DANGER OF MEAT TRUST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16600, 25 July 1917, Page 8

DANGER OF MEAT TRUST

DOMINION THREATENED.

GOVERNMENT ACTION URGED

[BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]

WELLINGTON. Tuesday. Reference to the danger threatening New Zealand by the invasion of the Meat Trust was made by Mr. V. H. Reed in the House of Representatives to-day. The question of whether the trust was already firmly established or not was immaterial, ho said. The aim of the Government should he to keep the trust out of New Zealand if it was not here and to turn it out if it was. In the Argentine, where the Meat Trust controlled the export trade, it had never erected 'works, its policy being to purchase works already established. The Argentine trade was not created by the Meat Trust but by the British. It was after tho . trust had got control of the trade in tho United States that it went to the Argentine and purchased certain of the works there at largo prices. It raised the price of stock to fabulous prices, making every company operating in the Argentine lose money. With its enormous wealth the trust was able to withstand the competition. "If jt started this process in New Zealand," said Mr. Reed, " how long will tho small co-operative freezing companies or even the formidable Gear Company last?"

Mr. Reed went on to tell how in the Argentine the trust, after getting control by eliminating competition, proceeded to get its money back by reducing the price of stock to the farmers. "It is not too early to act now," he continued. " Some say it is too late, but if we do not act at once we shall find that the trust will get a firmer foothold in the country and gain an enormous influence, enabling it to block future legislation, exactly as is tho case with the licensing question now. Look at the unutterable mess the liquor trade is in now as to it* relation to the people of the country ! Why ? Because neither side can move.

"If we shut our eyes to this question before we know where we are we shall find that the fanners' companies will be selling out half of their interests to the trust in some form or other, and then wo will find that we are up against a proposition in regard to the Meat Trust in the same way as we are up against a proposition in dealing with the liquor trade.

"The first step to make is to prevent any outside capital being in any freezing works. Make all the freezing works locally-owned. That is one step. Ido not say that is going to be sufficient. Another step that would probably be advisable would be to prevent sales of, fat stock in the Dominion,---and to make all producers freeze on their own account I know it is a big step to take, but to my way of thinking it would be a most effective step if fat stock sales were prohibited, except for the local markets. I believe that at the present time buyers for certain works, which are reputed to belong to the trust, are scouring up and down the Manawatu buying stock and taking it past co-operative works down to these works of their own, payine the farmers a higher price than was offering at the door of their own works. What is this being done for? It is being done to break down these small companies." Mr. Reed urged also that it was of the utmost importance that New Zealand should secure its own ships in order to fight the trust, which always sought to get control of shipping.