WOOLBROKERS CHARGES

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 160, 1 April 1919, Page 8

WOOLBROKERS CHARGES

ALLEGATIONS REFUTED.

' At a meetog. of tho'Mecutiv() or tho ' Wellington Provincial " ist " ct n -' ra i"u' s v Union at.Palmerston North on Jmday certain allegations >vere;.injdo. which Uie .-Wellington Woolbrokers' Association ieEo'nt, 'Tho. latter claim;, that..if woolcfowers haW any'eomplalnls.to mako as to unfair or unr&asonablo chavges buch complaints should be mado to the uoob brokers' Association and tho often. lni„ ' firms named. If this is done, the association etates it ivouhl inakp a full arid thorough investigation, and tako such action as may bo found <ii«-«sat;y to put a stop to unfair charges, lho lninieis Union, however; apiwrently profeis to 'iv.ake sweeping jharges against all i\oolIrokers, which is manifestly unfair and "with respect to the alleged clcductioii< 0f.21b. on. every bale of wool, the A\ oollirokers' Asjociation maintains that tiu... is neither tlio custom nor tho practice of the trade in New Zealand. i= weighed to the pound as shown ou - tlie beam-that is to say, if the bale weighs Scwt. 3qrs. 20jflb. actual weight, it is invoiced buyer, and account sol to the'grower at'Scwt. .Iqr. -01 1 '-. means that the buyer is given the bei.e fit of the turn of tbe scale, and the fractional weight is not: accounted lor, it coing to the buyer. Cinder the Impoual requisition schenie, new .appointmer.ts.ot firms not previously actively-engaged in the wool trade werb made, "and some of these firms may havo the buyers with, a Rreater allowancp tjan - tho turn of the scale, -which woujd be due to iKnoranco or error, but the charge cannot be laid against the old-established ''■At the meeting of the Parmers' Union L\ecutivo last Friday tho chairman (Jtr: G. Marshall; said he considered the allowance ,fo brokers very liberal; and that.thero was no reason why they should be allowed to make any further profit. This is regarded by tho brokers as implying that tlioy nifl-kins illesitimato profit, and tho suggestion is emphatically denied by tne Woolbrokers' Association.- They 'State that if Mr. Marshall had taken the trouble 'to inquire as to the actual practice lie would have ascertained that tho wool is invoiced to the-Imperial Government on the -in-weights, which - must be taken within iiiree days of the -wool entering into store, and the account sales .to_ the owners must show these identical weights. It'will therefore bo seen that anv short-weight to the grower would only benefit tho buyer, and cannot be ol advantage to the broker. . Sir James Wilson, tho association points ! out, is tho chairman of directors of a wool-broking firm, and therefore should be in a position to ascertain the real facts, but he appears to bo totally misinformed as to tho system of handling wool. The regulations between the woolbuyers and Woolbrokers' Association which were adopted by tlio Government for the conduct of the acquisition scheme provide that the invoices •nnd specifications > shall lie mado on iuweight of wool, as stated above, and T-'ool must be' weighed within three days after arrival-on the show floor of the ivool store, such weights being recorded on tho bales, in ink, and cut talcs to be loadc up to such weight after rcsemng. Inwanl and outward weights are record- . Ed at the time of weighing, and where a ' broker is unable to show that ho lias rcweighed the bales ho has cut the buyer is entitled to china for short-weight on uroduction of the necessary certificate. The out-weiglits on each lot shall at least equal' the total of the invoice .' weights. - With respect to members of the Farmers' IJnion visiting the wool stores, the -"Wellington woolbrokers, it is pointed out. have never 'offered any. objection to the growers being present when wool is "being weighed; as a matter of fact; they -■liave encouraged the farmers, to visit ;the' wool stores and familiariso themselves with the.practices of tlio-trade.