. G. ARDAGH: What was the state of the old stacks when you took charge?—At a cursory inspection they were not at all bad, but in about six or eight weeks' time they began to show signs of bad building and I had to rebuild them. Fortunately it was good weather. Just now the handling of wheat in this district is very expensive, because of the wet weather.

5146. In your opinion the building of those stacks was faulty?—Undoubtedly, with the exception of those I built myself.

5147. By Mr. HARRISON: Who was the acquiring agent for whom you did the building of certain of the stacks?—The Westralian Farmers. They took credit to themselves for having the best port stack in the State. For other stacks of the 1916-17 crop, Dreyfus, Bell & Co. and Darling were responsible. Some of the stacks here started to fall soon after I arrived. I have had to re-roof most of the stacks. In answer to a letter of mine I have here, dated 22nd March, a reply by Mr. Keys as follows:—

I am in receipt of yours of the 20th inst in regard to wheat triers. In view of the fact that the Westralian Farmers have withdrawn their expert representative, you will sample as in the past, assess your dockage and retain sample in the office. If the Westralian Farmers' man is not expert enough to adjudicate on samples that is their fault. Under their agency agreement with us they are paid a handsome remuneration to do this work. Their trier, or sampler, was made of iron and it had in the front a blob of solder and the hole was just behind that.

5148. Such a sampler would act as a separator?—Certainly, and then you get a false idea of what is in the bag.

5149. By the CHAIRMAN: Did they alter their wheat triers?—No. They had supplied them to their agents. Here is another letter from Mr. Keys, dated 22nd January, 1918:—

I notice small deductions have been made on a few bags on various trucks. It is not necessary to go so far as this. If the quantity of wheat under f.a.q. in a truck is under 10 bags, and the deduction is also a small one, you can pass same. Of course, if you should receive six bags, say, of very smut-topped wheat you would reject those and assess dockage. In testing the weight of wheat containing a small percentage of cocky chaff, you can blow out the cocky chaff before testing.