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Worms &  C°

Cardiff, 22nd December
Messrs Worms & C° - Paris

My dear Hypolite,
French Pooling Scheme. I am much obliged by your favour of the 18th inst., which only arrived this morning. Our ideas on this subject seem to coincide, but in the words of the Chairman yesterday morning, proposed scheme is dead and buried, and had one been passed the mushroom element, or at all events the later entrants into the Exporters ranks would have been discriminated against. Plenty of trouble is brewing; all of which might have been saved had, as you say, the Authorities only used the power on both sides that they possess. As Authorisations in excess quantities are arriving in favour of many firms, with an undue percentage of trade, something will have to be done, and about same I was yesterday called into conference, likewise this morning, when I advocated recommending to the British Authorities, not the amount named in the Authorisation, but some lesser quantity based on the pre-war status and percentage. Eventually some hundreds of applications for licences were gone through on something akin to such policy, and are being despatched to London tonight by special messenger, so that the delay in the issue of loading permits by the WTD end Customs shall not be delayed, for otherwise many steamers in early January might not be able to load, for no-one knows yet what the Coal Controller is going to do about cargoes of belated boats; thus, on this occasion there may be no extension of licence to cover clearances, as in previous quarters. At the same time, others whose applications were extra large, although fortified with express authorisations, were held back for further consideration on Monday, unless our Chairman, Mr. Watson, and Mr. Callaghan the Vice President of the National Executive, who are being communicated with, agreed to same being forwarded to London, under reserve. I can assure you, therefore, that the bona fide long established Trader is not being put on one side by any means; but the Committee is anxious all the same to keep France supplied, and business running, pending further and later settlement of knotty points.
I find the Board of Trade are seemingly backing a Pool or its equivalent, and they have a nasty habit of overcoming opposition, however well organised, without at the same time coming into the open. As regards ourselves, the debits I spoke of are imperative; and similar ones I was assured by Mr. Hann, are rendered by his Company here to the other in France; in fact, not to do so would imperil all our licences; although as you once said, it is only putting money into one of your pockets which you will have to take out of another. Of course that is not the case in nine cases out of ten when the General Trade is considered.
So much of my time to-day, has been taken up adjudicating on Licences, etc.,(like yesterday) that it was impossible to write this letter in time for the first mail.
Yours very truly,

G. W. Moore