HELPING THE FARMER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21404, 31 January 1933, Page 12

HELPING THE FARMER

Sir, —One notices that all the schemes of helping the farmer consist of taking the help out of other people's pockets, and passing it- along to the farmers, regardless of whether their individual position warrants such help. Relief to those out of work is on a different tooting; they must be in serious danger of going hungry before help is forthcoming. A list of farmers needing help—and during these difficult times the interpretation should be as narrow as possible—could easily be obtained through dairy companies or reputable trading firms, through which application would have to be made. Ih:s would doubtless reduce the help said to be required by 50 to 70 per cent. To those in need, all New Zealand would gladly afford assistance, even to the extent of raising the wage tax. The opinion of the writer is that the help required is a drastic overhaul of the whole industry. The dairy farmers' slogan should be "cleanliness first and always." A few years ago New Zealand butter prices stood roughly half way between Australian and Danish. While wo have failed to overtake the Danish, our friends across the Tasman have drawn level, and it may be presumed that in a few years we will be a bad third. A penny a pound on our dairy export means about a million and aquarter a year; this would be new money, not boosted exchange. W. D. Meiklejohn. Devonport.