COMPENSATORY PRICES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 208, 3 September 1938, Page 8

COMPENSATORY PRICES.

IN SECONDARY INDUSTRIES. (To the Editor.) There seems to be some mystery as to what compensatory prices to the farmers means. There are Ministers of the Crown and manv others who say that they do not know what it means—indeed, it is said that even the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. A. Hamilton, and Mr. Furniss do not know; but personally 1 am inclined to make reference to the old saying, "Nobody is as blind as he 'who does not want to see." and would like Ito ask if it is not true that the secondarv industries, civil servants and others are already receiving compensatory prices and wages; yet there seems to be a lot of opposition to farmers receiving tfie same measure 'of reward—although they pay the workers of butter factory, freezing companies and other workers engaged compensatory prices (except those on the farms, engaged in their primary industries). If secondary industries and such •were not receiving compensatory prices ami wages they would not need tariffs and protection; instead, they would be receiving tha world's parity of wages and prices, the same as the farmer does when he sells his butter in England. So why should there be all this opposition to closing the vicious cycle? Bearing a just equality, why should the farmer not have a forty-hour week, paid holidays and paid overtime? He i= only trying to raise the standard of his living* (which is one of the lowest in New Zealand) up to the level of others—he is not setting out to condemn other standards—op to lower them—so why all this opposition to compensatory prices, which, after all. i.~ only a matter of common sense. If tlie farmer receives a fair price for his produce he spends the proceed* in employing more hands to produce more—to {rive even a higher standard of living for everybody. So it seems that the opponents of compensatory priccs are the very ones -who are Xew Zealand's wor.-t enemies"in the trek of progress, and they are just as absurd and as inconsiderate as a farmer with a herd of cows who refuses to supply them with the raw materials vhicli enable them to produce for him. H. A. LITRAf AV