SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— F. 



357 



comparison of the evidence given to the Economic and Wage Commission, 1925, by 

 the Cape Federation of Labour Unions and by the Afrikaanse ChristeUke Vrouwe 

 Vereeniging. 



Present proportion of coloured workers in the skilled trades is not likely to continue. 



Apprentices attending the Cape Technical College : — 



These figures, and the very small number of pupils in coloured schools who reach 

 standard 6, seem to support the view of some trade unionists that in ten or fifteen 

 years the skilled trades will be in the hands of Europeans. It is more probable that 

 the coloured man will continue to enter the skilled trades, but that the proportion of 

 whites will increase. 



Trade union action in Cape Town has not injured coloured labour, skilled or 

 unskilled, by colour bars. Any injury done is that which arises in any country when 

 a trade union is able to reserve to its skilled workers work which could have been 

 done by semi-skilled workers. 



Prof. A. Plant. 

 Tariff. 



-The Anti-dumping Regulations of the South African 



Wednesday, July 24. 



Joint Discussion (Sections F, M) on The Problem of Stabilising Agricul- 

 tural Prices, with special reference to Control Boards, Equalisation 

 Funds, and other Methods of Price Rcgidation. — Mr. R. B. Forrester, 

 Mr. R. J. Thompson, C.B., Dr. J. M. Tinley. 



Mr. R. B. FoREBSTER.^ — Leaving on one side the monetary aspects of this subject, 

 it may be stated that recent marketing movements dealing with supplies fall into 

 two groups. There is (1) 'straight marketing work,' which aims at improving 

 marketing methods and organisation by the use of standards, collective bargaining, 

 salea agency, &c. ; (2) there is the attempt at some control of price or control of 

 output ; this phase of marketing is commonly prominent in most farm relief schemes, 

 discussions of stabilisation and plans for raising prices. Special consideration may 

 be given to the economic limitations of such agencies as pools, export control boards, 

 &c., as influences upon prices and of such plans as the McNary Haugen scheme of 

 surplus control and of equalisation funds. Possible temporary success of such schemes 

 but vital difficulty lies in the question of control of production and output. 



Mr. R. J. Thompsok, C.B. — The fundamental importance of monetary causes as 

 aSecting both agriculture and industry is now fully recognised, but this aspect lies 

 outside the scope of agricultural policy. Second aspect is the natural instability of 

 agricultural prices ; one development designed to meet this difficulty is the organisation 

 of co-operative selling organisations such as the wheat pools of Canada, the New 

 Zealand Meat Producers' Board, the Danish Co-operative SeUing Agencies, and similar 

 bodies. This method is specially applicable with exporting countries, but a second 

 suggestion is the converse, the organisation of buying, which would be applicable to 

 importing countries such as Great Britain. The conception involves the establish- 

 ment of a national purchasing organisation which would control imports. Considera- 

 tion may be given to the chief points which arise in such a scheme such as State 

 monopoly, size of the undertaking, &c. Origin of much of this discussion lay in the 

 experience of war-time control, but this does not give a reliable indication of the 



