THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 454, 12 March 1909, Page 6

THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

MR. MABIN RESPONDS. To the Editor. Sir,—Mr. Percy Robinson's challenge appears in your to-day's issuo under another challenge'by Mr. li. Greig to Mr. Robinson.. Mr. Gfeig's challenge covers tho ground, and I gladly add my £5 to Mr. Greig's challenge, making tho sum £30, the understanding being that the £5 goes to the Palmcrston Hospital, whether it comes from myself or Mr. Robinson. I note.the mill quoted by Mr. Robinson does without a sorter, one paddocker and vegetation man., it must therefore- bo so well situated, and, cr working on such good flax, that it can alford to pay a higher royalty than most mills. Why did Mr. Robinson not quote an ordinary mill to the Minister? And if tin's miller , can proyo his figures, which I take, leave ,to still gravely doubt,what is he complaining of? If he can get his labour for £8 Bs., what ground has he for complaining at his royalty charge? He has, after all othor expellees, still a fair margin, and is doing a good deal better than any other miller in tho district. As an alternative, the miller must be milling fair quality, not good fair average quality, in which case he cannot bo getting tho prices quoted by Mr. Robinson by £2 per ton, and Mr. Robinson should have explained to the Minister that tho miller was doing inferior work, and was not getting tho price lie quoted (£2l) for hie hemp.

In your same issue, Mr. Toogood answered the question put to me by Mr. Robinson about the alleged 36 per cent, on capital invested. If Mr. Robinson takes as a basis tho price paid by the present holders for their land, , why should ho not hark back to the original price of tho land when the Maoris parted with it?

■ Mr. Robinson asks for figures as to mills drawing their supplies from cultivated flax. I name at once nearly all tho mills in the Mamuvntu. They aro draw'ing supplies from the Makerua and other swamps, anl no one not in the thick of it understands what a large amount has been, and is being, ex-pended-on these swamps for draining, erndi-. eating toi toi, cleaning existing drains, putting out fires as they occur, rates and taxes. One mill which I know of, drawing supplies from about 1000 acres, spent last year £700 for toi cutting and cleaning drains, and a considerable sura in extinguishing fires (£IOO will go in a night for, this purpose). I-maintain that flax, is a cultivated crop on these areas as much as potatoes or oats - would bo, except that there is greater risk, and the crop takes longer, to mature, if the owner is to got no return for his expenditure and risk andperiod of waiting, he will soon give the business best. The actual cost of growing green flax, to a miller who owns the land, is higher than what is being charged at tho present time for royalty to-tho millere who aro working , on royalty. Again I repeat 1 am not writing for the benefit of tho jandholder, nor to maintain excessivo royalties or harsh terms, but as ono interested in tho trade, I do not wish to.sco our flax lands go out of use as such, ns'. I. fed that unless wo do rccogniso tho rights of the owner.of sucfi to his reward, we endanger the future of tho industry. What his reward is to bo, must be settled by ordinary-trade, methods. It is not a matter for the Government or for the Arbitration Court. Tho wholo question of royalties is. only a "red herring" to. cover up .a. flagrant failure in .tho working of tha. Arbitration Act as applied to tho flaxmilling industry.—l am. etc.. A. E. MABIN. ' March. 9. MR. GREIG'S CHALLENGE. THE EMPLOYEES'. UNION IN REPLY. (To the EuiTon.) . . . ■ . Sir,—l km requested by tho Management Committee-of the Maiiawatu Flaxmills Employees' "Union of Workers to write'as follows regarding tho challenge issued by Mr. Groig in. your issue of this date, r' ' ■ In tho first place, 1 wo beg to point ■ out that your correspondent, having sot up a man of straw, valorously proceeds, to tho flourish of a twenty-five pound'trumpet, to knock him down! Wo can find no record in tho very conipleto report of tho recent deputation whicn appeared in Trrc Dominion of any statement to tho effect that wo could produce any miller who could turn out, eight tons of good, fair, avorago fibre per week. Such, a suggestion is so near to tho impcssiblo as tobe quito outside the sphere of "practical politics." In fact, wo aro surprised that a man of Mr. Groig's long experience in tho trade (ho.must have had nearly four years in it now I) should havo seriously considered such a thing. What we did say, and what we still stand to, was recapitulated in our iuvitation to Mr. Mabin,; which appeared- in your issuo of an even date. However, if Mr. Greig desires still further proof as to tho possibility of increasing out-put,-wo will, if ho'caros to tako up the offer, put a team of nion.-into ouo of his Foxton , mills, pay them award wages, and guarantee him.au output of eight (8) tons per week of dry "fibre, good fair and fair quality mixed, at £8 Bs. per ton for labour cost, Tho only stipulation wo niako is that iho tramming and cutting do ' not exceed the amount' quoted in our estimate, Bs. per ton., i.e., wo would tike- tho green lent in tho yard at that price. Wo do not ask Mr. Greig to donato £25, but wo would stipulate that in tho event of our carrying out tho undertaking ho should pay to tho men engaged tho value of tho fibro' dressed over and, abovo his average output at the same mill. Wo do not consider that a practical demonstration of up-to-date management .would ho dear-at the price, and. wo shall bo pleased to hear further from Mr.. Greig on this subject. ■ ■ •' ..-■■-■ ■ Wo must congratulate Mr. .Toogood upontho facility with which ho handles figures. There are South American republics where. .a man of Mr. Toogood , s mental calibre,would ill! "a long-felt want" in tho financial portion of the Government. But wheli wo come to analyso tho methods by which ho obtains' his results ,they aro far from being satisfactory. Wo utterly deny that our oasis of ill 10s. per acre is "calculated to mislead." Wo affirm that our estimate of 36 per cent, return on invosted capital, so far from being exaggerated, was, if anything, under tho mark. If, Mr. Toogood bought a block of,' say, Waihi stock at to-day's price (£8 10s.), would ho expect to have his dividends deI'larcd upon the market valuo or the issuo prico of the shares? Ho"then proceeds to say that our estimate of a triennial crop of '2(1 tons is incorrect, as in "the average llaxprodncing properties 18 tons maturing every four years is a good return." Allow us,to point out that to vera not dealing with tho ''average" flax-btaring laud. We were dealing very'particularly with the Moutoa Etato, ind if Mr. Toogood can show us any four-' year-okl leaf on this property wo shall' bo •/.lad to see it. A twenty-ton average for this property is a very fair one, and we claim that with tho facilities we have at our hand we are in a much better position to estimate correctly than is Mr. Toogood with a long. ,hot from tho Wairarapa! Voiir correspondent also , accuses us of "studiously overlooking" allowance for up-keop of property, etc. He iuust hear in mind (h;il we (either studiously or inadvertently) omilUd to mention the fact that the arable land-sold by the srmlicate more' than paid the price of tho \vliolo estate, giving the speculators the flax--bearing portion of the property for nothiiißl Does Mr. Too-good, in (he face of theso facts, still adhere lo his demand for. a return iiased on. a £20 valuation? , ■ i Is it not a srw-'.vhat curious coincidence that tho three :ri".'l-':m'H,uhn havo -.tteninli'dto'controvert som" H' -mr sl.iioimnts to tho Minister arc, w- r.vV t-vHiUv i;i(\>r;iml. numbers'of a syii'lK.ito -\v!..!,;i! . yrvli;'?,-I ■'Inxhririiig laud nt spe-'illative ;■<----. n i)i.. inn. of tho recent boom? A'i-1 ;-. ■.. -i ihk I < (storing up of exorbitant wsiilir- p'l , '. i-f :> svstern of making the best of a bad bargain?— I am, etc.. PERCY T. ROBINSON, Secretary. Foxton, March 9. .