The Dominion THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1943. A BASIC MATTER

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 230, 24 June 1943, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1943. A BASIC MATTER

Many issues just now claim public attention, but two are oi overwhelming importance. The first is the furtherance of the war effort, and the second the maintenance of the productive capacity of the country. There is no need to stress the vital nature of the first objective. Upon its successful conclusion depend those freedoms mentioned in the Atlantic Charter, our way of life and the inheritance into which this generation has come. And upon the second depends the future economic stability of the State, our standards of living and our prospects of development. If the Dominion comes through these years of conflict with impaired, or seriously reduced, capacity to produce then the economic foundations of the State will have been weakened and no one can conjecture what the results may be. That is a fact and it must be faced.

The figures which have been made available of late should have the careful attention of all concerned. These given by the Minister of Marketing, for instance, when he addressed the recent Dairy Conference were important. Mr. Barclay said that during the third year of the war shipments of dairy produce totalled 250,300 tons, but added that the estimate for the current year was only 200.500 tons. More has been shipped this year in*the form of pure butterfat, but the Minister said that “on these estimates, there will be a decrease of from nine to 10 per cent, in the total production of butter and cheese graded for export.” The following table shows the movements of exported quantities of foodstuffs in the last three calendar years:—

Many factors have contributed to affect the fluctuations disclosed, and some of them are wholly beyond the power of anyone to control. The decline in dairy produce in the current season, which has been remarked on, has been partly due to adverse climatic conditions and as they were very favourable in the previous season or two the decline is the more marked. But that being so surely it should result in greater attention being given to those factors which we can control. There can be no doubt that scarcity of labour has been one of them. That could be remedied to some extent. If the general outlook is such that the purely internal defence forces can be reduced then surely for one thing there can be no longer any justification for taking farmers and farm-workers from their places for Home Guard services. There mu<>t be among the men released from local units many quite capable of undertaking farm work and they should be directed to that sphere of production. If lack of labour is compelling many farmers —and it undoubtedly is—to let scrub and other growths spread and so reduce productive capacity attention to the matter would prevent the loss and maintain the output. If by harrowing the pastures, as suggested by a correspondent the other day, something might be done to'keep them in better order and off-set the lack of fertilizers, then could not some of the more economical of the thousands of motorvehicles the Defence Department now has on its hands be utilized in some way to provide the traction necessary ? The incentive is not solely the maintenance of the productive capacity of our farming lands. There is the urgency of the need of the British authorities and our allies in the Pacific for everything we can provide in the form of foodstuffs. That need is such that Canada and Australia have rationed butter supplies for domestic use simply in order that larger quantities might be shipped to Great Britain. If, as the Minister -of Agriculture has predicted, our dairy production declines substantially this year should not something be done, by trenching on the very high per capita consumption heie, to augment the shipments overseas? Production must be maintained to piovide the maximum quantity this country can send the United Kingdom in a time of serious shortage, and also to ensure that the economic basis for the post-war years shall be as strong as possible. This is no minor issue. Next to the war effort itself it-is the most vital task of the community. And unfortunately there appears to be no clearcut policy with regard to it, nothing but belated and temporary actions. Moreover there is the direct threat latterly made to the men on the l an d —most clearly as yet by the Minister of Works on Tuesday night —that methods are being devised to deprive them of their holdings on a price basis designed to suit the purchaser and override the rights of the owner. There is machinery available for determining the fair price to be paid. The Government changed it to suit their purposes ■and as they admitted created a court more likely to give the decision they wanted. But if they intend to load the dice still further against the men owning land and on whom the productive wealth of the country so largely depends, then, instead nf the harmonious co-opci ation which is so desirable in the interests of all, there will be widespread discontent throughout the country and incalculable mischief may be done.

1940. 1941. 1942. Beef (cwt.) .. .. 1,328,608 .... 768,887 .... 803,553 Lamb (c/cs.) ... .. 3,121,403 .... 3,092,109 .... 3,638,381 .Mutton (c/cs.) .. 1,553,352 .... 691,554 .... 693,077 Pork (cwt.) ... 538,526 .... 490,225 .... 270,415 Butter (cwt.) .. .. 2,637,683 .... 2,263,150 .... 2,344,029 Cheese (cwt.) .. 2,033,506 .... 2,366,237 .... 2,689,232