THE WHEAT CONFERENCE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15775, 16 December 1916, Page 4

THE WHEAT CONFERENCE.

MINISTER AND WHEATGROWEIt.

In opening the conference on Thursday of wheatgrowers and others interested in wheat-growing, tho Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald, Minister of Agnculturej remarked that- representatives were present from all the wheat-growing centres of tho South Island. In view of what farmers had had to contend with recently in tho way of shortage of labour, frosts, and drought, it was thought desirable to seek a basis upon which wheat-growing could be encouraged. The Minister made a strong appeal to the loyalty of the farmers, pointing out that tho exceptional position which had arisen necessitated that they should help the Dominion and the Empire to the utmost.

After a general discussion had taken place a committee consisting of one representative from each electorate was sob up to submit recommendations to the conference. After an hour's consideration the committee' recommended:— (1) That the Government should take over the whole of the wheat produced in the Dominion during the war and for tho season following the end of tho war. (2) That 6s 3d per bushel at railway stations should be paid for best prime milling quality. (3) That farmers should bo allowed to retain sufficient' teamsters—or ploughmen—to enable them to deal with the crops. In the course of' the discussion which ensued, a motion was submit led_ for tho adoption of the recommendations. An amendment, that the Government should pay 6s per bushel f.0.b., was moved, but was not seconded. Reference was made by several delegates to tho necessity for the price of flour to the bakor and of bread being based on the prico paid to tho farmer. The uncertainty of obtaining labour 'was urged as a reason why it was impossible to lix tho price of wheat, and one delegate said that if the Minister could make a statement which would enable farmers to retain labour on their farms they would be in a much bettor position to agree to the price. • The Minister said that enquiries were being made as to farm labour available and required. It was suggested that if in the future such information was required, it could bo got better through the local bodies. Conference approved of the committee's recommendations. Tho Minister said that they would be carefully considered by the Government and by tho Board of Trade, which would hold sittings in Christchnrch. He asked delegates to attend the Board's sittings, and give evidence as to the probable wheat production of their respective districts. Mr Mac Donald expressed pleasnre with the tono of the Conference, and with tho manner in which delegates had received his suggestions. TO THE EDITOR OF "THE Pit ESS."

Sir, —My name is on the list- of delegates to tho Wheatgrowers' Conference. I was not there as a delegate, but as a member on tho invitation of the Minister to listen to and learn the farmer's side of tho question. I felt that I had no right to spcalc or vote, but had I been there as a delegate there would have been one empliatic protest against tho resolution of tho Conference, and 1 wish as publifly as possiblo to enter that protest now. In my opinion it is such action as that taken by the fanners yesterday at their end of tho string, that renders possiblo the lied Fed. at the other end of the string, and absolutely nullifies the efforts of men who are trying to impress upon the workers of this Dominion the wickedness and folly of imperilling the very existence of the Empire and their own fundamental liberties by fighting for their full economic rights now instead of first bending every energy to the defeat of the enemy. I wish to speak with all restraint and avoid all that is needlessly irritating to those with whom I differ, but I was more than disappointed with the spirit, and tone of the meeting. Emphatically, it was not a meeting of patriotic men gathered in a great Empire crisis to see how far they could fairly and safely sacrifice their own immediate interests for the common • cause. The note of sacrifice was never sounded, however faintly. It was a meeting of men keen to extract.from the Government, as the return for their help, tho highest price they thought they could ask with any chance of gettin- it.

If I am told that I know nothing about, wheat-growing and so am not competent to pass an opinion, my answer is that there are numbers of farmers, experienced wheat-growers, who say that taking the increased cost of production into full consideration, 5s 6J a bushel for such a contract with the Government would bo an outside price, arid with a fair harvest would yield solid profit. More t"han that, there were men in tho Conference who privately expressed the opinion that 5s <3d would have been a reasonable figure. lam anxious to be fair to the farmer, and I know that there are those to whom, owing to local drought, the last two years have been years of financial disaster, but to the bulk of our farmers, "war prices hav e meant prosperity. I heard ten minutes ago of one man who made nearly two thousand pounds extra profit last year, and who has given every penny of it to war funds. It is not a right thiug,then, to fix a high price for wheat in order t-o recoup those who have been unfortunate, a price that will at tho same time add to the heavy profits, of their more fortunate brethren at the expense of the community. So far as the possibility of another drought year i« concerned, that is a risk tlie farmer always takes without the encouragement of a Government assurance that he wilj receive 5g 6d x a bushel for any wheat that ho does grow. Sir, Gs 3d did not satisfy all the delegates. One gentleman urged that that should not be the price for lirst-gradc wheat, but for good milling wheat, and that the farmer should receive so much more per bushel for every month that passed after the wheat was threshed before the Government completed the purchase, for loss of weight, interest, ete. The same gentleman in the next breath told the Conference that li« was still holding his last year's wheat; he could not get it threshed in time to sell when wheat was high, and he was holding it because he had never received five shillings per bushel in bis life, and now lie would have 5s or burst.

In addition to the Us 3d the Minister was asked to conserve labour in the interests of the industry and exempt farmers, farmers' sons, and farmlabourers from conscript ion. I do notsay that it may not be necessary to exempt the majority of farmers and farm-workers from conscription, but 1 do say that- if this is done, that these men will be freed from the greatest sacrifice that men can be called upon to make for their country, and that consequently they should be the last to want to make profit out of this war. Surely their attitude should he: "We cannot fight because, fortunately for us, we are wanted here, and so we escape all peril of life and limb, and the least we can do for you men who fight for us is to work, not for big profits, but a living wage." At the request of the Government I s:« a younj; fellow in a comfortable billet earning £3 or £3 10s a week. I say to

him: ''It- is your duty, if jou are a real man, to give up that billet, and rr o at os or Os per day to fight in the defence-of us all. It is no picnic! You risk disease, maiming, death. Thousands liavc boen killed, and you mav he, but the Country calls you." He" replies: "That is all right, but a number of prosperous farmers for whose defence I shall tight have been asked by tho Government to aid by wheat-grow-ing; and they have replied that they are patriotic enough to remain at home and grow wheat, provided vno Government .will guarantee them a price that reduces tho chance of loss to a minimum, and hi all probability, ensure the most of them a swinging profit." Is that a fair deal? Js that reasonable equality of sacrifice P Sir! what can I or any other man say l'n answer to that question ? A few days ago one of the Ministers cf the Crown said to me, '"I am fairly hcart-sick. There are many men and women in all grades who have a right conception of the position, and are making c reat sacrifices, but a large pro. portion, alike of labour and capital, employers and employees, are <=o eager to push their own interests that they <lo not seem to care a scrap for tho Empire." Now, Ido not want to pose as an alarmist, and so long as 1 have the opportunity 1 insist to every working man that no greed on the part of another man can possibly excuse his playing the part of a to his country, and refusing to do his bit- in her defence, but only those who move among the mass of the people ran have any idea how widespread the feeling is that the well-to-do and the wealthy are not doing their fair share as compared with the sacrifices demanded of others, and how bitter the resentment is: and I say to the farmers —"I know that there are thousands of you who do not want to make a profit out of this war, who are prepared to grow wheat even at a financial sacrifice. If you love tho Empire, if you want to allay this growing unrest, that is being fanned by tho unscrupulous, and take from the agitator his most powerful plea, admit that a mistake has been made, and tell tho Government, 'If you want our wheat, take it, and take it, at the price you feel will be fair to us and fair to tlif people, and we will be content'?" —Yours, etc., LEONARD M. ISITT. December loth.