CORRESPONDENCE

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 13 September 1921, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE

KAUPOKdNUI DAIRY COMPANY;

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Greatly against my will I am writing these few lines re the Kaupoko'.nui Dairy Company's meeting, as, sSter [ what appeared in-your paper, I feel 1 that .1 cannot take Mr. McPhillip's 1 statement without stating a few facts j for myself. I care not one jot whether , I please the shareholders or' not. I , tried to do my duty during ail these , years I have been on the board, and if : the directors speak Sut they cannot say ■ that, had my advice been taken in ' i almost all- cases, they would not have , i been in a much better position to-day. ( But coming to Mr. McPhillip'g state- . ment re cheese."' Well, there was never I a meeting but Messrs Long Mourie, •Burke, and self visited the freezing room (also nearly always Messrs Mug- ; | gendge, Brfdge. and Gamblin), and j from November on I tried all 1 knew " i to close up the freezing, as I knew it t was impossible to control the temper*ture. I do not blame the other directors f one bit. Mr. Long always asked how | the cheese was getting on, and was l always told "It j& going on quite allL I right" by those who were supposed to I know. I could hardly expect my word ", as a mere cocky) to weigh against ! them in view of the fact that it wa» I j well known that from the first 1 fought ! agauist it, and to have closed it down would have been to admit it was a failure Now. Mr. McPhillip* sat on the . board till within six months of the closing down, and voted for. or- did not object to the building, which I did. ; *«■•■ McPhdlips says that it was a • i "muddle. 1' It was not. It wag simply trying to. do the impossible. They 1; ?. ad ?°* the power and would not admit it. it YfM an error of judgment. But 1{ l must state thia; Ito hearing of the - ■ late chairman's illness Messrs Long, , j Mourie, Bridge, and self met at Ihe i cheese room, and, in the face of the • manager's report, ordered a meeting fc> - be called, as the result of which the I cheese was shifted as fast as could be > done-by contract and on our own lorries. j and everything possible wae don©, the l Government experts, including Mr. everything they could .j to help. However, that error will not - occur again: J may say that if working j was any good f our late manager worked bard enough. Now 1 "notice in your paper that Mr. McPhillips says: "With - regard to the goods store, there was not - one director or shareholder who knew where the Sevii it was.'-' Well, I do tfnot quite know what he means but i fvery month I went over the main itore bulk store, top and bottom storeys' and s it is quite news to m# that there" was ; one I did not find out. But I always five and learn. I would life to meet-that ««** all the same. Now,, coming to tne loss on the store, for the' last th*«* year* I wanted a vaiutiou. instead of tateng stock on' invoice vaiiiea, which informal times might'be all right, but dcies: not work out now, as-the stuff * might be all right when bought an«i next week show a loss. Well, this year's atofcfc was taken at valuation (I , myself saw the valuer and asked, him to? make a real valuation;-never mind what the resulfc was), as. speaking for myselfl wanted to know where we-stood and hi!s reply was" that when he finished I could be sure that it would be pretty r near real T«alue. and a good deal'of the loss occurred during the time Mr. '• McPhillips sat on the board which I am sure, if lie looks back, he will- see. I also noties Mr. Bennett says- an employee : had" been asked by a big minority of the company to resign. When, did that happen? I have no record of it. JW tfo same time it is possible- A& far as Mr. Bennett' says, the directors were made a laughing stock from oner end of New Zealantf to the other. If le likes I will give Kirn m ir reason for not voting on a certain thing. In anv^ case. I can say nobb3y wrote about appointment, as I used'mr own- judgment', whether rightly- or wrongly. There is one thing now for au—-to put their shoulders to the wheel. The- company is m a good position. Their plant. lorries, etc. also tfte factories, are in good order. We Have a good manager? and ft onV wan^ confidence and care to pface it on a first cJassr footing.—l aro. etc. W. T. WELLSp Late Director Kaupokohui Dafiry Ca