Readers Write

Northern Advocate, 22 December 1939, Page 4

Readers Write

In Mr Barclay’s letter of December 4 12 he admits he has owned a farm. It | would be interesting to know what? ... Mr Barclay paid i

farmers and LABOUR.

his farm hands. Itf would be interest-1 ing to have this in- i

formation as in those days a farmer t could pay any wages he liked. Ini fact, if anyone so desired, he could ? have imported Chinese coolies, pro-1 vided the poll tax was paid. * Today, the farmers have to pay? what the Labour Government tells | them, and not what is an economic | wage for the farmer to pay. If the | I fanner makes a loss after paying] I wages and taxation, the Government.! j does not mind. The farmer and hisj i-family can work for nothing, and do I a starve so long as Labour gets its i pound of flesh. Is it any wonder the farmers’ sons go to jobs on the Public Works? Who can blame them? There they do not have to work hard, the hours are short when compared with farm work, and the pay is good. The Government must realise that no farmer can pay I the same wages as the Public Works, i So how is the farmer to compete for labour with that department? Farmers, farm labourers and farm production are decreasing, but that is only to be expected under present conditions. Even if sharemilkers are employed, and it is very difficult to get efficient ones, although I happen to be lucky enough to have one, they cannot get employees at any price either, so farm work has to stop, except what can be done by the farmer and his sharemilker. Owing to shortage of farm labour, women and children are forced to go cut to the cowsheds, and therefore the women get tired and eventually become ill and the children are not as bright at school as they should be. Is it any wonder that milch cows are put on the back run when they should be producing food for Britain and France? The Government can cry “more production” as much as it likes, but more production will not be realised until the farmers can compete with the Public Works Department for labour. Unless farm labour is obtainable, production must fall further, and even the land may deteriorate owing to lack of attention. Very few farmers with thousands of pounds invested can make £SOO a year net profit no matter how hard or how long thej work, although whole families mighi do so.—J. A. CLARK.