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Wheat (1) - Part 3
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Image 274
Wheat (1) - Part 3
Image 274
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5579. Do you find the receipt of wheat at country stations spasmodic?—To some extent, yes; but taking it as a general rule I should say no. Sometimes we would provide wagons at a siding and they would not be loaded, we would move them to another sidings where they would be loaded. 5580. By the CHAIRMAN: We were told at Geraldton that demurrage is chargeable at the expiration of eight hours after the truck is placed at the disposal of the people concerned and that if demurrage was charged weekly it would be possible to manage things, for the reason that a large quantity of the loading comes in at the end of the week. It was also stated that in one week demurrage to the extent of £22 had to be paid. One witness said that there had never been a week in which he had not been short of wheat?—In January, Geraldton paid £22 demurrage, then £5 12s., then £1 8s., and in April £12 16s., and there has been no demurrage paid since. 5581. Can you make an suggestion for getting over the difficulty which has occurred in the handling of the harvest?—No. The only difficulty that I know of is that the loading was too rapid in the country for the discharging at the depots. If that could be adjusted a wonderful improvement would be effected in the working of the wheat business and working costs to the Scheme and the Railway Department would be reduced. 5582. You think that if the person who is responsible for loading in the country was also responsible for discharging the wheat, it would get over a great deal of the difficulty?—I consider that would be a much better arrangement, because the person who is responsible for the loading would know what the capacity at the depots was better than anyone else. It would be his business to avoid these heavy demurrage charges which now accrue. He would not load in the country more than he could handle at the depots; undivided control would permit of this. 5583. With the object of getting the wheat in speedily?—The wheat was loaded but not discharged in the same volume. 5584. The trucks are sufficient to meet the question of speed, but the unloaders are unsufficient to deal with it?—We were in a position to put more wheat at the stacks than could be discharged this year. We did not know exactly what the flow would be. We were not anxious that it should be excessive, because 25 per cent. of our staff has gone to the war. Furthermore, prior to the wheat season the Commissioner of Railways released 100 locomotive men to go to the Front. We were rather in doubt as to our capabilities in regard to the new arrangement of stacking in the country. We were, however, in a position to put twice as much wheat into the depots as was discharged per day. 5585. With your plant last year, could you have shifted the whole thing in three months?—It might have been done in four months, but that would have been at a heavy cost to us. 5586. By Mr. HARRISON: If the season had been the average one, the period would have been longer than it has been this year?—Yes, owing chiefly to the movement of last season's wheat and flour for export. Of course you have to keep in mind that there has been a big movement of old wheat from the stacks to the mills, a movement which we have not had before. Then again, we have had a big movement of flour, which we have not had before. 5587. By Mr. BROWN: Suppose the mills could take a big quantity of wheat before the incoming harvest and stack it, would that relieve you of trucking in connection with the wheat harvest proper?—It would afford a better opportunity for the new wheat to be moved. At some of the sidings we had new and old wheat moving at the same time. 5588. By the CHAIRMAN: Thus rendering the new wheat liable to be infected with weevil?—The men who are unloading wheat at the mills are often covered with weevil and they put these men on to load flour. We put in clean trucks for flour and they are contaminated in no time. There has been no practicable proposition put forward by anyone which will meet the weevil trouble. 5589. So agents have complained of delay in getting trucks. Do you think that the action which you have taken to prohibit the loading of trucks, on account of the large quantity of wheat at the depots, has been the cause of these complaints?—It is due to rolling stock being held up. We would not put the rolling stock into the sidings; if we had done so, we would have had all the rolling stock loaded with wheat. We may short supply a siding to-day, but we supply it the next day or the day after. The general interruption is brought about by the check in discharging the wagons, which is a costly matter to the Department. (The witness retired.) WILLIAM LEWIS, Managing Secretary, Minnievale Co-operative Society, sworn and examined: 5590. By the CHAIRMAN: I believe you desire to give evidence before the Commission?—Yes, but it is not in a spirit of complaint; my desire is to assist the Commission, possibly, to arrive at a decision in connection with the handling of the wheat. The matter to which I desire to refer is one in which my company is vitally interested. I have been in negotiation with the Westralian Farmers, Ltd., for the removal of an old stack which has been at Minnievale since 1916-17, and belonging to Dreyfus & Co. I received a wire on Thursday last asking me to quote a price for the removal of that wheat. We had previously moved one stack; it had been erected under the supervision of Dreyfus & Co and we based the price on the condition of the first stack which we moved, and quoted 1⅞d. bag. The previous stack was removed for 1.7/8d. and the lumpers who were concerned in that removal, did not receive adequate remuneration. As managing secretary of the co-operative company, I am able to give matters like this a good deal of personal supervision, and also spend some time in procuring bags when those ordered from the Scheme do not come to hand. I receive no remuneration for anything like that. We quoted a price which it was thought would be sufficient to pay the men at the rate of 2s. an hour, or 16s. a day, and in that way obviate the chances of the company making a loss. I was negotiating with the Westralian Farmers, Ltd., for the removal of the stack and during the progress of those negotiations I found that the manager of the Wheat Scheme was also negotiating with a lumper who had previously done similar work for him. This has happened within the last few days. The manager of the Scheme fixed up with the lumper to remove the stack at 1½d. per bag without advising the Westralian Farmers, and then asked them to make the usual contract with his lumper. The lumper concerned does not know what condition the stack is in; he has not seen it for nine months. Being on the spot, and knowing the condition of the previous stack, I was guided in that way in the quotation which I submitted. My contention is that if I am entering into negotiations with the Westralian Farmers, Ltd., as controlling agents, and the management of the Wheat Scheme are also negotiating for the same work, I am placed in an unfair position inasmuch as I know the conditions which exist there while the lumper does not. 5591. By Hon. R. G. ARDAGH: In other words, they are sending men up there to do the work while there are men on the spot available?—Exactly. My contention is that the efficient handling of wheat should be looked after by those who are on the spot and who are interested. We probably could have quoted 1½d., but the same supervision and care cannot be exercised when there is no return to be got. Another matter I want to refer to is in connection with wheat which was in bad condition. The Westralian Farmers' inspector came along when we were cleaning up the last stack of Dreyfus' and saw one patch of, I think, a thousand bags running diagonally, the wheat in which was quite black. The inspector told Mr. Barrett, the contractor, that the best thing he could do with that wheat was to have it carted away, as it would not pay to send to the market. I saw the wheat and can bear out what the inspector said. Mr. Barrett got some of the farmers to move a portion of it, but one man came for a load, and seeing the condition of it refused to take it away. Mr. Barrett then removed the stuff and dumped it into a paddock. When the last of that wheat was being shifted, the Government inspector, Mr. Sales, in my presence took Mr. Barrett to task for dumping the wheat, and
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