WOOL FARMERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 109, 11 May 1939, Page 15

WOOL FARMERS

GUARANTEED PRICES

REPLY TO MR. MULHOLLAND

MR. SAVAGE'S COMMENT

"It is a political speech from end to end," declared the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) today, when referi'ing to an address given by Mr. W. W. Mulholland, Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, at a meeting at Feilding last night, when a proposal for guaranteed prices for meat and wool was rejected. Mr. Savage dealt with particular references made by Mr., Mulholland,. and emphasised that the Government had no desire to force a guaranteed price on the wool growers. .

Commenting on a statement made by Mr. Mulholland that "the farmer has lost the sympathy of other classes and that it is his duty to win back that sympathy," the Prime Minister said that the farmers had not lost the sympathy of the other classes. "If he has, then Mr. Mulholland's methods of trying to get it b£ck sound peculiar to me.*' he added.

"If Mr. Mulholland can tell me what my proposals are in regard to the guaranteed price he will be educating me, because so far no proposals have been submitted to the farmers," continued the Prime Minister. "I have been asked what, the price is likely to be, and I replied .that it was quite impossible for me to say what it should be .before an inquiry was made. It seems to me that. Mr. Mulholiand. is shadowsparring, and is using his imagination,which appears to be fairly elastic, as to -what is going to happen. I have hot discussed what the guaranted price would be, but I have gone so far as to say that any guaranteed price would have to fake into account the farmer's outlay and other conditions. If he did not get a guaranteed price that would meet all that and give him a decent standard of living, then the guaranteed price would break down." DAIRY FARMERS' POSITION. Mr. Savage further commented on a reference by Mr. Mulholland about the advances made by trading, banks to dairy companies, and the statement that Mr. Mulholland did not know that the position of the dairy' farmer was •'as bad as it evidently is." Mr. Savage said that the guaranteed price had not,broken down in the case of the dairy .farmer. ."I have had no complaints from dairy farmers," he said, "with the exception of one or two officers of the Farmers' Union who have been perambulating up and down the country talking politics most of the time. The dairy farmer today is in a more: stable position than he has ever been. What is to prevent the same result coming to the wool growers as has come to the dairy farmer today?" . Mr. Mulholland was reported as saying that "if the Government had found it impossible to raise export prices, as its policy required it to do, then it should have the courage to admit its mistake and proceed to reduce costs to a level at which export industries could maintain production." Referring Ito this, Mr. Ravage said that no Government^ would-be stupid enough to j think that it could control prices overseas, and as for, courage," he added, "if there is any running to be done I am not going to do .any of it."

Commenting on Mr. Mulholland's statement about the high cost of wages, Mr. Savage said that if Mr. Mulholland waited until this Government reduced the wages and salaries of employees in industry he had a long wait'ahead of him. "That is not the way to prosperity," he said.

"It is reported that there were 400 present at the meeting," said the Prime Minister. I think if you divide that by two, you will probably get the correct number. And even if there were lour hundred, it is not stated how many were not there.

"We realise that some farmers are not getting a fair deal," said Mr. Savage, "but it is not due to the wages they are paying. There are other things to be corrected. I know that the guaranteed price is gding to destroy those who are exploiting the wool grower. It destroyed those who were exploiting the dairy farmer, and I am not going to apologise for that."

"The wool grower wants some stability and some guarantee as to the future. The guaranteed price would give him that, and it would give the Government a lot of worry, too. We do not want to force anything on the wool growers. We are willing to meet them and to. try and help them safeguard their future. "I do not know whether Mr. Mulholland represents the wool growers or not, but if he does then I pity the wool growers," added the Prime Minister.