"ONE OF BEST JOBS,"

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 85, 11 April 1933, Page 11

"ONE OF BEST JOBS,"

MR. FORBES ON FARMING.

VALUE OF GOOD REPUTATION.

*1 am a farmer, and I look upon farming as one of the best jobs one can undertake," eaid the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, when addressing trainees at Boys' Flock House Station. "My experience has enabled me to judge some of the qualities required by, the man on the land. A great many of the successful farmers of to-day were formerly ploughmen, shepherds, or labourers, who by energy and thrift and building up a reputation for reliability have established themselves on the land.

"The biggest part of your capital is your reputation. It is worth double the money you can save when work is found to be a little disagreeable and conditions hard. That is the testing time of man's mettle. Ido not say that you are going to find everything most agreeable when v you start on farms, but if you stick to your jobs and show the proper spirit, you will overcome your difficulties.

"There is ample opportunity for men of the right "spirit, who are prepared to give good value to their employers. Their opportunity will come to secure farms of their own. Ido not know of any man in my district with such character who has not finished well on his feet. _ These are times of exceedingly low prices, but we have come through worse, though expenses then were not so heavy as they are to-day.

"These are the testing times of the country. Anybody can do well in good times, but in bad times men of industry, intelligence, and care are wanted.

"Hard conditions go toward making better farmers. We have got to be careful and turn out produce of the highest quality. So long as we do that we can compete with any part of the world. "With proper determination and application to work I feel confident that .we will come through and look back upon these times as days of valuable experience."