NATIONALISATION OF LAND

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23538, 16 January 1942, Page 8

NATIONALISATION OF LAND

Sir.—Considering the acute shortage of farm labour and the possibility of tractor fuel becoming difficult to procure some scheme should be evolved for conserving our resources. I suggest, that the land should be taken over by the State, the land and stock assessed at its intrinsic value and interest commensurate with the security paid to the owners or mortgagee. Boards could be formed in each district consisting of public-spirited men with a good knowledge of farming, and the land could be divided into suitably sized blocks, according to the class of farming to be carried on. and run as one unit. Branch managers could be appointed on their merits from among the farmers and farm workers to manage each branch of farming within the unit, and a general manager could be appointed who had initiative and tact to establish and maintain co-ordination between the different branches. To get the best results each branch of farming will have to be under the charge of a man who is a specialist in that particular branch. By competent management a great saving could be effected of the energy necessary to do the actual work, but what is more important, a great deal of the work could be eliminated altogether, particularly in the cultivation of the scil. By placing the industry on a national basis everyone employed therein would have confidence that by doing their utmost they would be doing so in a national cause. Small military camps could be established throughout the country and men with farming experience placed therein. The men could be used with advantage to themselves and the nation to work on the land during busy periods. If large numbers of men are going to be kept in the Army over a long period they could be employed at carrying out much-needed improvements, the value of which could be assessed by the board controlling the district and become a charge on the land if and when it is restored to the cwner.—Yours, etc., PRO BONO PUBLICO. January 14. 1942.