WHAT OF THE FUTURE?

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 147, 23 June 1915, Page 14

WHAT OF THE FUTURE?

WILL WAR PRICES HOLD? i

THE PROS AND CONS [For The Post.] The war, in spite of the difficulty of getting sufficient refrigerated space for all requirements, has had the effect of raising the prices to the fanner of most commodities which lie exports. This is so in respect to the small farmer as well as to the large. Everyone knows, of course, that wool at the last big sales was up very considerably in price ; meat also (which is mostly of importance to the big farmer) similarly roso to healthy figures. But both butter and cheese, which aru chiefly the small farmers' concern, are bringing considerably more money per cwt to-day, because of the war, than they did at this time last year. In this respect the Alanawatu — which is equally the small dairy farmer's and tho large shucp fanner's dish let — has benefited. Many Final! dairy farmers Iliis wintft 1 Jiiid themselves belter oil than they

enjoying a standard of living under army "conditions which he was denied before, AH this is eulightenment. War acquainted the masses of the mercenary armies who fought against Napoleon with many useful tilings of which they were ignorant before, and it was this enlightenment which in the end contributed largely to the general European uprisingß that brought disaster to Napoleon, artd dispelled the last remnants of feudalism. Ine masses will demand the cheaper foods, which they will now know have been kept from them by the barriers which the agrarian interests have "raised. As a general rule the masses in most European countries taste meat in any satisfactory quantities but rarely ; and to a slightly less extent, particularly in the caso of city dwellers, tho same may bo said of wholesome' butter and cheese. Governments will be Jorced to do that which is in the interests of their ppople ; and it will certainly, bo one of their first duties to accept the supplies which the less populous portions pf the world are able to provide. There are- other contingent factors which could be mentioned, but they all point tcTtlie same conclusion, viz., that, i for some consideiable time, at least, New j Zealand farmois, because of iueieHfcfd ili>I maud, cm confidently e*p«cl tv jjtt luyh