1287. You could do that work for 1vd. per bushel ?—If I had it as a monopoly I could do the whole thing for 1d.—that is, as they are doing it to-day. If I had all the roofing to do, it would cost a little more. 1288. By Mr. HARRISON : Do you think a saving could be made to the Pool by local sales of pick-up wheat ?—Very often, yes. 1289. Have you known of any wheat going away which would scarcely pay for the cost of putting it on rails, and the freight ?—No. 1290. Have you seen any badly wetted pick-up wheat going away this year ?—Yes, but it was the wheat of the previous Pool, not of the present one. It was some flooded stuff at Badjeling. I do not know what they did with it, but it was quite black. 1291. There are cases in which damaged wheat could be better sold locally than by being sent to Perth ?—Certainly. 1292. By the CHAIRMAN : The present sub-agents are the secretaries and managers of the various co-operative societies ?—Yes. 1293. If last year's system is perpetuated, it is possible that a number of the men handling the wheat next year will be new to the game ?—Certainly. In my district they have had two different men this year, neither of whom has had any experience. 1294. Under such conditions, is there not a grave danger of wheat below standard being accepted ?—It is bound to come about. 1295. Then owing to the want of knowledge on the part of agents, the State is liable to make a loss ?—Certainly. That is to say, if the agreement absolves these people from all responsibility. 1296. The wheat is sampled at the depôts ?—Yes. 1297. It is generally admitted that with one subagent at each station the wheat can be more cheaply handled ?—It all depends upon the interpretation. The bulk of the experienced men along that line have enlisted, and in consequence we have a large number of inexperienced men, some of them returned soldiers, and they are induced to accept a price which cannot pay them. I know of one returned soldier who took a contract from the co-operative company at so low a price that he lost £15 on the transaction. He was being paid exactly one half of what I used to pay my men. 1298. Then the acquiring agents are covering any deficiency in the price they themselves accepted by sweating the men handling the wheat ?—The man who takes on the job of handling is the man who is losing. It cannot pay him at existing rates. 1299. These co-operative societies have not handled the wheat themselves, but have sub-let it ?—They are in much the same position as I was. I had picked men at the sidings, but I visited them regularly. The present acquiring agents have sub-let the handling of the wheat, and in some the local secretary does take the trouble to occasionally go into the yard; in other cases he does not. 1300. It wa laid down this year that there should not be more than one agent at each siding where there is less than 50,000 bushels of wheat to be handled. Do you approve of that ?—Certainly, because with competition there is only one man who is going to fall in, and that is the sub-agent. 1301. If you had a monopoly you could handle the wheat much more cheaply ?—Yes. With competition I would not get any more profit at 1½d. than I could get at 1d. if I had the monopoly. 1302. Do you think the price the co-operative companies are paid is sufficient for the work ?—I think ½d. per bushel direct into trucks is too small; it ought to be ¾d. But I think 1d. into the stack without having to roof is sufficient as stations; at sidings it all depends upon what happens with your labour. 1303. So really the acquiring agents, the Westralian Farmers, Ltd., are handling the wheat at a reduced rate at the expense of the Farmers' Co-operative Societies in the country ? —I would not say that, because I myself would be prepared to do it at the price they are receiving. 1304. But if the acquiring agents pay too small an amount for the handling of the wheat, the farmers must lose ? —But that is the lumper, not the Co-operative Society. 1305. Do you think the Pool officers are keeping the country contractors up to the required standards in taking charge of the wheat ? —