Page 16 Advertisements Column 1

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20524, 18 April 1932, Page 16

AUCTIONS. 11. MATSON AND CO. SELF-HELP FOU TIIE FARMER. IT lias probably never been so true »a U is to-day that the farmer can be his own host iricnd oc his own worst enemy, ilmt is nut a mere meaningless platitude. lov years past a great number of them nave been living and working on capital or boi-l-owed money, with the fear of bankruptcy and ruin constantly before their eyes and too often actually realised. It is hardly surl,rising that they have been driven to Iln> verge of despair. They have been tempted to believe that modern politicians are 1,1 league with the weather against them, and that it is their fate to bo sarrified uu the altar of industrialism and low prices. Jt it were true, which it is not, that all ot them aro grumblers, they have unhappily na»l tfood oause for their discontent. But H is certainly true that at the present moment, as the more far-sighted among them are beginning to realise, the reasons for despair are definitely less serious, and the grounds for hopefulness far more solid than they have been for many a long day. The tide at last shows signs u£ turning. The non-agri-cultural population are beginning to understand that the prosperity of farming is at least as essential to the national welfare as that of any other industry, and the Government and Parliament havo consequently been given a freer hand than their predecessors for the introduction of measures designed to urrcst its decay. in tho few months since they came into power the Government, in spite of the pressure of many other claims of the greatest importance, abroad as well as at home, have already shown that Ihcy do mean to take practical steps fur the relief und protection of British food producers in their uphill struggle with foreign competition and their efforts to regain a greater share of the home market. Producers of many different kinds of homo-grown food stand to benefit, though in varying degree, by the provisions of the Wheat Bill and its guaranteed price and market, by the import duty on foreign oats and barley, by the addition of foreign maize, as well as potash salts and phosphates of lime, to foreign linseed, cotton seed, and rape seed on the free list, and by the duly on foreign milk products and imported foreign eggs. If they have not been given all that they would like or consider necessary, they will at least be ready to own that the change from the conditions that have made the markets of this country the dumping ground for the foodstuffs of the world cannot be brought about 111 the twinkling of an eye. The Government have, in fftct, made a good beginning; and it is only a beginning. Wheat has loomed largo because of its traditions in English farming and the special plight of the wheat-farmer; but the stockbreeder, the poultry-farmer, and the milk producer, who loom far larger in modern English agriculture, have not been ignored. Not only is there to be an enquiry into the question of the quantitative control of bacon imports, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer has declared during the last week that the Government are also prepared to consider an enquiry into tho possibility of applying a quantitative system to meet other than pig products. It is quite certain, however, that this method of procedure, which is a sound method, depends mainly on the farmers themselves uniting to bring about the reorganisation of ntarketing, and the better co-ordina-tion of home supplies. The Government cannot be expected to give them blindly the further help for which they are asking at the expense of the consumer. In the bacon market, for instance, before consenting to control the imports of the foreign producer, the Government must be certain that the British farmer is in a position .to take his plac» by supplying, in quality and eventuallv in quantity, the class of bacon that the British consumer prefers. The compartment will he expanded as it can be filled. At present, PRIVATE ENTERPRISE. I • | The man who runs his own farm knows j from experience that no matter how | good a man he puts in charge of it, lie | in many instances fails to have things | carried on as he himself would. It is | the question of personal element. 11. | MATSON and CO. for many years have carried on a Stock and Station business, | and we leave no tllone unturned in the | realisations of stock, produce, or mer- | chandiso entrusted to our care. H. MATSON and CO. j though it is believed that tho Pig Industry Council lias prepared a scheme for gradually replacing the imports of foreign bacon, it is not known whether the scheme meets with the approval of the Government; and our Agricultural Correspondent tells us this morning that some farmers and smallholders are actually disposing of their breeding sows in sheer ignorance of what ia being planned for them. The sooner that ignorance is dispelled tho better. The broad fact is that British farmers should be able now to face the future with reasonable confidence, hut only if they understand how much does really depend on themselves. If they aro to reap the advantages they seek, they must set to work of their own initiative——and in co-operation with the Ministry of Agriculture—to prcparo schemes for the reorganisation of the whole of the commercial side of the industry and the Proper marking, grading, and marketing of all the foodstuffs that they produce. Those are in effect the conditions imposed by the general _ policy of protection for efficiency. They give to the farmers ahd farming a greater opportunity for self-help than the industry has had for many years. EXPERTS IN ONE AND MANY THINGS. It is not uncommon to hear those in charge of big factories or business houses talk with a certain impatience of experts. They accuse them of an incurable tendency to miss a practicable point. They admire their specialised knowledge and patient laboriousness, but they talk as if they would seldom trust them with the responsibility of making decisions. They hint that as the experts go digging industrially along in their mole-runs they miss the importance of many a fact that might by a more alert and vigorous personality bo developed t<> the advantage of the firm, of the public, and of themselves. Probably all of us are expert in one subject or another, if in nothing else at least in our own trade or profession. .We can judge the general accuracy of these strictures, We_ have seen the man of rough and ready ability mishandling technicalities but somehow getting things done, and, in a completely surprising fashion, turning into importance dnd advantage a fact which wo hod overlooked. In this country we have many experts. No business can expect to reach a position of national importance without them. The domain of commercial knowledge for a big storo is now so vast that it has to be divided up. The operations are so complicated and the need for proficiency in them so urgent that there must be division of labour, a hundred different men and women' doing li hundred different tasks with the specialised knowledgo that comes from specialised experience. But no great country which was nothing more than an assembly of experts could- hope lo succeed. They might know all about a hundred different sections of life and yet be all at sea when it'comes to dealing with life as a whole. They would go from tree to treo noting their growth and character hut never ■ seeing tho size and significance of tho forest. The highest type of expert is the one wlio is expert in life ns a whole. lie must bo well acquaints with tho world, knowing by observation and intercourse and sympathy all the kinds of people that make up a nation. He must know the life ot the home and the life of the hotel, the life of fashion and the life of sport, life in the city and life in the country. Wo aim lo make this Firm expert in life. We know that it is a high ambition, difficult to attain. It means far harder and more continuous effort. It means being wide awake every moment of the day. It means an effort of attention to every conversation, everything we read or hear. It means keepin? the whole mind in constant training. Only so can we be sure of avoiding the faults of partial expertness. Only so can we he sure that at all times we arc completely in touch with the large and active world, "able to give the fullest service at all points to every one of the many who come to do trade. 11. MATSON and CO. The farmer frequently wants to have a chat regarding agricultural and pastoral matters, and 11. MATSON and CO. will be pleased to extend a welcome to such enquiries and will answer the same to the bost of their ability. They have a direct and personal knowledge extending over many years. The Firm at tho present time call the attention of farmers to the possibilities of a stringent period during July, August, and September LIXIT and SOLIDIFIED MOLASSES will prove a boon to many stock owners during that period. H. MATSON and CO. 116628