DANGER OF MONOPOLY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19136, 3 October 1936, Page 15

DANGER OF MONOPOLY

TRANSPORT OF GOODS SMALL CARRIERS’ PLIGHT EVIDENCE AT INQUIRY (Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. The difficulties of private carriers who had not a. chance to take some of the advantages open fo big concerns were explained in evidence given Ihis morning before the, taxi and carrying commission. Herbert- William Wise, an owner-driver carrier, representative of carriers operating on their own. without any organisation behind them, explained the position of general carriers in relation to big carrying firms and carrying work done by the. Railway Department. '“We have to face competition from two large carrying companies, the Express Company and J. M. Hey wood s, which is just as unfair as that- ol the railways. 'They have a truck system for sending goods io other towns. The trucks take such a quantity of .goods and are available at such a low rate that firms are able to do the city carrying to the trucks free. That gives those two firms a tremendous advantage. I do not think that this 'Government intends to encourage monopolies, vet that will he the outcome. Steps should be taken to stop this free cartage of goods, it is the cheapness of the truck that lets the big firms carry goods lo the truck free. No individual carrier could get the volume of business In take advantage of the. truck system ” ,