Link-up of Empire Farmers

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 110, 12 May 1939, Page 2

Link-up of Empire Farmers

MARKET CONTROL POSSIBLE “There are many reasons why the producers of the Empire should work together," said Mr. W. W. Mulholland, Dominion preside’t of the Farmers’ Union, when speaking to farmers in Palmerston North on Wednesday. Farmers, he said, would remember that they were represented at the conference of Empire producers in Sydney last year, at which certain decisions were arrived at. Unfortunately there had been a great deal of misrepresentation as to the decisions and what they meant. There was one point he would like to put before them at the moment. It was that capital in Empire production went far beyond the confines of any special Empire country. Labour was also similarly organised on an Empire basis and on a wider basis actually in many cases. Now where is the farmer if he has to meet others in conference, in competition or in some form or other those sections who impinged on his activities. What hope had they had to take any effective action with the big shipping companies if they were not effectively organised, or to deal with some of the big manufacturing concerns such as he could name that were Empire wide? They would realise how necessary it was for them to have a link-up of Empire organisations. Take the wool position and how much say the wool producer had in the marketing of his produce. He had very little. The purchasers were buying not only in New Zealand but in other Empire countries. Actually a link-up of Empire wool producing countries could make itself felt. While at the Empire producers’ conference in Sydney he had discussed the question of the stabilisation of wool prices. He had gained theidea that there were great possibilities if they could get the Empire to link up. Incidentally the defence angle came into that and the discussion really arose through a suggestion that there should be a definite quantity of wool held in store as a defence reserve. There was a suggestion that they should establish a pool of 500,000 bales in London. The pool would undertake to release that wool at certain prices and it would undertake to buy wool at certain prices. If there was control by the producers it was obvious that it would have a tremendous influence on prices. Might he mention how to-day the competition of artificial fibre had replaced wool to a certain extent. Outside those countries where it was legal and compulsory to use those fibres there were many factors in competition with wool. One was the stabilised price of the artificial product. Compare that with the wool position. There had been a fluctuation of wool prices in the last 12 months. How many wool firms had gone bank rupt in the last ten years because of market fluctuations? Stabilisation of the price of the artificial product was

one of the most important advantages that it possessed over wool. That could only be met by an Empire link-up of farmers.