STATUS OF THE FARMER

Grey River Argus, 13 May 1944, Page 2

STATUS OF THE FARMER

(To the Editor). Sir—lt is not my intention to enter ’into a newspaper; controversy with you on the above or any other subject, but, although again somewMt belated, I would like to you that, when you state that my £Sct is’ to discredit the 40-hour week, you are quite On the contrary, I am a staunch Reliever in the shorter working week and the best news you could publish m the morning, from my point of view, is that the war is over and we are “allowed” to return to our 40-hour week. In case you may doubt me, mav I give my reasons. In the nrst place from the employees point of view, which is the first consideration of any employer worthy of the name, our bushmen leave the mill at a quarter or ten to seven. Goodness knows what time some of them leave home. Thanks to decent transport and a good track, they reach the main bush workings at 7.30 or thereabouts. In the winter time (thanks to this idiotic idea of carrying the daylight saving on all the year round —a law that was made for lawyers, bank clerks and politicians, but is of no earthly use for farmers, millers, nor miners) they grope round until daylight appears. They stop for lunch from 11.30 till 12, and leave the bush round about 4 o’clock, arriving at the siding again about ten to five. Now, five days of this, especially this weather, is enough for any man. This gives him the Saturday to cut his firewood, dig his garden or go to town, see his kids in daylight, and then he has the Sunday for rest and recreation. and to get fit for another week. From the millers’ point of view, we are working on the one crop, on a wasting asset. Every tree we fall makes our plant and our. assets .a little bit less valuable. Our plants are being run to a standstill —no time for repairs as a man working six days a week does not want Sunday work at any price. Our bush ■is being rapidly cut out .at a small return, and when that is finished our plants are simply a heap of junk. What value are they, or who wants them when there is nothing to cut?

Cheap labour never did appeal to me, nor to any miller. Every master miller on the Coast will admit that our bushmen, and in some cases our mill men, are grossly underpaid _ for the work they do and the conditions under which they work, in comparison with, say. the wharf labourers and miners. But what can we do? Some time ago we applied to the Price Tribunal for an increase in price t.o cover increases in wages, saws, wire ropes, etc., and, although we established a clear case of 1/per 100 feet, we were allowed a lousy four pence half penny. When we protested and pointed out that better nrices ruled in both the North Island and in Southland, we were told that prices were based on costs, and we had to pay for our efficiency—Government logic. The more wages I can pay and at the same time keep solvent, the happier I am, and I am definitely not out to rob the sawmill worker of his ,40hour week and his overtime rates. (I would like “Labourite” .also to note this).

Now to get back to the farmer 1 merely mentioned two or three years, as. from mv scantv knowledge of farming. I thought this was about tne Deriofl it took a calf, which was lucky tor unluckv) enough to dodge the bobbv calfer. to become a dairy cow. (I had hoped some of my cow cockie friends would have helped me out here). However. I still stand bv any eight years. A boom follows a slump as sure' as night follows day. and we had experienced our five years’ slump, and were definitely on the up grade when Labour fluked into power. The farmers were bankrupt, but so was almost everybody else, including the millers: and. normally, we would have, if given a chance, made good during the vears that followed, but where are we to-dav ? The Government that was dumped at least lefta favourable credit balance in the Old Country, but this has disappeared, and. and in spite of the good prices ruling since then the farmers are mf'nitelv worse off they were then and it’s the country that is now bankrupt. Hdw many people know that fouite apart from war expenditure) we went back fiftymulions last vear? B<it more serious than that the morale of the people has gone to the nack. , t T was offered a few days ago. about 12.000 square feet of roofing ’ton, which, until recently. housed 1 m which produced from twenty-five to thirty thousand dozen eggs a year. Through Government Interference, and shortage of labour, the owner gave it up, and is now producing a

few dozen a week for her own use. And this is only one of dozens all over the country, and they do not want to start again. The initiative is gone. In plain language, the “grtts” has been knocked out of them. . I do not ignore, the demands on manpower made by the war. But the shortage is not. altogether, due to this factor. It’s not so much the army which went away, but largely due, to the armv who stayed at home, —the army of controllers and inspectors and other civil servants in newlycreated jobs, a lot of them absolutely needless, running round in circles with their 38-hour week, feeding on each other when at least half of them should be producing- It’s this 38-hour week in soft jobs that has enticed the rural workers to the cities, and they will take some getting back. I am sorry to have taken up so much of your space, but I have to go into so much, detail to avoid being side-track-ed, and something read into any 'arguments which I do not mean at all. I. regret also the delay in replying, but my leasure hours are few and far between. lam etc.. ■ W. T. OGILVIE, May 12, 1944. z