THE SHORTAGE OF WHEAT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16243, 28 November 1914, Page 6

THE SHORTAGE OF WHEAT.

There seems to be little doubt that the stocks of wheat and flour in the dominion at the present time are inadequate for the requirements of the population. Moreover, it may be anticipated that unless crop prospects materially improve next season's yield of grain will, even although additional areas have been sown, not equal the normal demand. The first suggestion that may usefully be made in this connection is in the nature of an appeal to the consumer to avoid as far as possible that waste of bread and flour which too often occurs in many households. This is a time of war, the farreaching issues of which no one may foresee, and in such a national crisis " waste not want not" is a good proverb both to preach and to practise in respect of the necessaries of life. If consumers keep this warning in mind there is no reason for the occurrence of a panic, or even of acute alarm, respecting the possibilities of a bread famine. The a-ction which the Government took in introducing and passing legislation within a few days after the commencement of the war, in terms of which it appointed a Foodstuffs Commission and subsequently, on the recommendation of that Commission, fixed the price of wheat ajid flour by proclamation has been a good deal criticised. The effect of that action, however, was, though the critics have not acknowledged it, that speculators were deterred from artificially inflating the price of wheat and that the price of wheat and bread has up to the present time been kept down to an exceedingly moderate level. To the steps that were then adopted by the Government the community owes the fact that, during a period of war, when the tendency is towards an increase in tjie price of commodities, and during a period, moreover, when the supply of wheat produced in the dominion is very far short of the amount required to meet the needs of the consumers, the price of the cereal has not reached the level to which it ascended only a few years ago. The Government acted promptly, also, in another direction. It arranged for the importation from Australia and Canada of certain quantities of wheat a portion of which has already

arrived and been distributed, and by these means and by the importation also of flour from the Commonwealth the dangers associated with a shortage will be sensibly mitigated. Action along another line still remains open to the Government. It is alleged that certain firms and individual farmers hold stocks of wheat which they have not only refused to sell at the price fixed by the Government, but for which they are demanding high rates. According to one report one firm in a neighbouring provincial district holds seyeral thousand bags of wheat. We are not prepared to say to what extent credence is to be given to these allegations. There are some authorities who think that the statement that a large quantity of wheat is being withheld from the market involves a distinct exaggeration. If, however, it be the case that dealers have laid in considerable stocks with which they refuse to part because they are not satisfied with the profit they would secure by a sale at the prices proclaimed by the Government, their action can only be described as highly unpatriotic. Fortunately the Government has armed itself with power under the Regulation of Trade and Commerce Act to seize goods during the war when it is in the public interest to do so, either for the use of the military and naval authorities or for sale to the public. It should not hesitate to exercise this power, nor do we believe it will hesitate, if drastic action became necessary. The difficulty which is being presented in New Zealand is also being experienced in Australia, and it will be observed this morning that the New South Wales Government has introduced into Parliament a Bill empowering it to acquire compulsorily the whole of the now wheat crop of the State for sale and distribution. The legislation that was passed in this dominion last' session may be said to constitute a precedent for the proposal of the Holman Government, and if the situation in New Zealand becomes absolutely acute the Government of the dominion may have by its action to provide a precedent in administration as well as one in legislation.