ALLEGED RING

Evening Star, Issue 19023, 19 August 1925, Page 2

ALLEGED RING

' RAILWAY PRINTING ORDERS ) ( OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONS I [From Oub Paemamentaet Reporter.] > i WELLINGTON, August 18. > One of the suggestions of the Auditor ■ and ControHer-GeneraTs annual report, i recently discussed in the House, was , that, in view of the remarkable disparity between prices for certain sup- ; plies obtained in Dunedin and the quoi tations for the same service in other i centres, a ring must exist. A statement by the Prime Minister i made to the House to-day, based on the investigations of departmental officers, dealt with this allegation. “ It relates,” states tho Prime Minister, “to urgent printing orders required by tho Railway Department for Invercargill. The departmental papers show that the Controller and AuditorGeneral brought this matter under tho ; notice of the Public Service Conuulsi (doner, who caused full investigation to be made into the circumstances by an accountant of wide commercial experience. The conclusions arrived at by the investigating accountant show; (1) That the Dunedin firm in question quoted for special competitive reasons, and its prices were well below the cost of production. In this respect it may ho mentioned that the renewal prices are considerably in advance of those in the original contract. (3) That tho prices quoted to tho department by the firm in Invercargill were substantially fair and reasonable. (3) That in the comparison made by the Controller and Auditor-General_ he entirely failed to appreciate tho significance of the extra cost whore urgency and volume of work wore important factors. (-1) That tho disparity in prices was due to other causes than the influence of an alleged ring, as suggested by the Auditor-Gen-eral, is clearly evident by the fact that the investigating accountant reported that the firm in Dunedin was, and is, a leading member of the trade association in question.” Tho Prime Minister’s reference to this subject pointed out that the results of this investigation were made known to the Auditor-General, and it was therefore surprising that lie should have seen fit to refer to this matter by quoting percentages running into thousands when the_ total value of business in Invercargill was less than £2OO per annum. Thus it tended to unduly magnify the position.