WAKE UP! FARMERS.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Issue 3941, 8 July 1918, Page 3

WAKE UP! FARMERS.

A MILLIONAIRE SPEAKS

WITH REFRESHING CANDOUR,

You farmers amuse me ! Sometimes you cause my fellow millionaires: to be ' uneasy, but you always amuse me —I know you. You are a great people — potentially great—but you are the biggest set of fools in the world! You have more power, and ma~ke less use of it than any class in the world ! You have one redeeming fault—you like to hear the truth about yourselves. I am a millionaire because you allow it. I can use my wealth for your benefit, but I am apt to use., it to qualify myself. We rich work together whether we like each other ov 'not. You folks won't do it. You imagine sometimes that you are going to co-operate, but you sooner* or later manage to make a mess of it. Some of your best friends have worn their lives out trying to get you to co-oper-ate, and failed. I could destroy any farmers' organisation in the country by insiduous work. You would not even know I was fighting you./ I would deceive some of your members and use some of your leaders. You are good people, but not better than those of ether vocations. You are not loyal to each other—there is your weak place. Half of you can be bribed with a mess of potage to dese.t your own cause and imagine you are doing a good thing. You are suspicious. It is easy to sow the seed of discord among you. That is why I am safe in my business skinning you. No, you won't stick together. You I can't a,gree, You can be gobbled by the side-tracking scheme. You bite a bait handed by an outsider, and j look with distrust on all plans of your organisation. If you pool your product, I buy off a few by paying more than it is worth.

You think prices are controlled by the law of supply and demand, and that law is beyond your control. You think prices are like the weather, just come and go mysteriously. You've been told that old fairy tale about prices being controlled by the law of supply and demand until you believe it like children believe in Santa Claus. Sometimes your tactics are pathetic —sometimes ridiculous, sometimes a little dashing, but nearly always amusing. You won't stay on your job.

You consult your immediate convenience ten thousand times where you consider the ultimate of yourself and class.

Then comes the bigoted farmer. He has his servants to do everything according to Hoyle. He is up-to-date all ri,oht, but will not condescend to wallow with the common herd by joining them and co-operating for mutual benefit. He feels able to take care of himself, and the other poor devils can do the same —or do as he can. If the many must serve the few, deep down in your heart you don't blame us for that —you would like to be among the elect yourselves.

We control more of you through your prejudices than your most selfsacrificing leaders can by reason. You don't know your friends and you are always ready *to sacrifice a general good for a local advantage. I am really sorry for you. I succeed sometimes in convincing myself that I am your frisnd. I think I would like to be. But you are too close-fisted, suspicious, and treacherous for me to cast in my lot with you. You treat your leaders too shabbily. I can make you treat me royally as it is. It suits me better. I make money and with it I can bring you to black my boots, clean up my back yard, make me anything I want to wear, and be at the beck ancl call of my wife and daught-

Who is responsible for this state of affairs ? Who are the labourers and voters of this country ? Who is in the majority ? You don't realise what your relative condition is, and the fate that always awaits you under present tendencies.

Your mind is not on your business,