THE MEAT POOL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18454, 16 January 1922, Page 8

THE MEAT POOL.

TO THE EDITOE. Sir, — Those who have attempted to get a clear understanding of the proposed meat pool by following both sides of the argument must have met with serious difficulties. If the question was wholly an economic one then your leading articles on the subject would tie the clearest and most trustworthy of all that been said or-written. But the aim of the producers goes beyond the economic, and embraces precisely the claim which is the central point in the Labour problem—viz., to obtain a higher .price, or, more correctly' stated, a higher relati-o share of the retail price paid by l the consumer. The claim would not be unreasonable if the subject were considered from an ethical point, of view, bpt it is quite _ obvious that the sheep-former has no higher ethics than the trade unionist or any of the commercial and financial institutions which aro of equal importance and which have also to ho reckoned with in any attempt at a solution. From the ethical side the subject embraces the whole community, but the public has only a faint idea of the issues involved. The purely economic side is simple enough Because it deals with tangible commodities which oan be traced and valued from stage to stage in the process of production and distribution, and if the motive and aim of the individual were in harmony with economic law then distribution would be seen to bo perfect. . The public can therefore see that the remedy lies in considering, how to bring the aim of the individual on the question of value into harmony with economic law. _ If the public can see this clearly then it can also see that the whole discussion lacks a moral foundation because neither the stock raisers nor the freezing and i shipping companies nor the wholesale dealers 'have in view a scheme to benefit the consumer. On the contrary their aim is u , alon £ the line to keep up prices for their own benefit. Another sinister 1 feature is seen in the attitude, of the Government And the Opposition, which are completely ignoring the consumers’ right to be protected .from exploitation. It is easy to see that the freezing and shipping companies perform an indispensable function in the export of frozen moat, ohd that the value of thoir service is equal to that of the value of tho stock raiser, but that does not imply an “unlimited value” to bo determined independently of the price paid to toe primary producer, which is precisely what each of the three sections are aiming at, and which the legislature fails to point out to the disputants as the cause of the .trouble. Under every conceivable circumstance the wholesale price in the English Continental markets limits the amount to be shared between the three departments of production, manufacture, and transportation, and as each has equal value any in price can be readjusted if there is mutual reciprocity between every, section. Now it is just because there is no mutual reciprocity or co-operation between any of the several stages or sections through which woaltp must pass before reaching the consumer that wo, have trouble. This trouble cannot be removed while our leaders are ignoring the law of value. A paragraph from your' leading article of the 13th inst. clearly shows that you do not ignore this fact because you say; “All sections in the State must realise that a new'level of talues is being evolved.” Wo have, however, to consider carofullv the direction in which the evolution is going. Loft to the blind economic forces of circumstances wo shall orly have further trouble, v because readjustments of such a character never par. take of equity. What, then, does the new level of valitcs consist of? Clearly not that of a rise in prices; hut, if a reduction, who is to determine the fairness when no authority exists to regulate the reductions? The public is not unconscious of the fact that when prices commenced to rise at the beginning of the war the inc/vitablo result was a rise in wages, rent, and interest, which rose to bursting point Now that the collapse has come about, wo see that the only passible method under existing circumstances of bringing wages, rent, and interest down to parity with wholesale prices is by a process of individual ■ bankruptcy in which tho wage-earner is to bear the brunt of the trouble. That the inflated prices have brought trouble, which will terminate in disaster to many, is perhaps seen more clearly now, but an all-round reduction of wages, rent, and interest «to pre-war level would remove all tho trouble and restore ' activity. The new level of value, which must inevitably come, will really be the ojd level, which in turn must be consolidated to prevent prices from again being inflated. This would really form the initiation of a competitive form of co-operation in which value would bo determined by local condition instead of by international demand. As Iho whole trouble has been caused by outside buyers paying higher prices for our produce, the only cure is to prevent international values from disturbing local values. It is upon this question that a solution of the problem hinges. It, is a question which demands tho constructive abilities of the statesman. —I am, etc., , W. 1