MEAT CONTROL IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 14

MEAT CONTROL IN GREAT BRITAIN.

REFRIGERATING ACCOMMODATION. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, November 20. Mr F. T. Boys, the London manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Co., has succeeded Mr Sidney ¥ouug as Director of Meat Supplies. Mr Boys has made a very promising start, and from the first he had the entire goodwill of the "trade. If he fails to achieve the gigantic task put on. his shoulders—and tho adjective 1 use is no exaggeration,—it will be because the Ministry ot Food has never yet been endowed with all tho plenipotentiary power it should have been given in dealing with its great issues. On the one hand it is up against tho big military machine, and it is also in the position of seeng portions of its proper functions still dallied with by other departments, such as the Board of Trade. Mr Boys took the bull by the horns and called a meeting of tho wholesale meat trade in London to a conference in Butchers' Hall, Smith-field, in order, as ho put it, "to arrange for the immediate co-opera-tion of wholesale traders, and to prepare maohinery in readiness for the deficiency in meat, whether it comes or not." With the advent of maximum prices the operations of tho law of supply and demand had ceased, and the main thing before them was to establish a system to ensure an equal daily distribution of supplies in every largo town and village. Competition between wholesale traders in the same area must be guided into the proper channels. The trade had to deal with excessive demands for certain qualities of meat and a lack of demand for others. Competition; between different consuming areas gave rise to unequal distribution, and that had to bo corrected. Mr Boys suggested, and the meeting by a unanimously-carried resolution agreed, that tho wholesale trade in London should form an association to control the wholesalo distribution of meat in the London area, and should appoint an Advisory Committee of wholesalo tradesmen to keep in touch with the Food Department. The main function of this body would be to ascertain the daily requirements of the London area and to arrange for their supplies. Here came a question from a frozen meat importer present (Mr P. B. Proctor secretary of the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Co., Ltd.) as to how tho London frozen meat importers would stand who imported for delivery elsewhere than in London. Tho reply was that special arrangements would have to be made for such. The meeting, which was very largely attended, accorded Mr Boys a very cordial reception. Its good intentions were revealed by its ready passing of the resolution for th'6 formation of a Wholesalers' Association. However, it could go no deeper into the question of even distribution, which will remain the one great problem. As Mr Boys said: " It may be necessary through the instrumentality of Government departments to arrange for the movement of stock from the producing areas to the districts most in need of supplies." As I came down the steps away from tho meeting I heard a wholesaler insist on the utter impossibiltiy of securing even distribution unless a flat rate for cattle-railage were instituted. From tho lips of a 'Government transport official I heard the same day that such a step is impracticable unless on Government-owned meat. The Director of Meat Supplies has a big job on hand, and is deserving of everyone's wholehearted support—in fact, he claimed that from every patriot. Subsequent to tho conference we have had tho selection by tho Smithfield Markets Tenants' Association of an Advisory Committee of six. Three out of the six represent imported meat interests, and I can beet describe the constitution of the committee by quoting what the trade organ, Cold Storage, remarked concerning the appointments : " If it wero not for Mr George Goodsir (W. Weddel and Co., Ltd.) among this trio wo should not have any representatives of the colonial section of this trade, for Mr W. F. Archer and Mr A. Cohn are both, I believe I am correct in saying, American agents pure and simple. It is no greater crime to be an American agent these days than it is to be pure and simple; but I do feel that the old roast beef of Empire might have had a two-thirds majority instead of a one-third minority. _ However, I suppose the present action is a poetic justice to tho Big Six in return for its resolve to supply the Allies with meat at near-cost price. By the way, what is cost price?" The above comment is not considered beside the mark nnr unduly severe in its criticism. The trust is still paramount here, and I am glad to think that it is being recognised as such by those who have to fight it in the future. Plans are really boinsx laid for a bite fight, and New Zealanders who are facinc the problem at the other end of the world will be glad to coordinate their efforts with those on the other side. GOVERNMENT BUNGLING. The way in which the Imperial Government has missed many of its opportunities in achieving tho best results with meat supplies was very forcibly put by Mr Gilbert Anderson in the course of a speech mad j by him on the 6th inst. at a luncheon at which tho Cold Storage and Ice Association entertained the new Director of Cold Storage and Inland Transport of Food, Mr John Wardle. Mr Anderson said:—"Wo delayed to secure supplies when prices were favourable and freight was obtainable, and ran our supplies so low {having also lost tho freight) that, in order to save the situation, we had to divert our refrigerated tonnage to bring grain at increased great cost, which of itself was disastrous enough, but in that it reduced our supply of frozen meat and restricted production was equal'y fatal. Th 3 Government was right in fixing maximum prices in tho interests of the consumers and protecting tho worker of this country under tho exceptional circumstances. The mistake was in not promptly fixing the maximum price at which every essential article sold could not be exceeded, mpking it criminal to sell or buy above tha: price, and leaving it there. Commercial interests would have brought tho necessary supplies; competition would

have reduced profits to the lowest margin ; the necessity for large, costly departments, working on'extravagant and 'unbusinesslike methods, would have been unnecessary, and tho country saved many millions of pounds. Wo see tho same mistake made in dealing with home-grown meat supplies, instead of simply fixing tho prices of meat to tho public. Wo have, in a year when the and herds were never more numerous, the whole of the agricultural interests distrustful and alarmed, immature stock killed and rushed on tho market, high rates of prolit regulated by Government, and an olaborato and costly department set up which will not produce, much less 6avc, lib of meat. In normal times this country has produced 65 per cent, of all tho meat consumed. It may be taken that we havo withdrawn something like 75 per cent. . of our malo population—the large meat-eaters —for military purposes, and are feeding them on frozen meat; yet, owing 'to socalled Government control, wo are disturbing, if not destroying, the one assured source of food supply which should have been sufficient for the nation's needs, especially as these supplies would be supplemented by the frozen meat in excess of tho requirements of the army and navy." COLD STORAGE POLICY. The Government's delay in the appointment of a Director of Cold Storage and in tho consideration of the question of additional cold storage needs was emphasised by Mr Anderson. If New Zealand, he said, could double its accommodation for the purposo of facilitating export, should not Great Britain all the more do so to meet its urgent needs as a consumer. Mr Wardle, the new Director of Cold Storage, who listened attentively to Mr Anderson's remarks, said that, after being informed that it should be decided to hold at least a three months' supply of food in tho country, ho felt that, for tho safety of the nation, 10,(300,000 cubic feet additional cold storage' space should be provided at the earliest possible moment. Then the difficulties arose. Of the new spaco already arranged for, the cost of which approximated to about half a million pounds sterling, not one penny of this had been, or would be, provided by the Government. There had been may cases of private enterprise (though qute as patriotic as in those other cases mentioned) where the finance of the firms would not allow -capital to be raised for extension purposes, and in these cases tho Government had come to 'the assistance of tho firms mentioned, and lent money at a fixed rate of interest, the whole amount to be repaid at the end of the war. With regard to the question of "control," he had taken what, in his opinion, was the proper stand for a business man to take —viz., that if the Government could get what was necessary in the interests of tho nation without taking over any business with a possible risk of loss, everything had been done that was necessary. He did not hesitate, however, to say _ that it behoved. every cold storage proprietor to look closely into the question of charges made for the storage of foodstuffs, so that if the time should come when it is found necessary to look into this question it would be found that, if any additional charge was made over what .existed previously, it could bo fully shown to be the result of increased labour, power, or other charges beyond their control. NEW ZEALAND'S PART. I must not close my reference to tho above important gathering without referring to the President of the Cold Storage and Ice Association, who is Sir Thomas Mackenzie, the High Commissioner, who has been elected for the third year. Although ho had just risen from a bed of sickness, ho made an excellent speech, and showed well the splendid role New Zealand had played in this great struggle. They had meat enough in store, he said, to fill 60 ships; but they could not get the vessels. Ho also had a cogent word to say about the unfairness of the present varying prices for butter. At present, in the butter and other markets, he said, by State regulation they saw Empire loyalty placed at a discount, latent disloyalty at a premium, and neutrality blessed with a bonus. CANTERBURY WHEATG ROWERS THE COST OF PRODUCTION AND LABOUR, A meeting of the South Canterbury Executive of the Farmers' Union at Timaru on the 19th inst. (says the correspondent of the Lyttelton Times) produced an interesting discussion on wheat-growing. The Chairman (Mr J. Talbot), after remarking that there was likely to be a good average crop, complained that thrashing mill-owners had decided to increase their charge's this year, and to thrash by the hour instead of by the bushel. North Canterbury, ho said, was thrashing by the bushel. Farmers were in trouble because the Government had power to seize their produce and fix a price for it; but the Government had taken no means to check or to fix a limit for the cost of production. This was a serious matter, and there was no doubt that after this year's experience the future lot of tho wheat-grower was not going to be a happy one. Personally, he considered that the pre-war price of 3s 6d a bushel was better than the 6s they were getting today.—:{" Hear, hear.") Mr Macaulay said the Government should see to the cost of production. It was their business. Mr Patterson said he had always advocated a wages award, but ho had not been supported by tho executive. The Chairman said that legislation was necessary for an award, but there w r as no law to limit tho cost of production. North Otago has asked tho Government to fix a price for labour, but had received no satisfaction. Even if the Government fixed a price for thrashing it could not compel the mill-owners to go out and thrash. Mr Hart said that wheat was_ Is a bushel too cheap, and there was nothing in it for the farmer. Many of them would think twice before putting their wheat through a mill, and it would pay some farmers to put a match to their crops. It had been reported that tho prospects of tho wheat crop in South Canterbury wore good, but he had his doubts. Farmers had been greedy when putting in wheat. They put it in, but did not care a hang how they took it out. They depended upon the promise of tho Government that labour would be found to take out the wheat. Tho farmers had put in the wheat as a gamble, and the gamble had gone _ against them, and thev were now grizzling. Mr Copeland said nothing could be done. They would have to make the best of the position, and make their own individual bargains. Mr Massey had said that the Government had no power to fix wages, but why did not tho Government assume the

power?. It had power to conscript men, and it should have the power to fix wages. The Chairman said that the labour unions had been unsympathetic from the first, and the Government had to give in to them to enablo it to cany on the war. Mr M'Cort said that the legislation was all in favour of the Australian shinter. The Hon. G. W. Russell had invited shirkers to come to New Zealand, and at the same timo the last men on their farms were being conscripted. The Efficiency Board had stated that it was not necessary for the New Zealand farmer to grow wheat, as it coulc] be imported cheaper from Australia. Let tho New Zealand farmer go out of the business. It did not pay, and he intended to get out of it. Mr Butler said he would not like to see wheat-growing abandoned in New Zealand', as this would be a national calamity. He could not see why tho North Island farmer should get more for his wheat than the South Island farmer did. It was ridiculous for tho Government to fix the price of wheat and not fix the cost of production. . , • Ml The meeting decided to interview millowners in regard to thrashing prices, and to ask the Board of Trade to go . into the question of wheat-growing, the Chairman remarking that the prospects for next seaso s were pocr. ■•* bi ™