WELLINGTON FARMERS' MEAT CO.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 510, 18 May 1909, Page 8

WELLINGTON FARMERS' MEAT CO.

'■-V: : -: ':'■■'/■ ../(ToTHE EdITOB.) :■ ; / .:;•■''• 1.-. ; your: issue of AVednesday, ' Mt-_ai letter: referring to' the: above company * and' signed "Manawatu 1 - 1 appeared. InTiisopening.romarks the writer, states that ho'lias no wish tOjthroiv cold water on^ tho now'; s'clicmej but .ho shows. bo much: bias'm luVstatcments that any ono can see that ho must have some special' reason ■ for. defending , .the.voxisting companies, and decrying the promoters of fclio' new. one.-. His charge; ofc. lnisstatements 'is supported • by. a number.'of attempts ;tomislead the. public,: but I think with little ef-; feet.. For instance-, in hisattempt to prove that ?rewerowrong in our statement that Welling--ton.had! now beaten : Canterbury. forj.preinior place,' he quotes last year, - which • was prp..bably.the dries); this portion of the Dominion ever 1 experienced; -while at. the , same timeCanterbury, had: a fairly good season.' But .why did ho not compare the-present,- iri.whicfc. Canterbury' will be left well; behindj or-the year of; 1907? But the correct way to gauge a matteVof this kind/is to:draw' a comparison over a' number of years, and it will be found that Wellington: has been increasing its out-' put at a. much greater rate than. Canter-, bury,/' arid Caii ierbury..cahnot. any .'longer claim • first place.' ■■;■■".-.'. ..-,, :.■■-•'■■'■' ■;.'.'..'.-. '■'- ;■';;'. As':to "\ tho second charge that .the pro-' motors have pverstated-tho amount of sheep that could have, boon exported, T can only say tho promoters, after a careful inquiry, have very, considerably, understated the numbers. With regard;'to "Mariawatu's" statement that the Export Company'could have ; handled another : 150,000: sheep this- past season—if this Btatement -is correct, it is' a' sufficient proof .that we want a. .company that will be run. in the interest of farmers firet, and not .entiroly. in the interest:of shareholders. .■■■■'■■■ j'With regard to the statement that we only prpposo to 'freezo on owners' account, .the facts are, on the' contrary, that wo "propose to: handle. stock on just such terma as the' ownor wishes, always with the intention of protecting his interest to the best ability. With regard to another supposed misstafemont, that the holding over of sheep for another winter must mean that their, keep iwill he almost a.dead; loss, I think anyone who lcnows will: agree, that it does not pay to hold over lambs specially bred , for the lamb trado/ In fact, seeing that a 'store 'lamb! of. any kind and a store'wether, are practically the Eame value in January, it does not, pay any farmer if.he cau-avoid.it. to winter a wether lamD. Yet'thoro are thousands of wether lambs, in the country yet that should have heeri'in thefreezing chamber or on the London market. Tho statement "that: stores';, are .worth' as.much as fats is' as good as telling us wo do not know our own busine6s,: ; or if "Manawatu" is a farmer (which I-doubt),-1 certainly may, ho does not know.his own business. . It will tako a lot to convince my neighbours, who had lambs fat last January ana Fobruary, -when , they were worth anything, from 11s. upwards, that/they-are 1 just;as well: oft now that their lambs axe only worth at most-7s. '.1.: .. '.' ■■■ _ With' regard to' the statement'. that Wellington mutton and lamb is not asigood as primo Canterbury, as far as I know no one said-it was, but it is as good, or bettor -tha-n second Canterbury or Otago. But tho farmer here nevor gets : anytbing h'ko tho same pneo, and, moreover, never recoivos any special encouragement to improve the quality ol 1 his .flock in this Tespeet. ,. .-■-. . }. - _In_ reply:to the final statement that'miiny: of thoso. who took part hi a pro'vious agita-' tion for. a co-pperativo freezing -works aro not talang a hand this time, I can say that n - number of, men .ire. taicihe' part this_tuno, but tho promoters of the Wellington Farmers' Meat Company are determined,that others shall not take a part In conclusion, I think the ,best answer 'such writers as Manawatu" can get is tho manner in which the farmers aro supportih E the' new company.—l am, etc., ■•■'.... ~ i- J- C.vCOOPER. . May 14. : ,