1.—13 A,

(3) Subsidies. —Liberal subsidies (£400) are made to allow employees to study Dr. Pern's (London) Course for Self Advancement. (4) Free Tuition.—Every person in tile employment of Self-Help Co-op. receives at the firm's expense free tuition in ticket-writing, shop-decoration, window-dressing, and handling of provisions, in classes conducted by the SelfHelp Co-op. Also free tuition is provided by the Self-Help Co-op. in recognized technical schools. (5) The Self-Help trains all its employees to become shop-managers, who receive considerably more pay than the ordinary shop-assistant. Before the last sitting of the Arbitration Court 75 per cent, of the Self-Help Co-op managers received more than the award rates of pay for managers. On account of their training, a Self-Help employee is better able than others to operate a business of his own if he ultimately wishes to do so. It helps and encourages every lad whose ambition is to own a store of his own, and no trouble or expense is spared to help those employees who are willing to help themselves. (6) Surely it is better that fifteen men should be each shop-managers drawing at least 15s. per week more than assistants than for those fifteen men to be all employed in one store, all drawing assistants' wages. (7) At the first sign of the depression, and twelve months before the Government introduced the unemploymenttax, when unemployment was growing, the directors of Self-Help Co-op. asked each employee to contribute U per cent, of his wages, the directors subsidized that amount pound for pound, and the total amount was handed to the Mayor in each city to provide work for the unemployed. At Christmas-time every employee of the company, in addition to any other bonus he may have received, was presented with a Christmas gift of twice the amount he had contributed to the fund for the unemployed. This practice continued in operation until the Government introduced the unemployment-tax. (8) Managers' Wages.—When the general order of the Arbitration Court—29th May, 1932—came into force which reduced all wages by 10 per cent,, the Self-Help Co-op. continued for nearly twelve months without reducing the wages of any employee, and only put the 10-per-cent. cut into operation when absolutely forced to do so. The Chairman.] A portion of the statement referred to the benefit fund. Where is that invested ?—lt is a trust. Is it in the business No. There are three trustees appointed by the staff, and the management has no concern in that whatever. The management has no say in it, and the Fund is operated by the staff themselves. Mr. O'Leary.] They control the investment of the Fund ?—Yes. Mr. B. Sutherland : This list shows the profit we are making (again it will be "on cost ") at each of the places where we sell bread. Bbbad. Town. x.' Pr n fl '\ Town Profit, Per Cent. • p er Cent. Upper Hutt and Trentham .. 7-5 All Dunedin shops . . .. 8-1 Wellington City and suburbs .. 14-1 Invercargill shops .. .. 9-2 Parnell (Auckland) .. .. 11-1 Gore .. .. .. io-0 All other Auckland shops .. 12-5 Mataura .. .. .. 7.5 Rotorua .. .. ..13-0 Rangiora and Mosgiel . .. 12-5 Te Awamutu .. .. .. 12-8 Ashburton .. .. ..12-5 Frankton .. .. ..10-0 Hokitika .. .. .. 8-2 Hamilton .. .. .. 10-0 Nelson .. .. ..14-15 Gisborne .. .. 10-0 Blenheim .. .. .. 8-5 All Christchurch shops .. 12-5 Palmerston North .. .. 8-5 Timaru .. .. .. 12-5 Masterton .. .. .. n-l Oamaru .. .. 10'0 Mr. B. Sutherland : In every case we buy the bread from the baker, and this shows the profit we make. In one case —Wellington City and Suburbs—it shows we make 14-1, but we do not make quite as much as that, because we buy milk and give it to the baker to keep the quality of the bread up. Will you take that as read ? Mr. Holland.'] Why such a discrepancy—in some cases 8-1 and in other cases 14-1 ?—Wellington is 14-1, and it all depends on what one can get the baker to sell at. We buy the bread from the baker, who fixes his price, and if we think he will not make a good article we subsidize him. Mr. O'Leary.] Have you any information that would help the Committee on this matter of the Commonwealth Dried Fruits Board refusing National . Distributors ?—Yes, we have tried for about six years, since 1929, to get on ; they always turned us down and would not take any application from National Distributors. Then the Merchants' Association always advised my son to apply and they would get National Distributors and another firm placed on the list. They held a number of meetings and different members of the association came up to my house. Some of them came up again and then they went over to Australia and brought sufficient pressure to bear on the'authorities there that they would not put us on the list. I have been told that by merchants. You were put on and then taken off ? —Yes, because he was my son he was not allowed to be put on. Now, as to tobacco sales ; what about the present margin of profit to the retailer ?—Well, it is more than we make 011 the gross percentage in our business. We do not want to make that, but I suppose it helps the tobacconists. It will be made bigger all the time and you will not be allowed to stock your own tobacco. Mr. Harris.] What about your turnover ?—lt has gone down. Mr. O'Leary.] Of course, you distribute to the price fixed ?—Yes, we distribute to the price fixed and so does every one else. Would you oppose legislation which made it necessary for you to make 10 per cent, profit on all lines handled ?—lf legislation was introduced making it illegal to refuse supplies of any line you did not make 10 per cent, on, then I would be quite agreeable to that. Legislation compelling you to make at least 10 per cent, gross on everything handled. That would stop all this cry about price-cutting. Mr. Harris.] Ten per cent, on everything—That you could not be refused supplies of an article so long as- you made 10 per cent, or over, and that you could be refused supplies of any article that you made less than 10 per cent. on. Mr. O'Leary : There is one other matter. You have been asked, Mr. Sutherland, to put in a complaint by a Mr. Miller, a petrol-station operator in Auckland. I ask your ruling, Mr. Chairman,

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