The Stock Sales Question.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 24, 27 July 1895, Page 2

The Stock Sales Question.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR. Srn, — In your Thursday's issue you published an in.-et relating to stock sales, which was a reproduction of an article that appeared in my local contemporary recently. As this contained some erroneous statements regarding myself, and, the whole article was based on these inaccurate allegations, I must ask you to allow me a small space for defence In the first place the question of adr ertising does not come into the matter at all, for the simple reason that I have never asked the auctioneers referred to for a single penny more than they paid in the past for advertising stock sales. On the contrary I offered to do these particular sales for even less than the 10a per sale forraeily paid. So you will see that all the argument luilfc upon that is fallacious and misleading, as it was intended to be, to divert attention from the main question which is " Why should the small farmers be called on at this inopportune time, to pay the increased rate of 5 per cent commission ?" As to the argument that stock auctioneers have Dot been able to make a competency in the paafc, may it not be that there are other reasons for this than those ouggested ? It is also alleged that " Farmers can trust these times to competition to keep charges within reasonable bounds." Permit me to remark that it 13 not "competition " farmers have to deal with but " compination " to compel them to pay <# per cent instead of the lower rate formerly ruling. The article, I may remark, carries its own condemnation when it infers that there is some other standard of commercial morality than honesty and uprightness. Good men will recognise no other standard. I should like to touch on some other points in the article, but as a newspaper Editor I know the value of space and therefore conclude by again emphasizing the fact that in place of asking the auctioneers to pay more for stock advertising I asked them to pay less, and the statement to the contrary is grossly unfair to me. I presume, however, that as I am advocating the reduction of this commission of 5 per cent to a more reasonable charge and the reform of a number of evils in connection with the trade, I must expect to have to put up with a certain amount of misrepresentation and unfairness. I am, &c, W. H. Smith, Editor Manawatu Daily Times.