The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1926. THE PROBLEM OF COMPULSORY CONTROL.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 10016, 1 February 1926, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1926. THE PROBLEM OF COMPULSORY CONTROL.

With the drawing closer of August I—the date on which the Dairy Control Board intends to exercise compulsory control of the exportable surplus of this Dominion’s dairy ducts—members of that body appear to be becoming more and more uneasy in their minds as to the extent of the support which will be accorded the projected drastic step. It is plain either that the Government has given ,Mr Grounds and his colleagues a hint that it would be advisable on their part -to test the feeling of the dairy producers by means of further addresses or that those gentlemen have decided that such a line of action would be a very prudent one. The meeting at Hawera on Friday night would, at any rate, seem to have shown, without fear of denial, that the producers are, to-day, hopelessly divided as to whether the Board’s policy is or is not likely to be advantageous to them. Mr Grounds, it is abundantly clear, set out to be as conciliatory as possible, knowing, as he must do, that many of the producers have grave doubts as to the ability of the Board to secure for them better marketing results. In order to persuade the objectors to remain silent, pending a trial of compulsory control, what was, j in particular, emphasised by the chairman of the Board was that it did not intend to attempt to market this Dominion’s butter and cheese without the assistance of those at present engaged in the business in the Homeland. The Board’s policy, he averred, would be to supply the wholesalers at the other end with butter and cheese in proportion to the extent pf their business in the past. Seemingly, however, half of his auditors remained quite unconvinced by his efforts to persuade them to drop their hostility to the Board’s policy. What they hold, it is plain, is that even a concession of that kind may completely fail to satisfy the wholesalers at Home who, no matter what the Board may claim to the contrary, will do their utmost, as in the past, to exercise some measure of control over the British market. According to Mr Grounds, no difficulty at all is expected to arise in connection with the Board’s dealings with the London wholesalers. In the circumstances, it is, perhaps, not surprising that he failed to deal—in detail at any rate —with the British press complaints that strong exception is being taken to the Board’s shipping policy which, it is protested, aims at. denuding the Homo market of supplies at times when plenty of butter and cheese is available from other sources. Surely, Mr Grounds must know that irregularity of supply is bound to lead to dislocation in the matter of marketing? It may, we think, be taken for granted that, in time, the wholesalers, in turn, will take steps to ensure adequate supplies all the year round and especially during those periods when the Board attempts to withhold supplies from the market. Apparently, Mr Grounds and his colleagues are mistaking silence on the part of the London dairy produce merchants as to the policy which they intend to adopt for acquiescence in their own plan of campaign! The decision to adopt compulsory control, is, assuredly, one which should not lightly be adopted and it is evident that a strong body of opinion is now developing in favor of going slow in the matter.