DAIRY CONTROL

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 136, 13 June 1927, Page 11

DAIRY CONTROL

PRICE FIXING FIASCO

MR. TIMPANY'S POSITION

PREMIER VINDICATED

x.v.T'i :-;H' rrr--s, r -■:}..._■■■ Mr. T. M. Timpany, a member ■ of the New Zealand Dairy Produce Export Board, in addressing a- large reciting'of shareholders of the Mataura Dairy.Company, on Thursday, said he would itry to. put before the meeting the true position, especially in regard to •price-fixing,-He had entered the board in innocence, of price-fixing. It had been stated'that price-fixing was nothing more than ;a ija'me, and that it woiild. not be put info effect to interfere with anyone. It was urgeel that ihislso-called price-fixing was to lie in reality nothing more than, price-nam-ing. These two were really quite dis.tinct.. ''„.'. , " ,

... He would not, say whether price-fix-ing was right or wrong. The fact of the matter was that it had-met with the. utmost hostility from ; the trade at Home. Had New Zealand a mouopbly it \vouldhave been a fine thing, but the Dominion did not have a monopoly, and had to face circumstances that no other country ever dreamt of facing. He did not; think at the time he joined the board .that price-fixing was to be its policy. When price-fixing commenced, it interfered with all channels the produce went through. Wholesalers and retailers ivere affected, and troubles fell thickly on their heads. He asked his hearers to ■look at the matter from a business point of view. The wholesaler considered ho was not getting enough and so on right through.: /They had fallen foul of practically all except the allottees." ■

'"But once the board fixed-a price the miniinum became- the maximum,- with the: result that the merchants cither had tp''get the.price or lose the -customer.

A DIVIDED BOARD,

.;, ."When lib joined the board'there were "..' two" .sections.' The. first/, wanted price- , fixing, and were iii. a minority. The other section were opposed to price-fix- . ,'iug and wore in the majority. Why the ,", .compromise.was made he did not know. , He iad been, asked to go in .with them, ,•: but .refused.', He tpld them clearly that lie was there [. to represent..', the shareholders, aud-Would go back and : tclV ;■. th,ein:wtiat had" occurred. A vote was ■v taken,"and.ho yoted-against it, but with tho.i provision that ho would, let.' the board say. that the vote had been unanimous as it was necessary in the intcr- -..- ests of producers to mako the board appear, undivided.. He had insisted, how-':.-ever, that his conscience liad.never to '■-foe.used against -him r >ypt-that had been done.; -.->;...•• -..- ■'■.■.... . .-. ■ .-..-■ • .-• ■ '. Mr. Timpany said that liad-.thc board "voted as it: had to vote later, the dcbade would have been moro or Jess i> avoided.- As it.was there was no.good blaming the London Agency, Mr. Coatcs or Mr. Paterson. The- board were, to blame. It had done it. Others had merely carried out their instructions. All knew that thirty odd merchants had been giventhe allotments, the distribution being based on the quantities handled during the last three years. l?or financial reasons, the thirty oddallo.ttees got. the produce and no one clsa could como into the'field. That started tho friction. FINANCE SEEMED ALL RIGHT. Finance had seemed nil right. The .merchants were quite prepared to put ■ up-■credits, -but> once tlio ; price-fixing commenced and the trade refused to buy, the stuff began to bo stored. Prieofixing was the key to all tho trouble. Once the produco had begun to mount up and not sell tho allottees grow afraid and. kept cutting down advances. Had ■the stuff been selling, there wmilil hive been no such low advances. The ; board: continually protested, but to no avail; . for there was no power to guarantee advances. -'Without liberal advances farmers could not keep going. .'. '.. Exemptions,had been ti terrible weakness in. the system!,.. A number oi fac.tories—lie could ,aay tho .'majority—sold their 1 output at excellent prices,.- '.f.d.b. . the exemption .produce' was' always acting against tho pooled produce. Mr. Timpauy had praise to bestow on the board for its work in connection ''; With Snipping,, and insurance, and the .handling ,of. produce. . . . - . MR. COATEB AND MR. PATERSON.. Mr. Timpany, continuing his speech -—the report of which, is acknowledged to the."Southland Times"—reforred' to ■the Prime Minister and to, Mr.. : S...Pat- ;. erso.n." '"As" for Mr., Coa(x-s . (said 31 r; j '. Timpany),.' he/had., not gone Homo-ion--•dairy control business. .'He had other I matters, to attend to. ; Before ho "lef f New . Zealand, Mr.:.. Contes, called., tho < board together and.'asked questions con--' corning .price-fixing. Members o£ the board (Mr. Timpany was not on at that .time) talked all -round tho subject, and" '■; th'd Prime; Ministe;-" left fully convinced "that', there Avasgoiiig ,to bo. no /priceTLxiilg.... They could imagine ftoiv he - felt when.he arrived Home and found that .'price-fixing, was. the policy of the Y b6ard/ ■■Deputations from the trade, introduced, by Mr. Paterson, the. Govcrnmerit representative, in. accordance with his duties, hnd'waifad on the Prime ..Minister. . .Not that Mr..Coatcs want-:! cd them,'but the trade did. -...' ■■ • : i ; ;■. "A FAIR DEAL." ' 1 -. \\ "I have never .;. voted for Mr /Cpates'.'a: party,'' continued Mr. Timpany, 'f, but I believe in a fair.deal ' and I don't think Mr. Coates is getting it. . Hp. had to ; size vp 1 the situation /and wh;en he had sized it up," he, as representative of the people of New Zealand generally, sent out his message of warning to the board. .. Was ho notcorrect? That's all.there is to it " ' . Mr. Timpany declared that Mr. j?aterson had been made the scapegoat for ajl the .trouble. Personally he, . tho speaker, did not believe half what.was said, and had moved in the board that .th> jnatter be let .drop. Mr. Patcrson as.the. Government representative was 4'rau;awkward position. .'Had some of . the board .members known of tho Press . Associationmcssage that was to be sent That the' board unanimously asked for Mr. Patorson.'s resignation, they woulcl have had their vote, .recorded; but tlicv were not aware of such a move.NN o Government dared in the face of the evidence to .move. Mr. .Paterson, who had been made the scapegoat when the - trouble had been attributable to price fixing. ■ ■ ■.'■'■•.-■ . .

TES SCHEME THAT FAILED.

"'<% .idea, "con tinned Mr. Tiuipanv, ;, I-S I"'?; -Pwcc-fixhig was tho 'cause of the tailuro ot compulsory mnrkutinir What was attempted on the London .market was what no other country had ever attempted -to do. Now Zealand fixed the price and other countries did' the. selling. The board, the London agency, and the allottees became alarmed. The allottees gave it ago but the.financial backers pressed them' and they decided that, price-fixing had to be lifted. Had price .fixing not been lifted advances, would h,ave come down further: -...::. .".•.. \-.- .■ . -

-'■'■This-is an economic problem facinoevery couiitry in the world, and no other country has adopted the ■ practice of criticising the trade as has been clone by a section- of the industry ■in New Zealand, "but have endeavoured to co-opei-a.ttf with the trade to their own benefit. •-.':-. . ■ ..: .

"A-Jib.tlier argument" was that tlie li6ard~should' have carried on till the end of the season. At literate of "soiling, however, tlicrV would be no end •«f the Reason. ' Southland, a cheese pro-

ducing-province; had/ beeii lei .-into a butter system with not one chance of coming out ijight." . v '

RAYS OF HOPE,

Mr. Timpany, in conclusion, said there was nothing to' fear if only a sane course wero followed, and' the compulsory- marketing clauses dropped. The markets " should :be opened up in the fullest possible manner: They wanted all the competition they could get. ''We want to sell; who-waiifs to buy?" should be the motto; The Dairy Board should be kept workingat shipping, insurancCj advertising, and: a decent intelligence department; ■'• _" The'"-day. that price-fixing had been lifted;- Mr; Timpany said that he, acting aloneV; had tabled a; notice of motion that they go-back'to free'marketing to give; the- trade' a lead as to what they were'going to do.- His motion had been seconded only pro forma; the seconder voting against it. Yet the very first thing that the man who brought the scheme into vogue did on his return from Home was to table. a motion' similar to the speaker's.

- He told; them that, ■• because -on the "fifteenth' of the month the board would' have to vote on it. • '

He appealed to all present to assist in c- -rying out what he had suggested. They would find that they had the backing of the trade at Home, the industrial community here and the bulk of the producers. If they stopped personal bickering—which had been caused through the compulsory clauses— there was no reason why they should not make a great success of the future. Everything was favourable. Commonsense and unity of purpose would carry them through. : ,

1 On the motion of Mr. A. Stevenson, a very hearty vote of appreciation was accorded the speaker.