MR SAVAGE IN REPLY

Southland Times, Issue 23815, 12 May 1939, Page 6

MR SAVAGE IN REPLY

“Political Speech End To End” MR MULHOLLAND CRITICIZED No Desire To Force Price On Growers (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 11. “It is a political speech from end to end,” declared the Prime Minster (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) referring to the address given by Mr W. W. Mulholland (Dominion president of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union) at Feilding last night when the proposal for guaranteed prices for meat and wool was rejected. Mr Savage dealt with particular references made by Mr Mulholland, and emphasized that the Government had no desire to force a guaranteed price on wool growers. Commenting on the statement made by Mr Mulholland that “the farmer has lost the sympathy of other classes and that it is his duty to win back that sympathy,” the Prime Minister said the farmers had not lost the sympathy of other classes. “If he has, then Mr Mulholland’s methods of trying to get it back sound peculiar to me, he added. “If Mr Mulholland can tell me what my proposals are in regard to a guaranteed price he will be educating me, because so far no proposals have been submitted to the farmers,” c° n " tinued the Prime Minister. ' I have been asked what the price is likely to be and I replied that it was quite impossible for the to say what it should be before an inquiry was made. It seems to me that Mr Mulholland is shadow-sparring and using his, imag-. ination, which appears to be fairly elastic as to what is going to happen. I have not discussed what the guaranteed price would be, but I have gone so far as to say that any guaranteed price would have to be taken into account with the farmers’ outlay and other conditions. If he did not get a guaranteed price that would meet all that and. give him a decent standard of living, then the guaranteed price would break down.” Mr Savage further commented on the reference by Mr Mulholland about advances made by trading banks to dairy companies, and the statement that Mr Mulholland did not know that the position of the dairy farmers was as bad as it evidently was. STABILITY OF DAIRY FARMER Mr Savage said that the guaranteed price had not broken down in the case of the dairy farmer. “I have had, no complaints from dairy farmers,” he said, “with the exception of one or two officers of the Farmers’ Union who have been perambulating up and down the country talking politics most of the time. The dairy farmer today is in a more stable position than he has ever been. What is to prevent the same result coming to wool growers as„has come to the dairy farfner today?” Mr Mulholland was reported as saying that if the Government had. found it impossible to raise export prices as its policy required it to do, then it should have the courage to admit its mistake and proceed to reduce costs. to a level at which export industries could maintain production. Referring to this, Mr Savage said no Government would be stupid enough to think that it could control prices overseas. “And, as for courage,” he added, “if there is any running to be done I am not going to do any of it.” Commenting on Mr Mulholland s statement about the high cost of wages, Mr Savage said that if Mr Mulholland waited until this Government reduced the wages and salaries of employees in the industry, he had a long wait ahead of him. “That is not the way to prosperity,” he said. “It is reported that there were .400 present at the meeting,” said the Prime Minister. “I think if you divide that by two you will probably get the correct number, and even if there were 400 it is not stated how many were not there. We realize that some farmers are not getting a fair deal,” said Mr Savage, “but it is not due to the wages they are paying. There are other things to be corrected, I know. The guaranteed price is going io destroy those who are exploiting the wool grower. It destroyed those who were exploiting the dairy farmer, and I am not going to apologize for that. The wool grower wants some stability and some guarantee as to the future. A guaranteed price would give him that, and it would give the Government a lot of worry, too. We do not want to force anything on the wool growers. We are willing to meet them and to try to help them safeguard their future. I do not know whether Mr Mulholland represents the wool growers or not, but if he does then I pity the wool growers,” added the Prime Minister.