HINTS FOR HAULIERS.
Page 15
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Dealings with Clearing-houses. Faults on Both Sides. The Arguments in Favour of Prompt Payment for Work Done.
The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred -with their bones."
SO WROTE ono, well known to all Englishmen, one whose knowledge of human nature, and appreciation of the frailties of his kind was only equalled by his wonderful capacity for transferring his thoughts to paper, in a fashion which is revered wherever English is spoken. Mankind, bent, on the whole, on doing good, is singularly loath to discuss good, and would far rather talk of evil. Corn.plaints of ill-usage, criticism of the doings of others come easy to the most ignorant as to the erudite. The earnest searcher after truth, the investigator of the conditions which govern any phase of our existence, must, if he has to rely upon more or less haphazard evidence, always bear this circumstance in mind. He must considerably discount the evil of which he is informed, and deduce the existence of good from the absence of evidence to confirm it.
I. feel that I am exactly in that position over thisclearing-house question. Some time ago I had a lot to say about it in these columns, and concluded by. asking for hauliers' own opinions, based on actual personal experience, of the practical working of such institutions. I received many replies, which were, unfortunately/ alike in this one respect ; they were all complaints of treatment which the writers had recaiyed at the hands of clearing-houses, of one kind or another. Now, I know that clearing-houses are not all bad ; only the minority are. .Opportunities for unfair, and, in some cases, improper treatment of the haulier are, unfortunately, rife, and the difficult conditions under which clearing-houses have to work —they are, in a sense, between the devil and the deep sea—conditions which sometimes almost compel them, willy Dilly, to drive hard bargains, are not such as to make for continuous good feeling between all the parties concerned.
The Clearing-house Not a Philanthropic Institution.
Most of them do, at least, act fairly, and straightly, having in mind the difficult circumstances. .Many hauliers seem to imagine that the clearing-house is a philanthropic institution, to which they may turn in time of need, but which does not concern them in times of a plenitude of loads at good rates. T.hese strictures on hauliers do not apply to the majority of the cases which have been presented, to me in the form of letters. Indeed, my principal feeling—in connection with these particular matters—is one of indignation. The clearing-houses concerned in these indictments are not all of one order of size or importance ; some are small, but some are large concerns. We are not justified, however, in inferring, from these letters of complaint, that all clearinghouses are alike. The truth is, of course, that those thousands of hauliers who have experienced fair and just treatment at the hands of scores of clearinghouses, have not written to me. Why should they They have fulfilled their contracts and been paid accordingly. HI& there been anything to complain about, they would have written quickly enough. In this matter, as in nearly every other, the exercise of a little common sense is a great help. The law of averages, concerning which I have written so much from time to time, applies equally here as it does to the running costs of a lorry. Loud shouts are heard about the extreme cases; the ordinary transaction passes unnoticed, u,nhonoured, and unsung. Clearing-houses, on the whole are good. There are black sheep amongst them, and always will be, and since direct action against them is impossible, the next best thing is to try to discover how the ba4'clearinghouses may be, if not eliminated, at least circumvented to a certain extent, and their machinations „curbed.
Hauliers' Complaints About Slow Payment.
The principal complaint from hauliers is in connection with delay in payment of dues. Practically every letter which I have received refers to this. In many cases payment has not been received for work done months ago. I have also been shown letters from clearing-houses, apparently of standing, which ask the haulier to wait, indefinitely, for payment of sums in the neighbourhood of £10 Generally, the credit& is a small man, earning a profit with his one vehicle of not more than £3 or £4 a -week. He is not in a position to wait for his money. The haulier is constantly being called upon to pay cash for his requirements. He must pay as he goes for petrol, oil, sundries, garage, lodging, meals, and such things as that, while he is journeying. If he has more than one vehicle, he employs labour, for which cash has always to be paid. It seems to me that the clearinghouses should demand, and get, cash payment from the clients whose loads are being carried by the haulier.
For this particular complaint, and where the fault lies with the clearing-house, there is only one remedy --the legal one. The haulier is generally afraid of going to law, thinking it will operate to his disadvantage in the acquiring of further work. The man of small capital, with a limited knowledge of business, is prone to this view. He need have me fear. Presumably, further work from a concern which does not pay him is not very desirable, so that any disability from that source is negligible. Other people do not bother their heads about it, unless it be to send in their own accounts to the delinquent firm.
To refuse to employ a concern which has justly pressed another for payment, does not ordinarily occur to a business house. That procedure, and the gradual realization, by.hauliers in general, that certain firms are best left alone, because they habitually defer payment, will, in the end, have the desired result of eliminating, to a great extent, the concerns in question. It is true that they will, as they die out, be succeeded by others equally undesirable, which themselves will run for a time, be discovered, and in time "anted."Such conditions are inseparable from any department of our commercial life.
Discrimination and Fair Dealing.
It happens to be, unfortunately, that the double relation—merchant and clearing-house, clearinghouse and haulier (particularly small haulier)—fosters certain malpractices. The exercise of discrimination, and the practice of dealing only with concerns which have an established reputation for fair and proper dealing, is the best that can be done, in all the circumstances. New concerns should be welcomed after due trial, and proof of good faith. If they are bona fide, they will generally be willing to give surety. If they are not, the fair inference is that they are of the kind to be left severely alone.
There are other phases of this matter, some of which are not so easily dealt with. They will form the subjects of future articles. THE SliOTCE.