King Country Chronicle. Tuesday, October 6, 1931. STABILITY FOR THE FARMER.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3374, 6 October 1931, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Tuesday, October 6, 1931. STABILITY FOR THE FARMER.

During the present economic positiong affecting every section of the community, there is one fact that stands out clear and definitely, i.e., that the position of the farmer must first be stabilised before we can hope for permanent prosperity in New Zealand. It was through the land that prosperity came in the past, and it is only through the land will it return. The first thing necessary in the general adjustment of the position of the Dominion is to stabilise the position of those men who are already on the land, and then to take steps for further development. Although no official announcement has yet been made, rumours that are filtering through indicate that work for the unemployed under Scheme 5 is to be tapered off, and more use is to be made of Scheme 4A, by which settlers will be given the benefits of subsidised labour, at a time when they cannot provide full wages for labour on their farms. Having to face the fact that lower prices must prevail for our exports of primary products the difference in values will have to be made up by an increase in volume. This desired increase cannot be brought about immediately and never will to any great extent unless the farmer is given some assistance to enable him to retrieve the leeway made during the last eighteen months. The development of Scheme 4A will have a twofold effect. It will in the first place assist the man already on the land, and will help to develop the land sense in men for whom there is no other avenue of employment offering. More than assistance in labour, however, is required to place the fanning industry on a sound foundation. The systems of transport and marketing must be overhauled, so that the cost of these can be reduced, and the use of fertilisers, which now take such a prominent part in the farming industry of the country, must be brought within the mea'ns of the settler. It is well known that a large number of farmers are not using fertilisers this year for the reason that they have not the money to carry out top-dressing. This means a decrease in production, and such is nothing less than a disaster for the whole of the Dominion. It has been suggested that the Government should consider the use of subsidies to enable farmers to procure fertilisers at a reduction of 25 per cent. As a policy the subsidising of industries is not a sound principle, but the position of the farmer to-day calls for assistance on the part of the State. For over a quarter of a century the workers in other industries have been in possession of a standard wage and have had restricted hours of work; employees in the bulk of these industries have in turn been enabled to carry on under our industrial system through a protective tariff. The farmer has had no concessions whatever, for the simple reason that it was impossible to grant them. He can o'nly rely on the vagaries of the overseas markets, and of late the bottom has dropped out of these. The position of the farmer has been reflected in the secondary industries and in the large number of unemployed in the Dominion, and goes to prove how necessary it is to place primary production on a sound footing and to further develop the land. If we are to increase our primary production, or even maintain it, the land must be treated properly. Apart altogether from helping the farmer, there is a national aspect in maintaining production, and this can only be done by assistance from the State.