CANADA AND N.Z.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 12 April 1934, Page 3

CANADA AND N.Z.

COMPARISON OF CONDITIONS NO HOPE J-OR [RITTER TRADE MR D. A. STUB,ROCK INTERVIEWED "New Zealand is well known in Canada, ail right! It is well advertised by its butter. 'Tim farmers in Canady have butter on tbc brain, and New Zealand can rest assured that she is not going to get much butter sold in Canada because it won't be admitted. If it is, it will be admitted only oil an off chance of being sold, because Canada produces as much butter as it needs and doesn t require butter from New Zealand.” This illuminating statement was made to an "Express” reporter by Mr D. A. Sturrock. who is revisiting Blenheim alter spending some nine years in Canada following ins retirement from the inspectorate of tiie Wellington Education Board. "The politicians of Canada, are like tiie politicians of the rest of the world ■ ■ —they want to sell everything but they don’t want to buy anything, ’ Mr Sturroek continued. "It is like holding a red rag to a bull to talk about New Zealand butter in Canada.” As far as the actual geography of New Zealand was concerned, the speaker remarked that there was the usual vagueness that was not peculiar to tiie Canadians. When lie mentioned to friends that lie was going to Auckland they said: “Oh, yes, that’s near Sydney.” Blit similar ignorance existed nearly everywhere on geography.

ECONOMIC POSITION

Mr Sturroek was asked how New Zealand and the big sister Dominion compared in tiie economic sense at the present time. “I think New Zealand is in quite as good a- position as Canada or any of the countries 1 have visited, if not better,” he replied. “I think the unemployment situation lias been well managed in tile way of making those who were able to pay do so. 1 agree with the principle oi' your unemployment taxation. 1 think those who are able should assist tiie ones who are down and out; but more care should bo used m the way the money is applied, for in many instances, 1 gather, it is known that those who should be given help are not receiving it. “My own impression about unemployment- and the economic chaos in the world to-day is that tiie world lias become selfish —it is apparent everywhere,” Mr Sturroek observed. “You see it exemplified in all the meetings of the representatives of tiie different countries—at Ottawa and the International Conferences. It was self-intoi;est all the .way through. You can’t carry on international trade without a- free exchange of goods because we haven’t tiie money. No country in the world, not even the U.S.A., lias tiie money to pay for one week's trade, notwithstanding aii the money they crow about having in their vaults.’’

CANADIAN WHEAT TRADE

Mr Sturroek stated that tiie financial position in Canada was pretty acute, but it was a country-'that was capable of very tapid recovery. Once it could find a market for tiie vast quantities of wheat it. produced it would be on tiie high road to prosperity again. “Farmers in Canada have been receiving as low as 19 cents (Old) for No. 1 hard wheat. Take a crop of 600,000,000 bushels at that figure compared with one dollar thirty or one dollar fifty that they had been getting and you will see how disastrous the low price is. There was a surplus of 230,000,000 bushels last season brought about by the fact that other countries which used to buy from Canada grew their own requirements. France, for instance which used to take 93,000,000 bushels for a 17,000,000 bushel surplus herself. But this season, owing to the drought, frosts, etc., tiie crop is very much smaller and there is a scarcity in the States, which means that Canada will very likely gel rid of most of her surplus.” Mr Sturroek mentioned that the cost of transporting wheat from tiie farm to the exporting point was very heavy—l 9 cents in Alberta to Vancouver, and 26 or 27 cents from further north to Fort William, all at per IOOIbs. Vancouver in 1920, lie added, exported practically no wiieat, but in 1932 it was the greatest wheat-exporting port in the world, handling no less than 98,000,000 bushels. Jt had outstripped all tiie other ports of liie Pacific or Atlantic coasts. Huge elevators handled millions of bushels of wheat expeditiously, and large vessels could lie filled to tiie hatches in the short space of eight hours. It was mentioned by Mr Sturroek Jiat tiie Canadian Pacific Railway, which for a long time had practically a monopoly of tiie trade of Canada, was now facing different times. For 30 years it was paying 10 per cent, on the money invested, but during tiie present slump if had been able to pay out practically nothing. Not one of its vast hotels hail paid working expenses. “The main factor making for the loss of trade to the railways is the fact that motor-trucks are doing the job, and doing it better,” Die speaker remarked. “The Government have been considering what they can do to remedy this, hut as the C.P.R’s. power is considerably on the wane they are just not able to dictate as they used to do.”