The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-07-01
Seattle Commission Men and the New
Paulhamus Law.

concerted action taken by the COM
mission men of Western avenue, Sc
attic, in regard to the new Paulhamus
law, requiring them to pay heavy
license and limiting their commission
on consignments. The financial con-
sacted and the nature of transacting
that business varies so greatly among
the various commission men that
united action is deemed impracticable.
1t is manifestly up to each particular
house to solve its own problems and
make the best of conditions. Some of
the houses claim to be very we'll salts
fed with the law. These are the
houses generally that will cease the
commission business and go into
buying and selling business. These
houses claim that they would rather
conduct business that way and that
there is more profit in it for them
ultimately, although it is not always
as satisfactory for the farmer and
grower. 1t takes, of course, con-
siderable working capital to transact
business of this sort, and the smaller
houses are not all able to undertake
it. 1t looks now as though about one
half of the commission men will
change over from the straight COM
mission business to the buying and
selling. These houses will handle no
consignments. Following is the state
ment made by various houses at the
time the law went into effect:
j. 3. Powles g. Co.
J. B. Powles, of J. B. Powles & Co.,
said: GAS a matter of fact ii l had
been asked to frame a law which
would suit my own personal interests
better than any other, I could hardly
have done better than suggest the
Paulhamus bill as passed. OF course
I had nothing to do with it's passage,
being away from the state at the time
it was put through the legislature.
But there is no question that the bill
favors the large commission house as
against the smaller. The $4,000 bond
which is such stumbling block to
some of the smaller houses, simply
means a stroke of the pen for the
larger ones, which have the necessary
mercantile rating.
''This provision is undoubtedly 60
ing to put some of the smaller houses
out of the commission business. They
will undertake to buy and sell for
cash, but that is pot going to work
in competition with dealers who re-
ceive on consignment. A farmer al
ways thinks he stands to get the high
est price when he consigns on account,
regardless of the fact that 10 per cent
is deducted in commission. The re-
suit will be the practical cutting of
our competition in two. There are
very few provisions in the law, out
side of this matter of the bond, that
anyone could take proper exception
to. For instance, in the making OF
returns, we move even faster than is
required by the law, for instead of
forty-eight hours after the receipt of
the goods we acknowledge receipt and
sale, when sold, within twenty-four
hours, and pay once a week instead
of once every ten days. l think this
would work no particular hardship on
any commission firm, although it does
increase the amount of bookkeeping
and office work necessary. The pro-
vision however, whereby we must
send out the names of the purchasers
of all consignments, together with the
price received and the state of the
goods at the time of the sale, if fol-
lowed, would make something of
revolution in the method of handling
consignments. We do not expect any
of our shippers to ask for that, but
if they should it would be very diff
cult to give it to them under the pres
ant system