NOT A "CASH UP" POLICY

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 108, 3 November 1926, Page 8

NOT A "CASH UP" POLICY

•-. DAIRY OVERADVANCES

CREDITOR FIRMS REASONABLE.

About a couple of months ago it v^gs stated in "The Post" that the low prices of butter on the London market, and the improbability of a recovery, would certainly give rise to heavy reclamation claims against some of the "holding" dairy companies, by firms that had made over-advances (advances in excess of realisable value). This statement was discounted in a counterstatement, published in Dunedin, as being alarmist, but is entirely borne out to-day by known facts. "ONLY A FEW MORE DAYS." On the other hand, a statement originating last week at the other end of New Zealand, and circulated through the Press from Auckland by wire, goes to the- length of saying that demand? for prompt payment of reclamation claims have been made by the over-ad-vancing firms. "Demands for prompt J payment," says this telegram, "have lately been made by the agents-of the Tooley street firms, and in some cases j the amounts involved are so large that the factories concerned have been placed in an exceedingly awkward position. One factory's indebtedness amounts to no less than £6000. Such sums cannot be readily obtained at short notice, and it is understood that urgent representations were cabled direct to Mr. Coates to intervene on behalf of the directors. It is considered this was the deciding factor in the Prime Minister arranging a conference with the London merchants as cabled yesterday. In the meantime it is stated that the factories have Only a few more days in which to find the money due on last season's produce." Tho existence; of heavy reclamation claims is> one thing. Demands that prompt payment be made by embarrassed companies are quite another; and counter-representations, in denial of the telegraphed statement, have been made to "The Post" by a gentleman who has represented in Now Zealand, for. years, one of the Tooley street firms. '' Generally speaking,'' he said, " you can say that nothing of tho sort is occurring. There are heavy reclamations, but the firms that have made the advances are not unduly pressing. The statement that prompt payment is being demanded is not true, except in perhaps one or two exceptional cases the circumstances of which are not within my knowledge. The reclaiming firms are adopting a reasonable policy, as theyghave done in the past." / He contradicted the suggestion in the Auckland telegram that the conference in London between Mr. Coates /and representatives of all branches ,' of the trade was called to consider /over-ad-vances. The subject of that conference was control and price-fixing.'