THE MEAT BOARD'S POLICY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1926, Page 6

THE MEAT BOARD'S POLICY

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l have read very carefully, and with considerably interest, the special pleas of Mr. David Jones, chairman of the Meat Producers' Control Board, for the existence of the board and for its so-called policy, or rather "very wise policy," and I have come to the conclusion that one can shoot peas through the very thin fabric of his arguments. This "very wise policy" is to keep our frozen meat works from falling into outside hands, and to maintain an open-door policy and freedom of trading, and as justifying this policy Mr. Junes quotes the position of the meat trade in the Argentine and Uruguay, as seen through the spectacles of the general manager (Mr. Fraser). Ab the latter saw the position, all the freezing works in the Argentine and Uruguay were' owned or controlled by overseas interests. If a farmer was dissatisfied with the price offered for his stock by the packer, there were no facilities for him to ship on his own account, and so test the market for himself: he had no alternative but to accept whatever prices were offered. Mr. Jones wants us to believe that the same conditions would arise in New Zealand if Messrs. Borthwick and Sons were allowed to acquire the Wellington Meat Export Company's works as a going concern, which is absolute nonsense, arid Mr. Jones must know that. The Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. OT. J. Hawken) stated at the garden party at Eltham that as Minister he had the power to refuse to grant a slaughtering license to a freezing company or to cancel a licenso already granted. Is it not, I ask, within fie power of the Minister when granting a license to stipulate that farmers desiring to freeze and market on.own account should have the right of access to the works? Indeed, this stipulation should be attached .to every license issued to freezing companies, whether locally owned or controlled from outside, and that would "maintain an open-door policy and freedom, of trading." The experiences of South America are trotted out to frighten those who will not think out matters for themselves; it is an ancient bogy;, and ha 3 done duty on many occasions. The real reason for refusing to transfer the license appears to be a keen desire to save the guarantors of the moribund freezing works in the country. It is hoped to bring about some sort of a merger or amalgamation, whereby the guarantors would be rolieved wholly or in part of their liabilities.- How to finance such a fusion of works is worrying some of those interested in this venture, and rightly so, for the man who desires to invest money in freezing works just now is naturalh' shy.—l am, etc., TIMOCEACY. 22nd March. *