DIFFIDENT FARMERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 199, 5 January 1942, Page 6

DIFFIDENT FARMERS

MANPOWER PROBLEMS "Farmers won't come forward and state their case for fear of being considered unpatriotic," declared Mr R. R. Blade, of Ahuroa, at last Executive meeting of the Auckland Farmers' Union. A discussion on the methods of Manpower Committees and Armed Forces Appeal Beards was in progress, and several instances were quoted in which farmers had been subjected to harsh treatment by these boards*. In one case an elderly farmer who had sought exemption for an assistant was asked if his wife—who is 57 years of age—went into the milking shed to work. "Sometimes," he replied. "Why can't slie work there regularly?" was the next query. This mat : ter aroused some indigination when reported to the Executive meeting, antl it was decided to seek confirmation of the facts before taking action. j Members were unanimous in stating that farmers were more than j ready to accept their responsibilities for the defence of their country and the Empire, but, they were insistent that the tribunals entrusted with the task of saying whctliei or not a man's services were of more value carrying on his civilian occupation than they would be in the Armed Forces should, in the case of farmers, be composed of men who had a practical knowledge of farming needs. Only thus, it was claimed, could primary production, which was the basils of the Dominion's economy, lie even approximately maintained. Women on the Farms In regard to female labour on the farms the President, Captain Rushworth, declared that "until the women of the Dominion arc mobilised generally for industry we object to the assumption that wives, mothers find daughters of farmers shall be considered as necessarily part and parcel of the farm labour supply. These women have much more ordinary household work to do than most other women."