IS WEIGHT WRONG?

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 108, 3 November 1926, Page 8

IS WEIGHT WRONG?

NAMING OF PRICES

LONDON DAIRY MANAGER'S POSITION

PRINCIPLES AND PERSONALITY.

The planned procedure of absolute control of the dairying trade is being objected to under two main heads: (!) price-fixing, and (2) Mr. Wright. A new formula of words may for the present waive the price-fixing difficulty—a resolution about price-naming seems to have satisfied Mr. Corrigan—but what about Mr. Wright? Though phrases are nebulous, and though neither "price-fixing" nor "price-naming" has. yet been seen in action, the preliminary discussions and disclosures have proved a shock to the prestige of the New Zealand Dairy Producers Board. London objection seems to have been mostly to "price-fixing" talk and to Mr. J. B. Wright. Mr. Wright was formerly, with Mr. W. Goodfellow, at the head of the New Zealand Co-opera-tive Dairying Company, the Waikato leviathan. Before the last board election —which returned two opponents of price-fixing, and absoluteness, Messrs. Corrigan (Taranaki) and Timpauy 1 (Southland)—there was a considerable division of opinion in board circles as to the wisdom of price-fixing in the Wright manner. After that election, and with the fall in London quotations for New Zealand butter, the position was found to become acute. The meetings of the board are not open to the Press, but after the board's meeting last week news gathered at or I through tho board's office disclosed the nature of the price-naming resolution. It appeared to be an attempt at a compromise, and to be unanimous (though Mr. Timpany now denies that there was unanimity). But nothing at all i was disclosed officially about Mr. ! Wright, nor were ,the contents of the cablegram from the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. J. G. Coates, dwclosed. SILENCE OF THE BOARD. Then Mr. Timpany, in Southland, threw his bomb, in the shape of a disclosure of Mr. Coates's and other cablegrams. It became public for the first time that these missives had raised the questions of "to be or not to be so far as Mr. Wright's London managership is concerned. Meanwhile, the board seems to have done nothing in the matter. All that it has disclosed officially is the price-naming resolution, with its joint committee proposal. And price-naming is the matter that receives attention from the Minister of Agriculure, the Hon. O. J. Hawken, who, in an interview in Auckland yesterday, made a plea for an actual test. "The board should be given an opportunity of carrying out its policy," he said. Now that "the fat is in the fire" in the matter of the board !s. domestic troubles, it may bo pointed out that, in addition to the cablegrams (Mr. Coates's and Mr. Stronach Paterson's) telegraphed from Southland, Mr. Timpanv published other cablegrams sent to the board by Mr. Irons (of the London Board) and Mr. Grounds (the chairman of the board, how in LOndon). These cablegrams throw some light on the participation of these gentlemen in the "situation." '..."■' Mr. Timpany stated in Invercargili last Monday: Mr. Irons and Mr. Paterson are agreed upon certain matters■< as the following cables show. First, wo have Mr. Irons's cable dated London, ,4th October, as follows:— :i "Fixing miiiimunt price and retain-; ing present management has already resulted in some boycottjng of Nev* Zealand produce. If persisted in will! in my opinion result in disaster. If this is board's policy, I request board's cabled consent to my, returning New Zealand immediately. If board adopts Australian price control system, accept Wright's resignation.' . I am confident position can still be retrieved and control policy successfully applied for benefit of producers, and I am willing to remain here and work to this end. Please reply promptly.—W. A. Irons." The next day Mr. Grounds expressed his opinion in the following message:— "London, sth October, 1926.—M05t practical course present difficulty Tecall Mr. Irons, make Mr. Motion chairman London Agency. _ Leave London Agency reconstruction until Hunt returns and Grainger and myself report. Mr. Irons indicated opinion by cable." SHADOW OF "N.Z. CO-OP." Then following on this message from Mr. Grounds came the following from Mr. Paterson, whose official standing as the Government representative on the London Agency entitles him to speak with authority. Mr. Paterson says:— "In case board would like my views on the position they are as follows. I concur in Mr. Irons's views first necessity in re-establishing confidence in change of Manager and abandonment minimum price-fixing in favour of Australian system of price control. I concur in Mr. Grounds's view reorganisation London Agency desirable, but do not agree his immediate proposals to that,end, feeling they would identify board's control policy even more closely than hitherto with.the past policy of the New Zealand Co-op. Dairy Co. These i methods would result in accentuating | present acute hostility throughout, the whole trade."—(Signed) Paterson. "I have always maintained," continued Mr. Timpany, "that the handling of butter and cheese were two separate problems, and now I am more than ever convinced that they are separate. The recent published report of the Imperial Economic Committee supports this contention, and until they are treated separately there will always be trouble. I also maintain that we have to cut out price naming altogether and adopt the Australian system as advocated by a majority of the London members of the board, then we can get back and reorganise so that our position with the trade in London will be restored to us. ABOUT A RESIGNATION. "To do this it is absolutely evident that Mr. J. B. Wright has got to go. ... He has actually forced matters by having his resignation lying on the table, threatening to act on it if the board here did not agree to his conditions. The board apparently did agree to a motion moved by Mr. John Fisher and since then Mr. Wright's resignation has been withdrawn. "One member of the board, and a strong supporter of the Bill, says that lotting matters go on as they are until a complete collapse comes is the only solution of the trouble, but I cannot stand by and agree to that policy. I have £6000 locked up in my dairy farm, and I can't face an outlook like that, and I know that very few, if any, dairymen can. I believe that we can ! yet retrieve the position, and would adopt the suggestion of Messrs. Coates, Paterson, and Irons insofar as removing the first obstacle to recovery, namely, the London manager."