FARMERS AND CO-OPERATION

Otago Witness, Issue 3556, 9 May 1922, Page 14

FARMERS AND CO-OPERATION

COMPULSORY POOLS ADVOCATED. MR W. J. POLSON’S VIEWS. MASTER TON, May 3. The 00-oporation of farmers to protect their own interests was the policy of the Farmers’ Union enunciated by the dominion president (Mr W. J. Poison) to an enthusiastic meeting of members to-day. lie pointed out, the necessity for better marketing, shipping, and banking facilities, which could only be brought about by cooperation. He explained what had happened in America in connection with marketing. There the Farmers’ Union had received an enormous impetus. It had eight million members, and had been granted by Congress the. rights of compulsory pooling. Ho strongly emphasised the necessity for compulsion, and declarer] that the weakness cf the present Meat Export Control Act was the responsibility placed on tho shoulders of the board to decide whether compulsion should be applied or not. He agreed that t.h<? lioard had made a good beginning on small matters, but could not satisfy the producers until complete compulsion waa established. He dealt at length with the proposed dairy pool, strongly supporting the proposal. He urged that with 12,000 miles of a handicap, and the strong probability, as the result of the Genoa Conference, of Siberia’s early return to tha butter trade, most complete organisation should be undertaken to enable us to maintain our position. The union was strongly supporting the dairy pool. He dealt with the question of costs, but characterised th*

Bolshevists’ proposal to reduoe rents and interests oompulsorily as double-edged, and likely to destroy all confidence in the country. The union was out for an agricultural banking system, based on the German system. He quoted President Taft’s address, and explained how the system had been adopted in the United States, and what it had done to provide cheaper and more plentiful money for the producers in the country which had adopted it. He explained the Farmers' Union shipping proposals. including the appointment of a shipping board, and pointed out that it was useless to send trade commissions to the East without shipping. The present freights were prohibitive. We must follow the example of America. Holland, and Japan, and subsidise shipping if we desired to participate. He dealt at some length with the work of the union in connection with dairying matters, and explained that half the members of the union were dairymen. He concluded by an appeal for complete unity amongst all classes of the farming community at this critical stage in our existence.