THE FARMING OUTLOOK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19452, 7 October 1926, Page 13

THE FARMING OUTLOOK.

QUESTION OF OVERHEAD. USE OF MOTOR-CARS. time saved and wasted. CAUSE OF FARM NEGLECT. ) No. IV. To hint at extravagant living in a discussion upon farming conditions is liable to arouse many worthy people to angry comment, but no Mich discussion can ho complete without- some attention being paid to the burden a farm is asked to carry. Factors are now operating in town and country alike, which tend to extravagant living, or to improvidence. There is the motor-car, which may be, a very useful and profitable part of a producing plant, or a very costly plaything, and there, is the tremendous increase in the number of wavs of obtaining on credit articles essential and otherwise. The question is what effect, are motor-cars and credit systems having upon farm balance sheets ? How far are they increasing overhead and how big a drain are they having upon income ? In this matter it would bo most dangerous .to generalise. Inferences only may be made. Exit the Horse and Gig. The motor-car is now regarded as a necessary part of the equipment of a farm. [A horse and gig is a raro sight. For one horse conveyance there are scores of motor-cars. The ratio cannot be fixed by the average seen, however, seeing that car owners are far more frequently on the road than those who still use horseflesh. Many country car owners can well afford to drive about the countryside at will. The whole point is whether the car, among men who have heavy liabilities, is not eating up profits which ought to be applied to other things, and causing a section of the rural community to waste time which their farms can ill afford to lose. One has talked to a large number of farmers upon the subject and each one admitted that while the car, up to a point, had been their greatest boon, its misuse by a section was a very serious factor operating against their financial salvation. "There is a typ-a of farmer,"' said one man, "who likes nothing better than to polish his leggings, put on his spurs, get into his car and go off to a sale where he lias no business to do, and sit on the rail and ask his neighbour, 'How's things/ It is quite all right for the substantial mail, but anything but right for the man who must apply all his energy to his farm if he is to" get on his feet. Waste of Time and Money. "To these men the car is a stumbling block. It makes it so easy for them to leave their work. It is an insidious tempter. The cost of a single run is never counted. With 'enough benzine in the tank,' one feels that the cost is nothing so oS one goes. But the benzine must be paid for, running repairs and tyres must be paid for, depreciation of the car must be provided for, and time that should be given to the farm must be. paid for in one way or another. Probably the most serious aspect is how tho car which ought to be a saver of time, causes waste of time, time which the farmer ought to reckon in terms of cash. This wasted time often results in costly neglect or in payment of wages which might be saved. By all means" let the farmers who can afford the luxurious use of a car have the pleasure and liberty it offers for themselves and their families, but what justification is there for men with obligations to copy them ? "There is evidence of a silly competitive spirit among farmers, or rather among farmers' families. I am quite sure if it were not for the anxiety of the women to cut as good a figure as the next, there would be less expenditure on cars and benzine. 'The Browns have a far: why cannot we have one?' That is the sort of question which often leads a man to exceed his income; in other words, to swell his overhead several years oo soon. Liberty at Last. "The ear brings 'liberty at last.' The day is bright and mother feels she would like a run to the nearest town or to a town that is not the nearest, to look at the hats—a very natural desire. She has a new feeling of well-being. Father, who has been wondering about breaking up a paddock or getting in some green feed, admits that he could do a bit of business in the town and away they go. Liberty at last! Plenty more days ahead ! That is where the danger conies in. How many 'liberty at last' days are there to be? What is the cost t<> be? "[ am bound to admit." said this farmer. "that the standard of commercial honour is not always what it should be and the moratorium is partly responsible. I cannot see how debtors, no matter how optimistic they may be, can lie of good conscience when they pay for (he frills first. There is a clamour about the cost of fertilisers when a little stern economy on the part of some would enable them to buy at cash rates and topdress more heavily." One talked to a farmer bronzed and lean through toil. He sat on his plough and discussed the situation. He was not very optimistic as to the genera! outlook. Of bis own accord be came to Hie subject of the car. " I could afford to run a car a good deal better than the majority who have them in this localitv," he said, "but I am not going to get a car as long as this place requires money to develop it. I ccrtainlv would like one but the farm comes first." One heard of a farmer who had been emploving a hand until lie purchased a far. Within a few months be was compelled to discharge the hand, but be continued to use the car to excess. Ihe inevitable result was neglect of the farm and tha foundations of trouble. Cost of the Motor Road. " The cost of the car extends further than manv folk imagine," said another man. " Now that the is an owner he wants motor roads. Ihe old type of road would have served him if he, had kept to horses. However, because he has a car he is easily influenced by city propaganda, which is based on the assumption that fishing at laupo and holiday touring are the great purposes of life, and if he does not vote for special loans to help the Highways Board to do its work he does not oppose them, and thus . places another charge on the land. It is a fine thing to have good main highways through the country, but even with the subsidies of the Main Highways Board the cost to the farmer is often too heavy. The farmer is a fool to let himself be jockeyed into so many special, loans. If main highways are necessary let the users pay the bulk of the cost. The argument that the high-grade roads will improve rural values requires more careful consideration. It is true only up to a point, and anyway increased values mean increased rating in the end. The real object of the present reading movement is to create a great tourist industry and the farmer is not going to derive any return from a tourist industry, therefore the country, with the main users, should do the paying." This point of view is most noticeable in partially-developed districts, in some of which there is evidence of a determination to "sit tight" in regard to .main hichwav works and not to spend even the full amount of loans authorised. To return to the car. there obviously must be no generalisations, but there is no shadow o f doubt that more cars are owned and more time wasted through them in country districts than should be.