SHORTAGE OF SEED WHEAT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17089, 22 August 1917, Page 8

SHORTAGE OF SEED WHEAT

«■ ABE STOCKS BEING HELD? i FARMERS FORCED TO SOW OATS. CfciTTeepondenoo which has passed between I * Duneain miller and the Prime Minister should prove interesting at the present '■ time; as giving aome idea of the wheat position ';: ; in the .South Island. The first letter ■Was by the miller on August 17. It stated, inter alia, that he had been supplying seed wheat to all the agents in Dunedin and to farmers in tho country, and that on that day another miller had called;'-' in and bought 4-0 sacks, saying that the .iPrime Minister had telegraphed him that'the first-iuunod miller could supply all the abed wheat he wanted. The letter continue^: —"Some other millers hero have considerably larger stocks of wheat than wo Uavu',-- yet they will not sell a bag for seed purposes. As our stock of New Zealand wheat is getting into very small compass indeed, we are reluctantly compelled to cease selling more unless we can see some means of replenishing our stocks. With this object in view we havo sent you the following telegram: 'Selling largo quantities seed wheat; . considerable areas still unsown. Must refuse orders now unless you can replace. Can you give us wheat on Kauri at 6s? If so, wdl continue supplying seed.''' The letter goes on to say that those mil- , lers hero who held stocks of wheat and flour were evidently looking forward to keeping their trade going, while thoso who were more patriotic had tho satisfaction of ceoing their customers geng to those who were acting in a selfish spirit "We did JJio very same at tho outbreak of the war as we ore doing now, and had to shut down at tho end of November for want of wheat, and had to look helplessly on while others filched our trade." The miller continues that he couid buy wheat now in Timaru from one of the large grain houses, butthat they were asking full Government rates, plus 3£ per cent, to pay commission and storage charges-. This was a breach of tho Government regulations, and he had refused to deal. Ho had given all the details to Mr Smith, the chief Government grader in Dunedin.

The Primo Minister replied by telegram Under date August 21, as follows:—"Tho Board of Trade has no wheat at present with which to supply millers or others, as owing to the strike in Sydney it cannot obtain .loading." The miller replied on the same date as follows :-V* We regret to learn that you are not able vto supply wheat for farmers after the Minister of Agriculture pleading with them to sow wheat in every possible corner. They ha,vo the ground worked up ready for sowing, and are very much annoyed that. you have forgotten your part, and now say you have neglected to provide seed for ino purpose you have impressed so forcibly upon them as being one of the win-the-war efforts \Vo have written the Board of Trade at length' over tho matter. . . . It is positively' sickening at a time like this that those ./who hold wheat should not help tho countty which has brought them prospor-

The letter to the Board of Trade explains that it was the Dunedin Agricultural Department which rang up the miller and asked if it could supply any seed wheat and on receiving a reply in the affirmative passed on the offer to another Dunedin miller, who then called in and asked to be Supplied with thq 40 sacks referred to above, which Mr Massey had wired about" As a matter of fact, no such telegram had been received from Mr Massey. The first miller supplied the 40 sacks, but thought 'it was coming it a bit too strong." 'H fc also asserts that there are several farmers m Canterbury who are holding their wheat for more money: that he knows of two Otago; farmers who have, perforce, to put in oata instead of wheat; that he does not m the face of the Prime Minister's teley grain v intend to sell any more wheat; but that if the Government will guarantee to supply him next year with the wheat grown from the seed wheat he sella, he will continue to supply such wheat as long as he w able. ( 6 s