IN A WOOL STORE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 118, 12 February 1919, Page 10

IN A WOOL STORE

'■■:■';■ HOW THE.ELEECE.;IjSWEIGHED, ■ "■-.The protest ..voiced' at. the, Wnnganui ', ."■'Clihmbex of. Commerce last weol; in re- , 'I'.'spect ttf,an alleged, deduction: of 2lb. per .'bale.of wool .drew. a' ; (lenial from Rom« : ' Wellington 'woolbrokers,. but the ' state-. ' 'niente niade in, W.anßanul: were of such 'X,*sweep.irig:,'nature..,that it seems that ■■-something more than a negnllve reply is necessary to convince not'only the v;oolgxowers,, but;theVgenei'al"public aleo.'thnt the sheep /men are not- being explojte»l .vor,,unfairly .treated/ Tcget an insjila view , i and to ascertain 'exactly: how the wool ' Is handled and the.costs nnd charges, a •'.' . reporter'.yeste'rday :yisited the wool stores ,of., Murray, EoberJs.-;and-.C9., on Thorn- ' -.<(l6n".(Juayl-"'lt is'•• iinne'cessary to ■ enter "i into any deseiriptiou of,.the- building; it '',' is,.,suflicJeiit. ,to. say _tl>iitj-.-,it\ is modern ~liij. v every. respect,", for.;tie;purpose --for • ■■-irhich,.itVas / -built- Owing to the. in- ' yi'fi'uenza'.,epidemic nnd,,.th,e lateness of "eheiiring,,dug.,to..the vret:.weather, the j only; just now coming into store I -in'some volume, consequently tho present '.'asVthe'-besfctimivto see the fleece handled. . -••r.'fhg. .stations .is : brought into the-city by rail overriijfht,' and at 7:30 ft.m. the .wool store is opehwl for the trucks.to be shunted in; Yesterday morning 'about :25fl bales were rei ceived. The wool is' takon out of the trucks and weighed, and the weight --branded on each bale. The bales aw juet . ' ,as -ihey-, left the farmer's .wool shed. In •'■Messrs,"Murrayi Roberts and Co.'s wool '■ , store there are'-'-three self-registerinj Avery scales, extremely accurate. The \ '.'.Lmachine records the .weight of each .bale , which- enables the storeman '' to:keep a close check. ■ It is quite possible ; '.'-for. the man"branding the weights on tho '.bales "to "make a 'mistake. For instance, ; -:tha\correct--weiKh't. of ; a bale may; be ":; Bcwt.;-2qr--lib., but the-brand may easily show ■ 3owt. • l'qr. .-2lb.', and, ,biit foe the v:register, , ;'may easily'pass'to the loss of . the farmer. liivweigliing wool fractions 7 of a.pound!arev'npt : taken'into account. Thus.the"trAi;e. weight:of. .'a bale may be 3cwt. lqr. :but the weight marked on ;.the bale woulil beVjcwt. lqT. 41b., the fraction being discafdedi 'This method of ,-Keighing -hns / been- the custom of the "::v:wool trade' for a very considerable time, .rand there is'no /possibility of altering .■'•'..•ifc.-'Some.fa'fme'rs weigh their wool in \ their own sheds, but no absolute reliance V: can be placed on their ecalqs,' because \. -they are nOt'of the highest grado of liia"phines, and furthermore they ate.not al--iWayafixed to level floors. Igain, there -may be a fajr moisturo.in the .'-.■ ."wporxien-nt the fa;m,- and there may ■be considerable"'evaporation byitlte tinw "the wool feachee tho store in Weflinglniij .'course, .the weights '-'wMtd^fClessv■;"■:,-- ? -''. ;:■ ". • v ■•■■ ■«-" v .no'w sorted into lots accbrd--ing to'quality oPgrade,'a certain number "of-bales'in each lot aro opened, nnd.the ■ ' ''wool exposed for the valuer. Tho Government'valuers can open moro bales, or all J.-the bales in a lot, and the wool is pulled . out'and'hangs from the balos, nialcing tho latter look like wrecks. When the valuation is oompleto tho storemen replace the ; wool; and the bales are' again weighed and the weight must correspond with the weight recorded on the bale when it was • first weighed'on removal from the truck. ,- 'Thus'the wool ib weighed into' , store ami '' is weighed out, and the two weights Hiiist -'correspond-: "There is no deduction of 2lb. a'bale,,tho only deduction is tho draft, and as already stated fractional weights are not recorded. '. . ■ ■ ' Tho gTowar pays the -costs up to the !' time the wool is delivered into store in 1 '■'-Wellington, and thero his expenses, so far as.the wooi'la concorned, are at an and; the grower has merely to wait for , four- ■ teen- days after the. valuation of hie wool I .is completed to receive his cheque, which i '■■ is for the net avount of the value of ' the wool. Tho woolbrokers are paid a . flat; rate of 9-16 of a penny pea- lb. by '. the Gbrernment for receiving the wool ; . into' store, weighing, classifying it when' necessary, exposing tho wool .for the : valuers, repacking androweighing it, and shipping it. But this is not all—the : ■ broker must provide free storage for four ! weela after valuation, provide all the labour for handling the wool, which must : -also be kept insured while in store. The - grower does not pay the- broker,.and yet , "thei broker renders him valuable services j in the valuation of the wool. The broker ' puts his own valuation on the_ wool, and if the valuation of the official valuers ' .of any bale-or lot. is much below tho : broker's ideas, of value a technical dispute arises; and if it cannofbo settled • tha supervising valuer is called in to deI -cide the matter. If tho ■ farmer is not : '■ satisfied with the eupervieor's valuation i He may, 'within 48 hours of the valuation, ' ■ appoint an umpire to value the wool. It may be instructive to those Interested 1 iii the wool trade to know that as far as- Wellington is concerned the whole of ' ."'-. the, ,oljp -flf ,1017-18,1104 ,been shipped, .and • ''WnF-vm to 20,000'b'alp3.of the eiir, ; rent: season's wool'is. in course of ehip- -; . . , . i i Some splendid crops of hay have been i . .-. -gathered in the Forty-Mile Bush this : •.-."'w»"t»'.'. • .-....■ ... ........•■ ■