The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1942. DRAW YOUR BLINDS—5.2O P.m. MANPOWER AND THE LAND.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLXI, Issue 15075, 22 June 1942, Page 2

The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1942. DRAW YOUR BLINDS—S.2O P.m. MANPOWER AND THE LAND.

A conference of practica. men discussed shortage of labour on the land at Pukekohe recently. They were unanimously of opinion that the comb-out of t-he farming industry | for men for the army has been too drastic, and that measures for relief were urgent. Our army must be built up to sufficient strength to keep the enemy out, but that> strength cannot be maintained without sufficient supplies ot food, clothing and such munitions as we* can make ourselves. It is 'possible so to strip the farms that these supplies would become inadequate for both the troops and the civilian forces on the home front, without which the army could not fight In addition to supplies for these we have the very important duty of sending food our own men overseas, and also as many cargoes to Britain as can be shipped. The position therefore requires careful review, especially as there are changing factors which affect consumption within New Zealand. The manpower committees have varying ideas about the retention of men on the farms. As far as is known to the public, no specific policy exists upon which a universal interpretation can be based, and therefore there is no present surety that a position which is already acute, in the eyes of competent experts, may not become so aggravated as to affect not only civilian life but the comfort and health of the army itself. The decision to collect facts to lay before Mr Fraser and the War Cabinet is the logical outcome of the discussion.. Any information enabling those responsible for the conduct of the Avar to come to a fuller understanding of the production needs of the army and the little less important home front, without which the army could not keep the field, will no doubt be welcomed by them. The ascertained facts can be used as a basis for arriving at a correct balance between the manpower need 3of the army and industries which keep it supplied There is apparently no definite policy in existence today, but one could be hammered out, and production of foodstuffs is the anvil upon which the task should be begun.