NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 November 1917, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND MEAT.

"ARMOUR OF CHICAGO."

HIS REPRESENTATIVE IN NEW

ZEALAND

EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT

COMMITTEE

INTERESTING METHODS OF FINANCE.

WELLINGTON, Nov. 22.

In the official report of the proceeding of the Meat Export Trade Committee, formed to investigate the extent of the American Meat Trust operations in New Zealand, appears the evidence of Mr Washington Irvine Carney, a director of Armour and Co., of Australasia, Ltd. The witness, closely questioned by nearly every momher of the Committee, gave interesting particulars of the company's operations in New Zoanland, explaining how, on a registered capital of £20,000 it has been able to do a yearly business running into a quarter of a million sterling. Mr. Carney explained that Mr W. M. Ivingdon and himself are the directors of the company. The meat they handle is consigned to the Imperial Government, under the arrangement applying to all meat exported from Now Zealand, but that any meat which may be released for sale in England is nominated to McLean and Laurenson, moat salesmen, London. "Is the capital of £20,000 sufficient to run your business in New Zealand?" asked Mr Pearce.

"Yes, it is," replied the witness. "'All our business is done on the guarantee to the bank, and if our bankers see fit to let us have £250,000, on a eapital of £20,000, that is up to them. But I think, if you •will look into the other concerns in New Zealand doing a much larger business than we are, with a very much smaller capital, in the same line in which we are in, you will sec there is nothing extraordinary i» our positions." Witness agreed that his company had done a good deal of business in Nwe Zealand last season, and explained that the capital was furnished by the Bank of New Zealand against the personal guarantee of Mr. J. Ogden Armour, of Chicago:' has this iJ. Odgen Armour nothing to do with the firm of Armour and Co., of Chicago f" asked Mr. Pea re c.

Witness: Certainly; he is the president of Armour and Co., of Chicago. Yet you say that your company has nothing to with Armour and Co., of Chicago? —Nono at all. What does this man guarantee the overdraft for, then? Is he a philanthropist, or what is his idea?—Well, ho may be a philanthropist, if you put it that way. The Chairman: It is a legal distinction between the man .and. the corporate body to which he belongs.Mr. Pearce; The.Comniitee wants to know why he is prepared to give you this credit —Because we are carrying his name in New Zealand, trying to make money for him. Then he must be connected with Armour and Co. of New Zealand? —Not at all. NEW ZEALAND BUSINESS. Mr. Carney detailed the company's business for the past year in New Zealand. It bought 174,000 lambs, 94,000 sheep, 6,000 head of cattle, and 35 pigs. The total shipments at the date of his evidence (September 25) were 26,227 lambs, 37,900 sheep, and 17,715 quarters of beef. Last year the company started with 22 buyers, 18 on salary and 4 on commission, At present there are 16 buyers, only two of whom operate in the North Island. The company froze most at Belfast and Islington. "Are you going into the butter and cheese business?" Mr Carney was asked.

"We are going into the trade in all the products of New Zealand," he replied,—"butter cheese, wool, hides, rabbits, I would not say that we are going into the fruit business. These are things which we think in normal times our friends will be able to handle in the some way as in the past they have handled them —through the middlemen in New Zealand, If we handle these things ourselves, we (Amour and Co. of Australasia) will make the commission out of it, instead of some of our friends who have been writing about su to the papers and sending out pamphlets about us—people with whom we used to do business."

The witness, when asked to explain why the prices in the Argentine went up until all except Trust buyers had to retire from the trade, declared that prices were "bumped" because the English operators already established there did not want the American companies in. They "bumped" the prices, but afterwards, when Armours got in, prices went back to normal, and they had not looked back since. ff l know it is isaid that fthe American companies are prepared to make losses to close out others," added the witness, "but it is not so. We want a fair

share of the produce, from New Zea* land—we have tltt money to pay for it. We have better facilities for handling business, and we are giving you the best things any producing community has got." . • W> As for freezing facilities, Mr. ney, volunteered the opinion that NewZealand has far too many works for the output. Only four refused space to the company, and it had no desire to build its own freezing works in New Zealand.