A STATE MONOPOLY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 16, 14 October 1907, Page 5

A STATE MONOPOLY.

i ■ "■: ■■■•■■.•-:■■:■•• [ THE'COAL .DEPARTMENT.; v ■■! RUINING THE SMALL DEALER. As indicated in... a'.paragraph which appeared in , ins Dominion on Wednesday last the State Coal. Department- is, .making a :• monopoly of tho disposal of State coal .h' ■' Centres where tho Department' has ostab- \ lished- depots. A cloar ' statement to'; that '. effect:has been,made by the general mana- - gcr, Mr. W.C. Gascoigne, so that allthoso desirous of burning Stato coal have to purphase from, the.State's retail depot. ■;'-■ One reason :that has been given for sotting up this' monopoly was • that 'when tho coal' was' sold to dealers its reputation suffered through an; inferior'article being sold as "State."; .'The local dealers aro indignant at this charge, and quite logically ask why should :they :do;such a;, thing . when ' "Stato"'was the'cheapest coal thoy could j buy. It is that ; which has, caused thodoalers - to obtain' an understanding with tho Gov- , eminent in'' this regard,' for people, knowing ' it to bo a cheap coal asked for "State," and when told that, it was .not stocked went away j to: the: Government depot..,: ■•;.-..■,. Dealers "Being Ruined. ~ ;^lx i ..PV.''M. i: C/.Cleai7/\ofVChnstehuroh, 3 who is one of those present in Wellington to . make representations to the Government, a-, states' that it.is no exaggeration to say'that ■' mariyof the siriallor dealers arc bcing.ruined j' by'the monopoly created by.the Government. ':. lpst tho. cheap coal, and at tho -' same'i'timd: tho.icasli' customer trade, as ' "State" could : only• bo sold; to ' advantage I cheaply.'on th^^sh'principle. ;. I Not ; a' Poor Man's Coal. . :, ' .'.'.']',\ ;'. . r " ;,,The .."State," said Mr. Cleary,- was not a '; benefit :to the poor man as it was to have been, ; as :it:,was only being-, sold,, for. cash. The poor could "not pay cash, as. the dealers • well-know, bo that the State coal enterprise ' was; benefitting a class'not contemplated in [ ,the first instance.', : There was, little onough margin in .the coal,.trade .without having to >.. face-' such. a ,positi6n/ Did' the. reporter I ■ know what ; was ; made on a'ton:pf-coal.? Just '' 'ftbout'ls.'l: ..Hbwya's'thatmado.up?. Well,' for [.- Goalbrookdale..'they paid 275. 6di; per, ton. fia.Sii (free-alongside) at. Lyttolton.; i freight to, OhristcbTirch, .3sl Bd. per ton; loss 'on ,' slack,; 9d.j-screening and: bagging, 9d.'; cart- . age from, station.tio.yard,. Is. 6d.,;' cartage | from 'yard'. to 2b. 6d.; ;-. office, oxi penses, Gd;; bad debts,.price of sacks, rent ! of-yard, 1 rates, •telephone charges, more than J ,isi : ' : ,';' On Hop of thatthey' frequently had to ~ vvait two. or! three, months for .their.''money, ;; ..yet,thoy sold the coal at £2; per.t0n.:,.... ■;. For "Newcastle" 21s. was. paid on; tho '; Dytteltons;Wharf, 'and, 'though it 'had beoh .bpasteaV-th'at.'ther.e was' no 'duty, on coal, t the Government taxed: it on tho railways.,by i , charging-Is., inoro per ton than New Zoa-' ' land coal'to transfer it from Lyttolton to Christchurch. < Newcastle cost .15..:3 d: per . ton to screen and bag, and Is. 3d. was lost •in every ton' through slack,. yot '■ this was sold ; : /it 325! per.ton..''■','• '.','. ': ,'.'. ," ■- 'V '' \ TheState's;Pull. ■~,';' ' !V ' '■''• ;. ; ; ; ' i .prie' the other hand; the Stato'paid no. rates; did not; requiro to stamp recoipts, and' domanded ,oash all tho time,' arid as the coal ' .was! a little cheaper, it .was : taking away, the 'cash: customer-rrtho main.source of-turnover. ' '—from the dealer. '•, It would'bo imagined ' that: tho State coal would be .supplied ox- , clusively to the railways ; and .departments, , but.this was'far from being the.-case. '; Tho ' railways were supplied largely with Australian' ' and other local coals, and the State coal was I given to thepnblic. For instance,' Mr. Cleary ■ said ho knew that tho Government had im> ■ ported into..Christchur'ch 5750 ton's of coal . ' other'than the State, ; from April 1, 1906, to March 31 last, which .was'.neithpr. for Adding- . ton nor Ashburtonj'. and returns showed that if; that had "been; "State,'^' only; 1000 tons '. .would have'-beenavailable for the, public.,.; , ;.; Ministerial statements ' ' , Mr.' ■ Cleary v-sajd'l that';'the v'.'- Minister for •■ .Mines had stated that the reason -they could notjSupply, dealers' was ;becauso .'they; had' riot . enough to .'supply..their'.own/'.depots.. Pos-. .- .sibly.'the Minister ;didvndtVkn6w, but;it was only those dealers operating.in the same area • 'as. the'Statp (depots' that could 'not 'get sup-' 1 plicslV Outsido"dealers;had,'.'no difficulty .in ; , getting'supplies, of'"Stated" .'..;' .' ;■ -'Most probably the real reason for cutting > off .'supplies'/lay iri'.'tho'facttliat when the ' (State '.was., (only ~■ 'selling wholesale from the' '.. ship s side,*'the. dealers were able to undersell l .the;StatG:by.6d. a'ton, and'that without de-; ' mahding spot cash;-:;Mr.'Cleary pointed out ; that whenever' the price of- coal was reduced, ■ to-the. dealers; the/public--received tho bonefit .of.it, and.hpj-instanced a-fall'of ,35., per.ton | in Blackball,a year, ago, -when the reduction' [ was made to-tho public; at once; ', Saturday Afternoon': Delivery. 1' .-Replying, (to the, secretary of tho Weiling- '■" -ton: Coal. Dealers'., Association •. (Mr.-. Gren- ; fell) ,;with reference to a statement which'ap- .', : peared in ;TnE, Dominion ..to :the; effect that i the, State Coal' Dopartmerit had placed, local merchants,at.a commercial disadvantage by. ' delivering'on Saturday afternoons, .tho Hon. J.yA. Millar,',Minister for Labour, writes:— • r " With";further re'feronce to. your , letter ,of i' the'! 16th' .ultimo.' in, regard, to tho delivery ', of,coal by..the Sitate Coal Depot on Saturday j; afternop'n's, I brought the matter, as pro- ■ 'misedj under the. riptico of, the .Hon. ;the \ Mines, and I have,now,received' ', fromhim the,enclosed communication, which " isforwarded- to ypu.frirtho information of \ : your .Association." '<"[] '...''.,' ' '. reply to the accompanying ". 'letter fromtho secretary 1 to the Wellington , Coal Dealers' Association complaining of dc--1 liyery ; of State coal by the State Coal Do--3 partment on, Saturday- afternoons;' which you referred, to mo for-enquiry, I havo to state that I find that tho carts were used on Sats urday, .September 14, undor groat pressure , from families in.which sickness prevailed, ! coal supplies having.run very short owing to ■ bad woathor on tho West' Coast.. I may i add-that my authority was not obtained, a s'-nd 'that definite 1 instructions havo now been I- issued that under no circumstances is coal 3 : to:■ bo.delivered on Saturday afternoons, or . during any other, time outside-'of tho ordino nfy. working hours' fixed for coal-dealers. t;-' ,'.■'■ ' ' : '. •' ; l '.■ ; ■ ■' -■ t: - ■' •