The Hawera Star. THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1932. CO-OPERATIVE ENTERPRISE AND PUBLICITY.

Hawera Star, Volume LII, 28 July 1932, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1932. CO-OPERATIVE ENTERPRISE AND PUBLICITY.

Delivered every evening: by 5 o’olook In Hawera, JUahaia, Kaupokonui, Otakeho, Oeo, Pihama, Opunake, Normanby, Qkaiawa, Eltham, Ngaere, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Te Kiri, Mahoe, Lowgarth, Manutahi, Kakaraznea, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Whcnuakura, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakamara, Ohangai, Meremere, Eraser Eoad. and Ararata.

At more than one meeting of co-opera-tive dairy company, shareholders' in Taranaki within the last few days adverse comment has been' made upon the lack of publicity accorded the affairs of the Eltham Box Company. Such comment raises a point which warrants the attention of directors of co-opera-tive enterprises. When a special meeting of Box Company shareholders was called last year to receive the report of a committee of investigation into the affairs of the company, the “Star” sought, and was refused, access to the meeting. While we were ready to agree at the time that the directors might d< <mi it wise, for commercial reasons, to refuse permission, to publish the whole of the proceedings, we did not expect the Press to be excluded from that meeting for the good and sufficient reason that the business of the meeting concerned every supplier of • very dairy factory financially interested in the Box Company. The fact that the Press was courteously but firmly excluded on that occasion cannot be 'attributed', however, to the company’s directors. The question was put to those present, but a motion favouring an open meeting was overwhelmingly defeated. AVe regarded the attitude taken by the majority of delegates as strange, but made no comment upon the decision at the time. Our view was, however, that those attending the meet-

ing assumed rather too much responsibility when they decided that the proceedings were not the business of that very large .section of the public represented by suppliers of shareholding factories. The delegates were present, not as owpers of a private concern, but as trustees of other people’s money and interests. Our view has been confirmed by remarks made at recent annual meetings of dairy factory shareholders, where it has been complained that the suppliers have been kept too much in the dark regarding Box Company affairs. It is a good thing to see farmers displaying a lively interest in their own affairs and the cooperative movement could do with a greater measure of such interest. Already this season it has been a matter of comment that the annual reports of some companies pay too little heed to financial responsibilities in the shape of liabilities contracted through auxiliary enterprises. (But the supplier, who is the foundation of the co-operative structure which has been built up with, in the main, excellent results, has the remedy in his own hands; no industry nor special interest is better served by the Press of Taranaki than dairying, and if reasonable publicity is lacking it is not the fault of the newspapers.