TO “EXPORTER.”

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 70, 6 March 1930, Page 7

TO “EXPORTER.”

Sir, —No doubt your letter last evening was read with interest in connection with the fruit shed and its cost to the growers. ,But what is of most interest to mo is that things

are being done in the dark,, and that that principle is at work in connection with the export of fruit. As many growers are just ordinary hard working men, many advantages arc taken of us, and things are done without our consent or any knowledge of them. It is high time each locality had a hoard of enquiry of good business men appointed to have things looked into and a report sent to each grower of what is going on. For instance, I wrote to the Federation two letters enquiring into my affairs with the fruit imported and needless to mention both letters were ignored. No doubt others have bad the same experience, and now the pool has come into effect we will know less about the state of affairs. A supposed average is going to be struck and we will have to take it. book at the mess up last season, the loss that many suffered and practically nothing has been done. In my wlip-h is only small compared with some growers, in ;t small line of Coxes there were over 60 cases unaccounted for. Well, if 10 growers have the same loss there goes 600 cases, and it is hardly likely they have fallen down a worm hole. And this is where an enquiry board would ho helpful, to get a statement of losses or complaints from each grower, and get at the bottom of things, especially seeing that the Federation treats correspondence like a lump of dirt. The fruit gets to Wellington all right, and probably on the boat, and no doubt a tally is taken and a receipt given. Wo pay a man a big salary to look after our interests. Is he taking a tally of cases ns they land, or docs he pinnkr - anyone fn help look after the tally? If not, then it is time (bat

we had things done properly. I wonder if the dairy industry loses a few hundred boxes of butter, and it is not known where they have gone. No, they have got good men that look after their interests.

Another sore point: have’ we growers no right to know each man’s salary? We pay them. I am told that our man gets about £1,500 a year. What for? If the job ho docs is advertised for about £5OO a year, there will ho 500 men after it and a sum of £lOOO will be saved for the growers. There are plenty of good business men in New Zealand who could carry out the job. Another thing, I hear that our individual has gone for a trip abroad, supposed to bo for the interest of the growers—a first class ticket and all expenses pnjd and wages as well. How many khpw anything about it? We have to pay for it and say nothing, as usual. Are wo not a lot of mugs? It’s time soiheone else put on the gloves and with yours truly BOX ON GROWERS Hastings, 6/3/30.