FRANKLIN COURT.

Franklin Times, Volume XIX, Issue 40, 8 April 1929, Page 5

FRANKLIN COURT.

JIT AUCKLAND WINTER SHOW.

y FURTHER DISPLAY THIS YEAR. COURTS FOR POULTRY SHOW. At the annual meeting of the Frank- ' lin District Advertising Court Committee the following were present:— ;V Messrs J. W. Robinson (chairman) ; J, " JNf. Massey, M.P., E. Allan, P. Gallagher, L. Johnstone, F. Perkins, G. T. Par- \ vin, H. E. Kiss'ling, J. Reynolds and A. ■i, F. Brown (organiser). Messrs J. T. F. Mitchell (president), S. Hamblin (vice-president) and W. F. ... O'Donnell (secretary) of the Aucldand A. and P. Society, and Mr. A. W.-Wellr ']' stead, business agent for,the New Zealand railways, were also present. The . organiser read the financial statement which showed a credit balance of about £3. "The Court Worth While." The chahunan said that all, concerned ( considered the court worth, while ■ Irom a district advertising point of ■ view. ■ Last year the competing courts were much better than the previous year,and this was borne out by the increased number of points awarded by ' the judges. . Mr Robinson thanked all ' who had assisted to arrange the court, particularly Mr ;and • Mrs- H. Burrows and Mr A. F. Brown, who had given a great deal of their time: . . The. play was very creditable indeed. He pointed out that there was more work in arranging for a court than most people imagined and besides, the expense was great. Mr Robinson expressed the cpinion, that more could be done in the matter of detail when the court was staged, particularly in the direction | of giving information about the • quantity of produce produced in Franklin.. . He formally moved the adoption of the statement. j Mr G. T. Parvin, in seconding the motion, spoke of the vast amount of lime given and the energy put into the <;ourt by the voluntary workers, particularly Mr H. Burrows. Hi considered the-time had arrived wben such workers should be given a Hitle re■muneration for ►their se r, vic;s Mr Parvin expressed the opinion that the 'district courts assisted materially towards the success of the Auckland Winter show, and in view of this he considered the promoters of the show should give districts staging courts •more financial assistance, than had !been given in the past. The statement was adopted without further discussion.. The next business was the election •of officers, but owing to he small atof officers, but.owing to the small at-, .until next meeting when it was hoped all districts in Franklin would be represented. "Courts a Real Eye-Opener." The matter of what working arrangement could be arrived at between -the court committee and the Auckland Winter Show.committee was then discussed. ' Mr Mitchell, on behalf of the Auckland Winter Show executive, expressed Its high appreciation of the work put into the district courts exhibit. The two exhibits at the last winter show -were exceptionally well staged and ■were a real eye-opener to the Auckland public, who had no conception of the productive qualities of the districts •concerned. The displays were' great, -to say the least, and must have been the means of giving the two districts a great advertisement. "In Franklin you have one of the best little districts in New Zealand. Is that right, Mr Perkins?" he asked. Mr Perkins: Quite right! (laughter). Mr Mitchell said he was sincere in tlis remark that Franklin was a wonderful little district. v Regarding the Franklin court, Mr Mitchell said those responsible for staging it, deserved a better fate. Personally he thought it -was the better court, but unfortunately <Gisborne was awarded first place by a narrow margin of points. He wished Franklin success at the next show, and thanked all who had assisted, in staging the last court. Mr Mitchell .admitted that the district courts went ;a long way in making the A. and P. rsection of the Winter show a success. •This action was quite apart from the industrial He agreed with the remarks of the chairman, that •figures should be given to show the quantity of produce grown in the district, and he suggested further that a map be exhibited, showing exactly -where Franklin was located. It was gratifying to know that the court had been run without loss, which meant that the district had received the advantage of a free advertisement. Had Franklin been awarded a first prize instead of a second prize, a profit -would have resulted over the venture. In connection with • a greater mone--tary contribution Mr Mitchell said the expense in arranging for the courts -was heavy, and the allowance depended a great deal upon the number of court exhibits to be displayed. If -there were only two courts again, this year, an allowance of £SO would ■probably be made again. Mr Perkins said it was very nice to hear the flattering remarks made by Mr Mitchell, and those about the free advertisement the district received, but it was a question of £. s. d. as far as 'Mhe court committee was concerned Mr ePrkins agreed with Mr Parvin that the workers should be paid a little foi their services. The position in c nutshell was this-dhe cities were drawing everything from the country and me country people were doing th< work for nothing. As far as th<

Question of £. s. d. Franklin, court was concerned, it .was a big attraction to the Franklin people, hundreds of whom went to the Auckland winter show, with the prime object of seeing the court. All had to pay their way and lie considered that in view of the big expense entailed in staging the court, the allocation should be' double the amount granted at present. If this were done, the workers could be paid a little remuneration. . "I venture this opinion," said Mr Perkins, "that Franklin could still prosper without the advertisement given by the District Court at the Auckland show. . We have the goods, and having the goods, we can stand on our own legs. Auckland was the worst market Franklin had for its produce."

Mr A. ; F. Brown said that as far as he was concerned he did not mind doing his share of the work without pay, but there were others, particularly those who built the court, who deserved • a little' remuneration. The building of the court was a big item and up to the present it had been done by almost all voluntary labour.. He thought that the promoters would have made a better offer .than they had. He ■ expressed the opinion that if £SO was allowed other districts they would not staged court; £SO to Franklin was as good as £IOO to others, and £SO was not enough. "£l5O Not Too Much."

Mr G. T. Parvin said the district courts contributed largely towards the success-, of the Winter Exhibition. It wis ridiculous to suggest that £SO was an adequate allowance. "We ex'pected" a larger amount and I ,would say that £l5O is not too much. ' (Laughter. Mr Parvin concluded by saying that if the workers were paid for their time £SO would not cover it. If districts were not encouraged by a greater monetary allowance, it would not be long before there would be no courts at the show. The chairman remarked that all workers were willing to Give a certain amount of voluntary labour.

Advertising Booklet. Mr W. F. O'Donnell said tne pro- ' moters could contribute up to £IOO | providing the number of courts was limited. If there were six courts the amount required would be £6OO. It cost the Winter show about £4OO a court to erect the necessary building, quite an expensive matter. The promoters had yet to consider if it was possible to increase the allowance, and a meeting would be held shortly to consider the matter, and the reason the Auckland representatives were present was' to. get the feeling of the Franklin committee on the question. They had no authority to offer more than £so,i but he assured the meeting that there was a feeling that tha courts should be treated more liberally. The exhibition committee was quite prepared to consider an increase when it knew a court's requirements. He asked if Franklin would consider a £1 for £1 subsidy up to £IOO. It was stated that the £SO collected last year in Franklin was collected' for , the specific purpose of issuing an advertising booklet. Mr Parvin: Make the subsidy the same as the Highways Board subsidy, £3 for £l, and we will consider it. Some discussion followed in connection with the booklet, and later Mr E. Allan said the booklet was .worth more than it had cost to the business firms in the district, who were getting an advertisement free. Mr Allan stated that for some time past the manufacturers had been getting a hold of the , show and he was glad the A. and P., Society had taken a firm stand in the ; matter, -because if the show had been continued in the future as in the past, j it would have been nothing more than an industrial exhibition. Of'recent years the exhibits of roots, fruit and so on-, had been getting less and he hoped in future the A. and P. Society i would make a greater feature of pro- • duce. If they wanted a court, they should go into it as sports and take j their chance of getting a prize. A court was a decided advertisement to the district it represented, because it showed what the district could produce. He challenged Mr Perkins' statement that the district could ;go ahead without the Auckland people, j "As a matter of fact we. cannot do ! without the Auckland people," said Mr Allan. Mr Perkins: They can't do without us. Mr Allan: I challenge your statement. Other districts are producing just as much as Franklin. This fact has got to be faced and faced in the near future. The fact cannot be overlooked that the other districts are producing just as much and as good a quality article as Franklin. Offer of £75 accepted. Regarding the question of paying workers for services rendered, Mr Allan considered that if this principle was introduced it would be the beginning of the end of district courts. It would lend to do away with the inducement to excel and also the keen competitive spirit and the will to win. The voluntary principle was the best and gave better results. He urged those interI ested to put their heart and soul into the Winter court and to produce the I best court ever staged by Franklin under of the voluntary principle. Mr Mitchell said the members from Auckland would recommend £75 being allocated to Franklin for the next district court competition. This offer ! was made subject to the approval of their committee. Mr Allan moved that the conditional 1 offer of £75 be accepted. Mr -l. N. Massey seconded the moI tion and said he was sure that if Ihe committee got into financial difficulties the Auckland executive would help it

out. He was positive that the district court greatly advertised the Franklin district. If. the Auckland Show society decided on an independent Winter Show he felt- sure it would receive whole hearted support from the farmers of Franklin and others interested in shows.

Mr O'Donnell said a settlement had been reached in connectiqn with the recent dispute. The Auckland A. and P. Society had asserted its superiority and had obtained equality on most questions. What the society was doing was in the interests of the farmers of

the province and the society wanted their support. Mr Parvin moved an amendment that an application be made for an allowance of £IOO. Seconded by Mr Perkins.

The latter was lost and Mr Allan's motion was carried. On the motion of Mr Massey, secended by Mr Kissling, it was decided to recommend to the incoming executive to enter a Franklin Court at the next Auckland Winter Show. Messrs Brown and Robinson were appointed to represent the committeo nf the conference to decide on East and West Oourls being staged at the Poultry club's show in .lime next.