FARMERS' PROBLEM

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4809, 12 July 1939, Page 4

FARMERS' PROBLEM

A GLOOMY OUTLOOK. OPENING OF CONFERENCE. MR. MULHOLLAND'S REVIEW. Lavish expenditure, rising costs, the unsatisfactory nature of the guaranteed price scheme and the Government's exchange control policy were some of many topics discussed by Mr. W. W. Mulholland in his presidential address to the annual Dominion conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, which was opened in Wellington yesterday. In his references to the future prospects of the farmer, Mr. Mulholland painted a gloomy picture. "We are being told in Parliament that the farmer is very happy, and that it is just a few leaders of the Farmers' Union who are saying that something is wrong," Mr. Mulholland said. "There are two facts that suggest there is some need to look closer into the situation. Farmers are being put off their farms in considerable numbers, while many others are obliged to make arrangements with their creditors, because they cannot meet their financial commitments. "All over the country farmers have held meetings for the purpose of drawing the attention of the Government and the public to their plight," he added. "These meetings have been extraordinarily well attended, and farmers of varying political opinions have been unanimous and emphatic in their description of the farmers' position. These two facts are strong prima facie evidence that farmers generally are not happy." Discussing farmers and politics, Mr. Mulholland said that the Labour Party contained an element which, if not actually opposed to farmers, at all events were quite regardless of their interests. The aim of that section was complete State control of everything, if not Communism. J