CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 16 October 1922, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE.

MR. CORRIGAN REPLIES TO MR RANFORD.

' (To the Editor.) - Sir, —In your issue of I2th inst. Mr. Frank Ranford challenges a statement 1 made at a dairy producers' meeting at Wanganui. The statement I made at Wanganui was that a firm bought butter off Stratford factory for Is S^d, yet the same day, for exactly the same class of article, the best offer they could make Kakaramea was Is 7|d. Now the facts are these: The chairman of Kakaramea factory told me I the offer they got (Is 7^d) and the firm making, it, and the chairman of the ' Stratford Dairy Factory (Mr. Frank \ Ranford) told me they sold their butter i for something better than Is BJd to the j same firm. If Mr. Ranford made a deliberate misstatement, well, he de--1 ceiveeT me. 1 cannot think he would do so I must put it down to his lapse of memory. However, I will try and bring his memory back to where he made the statement to me. It was on the landing by the dining-room door" at the Occidental Hotel in Wellington the morning after the conference in connection with the establishing of a dairy control board. You will recollect, Mr. Ranford, you were talking to me about the Hon. Mr. Nosworthy getting on to you over being so weak-kneed that you could not make up your mind to vote yes or no for the proposal. Don't you recollect I sympathised with you in your weakness, and advised you never to come to a conference again with your legs tied? I also advised you to. try and build up a mind of your own and think the question at issue out, and not be influenced by anyone. I Can quite understand how why your co-dilators did not give you the accredited power that most members of the conference enjoyed; they evidently knew your weakness. Now, Mr. Ranford, you should never allow yourself to be made a stalking horse by anyone, and the reason you have rushed into print to try and discredit me is to try and help the agents who deal in dairy produce and shelter behind weak-kneed people by making the bullets and getting them (the weak) to fire them. One cannot help feeling that it is one of the greatest calamities to our co-operative dairy industry that weak-kneed people ■ should be elected to boaras of directors. However, that is one of the misfortunes of the Stratford district. This is another case of showing how necessary it is to have a control board for the industry to save the weak from themselves. However, Mr. Ranford, your interests and mine are identical. We are both primary producers of dairy produce, and 1 always consider it is the duty of the strong men to help the weak. Hence . whnuld you require help or advice at any time you are always welcome to mine. You are a lot younger than me, Mr. Ranford, so take my advice—never allow anyone to maike a stalking horse of you again.—I am, etc., P.S.—Owing la beinc away all week J.-R. CORRIGAN. 1 did not see Mr. Ranford's letter till late on Saturday. Hence the delay in answering,